Line recs for a 4wt Trout Spey hd

Skol_Engh

Skol_Engh

Steelhead
Looking for a shooting head recommendation for the 4wt troutspey HD. I have the rio integrated skagit troutspey 4wt line but I’m not the biggest fan of it so I got a running line and tried the 4wt rio trout Spey shooting head (more of a scandi line). Im thinking about picking up an OPST commando shooting head and I’m wondering if anyone has a grain Rec. the grain window is 300-350. I’ve also looked at airflo rage and the SA scandi lite. I thought I was gonna be a 1 and done in terms of lines but the dabbling and tinkering has begun.
 
That grain window is the same as my 4114 burkie, on which I use the following:
275 grain commando w/ 10' 80 grain tips.
19 gram (293 grain) Guideline 3D compact scandis.
300 grain Ballistic Trout Spey.
I've used a 300 grain Rage on it as well. Nice head, but I found it casts best with a Rio 7-1/2' trout poly leader attached, otherwise it's a bit clunky.
 
Use a 330 grain airflo scout head on my 4 wt. echo. very nice line. And also opst commando in 300 grain. Which is good for tight quarters. Not great if you have to do much strip retrieve.
 
O' Clarkii Stomias said:
That grain window is the same as my 4114 burkie, on which I use the following:
275 grain commando w/ 10' 80 grain tips.
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I saw a post on Spey pages mentioning a opst commando 275 for a sage one troutspey 4wt. Are commandos just more powerful hence going under the grain window?

skyrise said:
Use a 330 grain airflo scout head on my 4 wt. echo. very nice line. And also opst commando in 300 grain. Which is good for tight quarters. Not great if you have to do much strip retrieve.
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Yea the stripping on a non integrated line isn’t very fun but I’m hoping if I get it dialed I can grab an integrated line
 
I use 10’ #5 rio replacement tips but I’m looking to branch out into versileaders + light mow tips as well
 
Skol_Engh said:
Looking for a shooting head recommendation for the 4wt troutspey HD. I have the rio integrated skagit troutspey 4wt line but I’m not the biggest fan of it so I got a running line and tried the 4wt rio trout Spey shooting head (more of a scandi line). Im thinking about picking up an OPST commando shooting head and I’m wondering if anyone has a grain Rec. the grain window is 300-350. I’ve also looked at airflo rage and the SA scandi lite. I thought I was gonna be a 1 and done in terms of lines but the dabbling and tinkering has begun.
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I was never a fan of the integrated lines ether. But I think your on the money with the Rio trout spey head in 305gr. You can use that line with some SA Sonar tips in float,, hover, intermediate, s3 and s6 and I believe they are 50gr tips. Works awsome! To dig deep I’d go Skagit and some t8.
 
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Prefer the Skagit Scout over Commando for my 4 wt two-hander. Seems to turn over a lot better. Rage is fun, too. I do prefer integrated Commando for my glass 3 wt one-hander.
 
1657425450882.jpeg
Fly—————————————-Rod

Many enjoy the Scout because it’s taper is longer on the front allowing for a better feel/presentation. The OPST puts more weight toward the tip to allow you to throw marginally heavier tips/flies per same grain.

Not shown is what I think is one of the best compact heads, the SA Spey Lite Skagit. It takes the Scout taper and shortens the whole thing to an OPST length. I own 3 heads and 1 integrated of it, couple OPST and two Scouts.

17C8C1DC-DC99-4ED1-AA52-487AA82D565C.jpeg

*Upside down to keep orientation as above diagram.
 
On my 4 wt Meiser I am a big fan of the Beulah Elixir @300 grains with 10’ Salmon/Steelhead poly leaders, usually intermediate and a few feet of tippet.
For bigger bugs/weighted flies either the Commando 275 or Tonic 325.
 
SculpinSwinger said:
On my 4 wt Meiser I am a big fan of the Beulah Elixir @300 grains with 10’ Salmon/Steelhead poly leaders, usually intermediate and a few feet of tippet.
For bigger bugs/weighted flies either the Commando 275 or Tonic 325.
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I fished a Tonic on my steelhead switch for an entire winter season and loved it, but the rear loop broke in April and the front loop was close. I wish more lines would follow Airflo's rear loop reinforcement. It does add a tiny bit more bulk, but, man, they sure last longer.
 
I use the 270gr SA spey lite scandi on my BW 3wt, and used the same line in a 300gr on a 4114 before I sold it. Wonderful lines. I have no trouble with small streamers but use it most with soft hackles. Never tried the skagit version. I currently have a 10' intermediate poly on the 270gr and it handles it just fine.
 
I have played with different grain weight opst heads and found that going down to a 250 grain opst head works fine as long as i match up with the right tip. Get a nicer/softer lay down landing. also I don’t like mono running lines as they are harder to handle so i use P-line Hydra float as a running line. Ya it doesn’t shoot as well but I can handle it better and it floats which is nice.
 
I played around with the rio 4wt troutspey (305 grains) today. It casts wayyy smoother loops+ more distance than the integrated 4wt skagit trout Spey (325 grains) + 50 grain tip+ streamer. I found the 4wt troutspey head wasn’t great at casting bigger streamers though. I pulled the trigger on the commando 275 and I look forward to checking it out.
 
This is one of my favorite lines made for a Meiser 11’7” 4wt.52705DBD-222F-48C2-A4AD-4E2489DB5336.jpeg
 
DoesItFloat said:
I fished a Tonic on my steelhead switch for an entire winter season and loved it, but the rear loop broke in April and the front loop was close. I wish more lines would follow Airflo's rear loop reinforcement. It does add a tiny bit more bulk, but, man, they sure last longer.
Click to expand...
My Tonic loops have been cut off and replaced with braided. They ended up cracking at the end of the weld. My Elixirs are still factory, but will not hesitate to do he same if they crack. Airflow loops are the best, and their lines are less prone to cracking in my experience.
 
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