Airflo Speydicator

After a year in the making, it has arrived. Don’t let the name fool you; it’s more than a one trick pony. Think versatility. Swinging sink tips? Of course. Bobbers? Bring 'em on. Overhead? Launch away. Just one thing- make sure you have enough space on your reel to accommodate the line. 200yds of 20# micron should leave plenty of room on a standard 9/10 reel. And if thats pushing it, cut the last 20' of running line off and weld a new loop, there's plenty there. After all, its polyurethane. Pick up some shrink tubing at Fry's, a seam ripper at Joann Fabrics and buy your wife a new hair dryer.

So why the hell did it take so long to get the line finished? Well, it took three versions to finally get what we wanted, which means the advertised diagram AND grain weights in the 2010 Airflo catalog are incorrect. The differences? The rear taper and addition of the handling line. It’s never been a question of what was needed to turn over big shit. More mass than the earth. That didn’t take long, but how do you manage your junk after it hits the water? Its all about the mends! The problem with skagit and scandi heads is that they cannot be effectively mended to provide an extended dead drift once on the water. There needed to be a specific rear taper that could not only smooth out an overhead cast and provide a variable length of overhang for a spey cast, but one, when combined with the handling line, could stack mend to the head AND reposition it if needed.

Originally designed for switch rods, the line works equally well on spey rods. To keep things simple, if you have a 7wt switch or spey, go with a 7wt Speydicator. No need to overline. The lines come with a black sleeve that identifies the rear taper. For overhead casting, strip the sleeve into the guides before you cast. For spey casting, hang it right outside the tip. Make no mistake, this line is a workhorse.

For the line nerds out there, the entire line is broken down into the head, handling line, and running line. From the backing knot forward, there's 60' of 30# (.035'') ridge runner, followed by 25' of level handling line (.057''), followed by the head (43'). The percentage breakdown of the head only, includes a front taper (23%), belly (51%), and rear taper (26%). The black sleeve sits roughly half way up the rear taper. Line weights come in 6 through 9.

Brought to you by the folks at Airflo and those of us who lose sleep over line tapers and trophy fish, where creativity is the mother of progression.