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[Shinny]

I’m looking to get into fly fishing. Speaking to a seasoned fishing veteran at work he is suggesting that I pick up a 11ft switch rod instead of a fly rod. His reasoning is that you can fly fish with a back cast like a traditional style of fly fishing when you have the room but you can also roll cast in tight areas if you don’t have the back cast room behind you. I also have a centerpin setup and he says I could run the centerpin reel on a switch rod of if I wanted to drift fish and only carry / bring one rod on a trip.

Opinions and thoughts?

[RalphH]

depends on what you intend to use it for. Switch rods are great for swinging flies on small to medium size rivers. When stripping flies for coho or on slower streams or lakes most folks go with a single handed rod. There are a few good reasons for that though switch rods can be used. The extra weight of switch rods may cause more fatigue when used to overhead cast. These days there are a lot of single handed spey lines that help speycast more effectively with single handed or more standard fly rods.

[FlyFishin Magician]

Sure, a switch rod will give you versatility.  But there will be a trade-off for sure.  You'll need different lines for the type of casting you want to do.  For example, you won't be able to efficiently (if at all) cast a spey line/skagit head overhead (like a one-hander), and the same will go trying to spey cast a WF line.  Even if you do have a WF line suited for single-handed casting, the switch rod will be much heavier and less pleasant to cast than a single-handed rod.  So if you want to use the switch rod to do the work of both a single and double handed rod, be prepared to carry two lines (extra spool or reel) with you.

I personally love my switch rod, but I primarily only use it for two-handed casting as my single handers are much lighter and more pleasant to use for single handed casting.  In fact, there are times when I bring both my switch rod and a single handed rod to the river.

As for using the switch rod on a centrepin, sure - you could do it.  Again, probably not as efficient with a proper centrepin rod, but it is doable.

So, I guess you need to decide if you want versatility over efficiency.   

Edit - just saw that Ralph replied.  Agree with his thoughts as well.

[RalphH]

mention one other thing;

spey rods and switch rods are frequently available used off local discussion boards like Rod's or Flybc or Craigs List. While you can save some money buying used it is also because many people have bought or buy these and find them not easy to use and for more specialized use than they require. After a while they try to sell the rod. The market for used spey or switch rods has been saturated for more than a few years.

[Shinny]

Thanks for the reply’s. looks like a fly rod setup is more what I want.

[adriaticum]

I highly doubt that you will only do one thing.
If you like working for your fish and waving your hands in the air, you'll probably do both in time.

[bobby b]

I picked up a switch rod about a year or so ago for Coho and Steelhead. I have an 8 wt fly rod that I almost never use now. I find I can get into more spots to fish as I don't need much room behind. It is as light or lighter than my sh set up and using both arms I can cast all day long with little fatigue. I don't need to carry two reels/spools. I carry mow (sink) tips to switch it up when using the skagit head and carry a scandi compact head for more finesse presentations, that is an easy swap as I just swap the shooting head, the running line remains the same.   

Casting takes a bit to master but is not that difficult.

To each their own, but I wish I had made the switch sooner ....

Oh yeah, I have also tried it as a centrepin and it works just fine. I prefer my Sage CP, but if I am going to do a lot of river wading/hiking and I don't want to carry two rods, I can carry my CP reel, bring one rod and change it up as needed.   

[psd1179]

switch rod is for bigger fish like salmon or steelhead. When down size to trout size switch rod, it is actually a single hand rod with a longer butt section.

Spey casting is actually easier and much efficient in river fishing. A person who never fly fishing before can easily use a spey rod or switch rod get out 60ft line in half hour practise.  Spey rod also save 70% of single hand casting time, so it is less fatigue. You can fish 14 days continously with a spey rod, it is impossible for single hand caster to cast 8wt rod 10 hours a day for many days.

Regarding switch rod, I personally do not like it. a 12ft short spey or anything longer is better.

[psd1179]

mention one other thing;

spey rods and switch rods are frequently available used off local discussion boards like Rod's or Flybc or Craigs List. While you can save some money buying used it is also because many people have bought or buy these and find them not easy to use and for more specialized use than they require.

I guess the main reason is not catching fish when using a DH rod. Nothing can beat roe under bobber in salmon fishing.