Question about a rod

[kingfisher]

Have anyone cast or know about rainshadow's new switch rod blanks? If any one can help because i was thinking about getting one.

Joel

[SPG]

The 10'8" switch blanks are smooth casting, med fast, with a little more tip energy than classic scandi and they are single hand sizes, not spey sizes like Beulah or Meiser. The 1085 is meant for trout, 6-trophy trout or summer steel, 7 steelhead, 8 big steelhead. Larry Lee, a Sacramento rod builder, builds a lot of these for clients and really likes them. I would think you could find some around to cast. The right line, as with all switches, is extremely important, make sure what you cast has a proper line on it. steve

[Rick J]

Steve,
So the Rainshadow 1085 is designed to cast a 5 wt WT overhead? This could be an awesome Klamath rod!!! I use 4 to 6 wts up there alot

I converted a couple of single handed Fisher rods to switches and the lightest I have is a 10' 7 wt with a 4' extension that is a kick as a light steelhead rod - was lots of fun on the Grand Ronde last fall. I might look into this lighter rod for even more fun and games!!!

[SHigSpeed]

I built a 1085 and I like it. I have used it for trout on the Yuba and shad in the AR. It's a bit light for casting bigger weighted (read SHAD hehe...) flies, but it works well with swinging smaller unweighted stuff. I still haven't found the "right" line for it.

I'll be building the 7 weight soon too for steelies and shad next year as well as ladder work at Pyramid should I ever get out there!

Good quality and the price can't be beat.

_SHig

[Rick J]

SHig - how would you classify the action on the 1085 - fast, medium, slow? What lines are you currently using on it?

Best regards,
Rick

[Jepatock]

I built the IF1085-4 (5wt) 10'-8" last year. It is a nice rod with slow action. Seems to fish a bit lighter than a 5wt. Great for swinging soft hackle flies, emergers and the like on the Yuba and American. Anything larger than a size 10, I start to have problems with the rod loading properly. Overall, for the price, a very nice rod with decent components. I am currently using the Elixir 295 line on this rod which works well. I will be building the 7wt this winter.

[SHigSpeed]

I'd call the action a straight medium. Can't see too well but here's a photo of the rod tight to a 19" Yuba fish:



As for lines:

I have yet to find the perfect line, but that said I've been asking the rod to do a LOT (chuck weighted flies and indicators). What I have tried so far:

- 343 gr 21 foot head (main body of a 10/11/12 Windcutter minus tip 2) - too heavy
- 340 gr 29 foot head (main body of a 7/8 Midspey) - not bad for throwing versileaders and unweighted bugs
- 225 gr 20 foot head (main body of a 10 wt Rio Coldwater versitip system) - not bad with the associated 15 foot versitip, a bit short for a 10' versileader
- WF7F flyline with 10' versileader and indicator - doable, but not enough weight

I just bought a WF9F flyline to try. I can cut 10' of the tip off to make about a 250 gr 30 foot head. Might be the sweet spot. I've always wanted to try an AFS 4/5 300 gr line, but never have.

BTW, the WF7 cast pretty well overhead, but if you're casting strictly OH, I'd say go with a 5 or 6 line. I think for Spey/switch style casting, though, a WF5 probably won't work very well.

_SHig

[SPG]

Rick J, I like what you have done with the Fisher and you are right about the 1085 being a great rod for the Klamath. Gary Anderson and I have written a line recipe for this rod, not that it should not be tweaked for a specific individual, but as a base recipe from ACR Scandi Heads, it should be 26 feet and 260 grains, with a belly dia of .082 and a front taper of .022 per foot. On a speed scale of 1-10, the 1085 is a 5.7, slightly faster than med. If you cast more than 260 grains at 26 feet you prefer to slow the rod down, because you like a slower stroke, which is how the great casters use lines to tune them to a specific rod. Some of the best casters I build rods for have a slow stroke, under 5. The ultimate casting outfit will occur when your natural casting acceleration is matched to a rod speed and a line speed. The silver bullet occures when the caster, the rod, and the line all come together. steve

[SHigSpeed]

Rick J, I like what you have done with the Fisher and you are right about the 1085 being a great rod for the Klamath. Gary Anderson and I have written a line recipe for this rod, not that it should not be tweaked for a specific individual, but as a base recipe from ACR Scandi Heads, it should be 26 feet and 260 grains, with a belly dia of .082 and a front taper of .022 per foot. On a speed scale of 1-10, the 1085 is a 5.7, slightly faster than med. If you cast more than 260 grains at 26 feet you prefer to slow the rod down, because you like a slower stroke, which is how the great casters use lines to tune them to a specific rod. Some of the best casters I build rods for have a slow stroke, under 5. The ultimate casting outfit will occur when your natural casting acceleration is matched to a rod speed and a line speed. The silver bullet occures when the caster, the rod, and the line all come together. steve

Hey Steve,

Thanks for the input on the line. Quick question, what sort of sinktip/versileader/versitip do you recommend for going deep with this rod and line? I tried with mixed success to use the 1085 to throw weighted shad flies and sinktips. Let's just say the results, though I caught fish, were not ideal.

Thanks!

_SHig

[SHigSpeed]

BTW, I just finished up my 1087 Rainshadow switch last night and took it down to the Yuba still tacky:




Didn't catch any fish, but I like it a lot. Still may need to tweak the line and any input would be gladly accepted! I've already gotten some good info via PM.

The main line I was using was the body of a Windcutter 10/11 (I think) without the tip 2. Basically a 21" head at 360 grains plus a 15' 115 grain sinktip. I was swinging buggers and leeches using this setup and it felt pretty good actually. I may have even seen a nice tight loop or two, and snagged brush from the opposite bank so I was hammering casts like a rockstar! (Okay, maybe not...)

When I went later to an intermediate tip, same grain and length, I started having more problems. Not sure if I was tending to rip out my anchor or if I was getting tired. Probably just that I need more practice.

Regardless, I did have some issues with hooking myself including once in the nose with a wicked wraparound stick. Barbless is the law, and your friend!

BTW, the rod was built using Batson/Forecast components though instead of using their, eh, unique bactrian camel foregrip I used their preformed full wells grip and added 2-1/2" to it in the middle and blended it in. I think I may do some more sanding to bring the diameter down a bit in the front half of the foregrip. The foregrip came in at just a hair under 10", and if I were to do it again I may add another 1/2" to 1". I used their standard switch rear grip though.

_SHig