Spey Rod Help

I am hoping that I can find some answers to questions regarding Spey Rods and in particular rods that are best suited to a new spey caster. I have watched this board for some time and know that there is a bunch of knowledgable and helpful "experts" who "over winter" here so.....

I live near the Bow River in Southern Alberta and it seems to me that this fairly large river with fairly large fish would be idealy suited to Spey Fishing, yet I see few, if any, Spey Casters. Am I missing something?

I know next to nothing about Spey Casting or rod/reel/line selection. I often see the term "Traditional" Spey casting, implying that there is another kind. If so, is the equipment different? Is one method better than the other?

Keeping in mind that I am new to Spey Rodding, how would I go about selecting a rod, reel (are they different from one handed reels?)and line? Is Spey casting a dificult dicipline to learn?

My wife told me to add this, I am retired and on fixed income so cost is an important consideration. Along that line is used equipment something that one should consider?

I probably have missed some very important questions regarding of this branch of the sport but trust that you will "fill in the blanks" if you think it important. Please email me with answers if you feel that a more appropriate way to respond.

Thanks in advance.

Pisca

I will give this a shot and try to answer some of your questions. I have never found a 2 handed rod very effective for trout fishing and here is why.
#1 I like to strip my streamers and a 2 hander is akward to hold and do that.
#2 and I'm sure there are a bunch better than me but i lack accracy to fish a dry fly corectly with a rollcast.
#3 even in large water I spend most of the time fishing with 30-40 feet of line.
#4 A light 2 handed is a 7 weight. and most inexpensive models are 9-10 a bit much for the trout i find.

The spey rod does some things very well. #1 is line control when you swing a fly
#2 you are able to fish a med. long to long cast with little room behind you.


Rich

Pisco,

I'm a fledgling two hander, so I'll try to help out a bit.

I have found that the two handers are really great for the long casts needed on medium to large water, but work really well in the short game too (casts 30 feet and under) Not much of a cast when you have 12 to 16 feet of rod out there.

There are some really nice light rods out there for fishing trout(5 and 6 wgt). With a 12 foot 6 wgt, even a small trout feels big, and the big trout feel enormous.

I fish my 6 wgt with dries a lot, as a spey cast isn't really a roll cast, but the line is in the air. You can make as soft a presentation as you want with a two handed rod.

The big advantage, too me, is that a lot of new water is open to me with a two hander. As long as I can swing the rod without hitting a tree or cliff, I can cast. No need for a lot of backcast room.

If your looking for inexpensive trout rods, witih high quality, take a look at Elkhorn and TFO. My wife has an Elkhorn and I have a the TFO. Both are 12'6" and cast very nicely. For winter steelhead and salmon we both have TFO 14 foot 9 wgts.

When choosing a rod, talk to a reputable dealer who knows the rods so you can get a good suggestiion on which line matches well with that rod. All two hand rods do not cast all lines equally well.

Also, your probably going to need a new reel as spey lines are usually 120 feet long instead of the 90 feet for a single hander. Add some backing and you need a pretty good sized reel.

All that being said, there are still some nice outfits that fit tight budgets (I'm a disabled vet, also on a fixed income).

There are some great videos out there on spey casting. I'd pick one up and take a look to see if it's something you'd like to try.

I buy just about all my spey stuff from a shop in Idaho. [url=http://www.redshedflyshop.com:9c309]www.redshedflyshop.com[/url:9c309] Mike is a great guy to do busniness with and has never steered me wrong. (I have no interest in this shop, just a satisfied customer> )

Don't forget that almost all casts with a two hander can be done with a single hander as well. You won't ge the distance you'll get with a two hander but casting with your back against a tree sure makes your fishing buddies wonder where you learned to do that.

Hope this helps. If I can be of any assistance feel free to drop me an e-mail.

Ron Eagle Elk

Pisco,

While relatively new to spey casting I think I can shed some light on your questions.

Spey rods today generally fall into two classifications - traditional and european (Swedish). The differences between the two are somewhat blurred from one maker to another but in general the traditional rods are softer and often longer and are made for the "traditional" spey (Roll) cast. The european rods are faster, can more easily be used for a typical overhead cast (like with a single handed rod) and tend to work better with the high density lines being used on the west coast. Like with single handed rods you need to try out several rods to determine your preference. The problem here is that you also need to be somewhat proficient with spey casting to make that judgement. I suggest that you find an instructor that has a number of rods that you can try as you take your lessons.This will be money well spent as it will help keep you from making an expensive mistake.

Regarding reels the main issue is capacity as spey lines are normally 120 feet long and some have much longer belly sections than do the single handed lines. You need a reel to carry that line plus backing. I use a very large Medalist one one of my rods so one does not need to lay out a great deal of money on a serviceable reel. Cortland has just introduced a good looking reel ( the Endurance) with enough capacity for spey use for about $100.

You say that you are retired so I assume that you are advancing in years as am I. The spey rods are easy on the body, fun to cast, and on the larger rivers allow the angler to cover much more water with much less effort. In those situations my fly is in the water fishing much more than if I am using a single handed rod (no false casting!). Also the long rod allows one to mend and control the drift to a higher degree than is possible with a 9 foot rod. On the down side it is more difficult to land (NOT fight) a fish and you will most likely have to beach the fish.

Hope this helps.

Regards, JimC

PS. Proper line selection is extremely important and matching the line to the rod can make or break how the outfit preforms. I can't help you on this,

[This message has been edited by Jim Cramer (edited 19 December 2005).]

Hi Pisco,

J.C. and L.F. if you feel you have to delete this do as you have to.

Here is another forum that is all about Spey FIshing. International Spey Clave, by Dana Sturn. If you want to know or learn anything about spey anything, this is a good website.
Here is the address, [url=http://www.speypages.com/board/:5ff8f]http://www.speypages.com/board/[/url:5ff8f]
I hope I didn't step on any toes with this post.

Thank you,
Alan (salmonguy)

Hi Again Pisco,

I kind of forgot about this, a friend of mine is working in the oil fields in Alberta. He works 2 weeks and has one week off, and in the last week he had off he has been fishing the Bow and Fedder rivers. He fishes with a spey rod and has one for sale. It is a Redington "RED" 15' 10/11wt 3Pc, He bought this rod from Brian at Whistler fly shop and it is lightly used. It has the bag and green carrying case. He has 2 e-mail address and are as follows
flyfish@pei.sympatico.ca
peisalmonchaser@hotmail.com
One of these will probally get a hold of him. His name is Dwayne Miller and is a great guy and always interested in helping someone out and in finding new places to fish. In your e-mail just mention where you got the information.
Thank you,
Alan (salmonguy)

Alan, not stepping on any toes at all. FAOL does not have absoluely everything - and in cases where a good information site already exists, we don't see any point in trying to re-invent the wheel. Spey, Blue Water Fishing and Steelheading all seem to be well covered on the Internet.

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LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL