switch it up

Hey big guy, give me a holler sometime.  You can try out my switch.  Also try out one of the bigger rods too if you want.

Yeah just had it out on the New York trip.  Absolutely love that rod!  Gonna get another one in a smaller weight for fishing around here.  Maybe a 4wt or 5wt.  Also have a traditional spey rod now, a 13 footer.

Clearwater, Joe isn't going to be carrying the Echo rods anymore.  Only switches he has that I know of our the TFO and one by W&M.  Not sure if GREYS makes one.

Loomis just finished a switch for me a couple weeks ago. It is an 11'4" 7wt built on a Batson blank. I have not had a chance to fish the rod yet, although it sure does look purdy. Once archery is over I will finally get a chance to put a bend in it.

ORIGINAL: sudsy1000

ORIGINAL: Esox_Hunter

Loomis just finished a switch for me a couple weeks ago. It is an 11'4" 7wt built on a Batson blank. I have not had a chance to fish the rod yet, although it sure does look purdy. Once archery is over I will finally get a chance to put a bend in it.

Batson doesn't have a 11'4 inch rod listed in their catalog.  Are sure of that length?
Maybe it's a new blank that just came out.  I'll have to look into that.

It's got a 4 or 5" butt. I think the blank was 10'8", so I guess I can't add very well. Im sure Loomis will chime in here with the exact length. I wanted to say 11'4" since it was stuck in my head for some reason, but it may have ended up more like 11' after thinking about.

ORIGINAL: sudsy1000

Go custom with a Batson Rainshadow 10'8 blank.  They have a very nice medium fast action and with the right set up rival any of the "high end premium" rods for half the price. 

Totally agreed.  Batson makes an excellent switch blank I can attest to that.  It actually static tested with the Beulah and beat it in the trial, according to Karry Batson.

What I did with Chris' rod was add a fighting butt extension that I made down at work on the lathe.  This allows him to more effectively use the stiffer butt section of the blank.  I used a ferrule connection in the bottom piece to "extend" the length of the rod, so he technically is fishing with an 11'3.5".  I roughed the inside of the connection with alum. oxide and used some rod bond to lock it into place. 

Here is the rod that I use, with a removable fighting butt.  This is technically a "pseudo switch", as I am using a St. Croix SCV III 10' nymphing blank, but it is just as stout in the butt section as a nympher can be.  For the rarest occasion when you can actually swing a fly in Erie, and I mean RARE, this one is not a bad rod.  I have not roughed these edges to be glued up in this picture, so you can see what I did.



Notice how the butt is pegged into the bottom of the blank, giving it some more backbone in using the stiffer butt section when fighting a fish.  Again, this not finished, I left it unglued for this picture as a reference.



Here is Chris' (esox_hunter) Batson IF1087-4M 7wt switch rod, the section is glued into 4 inches up into the blank and mates very well, this rod is equipped for a broad variety, from large trout to kings. 



I am also a huge fan of these ALPS reel seats, very durable, quality made, and Sharp looking!  This one has the carbon fiber weaving in it, the same one Swinger has on his switch, (if you visited some of the older threads, dude knows a good rod/how to set it up).  These particular models do not accept a removable fighting butt, so I had to get creative with it.



Gun-metal main wrap/black trim did the matte black finish some serious justice...had a lot of fun building this.


Batsons technical forums gives a listing of the grain window for these blanks.  I have bolded last number of the blank part number to designate the line weight of the blank.

Switch Rod Grain Window

Model Low Grain Window High Grain Window
IF1085-4M 140 280
IF1086-4M 160 330
IF1087-4M 185 380
IF1088-4M 210 440

F1166/7-4 Rio 6-4-8 windcutter or SA Shorthead 6/7
F1267/8-4 Rio 7-8-9 Windcutter or Air Flow Delta 7/8

Swinger referred me to Poppy at Red-Shack Fly Fishing In Idaho for most questions about a spey/switch rods. This dude knows his stuff about a 2-hander.  He recommended the Beulah Tonic, or Elixir line, with a little bit of tweaking for the particular area you are fishing and what you are doing with it.  I would seriously reccomend giving the guy a call, he is the Godfather of the 2 handers and super cool guy to talk to....Willing to help any stranger over a phone line, don't find that too often...

ORIGINAL: chartist

I just ordered a Sage Z axis switch rod......11' in 7 weight......I will get my mits on it in two weeks.....I started buying rods from a large outfitter who makes em from the manufacturer blanks.....and the beauty is, they give you full purchase price credit when you want to trade up.....which I am doing by turning in a Sage Xi2.....

 
Nobody cares.
 
 
ps. you wasted your money.

ORIGINAL: chartist

I wasted my money???  It cost me $150 plus my old rod.....

 
yep

no

ORIGINAL: D-nymph

you wasted your money.

x2

The Xi2 has been replaced by Sage with the Xi3....So you can guess what happened to the value of the Xi2.....

ORIGINAL: chartist

The Xi2 has been replaced by Sage with the Xi3....So you can guess what happened to the value of the Xi2.....

did the Xi2 turn into a pumpkin on the eve of the xi3 release?

why did you get the switch? so you can trade it in after 5yrs for the next fad?

I would have kept the Xi2 but it was a 10 weight that I bought for muskie.....never got to use it....in Florida, it seems they use 8 weights or 12 weights.....the 10 weight is the odd duck....

Suds

static test = umbrella performing of tests...I really don't know any other moniker, that's why I leave the science to the blank manufacturer . 

Let me call Karry and see if he can dig me out some excel reports of the tests, PM me your email.

Clearwater, I agree you can never go wrong with a Winston B2X, or a Sage Z-axis for that matter. However, If you want to spend a little less money, I would also take a look at the TFO Deer Creek switchers. The taper was designed by one of the best in the business and the finish is pretty good for the money. I have the 11' 6 wt and I really enjoy fishing it on any water, say, Elk Creek and bigger. To me the action seems reasonably slow with an Airflo Delta 6/7 multi-tip line. It is equally happy throwing sink tips or indicators on a floater(not that I would ever do that on a spey rod, but I heard about it once!). Good luck.