Airflo Scandi Compact Spey Head Fly Line: AirFlo Spey & Switch Fishing Fly Lines

Airflo Scandi Compact Head Spey Fly Line.

Geez, we wish Scandinavian Spey fly lines like the Airflo Scandi Compact Head were available years ago. The Airflo Scandi Compact Head Spey Fly Line performs in summer conditions and with small flies like the Skagit compact head fly line performs with heavy sink tips. Then too, we know fellows and ladies who fish Airflo Scandi Compact Spey fly lines in winter with skating Muddlers, rain or shine. A tip of the hat to them for fishing a dry line in winter!

When fishing herculean-size weighted flies or casting heavy sink tips we choose an Airflo Skagit Compact Head fly line, NOT the Scandi Compact head Spey fly lines. On the other hand, when we are fishing standard wet or dry flies for salmon or steelhead - on or just under the surface – we choose the Airflo Scandi Compact Spey shooting head fly line.

The Airflo Scandi Compact Head Spey Fly Line, at roughly 33 feet, is a little longer than the Airflo Skagit Compact head fly lines, and has a much longer front taper that will allow for a graceful turnover and presentation of your wet or dry flies.

We had been struggling along casting floating tips with our Skagit Compact Head fly lines when the Airflo Scandi Compact Head Fly Line became available, and man-oh-man were these Scandi compact fly lines are a pleasure to fish! The finesse and grace the Airflo Scandi compact head fly lines give us is still a wonderment. Yes, wonderment is a word. We use it all the time, so it must be, right?

A key element when fishing a Scandinavian shooting head fly line like the Airflo Scandi Compact Head Spey Fly Line is that it will require a tiny fraction of the power most Spey fishers have been accustomed to applying during the winter when fishing heavy sink tips on Skagit Compact heads. Did we say that clearly enough? Just a tiny fraction of the energy. Trust us on this. Also, these Airflo Scandi compact head fly lines require a very long leader – say in the 16-18 Ft range. We like to fish a floating Airflo Polyleader in 10 – 14 Ft and add about 6” of tippet to make our Airflo Scandi Compact Head fly lines perform optimally.

Casting with an Airflo Skagit Compact Head fly line with a heavy sink tip, the entire tip provides the anchor to the cast. When casting an Airflo Scandi Compact Head fly line and very long leader like described above, the fly itself may provide the anchor to the cast. Make sense?

Here’s another point to consider. If you would normally cast a 480gr AirFlo Skagit Compact Head fly line, sling on about a 450 Scandi Compact Spey fly line with a 14’ Airflo Floating Polyleader or a 16’ monofilament leader. This terminal arrangement will provide the balance and overall grain weight to load your rod and maintain an anchor as you cast.

Shifting from hucking a big sink tip with an AirFlo Skagit Compact fly line in the dead of winter to the finesse of the Airflo Scandi Compact fly line with a Size 4 Muddler or Jay’s Purple Steelhead Simplicity will have you smiling on the first cast. These Airflo Scandi Compact Head Spey Fly Lines are really, really a pleasure to fish.