OPST Commando Smooth on single hander

[jacob]

I just picked up an OPST Smooth 200 grain integrated line to throw on my 11ft 4wt “nymphing rod” to do some singlehanded Skagit casting to swing streamers. I’m all rigged up and about to go give it a test drive down on the skuke by my house with some clousers and bunny leeches.

I have high hopes for the setup as most light switch or trout Spey setups are pretty similar. I think this particular rod (cabelas czn) will have a good action for this style of casting and fishing without breaking the bank for a dedicated two-hander (for now)- from what I’ve read this should at least be a good starting point to get into some new techniques and expand my options while out on the water.

I plan on reporting to you all on how it works out. I’ve been utilizing different types of Spey casts on my single handers now for years, but finally decided to grab a purpose built line for it - I’m pumped to try it out! Wish me luck!

 

[jacob]

First impressions are good- I definitely need to practice a bit with the new line and slow down my stroke, but I think it is paired well. I was throwing weighted clousers on a 3.5 ips poly leader (7.5 feet) and have a feeling that an intermediate tip might cast better for me at least until I get in the groove.

One thing that is really cool about the system... it is effortless to cast what I would get consider a lucky “perfect” roll cast on a normal WF.

I’ll keep at it!

 

[chief17]

Keep after it. I think single hand skagit casting is really addictive, super fun and easy. Don't have any of the OPST integrated lines, just heads. Really fun on a glass rod too.

Without question my favorite way to swing wets and streamers.

 

[mav1958]

How do you decide what weight line or head to use? Does rod length come into play or just rod weight rating?

 

[ryc72]

yes. rod length matters. the longer the rod, the more grains you need to load the rod properly. heres a good rough guideline to get you started...

 

[ryc72]

http://www.opskagit.com/Generic.pdf

 

[chief17]

Ed Ward also had a formula that he came up with when making his own heads (I'm going from memory, don't hold me to this):

Use the AFFTA line weight chart, and go up 3 line weights over the rod you want to use. So if you have a 4 wt, pick a head that's comparable in weight to a 7 wt. 4 wt is typically 120 gr, so you would want a head that's about 185 grain (7wt). That gets you pretty close to the OPST chart posted above.

If you were cutting your own heads to length, I believe the formula was 2.25x the rod length. So then you have to do some math and find a head that will hit your grain target when you cut it down.

I think most of the single hand heads now are around 12', so you just need to pick your weight.

 

[moon1284]

This is exactly the line I would use if I wanted to cast 1/8oz split shot or wanted to see how big of a splash I could make when my fly hits the water.

 

[ryc72]

ha! definitely not the most delicate delivery but it is fun to be able to fish the little j from one bank and cast to the other side without a back cast. and it is really calming to just hold a rod and look around and take in the moment while swinging a streamer and then get jolted back to reality by a nice tug on the line. that being said, imo its really a streamer line. i wouldnt indicator or dry fly fish with it...tough to mend at distance...the running line is just too thin to manipulate the much heavier head effectively. great for stripping/swinging streamers tho. i use the sa spey lite skagit integrated line but id suspect the opst and the sa lines are very similar. i do like the opst 7.5ft tips for a 10ft or shorter rod.

 

[jacob]

Exactly ryc.

Moon, I am not looking for delicacy whatsoever with this setup. It’s a niche setup for swinging streamers and yes, maybe some 1/8 oz jighead on the Delaware for shad. I was actually surprised though, thought it was going to land harder than it does.

My take on delicacy is if your gonna make long casts to swing streamers in this style, your target spots of the swing are going to be well away from where your line is landing. The fish that are spooking will have already had a fly swing by them a few times so to me that’s a moot point.

Rod length definitely makes a difference - the OPST recommendations are what I followed as a starting point and seem to be pretty close. 200 grain for 4 wt single hands over 10’ and I think 175 for the 4wt under 10.

If I were to do it again, I might have gone a little lighter because of the soft tip of the CZN, BUT I have only casted it so far for one day and maybe 2 1/2 hours. I need to cast it a lot more to really have a grip on what’s right for the particular rod.

All in all, it’ll get a lot of use. I can walk down to the skuke after work and just have fun casting - if I catch a smallie, that’s a bonus... but the smallie fishing isn’t stellar (or I haven’t quite figured the section of river out yet).