Switch rod for streamers

[Lucas Dement]

I am looking into eventually getting a 2 hand rod for fun casting but also swinging flies and throwing streamers. Would a switch rod be a good choice? Im fairly new to fly fishing still and spend most of my time on the water euronymphing tailwaters and getting up to the sierras when I can. What weight would be appropriate but not overkill for example the Moke, American, and Truckee. Thank you in advance for any help/ reccomendations.

[TahoeJoe]

A switch rod is a lot of fun. A 3 or 4 wt. rod with a line that is well matched to the rod would be a good place to start for trout. A longer rod is easier to learn with.

Keep in mind that the line weights for two handed rods don't match a single hand rod. They are 2-3 steps lighter. i.e. A 3 wt. switch is around a 6 wt. single handed rod. Lines get complicated fast, pick one and learn to use it. A good shop with some expertise in 2 handed setups, like Kiene's, can save you some time and money when trying to match a line to the rod. Sometimes they have a demo kit and you can go try a few out.

If you've never done it before, a good instructor can save you hours (or days) of frustration.

[Jcolin]

I would highly recommend it! I really enjoy fishing 2 handed rods, not just for steelhead but also striped bass from shore, shad, trout on the yuba etc. another really great place to use one is pyramid lake. Can cast farther from my ladder plus way easier on my shoulders. Also want to add that an OPST commando head is a pretty good head to learn on. Its very short and dense and forgiving when learning to cast, and you can use a variety of sink tips with it, not just the ones they make. They come in small grain sizes too for switch and trout spey. As far as those rivers you mention and weight, i fish a 12’ 5 weight for shad, yuba trout, even summer steelhead/half pounders on the klamath in the fall. Have landed fish up to 8 lbs no problem with that rod. If youre only targeting trout up to 20” a 3 or 4 weight switch (10-11’) or spey (12’+) would have plenty of backbone. As TahoeJoe said, figure being about 2 line sizes heavier compared to single hand rod.

[Zepher]

I was in Sportsmans Warehouse in Fairfield 4 days ago. They had 3 wt Rio lines reduced from $75 or $80 (can't remember), to $34 ( I do remember that number). There were at least 8, maybe more, on the shelf.

[tcorfey]

Remember with a Switch or Spey rod to not rely on AFTMA line weight ratings, use grain weight instead. For example my 11' 3" Redington Hydrogen 3wt Trout Spey rod is rated for Scandi lines: 200-225 grains and Skagit lines: 250-275 grains. An AFTMA rated 8wt Cortland 444 Peach Double Taper line at 210 grains also works well.

A beginner should be in the upper range of grain weights while a more accomplished caster would be in the lower end of the range. Likewise your tips should be lighter and shorter on these rods, If you need a longer tip you can always add a mono furled leader between the tip and your tippet to gain more purchase on the water. 10' tips in poly leader or OPST Commando tips at 7.5' and 55-60 grains work well for me.

Good luck...

Tim C.

[browndude3649]

I was in sportsmans wherehouse in Fairfield 4 days ago. They had 3 wt rio lines reduced from $75 or $80 (can't remember), to $34 ( I do remember that number). There were at least 8, maybe more, on the shelf

I bought one of them clearance lines for a 4wt ebay rod!

[Brian Clemens]

Look at the Anderson 11'3" 4wt ACR Nova 2. Sweet stick, my 'go to' on the Yuba, Feather, lower Sac, and small Steelhead on Trinity and Klamath rivers.

Use a Rio 325 Scandi body, 10ft Spey Versileaders and call it a day, also a 300 SA Spey Lite and 325 Skagit Short.

You can also use a 10ft 6wt single handed rod with Rio 275 Trout Skagit. It makes for a great little streamer/swing rod that you can Spey cast all day long. Also makes for a great Feather, lower Sac, early season Trinity nymph stick too.

[PV_Premier]

I am looking into eventually getting a 2 hand rod for fun casting but also swinging flies and throwing streamers. Would a switch rod be a good choice? Im fairly new to fly fishing still and spend most of my time on the water euronymphing tailwaters and getting up to the sierras when I can. What weight would be appropriate but not overkill for example the Moke, American, and Truckee. Thank you in advance for any help/ reccomendations.

Switch rod is very effective for swinging streamers, but not so effective for the strip presentation. Don't get me wrong, you'll get eats when you are stripping in at the end of your swing to cast again (and maybe lots of them) but it's a bit of a specialized tool for the swing presentation. If you want a rod for both strip and swing, get a 10' 5wt or 6wt single hander and get two spools...one with a single hand spey line, and the other with a streamer tip.

Brian's recommendation of a 3/4 ACR is a good place to start. It might take a little work to dial in the line/rod combo if you are trying to throw a bulkier pattern, with my crappy casting a scandi body and VL will not get it done on a size 6 conehead fly. I picked up an integrated SA skagit and it helps turn over those bigger flies with a light MOW tip.

I actually prefer my 3wt for scandi with soft hackle or unweighted streamers and then I use my 5wt 12'5" with the bigger flies. I am happier casting that way and thus my presentations are better. The little fish don't bend the 5wt as much, but I find if I fish a big enough fly I can avoid that problem by not letting them eat :)