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Switch Rod Concept:
I had been fishing a series of gravel bars all morning on the Kenai River when my good friend handed me a Z-Axis 11’ 7 weight. He said “Give it a try and tell me what you think”. I began roll casting huge shots up and across setting up my drift. My indicator violently disappeared and I set the hook. I just went from not catching fish with my single handed rod to cutting through the wind and reaching a Rainbow trout that was willing to take my pattern. I was hooked up. Since then I have spent two seasons chasing trout and steelhead in Alaska with a switch rod in my arsenal. The switch Rod concept was developed in the England and has since become a club in the bag for a lot of steelheader and trout fisherman in North America. A two handed rod that is short enough to overhand cast when wanted. It sounds like a no brainer! There are many options available and I like all of them. Scott, Sage, and Orvis all offer a series of rods that cast beautifully. A switch rod can be found in five weights to and 8 weight lines with rod lengths from 10.5 to 11 feet.
During The fall of 2009 I spent about 20 days chasing steelhead on the Anchor River and Deep Creek on the Kenai Peninsula. The Kenai Peninsula has some smaller streams that carry good numbers of returning steelhead. I chose the 11’ Z-Axis six weights this year rather than the seven weights this year. It handled beautiful for most of the fish that we caught and conditions that we faced however after fishing the seven weights the year before I believe I would choose it over the six in the future for the rivers that we fish. The seven weights have just a little more backbone for turning a fresh fish in tight water. The Steelhead streams are mostly wade fishing systems and require lots of mending and high sticking. The extra length of the switch rod has made this a lot more enjoyable when you’re fishing long hours. I use the switch rod for both swinging flies and dead drifting nymphs under an indicator. While fishing the nymph rig I have found that mending the Skagit line was impossible when I got to the running line. In most cases, I was fishing beyond where I would normally fish a nymph rig. I then fished Scientific Angler mastery series salmon/steel head taper and found this was great for indicator fishing. I used an eight weight line with the six weight switch rod. The amount of water that you can cover by swinging flies should be mentioned also. Over the single handed rod the switch rod gives you a more accurate cast at longer distances. This is what the Skagit line is designed for. I use a single spey cast a lot more with the Skagit and watch it go to maximum distances.
After a couple of seasons fishing larger systems such as the Kenai River to steel head in smaller streams to smallmouth bass on the east coast I believe that the switch rod has its place in my rod selection for years to come.
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