All the Rage...

JayB

JayB

Life of the Party
I've still got a ways to go when it comes to Skagit casting, but I've got enough of a hang of it to generally get my fly where I want it to go under most conditions. I feel like I should invest any time I have to practice on getting better at the skagit game, but I think last year for the first time I found myself thinking there are times and places where I'd like to deliver a fly with a lighter touch.

From what I gathered Rage lines seemed like a good in-between that you could still use for skagit casting, but could also potentially be used for scandi casting when and if you ever wanted to start walking down that road. I picked up a used Beulah 6126 (1st gen) and based on lots of comments from other people regarding the rod, went with a 390 grain rage head along with 10 foot polyleaders for tips.

I took it out for its maiden voyage the other day, set down my 8wt skagit set up that I felt like I'd been in a pretty good groove with - loading was going well with a reasonable rod speed, etc - then picked up the 6wt, set-up for a snap-t, and it felt like I may have well been casting a rod without any line at all.

Things improved a bit - but just a bit - when I set-up an extra-long sweep and made every part of the cast very slow and deliberate, looked at my anchor and d-loop, etc but I still had the "Dude - where's my line?" sensation. I generally feel that to a certain extent when I pick up a 5wt troutspey setup loaded with a skagit head, but after a couple of adjustment casts I'm generally good to go.

Seems like a clear case of operator error on my part, so...is there a well known "trick" that I'm missing when casting with Rage head, or is it just a matter of trial-and-erroring things until I feel like I can get the rod to load enough to generate an adequate load?
 
The rage is a bit longer than a skagit. I am guessing you need to send more energy into your D loop.
Make sure only the poly leader is the anchor and not the front of the head.
Keep your top hand elbow in, and don’t let your top hand go back behind your ear.
Bottom hand - try to drive the line with the bottom hand, get it out in front and then give the butt of the rod a smooth pull, drive the D loop back and up by pushing out the bottom hand as you square to the target.
And slow down, especially the forward stroke.
You will get it.
I loved my 5117 gen 1 platinum, I did have to adjust my stroke to the action of the rod. Initially I couldn’t lift a tip out of the water with my platinum, once I figured it out it became a favorite.
 
My very first thought when I saw 390gr and a 6126 rod was that it's too light of a head. I have never cast Beulah's 6126 but on other 6 wt speys I typically use a 450 grain line. I use a 450 Rage on a Decho 6126 and it works well. I use a 390 Rage on my 5122.

I'm a big fan of the Airflo Rage heads. I wish they made it in an integrated full line.
 
I agree with Merle. Just as the Rage is in between scandi and skagit, I size it just like that. I'd use a 420 Rage on a 6wt especially if you are mostly used to sustained anchor skagit casting and not doing scandi style touch n go casts. I have a Beulah 6wt, usually fish it with 390/400 scandi or a 450 skagit, when I use the Rage I use it at 420.
 
And I was thinking the same thing about how light that line is. I love my Rage 480, using it on a Meiser 567 weight, 14 foot. Mine casts the polyleaders well and I even used 6 foot of T14 the other day with it, though that gets clunky.
 
I don't actually have any real skill with the long rod beyond can make it fish, and I mostly don't use Rage heads in favor of full scandi/skagit, but I throw a 450 rage on a 7127 rod when I do use one. 420 sounds right for 6126.

Why not skip the Rage and just run a Scandi setup? It's not like you can't run mostly the same casts if you wanted to..
 
The Rage is a great line for windy conditions or choppy-water anchoring. I use a 390 on my 6wts and it works a charm, but the 420 works as well, I just have to slow down a bit.
Whatever line size/rod combo, the Rage likes a bit more overhang than most skagit lines. I generally have around 3'-4' of running line out the tip, that seems to be the sweet spot depending on wading depth.
 
Thanks everyone for the tips and feedback! Picked up a heavier Rage head and will incorporate the casting tips into the mix and see how it goes.
 
Merle said:
I'm a big fan of the Airflo Rage heads. I wish they made it in an integrated full line.
Click to expand...

They used to have one, for the Euro/UK market, a hover/int. Their salmon/steelhead lineup has suffered since the ownership change. Could be manufacturing issues, or maybe nobody in Colorado fishes for steelhead. Don't know what the deal is, nobody has stepped forward to set the record straight for what is going on.

Guideline has their lines made by Airflo, they make multi-density heads, they might have something you'd like.
 
I'd been too busy packing for my steelhead trip to bother with swapping out the 390 grain head, so I just tucked the heavier head into the wallet and figured I'd swap it out when it was time to grab the 6wt. I was scrolling through all of the helpful advice from this thread as I was stripping the line out, and was undoing the loop to loop connection when I looked at the loops side by side and thought "Wait a second....":unsure:

It turns out that the number one most useful tip for getting a Rage head to perform as advertised is...not attaching the wrong end to your running line. Not quite sure how I managed to attach it the wrong way *and* not immediately realize that I'd done so when I set about trying to cast it, but I'm happy to report that once I realized the error of my ways and attached it in the correct orientation it was a delight to cast, and a way more appropriate line for delivering small/sparse flies.
 
JayB said:
It turns out that the number one most useful tip for getting a Rage head to perform as advertised is...not attaching the wrong end to your running line. Not quite sure how I managed to attach it the wrong way *and* not immediately realize that I'd done so when I set about trying to cast it, but I'm happy to report that once I realized the error of my ways and attached it in the correct orientation it was a delight to cast, and a way more appropriate line for delivering small/sparse flies.
Click to expand...
Sounds like a minor detail to me.. 😈
 
JayB said:
I'd been too busy packing for my steelhead trip to bother with swapping out the 390 grain head, so I just tucked the heavier head into the wallet and figured I'd swap it out when it was time to grab the 6wt. I was scrolling through all of the helpful advice from this thread as I was stripping the line out, and was undoing the loop to loop connection when I looked at the loops side by side and thought "Wait a second....":unsure:

It turns out that the number one most useful tip for getting a Rage head to perform as advertised is...not attaching the wrong end to your running line. Not quite sure how I managed to attach it the wrong way *and* not immediately realize that I'd done so when I set about trying to cast it, but I'm happy to report that once I realized the error of my ways and attached it in the correct orientation it was a delight to cast, and a way more appropriate line for delivering small/sparse flies.
Click to expand...
Maybe it would have worked backwards if you tried casting left handed? Not quite sure how that works.
 
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