SO YOU BOUGHT A SWITCH ROD...NOW WHAT?

The idea behind the switch rod is simple. What if you could have the best of both worlds? What if you were nymphing under an indicator but you had the length of a Spey rod to highstick? What if you could cast a dry fly eighty feet without a backcast? What if you could swing flies on a skagit head and sink tip in the morning and dead drift dries in the afternoon without going back to the truck for another rod? Is that a world you'd like to fish in?

Switch rods are a wonderful and versatile tool for fly anglers but they can be as vexing as versatile. In fact, it is their versatility that makes them so confusing. There are about a dozen ways you can set up and fish that new switch rod. They range from nymphing for trout to swinging for steelhead and even casting in the surf for stripers. How your rod will fish starts with the line you choose and it all adds up to make selecting a line for your switch rod the most confusing choice in fly fishing.

I know a lot of guys come to the switch rod from a single-hand casting background. They hear all the talk about two-handed casting and get to feel like they are missing something. The switch rod offers the option of single-hand performance and seems like a friendly way into the world of two-handed casting. The trouble is that lots of those guys never get comfortable putting their left hand on the rod, usually because

The post Choosing a line for your switch rod Part one: Understanding lines and line tapers first appeared on Fly Fishing | Gink and Gasoline | How to Fly Fish | Trout Fishing | Fly Tying | Fly Fishing Blog.