I just picked up a spool of this OPST Lazar running line , gave it the Q cast test and really like the way it performs. So far, I am a believer.
My friend Paul Cronin turned me onto it and said it is a very popular Skagit running line used for throwing long, on streams for salmon and steelhead. Being an old salty shooting head guy that likes to make my own custom sinking shooting heads, I decided to see what all the talk was about and built a 27 foot T-14 head, looped on both ends and attached it to some pink #50 pound OPST Lazar line with a double surgeons loop. I cinched down the loop knot real tight and compact and coated it with pliobond to clean up the knot so it sails through the guides easily. I did three tests, all performed off a small arbor reel which tends to keep tight loop coils. First test was just to strip a bunch of line on the floor, give it a good stretch, make one pick up with my head outside the rod tip, one back cast and a forward haul. With ease the line flew through the guides, no tangles and I taped out my very first cast at 85 feet. The second test was to cast the line out of a shallow basket and then a deep stripping basket. Both performed well as you can see in the video that my daughter Quinn shot for me.
What I learned so far is as long as you give this running line a good stretch, it performs well, with little memory in coiling. The diameter seems thick enough to handle, but I need to fish it to see if I can hold onto it, on a big fish when its wet. One tip I want to try is to use a piece of electrical tape wrapped around the cork handle to cause friction in stopping the line. I will have to try that and report back, LOL
please be safe out there…
-Al Q
flies, sand & surf 