Spey casting - learning things the hard way
Peter Charles
http://home.att.net/~slowsnap/spey16.htm
that describes better than I've seen anywhere else, the crucial
differences between traditional spey fishing for Atlantic salmon and
spey fishing for steelhead. As he makes clear in the article, due to
differences in presentation and river conditions, the two require
different rods, different lines, different presentations, and
different casts. As Ed makes abundantly clear and as I found out the
hard way at the Whirlpool, mixing methods causes problems - lots of
problems.
Steelhead fishing uses sinktip lines or lots of lead fished deep in
heavy current, swinging a fly slower than the current for a fish that
prefers to pursue laterally. Atlantics require a floating line fished
shallow in light current, swinging a fly faster than the current for a
fish that will pursue vertically. The best setup for Atlantics would
be a long, slower rod and a DT line, usually a floater. Steelhead
need a shorter, faster rod using a sinktip or a WF specialty floater
with weighted flies.
Single spey casts are difficult to the point of useless to attempt
with a heavy sinktip or lots of lead, in a heavy, fast current. My
problem at the Whirlpool. Worse, I'm using too light a line, a DT
line, and too light a rod to drag the resistant rig out of the water.
Without realizing it, I had set myself up with the worst possible
combination.
I strongly recommend that anyone contemplating getting a two handed
rod or has one that gives him fits, read this article. It would have
saved me a lot of time, money and effort had it been available a few
years ago.
Peter
Visit The Streamer Page at http://members.home.net/pcharles/streamers/index.html
Bellows
"Peter Charles" <p_s_c...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:37aettoq0614v15kt...@4ax.com...
thanks for the url peter.
chris
BJC
river. It's different than any I ever seen and I leave it to the big boys.
I have seen it when you could not sink a lead brick in it. Anyone catching
fish on any kind of fly rod in it is very good.
Have you ever seen anyone use a spay rod in salt water? The place I think I
am thinking about is on a jetty in a bay with a heavy salmon run. The
jetty is high and steep so One would have to get down next to the water to
cast. The water is still for about an hour in slack tide the rest of the
time it's faster than many rivers.
I have watched fish there many time, cohos and chinook. They are actively
feeding and come right to the jetty. Some times trollers in boats get
within 15 or 20 ft of the rocks. It seems like someone could get them to
take a fly.
Peter Charles wrote in message
<37aettoq0614v15kt...@4ax.com>...
Peter Charles
wrote:
>Interesting site. Thanks for pointing it out. The Skagit is an awsome
>river. It's different than any I ever seen and I leave it to the big boys.
>I have seen it when you could not sink a lead brick in it. Anyone catching
>fish on any kind of fly rod in it is very good.
>Have you ever seen anyone use a spay rod in salt water? The place I think I
>am thinking about is on a jetty in a bay with a heavy salmon run. The
>jetty is high and steep so One would have to get down next to the water to
>cast. The water is still for about an hour in slack tide the rest of the
>time it's faster than many rivers.
>I have watched fish there many time, cohos and chinook. They are actively
>feeding and come right to the jetty. Some times trollers in boats get
>within 15 or 20 ft of the rocks. It seems like someone could get them to
>take a fly.
I've used a spey rod, fishing for stripers off a beach in Cape Cod. I
did have some backcast room so I just used it for overhead casting.
Worked great.
Here's the URL for the story describing the trip.
http://members.home.net/pcharles/streamers/trip-26.html
William Loehman/Susan Schwarz
Peter Charles wrote:
>
> On Thu, 25 Oct 2001 02:20:36 GMT, "BJC" <oakie...@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
> I've used a spey rod, fishing for stripers off a beach in Cape Cod. I
> did have some backcast room so I just used it for overhead casting.
> Worked great.
Isn't so much rod very tiring when you use it for overhead casting?
On Henry's Fork, a small shop owner sent us to a broad, fairly
featureless section of the river with some clouser minnows that probably
weighed as much as an 1/8 ounce jig to go after some big browns. The
weight was needed to get down in the deceptively strong current. They
were a bitch to cast with the five and six weights we had and the
fishing was more work than fun. This was especially true because of the
character of the river, many long casts were needed to try and cover the
water.
It seems to me that a sinktip or shooting head setup would be more
pleasant to fish. What equipment would you use and how would you fish
this kind of water?
Willi
gol...@frii.com
Peter Charles
<gol...@frii.com> wrote:
>> Worked great.
>
>Isn't so much rod very tiring when you use it for overhead casting?
