Skagit Flyfishing for Squamish Chums

WHAT IS A SKAGIT SPEY FLY LINE?

Good question! The challenges of steelhead fishing on the Pacific Northwest rivers, like the need to deliver big flies in tough conditions with very little backcast clearance, using lighter and shorter rods to match the size of the quarry, and considering that control of the fly's speed and location in the water column is critical, resulted in the development of the Skagit lines and the Skagit, or Pacific Northwest (PNW), style of Spey casting. Specialized spey casts such as the Snap T and the Perry Poke were created to refine the use of the new Skagit lines.

Skagit lines are built as a shooting head and have also recently been designed with an integrated shooting/running line. Like the Scandinavian head, the length of most Skagit heads is in the 2.5-3.5 times the rod length range, but the rods are typically shorter. Skagit heads are unlike many other fly lines in that they have very little taper and are pretty much one thick, level section of line. This helps to carry the weight of a heavy sink tip and large fly for long casts with little room for a backcast.

Originally, Skagit lines were used to throw sink tips of varying densities (T-8, T-11, T-14, T-17) but now many spey casters are using Skagit lines for fishing under any conditions, and are now using floating tips on Skagit heads. The floating tips are 15’ long and vary in grain weight to match the weight of your Skagit line. The important thing about using any tip for Skagit style lines is that they have enough grain weight to properly anchor your fly line. Poly leaders that work well on Scandi lines are generally too light and will cause the caster to pull their anchor and struggle with their casting. A good anchor is critical to allow you to form a D-loop and maintain load in the rod throughout the casting stroke.

I got 99 problems but a carp ain't one!

I fished the part of the lake where I have chummed
for several days. The leaves have turned
different shades of yellow and orange.



The water is fairly clear at this time of year
except at the deep end of the pond. In other
parts of the pond carp can be seen with the aid
of a good pair of sunglasses.



It took a while and a number of casts to hook
this little guy. As you can tell by the shadows,
this hook up came at the end of sunlight.

Cranking 'em out

Trying to finish strong by catching carp as often
as possible. We've had several days with the
temperature above 60F. Carp are not as active
as when it is warmer. We see most fish just
before dusk, feeding on the surface.

Fall photos

Cool crisp mornings that turn into warm Indian
summer afternoons.



The Lullwater looking south



The Lullwater changing colors



Dense colorful fall foliage that is found on the
Lullwater



Looking south on Prospect Park Lake



These flowers come in a number of colors



They resemble daisies



We have a large group of these swans now



The park changing for winter



A carp on my March Brown fly rod

Power fishing

I pulled out a rare Fenwick Voyager, spin / fly
rod for this session. It is a 4 piece 7'6" fiberglass
fly rod. While it is rated as a 6 wt rod, I chose
to overline the rod with an 8 wt fly line.

I was here for more "Power fishing". I used a
full can of corn mixed with a ground bait to chum
the area. I expected good results as this was
the second evening in a row of chumming
this same spot of the lake.

Power fishing

I decided to use the cane fly rod today; even though
it is missing a guide. I used an 8 wt bass taper fly line.
I arrived at the lake at about 4:00pm. My experience
fishing at this time of the year has shown that
carp will begin to feed after 5:00pm. During the
feed the carp will feed from the surface as well
as feeding on the bottom of the lake.

The carp will eat freely for the better part of
an hour and then stop. By that time the day
light has disappeared and the temperature
may be below 50F.

You must be prepared to make a number of
adjustments quickly to capitalize on this limited
window of opportunity. Do you fish on the surface?
Do you change flies, sizes, colors? With daylight
vanishing you may be able to switch 2 or 3 times
tops.

I caught this fish on a deer hair "bread fly".

Prospect Park on a quiet fall afternoon

I took this picture from the Binnewater bridge
This area was restored several years ago.
There are some good size fish in this pool.



The Boat house



You are looking at the rare ATP 37 semi auto-
-matic fly reel from Italy.



My new fly box loaded with an assortment of
deer hairs flies for carp.



Another view from Binnewater Bridge.
Binnewater is Norwegian for sweet water.