Quick question about spey rods. Have been thinking about buying my first spey for some time. Something in the 13-14 ft, 8-10 wt range for Great Lakes steelhead and samon. Never tried spey casting before, but looks fun. Cabelas has their in-house line on sale for only $99. Anyone try them? Are these a waste of $99, or would they make a good introductory pole? Any other suggestions for a budget minded angler?
The rod would get you started, so if that’s all the budget allows, then go for it. I think TFO has some nice rods and I think for the money St. Croix is hard to beat. Whatever you do don’t skimp on the line, get a good one. The Rio lines (windcutter and mid-spey) are the best I’ve tried. Get a floater, it will do 90% of what you need, will be easier to cast, and you can “convert” it to a multi-tip line down the road. You’ll also need instruction, try to find a class or somebody who knows what they’re doing. Spey rods are clunky, ungainly and not much fun when you don’t know how to cast them properly or you don’t have the correct rod/line combination.
Good luck,
-John
Those who use them seem to really enjoy the experience, but a warning. For those with arm and shoulder problems it may not be the magic answer. The effort involved may be less in some ways, but the overall weight of the rod, line, reel can really stress the arm and shoulder.
LadyFisher, Publisher of
FAOL
A comment to add to Ladyfishers -
I believe she is absolutely correct for starting out. It’s just like skiing - the first day on the slopes, it feels like somebody hit you with a baseball bat for hours. By your 5th or 6th season it’s a cinch. With spey casting, once the art is learned and the casting effortless (i.e. you learn to stay “within youself”), I think the stress is less than a single hander. One year guiding in AK I injured my right shoulder in a fall. I fished a Spey the rest of the because it hurt to cast a single hander - it actually had a theraputic effect. Not trying to play amatuer physical therapist her, just trying to point out that if done correctly Spey casting can be easier physically for some than casting a single-hander.