>
No they're not. As you're using both hands and arms, they are
surprisingly not fatiguing if casted correctly. They don't need a lot
of effort if done well.
>On Henry's Fork, a small shop owner sent us to a broad, fairly
>featureless section of the river with some clouser minnows that probably
>weighed as much as an 1/8 ounce jig to go after some big browns. The
>weight was needed to get down in the deceptively strong current. They
>were a bitch to cast with the five and six weights we had and the
>fishing was more work than fun. This was especially true because of the
>character of the river, many long casts were needed to try and cover the
>water.
>
>It seems to me that a sinktip or shooting head setup would be more
>pleasant to fish. What equipment would you use and how would you fish
>this kind of water?
>
>Willi
>gol...@frii.com
In strong currents where mends are not necessary, I'd use a Type 6
full sink. These lines are quite thin so they present a minimal
aspect to the current. They also get down quite quickly so a heavily
weighted fly isn't that necessary. The combination is very easy to
cast on a 5 or 6 wt.
I'd cast slightly upstream, allow the fly and the line to sink, then
as it draws level with me, begin the stripping directly across the
current. The deeper and faster the water, the further upstream I
would cast. Keep the rod tip low and the fly will stay low for the
maximum distance possible. Sinktips and shooting heads in this type
of water can be pulled up by the current, removing the fly from the
target depth.
Some people claim that full sinks are hard to cast but I find the
opposite. The thin line works great in the wind. As you've stripped
in a lot of line, there may not be enough line left to load well and I
think this is the reason so many people have trouble. A rollcast
followed b an overhead cast is usually enough to get it back out.
Mu Young Lee
> I've included an URL for an article by Ed Ward
>
> http://home.att.net/~slowsnap/spey16.htm
BTW, I know you use a Don from Sharpes of Aberdeen, but does anyone else
out there have recommendations for a reel. I saved up my pennies for a 10
wt two-hander but now will need to save up some more to purchase a reel.
Mu
Peter Charles
wrote:
How about an Okuma 10/11 wt. Integrity Large Arbour from our very own
Waldo, the E-buzziness entreprenooer?
Mu Young Lee
>
> How about an Okuma 10/11 wt. Integrity Large Arbour from our very own
> Waldo, the E-buzziness entreprenooer?
Hmmm, costs less than the line! Might have to seriously consider it.
Mu
Peter Charles
wrote:
>On Thu, 25 Oct 2001 06:53:44 -0400, Peter Charles
><p_s_c...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Thu, 25 Oct 2001 02:20:36 GMT, "BJC" <oakie...@hotmail.com>
>>wrote:
>>
>>I've used a spey rod, fishing for stripers off a beach in Cape Cod. I
>>did have some backcast room so I just used it for overhead casting.
>>Worked great.
>>
>
> By the way, Peter, do you know anything about
> Cabelas's two-handed rods ? The 12'4" 8/9
> weight looks interesting to me. Cabelas describes
> them as being fast action. I would prefer something
> a bit shorter, say 11 ft or so, but I figure I can work
> my way down to that over a couple of years.
>
I've never tried one and I'm not sure where they're getting them from.
I'd think that for fishing around here, the 13' would be a better
choice plus it'll give you a couple of more years to get to 11'. :)
Alexander Birrell
I use an Orvis 'Spey' reel it seems well made, sturdy and holds plenty
of backing with both a floating and sinking line. Don't know if it is
available in USA as it is made in England. When I bought it it was
£45ukp and the spare spool was £23ukp.
--
Don't Worry, Be Happy!
IRC Sandyb in #Rabble uk3.arcnet.vapor.com port:6667
Sandy
(http://www.ftscotland.co.uk) (Replace noway with sandy to email)
John Kowalski
time, all rods are discussed by those who know and those who do not know.
http://communities.msn.ca/InternationalSpeyCasting/1.msnw
A lot of experts, and a lot of novices, particpate in this forum. Everyone
is welcome, and don't be afraid to ask
"greg pavlov" <gregp...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:mrtitt0chmjrb4sf2...@4ax.com...
> On Thu, 25 Oct 2001 06:53:44 -0400, Peter Charles
> <p_s_c...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >On Thu, 25 Oct 2001 02:20:36 GMT, "BJC" <oakie...@hotmail.com>
> >wrote:
> >
> >I've used a spey rod, fishing for stripers off a beach in Cape Cod. I
> >did have some backcast room so I just used it for overhead casting.
> >Worked great.
> >
>