20lb core. Seriously, it's the jam. The Rio GripShooter Shooting Line is the best selling Running Line for Spey lines at Red's Fly Shop. There Riffle is S2/3, the Run is S5/6 and the Bucket is S8/9. Like all things in the world of fly fishing nowadays, there are a lot of running line options currently available. Pros: Good distance shooting ability, good grip and handling characteristics, very little line memory. There is no difference, some manufacturers call them running lines, others call them shooting lines. They are the thinnest in diameter of all of the running lines and therefore have the least friction shooting through the guides as well as the least water tension when coiled in the current. Next, they are bit of a hassle compared to other running lines to initially rig up. As silly as this sounds, it is very valid. photo Reid Curry. Your email address will not be published. Spey Running Lines. At this time there is only one commercially available braided running line out there (in North America anyways), and it kicks a**. Ideal for heads between 450-575gr, 0.037" - blue, with 18ft handling section. Deneki Custom Fly Series: Rapids Camp Smolt, Deneki Chronicles: Spey Casting Tips – Stuart Foxall on Adjusting Overhang, Captains for Clean Water: A Mission That Holds Water, The coating can make the line “stick” to the water, Can be difficult to manage while stripping and initiating a cast due to its super slickness and small diameter. This line is also available as a 100' Spey Lite Integrated Skagit with a seamless connection between the running line and the head. To achieve this, Rio integrated a 15 foot coated "handling" section into the front end of a monofilament running line, thus achieving the easier line handling of a coated line and the distance benefits of a mono line. They all fundamentally do the same thing - that is they "shoot" through the guides as your Skagit/Scandi head flies through the air on a long cast - but there are subtle differences as well as distinct pros and cons between the various options. Both systems use the same running lines or shooting lines. Spey line and the wicked, fish-catching casting techniques that come with them are here to stay. collapse. Both Skagit and Scandi line systems use the same running lines. They are constructed with a monofilament or braided core which is then coated in a polymer material (just like a single-handed fly line). Airflo Delta Spey IISmooth, graceful castsAfter ten years of being the go-to long belly Spey line, it was time for an upgrade. Stripping and all associated line management tasks are also made more difficult because of this. While they do excel in different scenarios, I mostly just like the casting feel of changing it up every once in awhile. That comes to about $1.30 per 110 ft running line, the standard length of a running line for fly fishing. Each component is attached using loop to loop connections. Monofilament Running Line. The running line is the angler's touch point throughout the casting stroke, so sticking with a familiar feeling running line can reduce some of the awkwardness in the early stages of the spey casting learning process. Additional benefits of coated running lines are that they have very little line memory and have overall the best "handling" characteristics. On to the sleeper pick and my personal favorite choice - braided running lines. Personally, if someone is new to spey and asks me what running line to go with, I always recommend a coated option. Before we jump into the different types of running lines, we should probably quickly define what a running line is. It can be tangle-prone. I would say there is an obvious difference between the rate of travel of full spey lines compared to heads fished off a mono running line. If you continue to use this site we assume that you are okay with it. This coating is typically floating and is optimized for slickness to reduce friction as the line shoots through the guides. I am speaking about Airflo Miracle Braid. I use a bimini in the front of the backing and loop it to a non-slip mono loop in the back of the running line. The best method is to splice a loop into either end. Most coated running lines come with a factory-welded loop on both ends. SlickShooter. My preferred knot for this application is the Double Surgeon's Loop. If you are new to spey, I would recommend not overthinking it and just going with a coated running line. 30lb core. The shooting head, a tip or leader, and a running line. Pros: Maximum distance and line speed. Originally developed in the mid-1800s on Scotland's storied River Spey in response to the river's severely limited casting real estate, the Spey didn't reach American fly water in any meaningful way until just a few decades ago when a small cadre of steelheaders in the Pacific Northwest adopted It. When casting either a Skagit or Scandi line, the cast is generated entirely by the shooting head, however once the head goes airborne, the running line follows or "shoots" right behind it. For spey applications, you always want to go with a floating running line. It is easy to handle and this running line won't spiral up and hold memory after sitting on your fly reel for extended periods of time. Another option which I have recently been spending some time with is the Monic GSP Shooting Floating Line. First off, running lines are also called shooting lines. Heather Hodson, founder of United Women on the Fly, will talk a little bit about backing and running lines. Rather than even attempting to describe how to splice a loop in my own words, I will leave it up to the guys at The Confluence Fly Shop in Bellingham and Deneki Outdoors in the below video: So many great running line options out there, so which way to go? Tim Rawlins Spey Casting My favorite cheap running line is Berkley Big Game Ultragreen #40lbs test. This line memory can usually be overcome by stretching the line before use, but is nonetheless a pain. Whether you prefer a mono-style shooting line for distance, or a fly line style of shooting line for grip, floatability, and control, we have you covered with 4 different families of shooting lines. Shooting running line (or shooting line with a shooting head) is the most practical method of making long distance Spey casts. We’ve written quite a bit about running lines here on the Deneki blog. I think were at about a 50/50 split among our customers and staff. 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