Advice on a Two Handed Rod

Ok Ive always secretly wanted one of these to fish with. Ive known about a few opportunities to use them in the local Steelhead waters and I now have the cash to buy one(Actually I have enough to buy two rods though I think the other will be a 4wt for trout fishing).

Ive read up on them, even the wonderful articles here, and understand the differences between the different types of two handers. What I would be looking for is something that can perform equally well throwing overhead casts AND be able to roll cast fairly well. I would love to try a traditional spey type rod, but with the options I have now I think I had better try something like a Scandinavian rod first, then if I enjoy them Ill pick up a Spey. Does anyone know if the Scandinavian rods can perform both the above functions well?

Based on what is on the market now what would you guys suggest in a 7/8 weight range?

I looked at Loomis' new line and was fairly impressed, though the price range is too high to really take a wide stock and narrow in on it. I checked out Elkhorn rods as well, and have heard good things on them.

Thanks for any replies.

Enemy_of_Carp,

We have three two handers in our arsenal of rods. One is a Redington 8/9 wgt, one TFO 6 wgt and an Elkhorn 6 wgt.

The Redington will overhead cast as well as spey or roll cast well, even with tips. However, after having cast the TFO and Elkhorn rods, I think I'll be spending my money with them.

The TFO and Elkhorn are much faster than the Redington. With a 6wgt, both rods allow casts of 70 to 90 feet with relative ease, even for a beginner.

All three rods are in the 250 to 280 price range.

REE

Thanks I may be seriously considering the Elkhorn rod. Im always for trying companies that are new to me so tha sounds right up my alley.

Take a spey casting class before you buy a rod. You will have a harder time even deciding what kind of rod to get if you only have some idea what you will be doing with it. I taught spey casting for Sage for 4 years and couldn't believe how confused/uninformed 90% of my students were. After the class they generally had enough knowledge to know what they wanted to do and what kind of rod they should get. Call Sage they should be able to tell you about upcoming classes.

Best,

-John

[This message has been edited by ktokj (edited 02 April 2005).]

Good point. I have had some casting time with an older guy who was really the first to introduce me to the spey, but he has since passed on.

I can do a few casts.(Though the only one I can remember now by name is the Snap-T). Yet getting some lessons cant hurt at all, it may even turn me into a junky for two handers.

Out of the Loomis line, if you want one that will spey/roll and overhead cast well, I think you'd be best off with the Skagit/Dredger series. The Scandinavian Series is the fastest of the three and not really intended for Spey casting.

Another option is to get a fast rod and overline it to slow it down. The differences in rods and lines are so challenging to understand I would really consult an expert on this.

You also might want to check out speypages.com