Yesterday or the day before I was out at a local lake attempting ot fish. I say attempting in that when I tried to cast there was a bit too much wind for me. My gear consisted of 6 wt rods and a 5wt rod. Knowing that the 5 would be too small I opted out of that one right off. Took my 6 wt graphite (7 1/2 ’ ) and proceded to get the begeezers beat out of me. Could not get much more than 35 -40 feet of line out to save myself.
That being said the question is would I manage to get more line out , into the wind if, I were to learn to cast a spey rod? I’ve seen it done on video but dont recall if there was any wind involved. Also, as an aside , Gigger 222 was also there and he was’nt getting much distance either and He’s a far better caster than myself (so I dont feel too bad about not getting much distance).
Any thoughts about this subject or am I casting into the wind again. Have thought about a heavier rod(8 wt ) and longer too ( 9’ or better). Just seems if going bigger is better than why not go REALLY BIG? Am I all wet with this idea ? Input is appreciated.
Thanks,
Pearch
you might try a shooting head first… i do have a 8wt 9ft that i use at times & when its a little windy, using a spey cast, i can cast 75ft of line into or allmost into the wind… i saw a video where a man was spey casting 100ft or a little over…
Perch -
I tried the spey rod thing after winning an Elkhorn 14’ for 8/9 two handed rod in the April FAOL monthly drawing. It is a very nice rod, well appointed, and has a nice feel to it when spey casting or two handed overhead casting.
Yes, you can get more line out in less favorable conditions, just using it for two handed casting. There is a tremendous amount of energy stored in a 14’ piece of graphite and long casts, compared to single handed rods, are relatively easy.
HOWEVER, there are some drawbacks to the really long rods. Most notable, unless you are going to put every fish on the reel, is what you do after you get a fish on. It is rather awkward, to say the least, to bring a fish in by stripping line. And once you get it close, you have a long distance from the rod tip to the fish to contend with to release the fish. ( This would be less pronounced with a shorter spey rod than with the 14’ rod I’ve used. )
If you do put every fish on the reel, you end up stripping a lot of line off the reel to get started again ( which you would do anyway, but how often do you really need to get a fish on the reel using a one handed rod ? ).
If you have to deal with wind often, and it is significant enough to raise the question of using a spey / two handed rod to deal with it, perhaps you want to look into the “switch” rods. I don’t have any experience with switch rods, but my impression is that you could get some of the benefits of a longer but not-too-long rod and it would be more manageable as a one handed rod when fishing.
John
P.S. Generally, spey rods are considered moving water rods, not stillwater equipment. I wouldn’t get hung up on that kind of thinking, but it really doesn’t seem relevant considering my experience with the spey rod under the most favorable conditions on moving water.
Perch, Mostly I have to agree with John, the spey rod has some drawbacks, but it is great fun and after only a short time fishing with one I am able to get 80ft casts with big flies in most any conditions and a fair bit more on calm days.
If you decide to give one a go remember that a 6 wieght spey rod is not the same as a six wieght single hander, it is much more powerfull and may be too much for the fish you are catching. If you can, try one out but go for a lighter one, maybe a 5 wieght if anyone makes a spey rod this light?
Failing that a switch rod could be the go for you, with a shooting head you will be casting a long way with out too much trouble.
All the best.
Mike.
There are a number of 5 weight 2 handed rods out there. I have a 5 weight Sage 5120 which is a wonderful rod for swinging flies for trout. Some use them for nymphing with good success. I assume the longer rod aids while nymphing but I have never done it. As far as using a 2 handed rod on still water I have never used one before but I could see where they might be a small advantage in windy conditions with the greater line speeds generated with the longer rod. But, I also think there would be some definite disadvantages. Typically two handed casts require more line outside of the rod tip to be performed with efficiency unless you are using a shooting head or Skagit line system. With some 2 handed lines you may need as much as 60 feet of line or more out of the tip to perform the cast. This means you will need some room on either side of your position to cast. Even with a shooting head or Skagit line and say a 12 foot 5 weight rod you will need to have about 40 feet of line outside the rod tip. I could see this as an issue if fishing from a boat.
I don’t think a 2-handed rod would help you in that situation. They are a ton of fun, but in strong wind, I think you are better off with a shorter rod - windspeeds are normally lower closer to the surface.
A faster actioned rod can help, and I think shooting heads would be beneficial, as well as perfecting your double haul.
IMHO a longer rod will just compound problems with wind.
good luck out there,
Eric
A few years ago I was fishing for steelhead with a 2 handed rod and the wind was blowing quite hard. To combat the wind and get a fishable cast I was dropping down to the side and throwing line a few feet above the water. On one cast I got a little too close to the water and skipped or bounced the line off of the water. I was amazed that fly line would skip like a flat rock off the water and for the rest of the evening I tried to repeat skipping the line with little success but did manage a couple more line skips. The length of the rod does not keep one from throwing line low but in order to get the necessary line speed to do what I was doing you need some room. This is where a 2 hander may be a hinderence.
When it’s windy I much prefer a one-handed rod, but I’ve been spey casting for only one year.
Randy
In windy conditions a 2-hander may help to keep the line away from you, and it’s much easier to generate more line-speed than with a single-hander and thus conquer the wind…
Above this, with no room behind you at all you can use the double-hander to keep the line in front of you because it allows you to use very long leaders that stick to the water and load the rod.
So in my opinion a 2-hander is the solution…
Cheers, Hans
Hey Perch, of course the other thing with a spey cast is that the cast is very low to the water and so is less affected by the wind. If you use a spey rod but still do an overhead cast it will not work as well.
All the best.
Mike.
Just to show you what possible with a 2-handed rod Speycasting I added a picture made last year in Norway on the mighty river Gaula.
As you can see I have no space behind me, due to a railroad dyke.
At this spot the river is aprox 30 yards wide and I could easily cast it to the other side…
Hope this illustrates why I like to use spey-rods…
Cheers, Hans
Uh, can you double-haul?
Hardly required with a 2 hander, but in fact the answer to yr question is NO, at least I cannot…
Hans
Hans, agree with you on the 2-hander, lots of front distance without as much backcast., but he said he was using a 7.5 foot 5wt rod. At least the DH might help him.
Of course, what Perch forgot to mention was his definition of a little bit of wind. It was blowing about 26 mph, making casting with any rig a bit hairy.
As to my solution, I usually go to a sinking line. The smaller diameter cuts through the wind a bit better and once on the water keeps the fly beneath the waves. It also shortens the amount of leader I need which increases the control I have on windy days. Spey rods? My experience is that longer rods don’t help much on windy days because of all the extra surface area you have to move against the wind.
The other solution is to put the wind at your back, but the fish weren’t biting at all up on the grass.
My first suggestion would be a 9 foot rod, then use a double haul for line speed. Salt anglers, in perticular, use this technique to help combat the winds on the open water. Someone mentioned a shooting head, which is also an excellent idea.
As far as the spey’s go, they may help especially if you use a heavy, compact head, such as a Skagit line. The grain weight is pretty heavy, so they tend to be pretty easy to cast, plus they cut threw the wind well. The only down side I can think of is, the fact the rods are so much longer, that they tend to be more subject to being thrown around by the wind. You can combat this, by keeping the rod lower to the water, after the cast is made. I’ve been using the spey’s for around 5 years or so and the river’s I fish them on tend to be pretty windy. A 23mph wind (or more) is fairly common on a couple of them.
JC, overhead cast, with a single haul! lol.