Spey casters?

Who on this board uses a spey rod? My spey casting sucks! :depressed: Any of you guys that can give me some help would be appreciated :grin: Rob Allen helped me get started but now it's time to get more help.

[Chromaflage]

Stew, I'm glad you brought this up. I have been seriously considering getting set up for spey casting. I haven't seen much, if any, discussion here on spey casting. It will be interesting to see how this thread develops. I would love to learn. I know one guy who fishes the Deschutes with a spey rod and he does very well. He can cover a lot more water than conventional fly fishers.

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ORS

[Steelheader69]

Best advice I can give, is to go to a spey clave. Just went to the Kaufmann's spey days up on the Skykomish last weekend. I learned more in one day of seminars to what I was/was not doing correctly then I ever did from advice and books/videos. Plus, some of those guys (especially George Cook and Simon Gawesworth sp?) really helped show you ways to correct a problem in laymans terms. Great event!!!

PS, they do have one on the Sandy. Should be one in a few months.

[ 02-20-2004, 11:52 PM: Message edited by: Steelheader69 ]

[KillerDave]

Casting tip:
Once you know the motions of the basic spey cast, start experimenting with how fast you do the motions. Start slow, then begin speeding things up a bit. See how this affects the rod loading and eventual cast performance. You'll need to do this on the water. Consider using a chunk of yarn instead of a fly until you get the hang of it. And remember, the rod holds the power of the cast, not the muscles of your arms. Timing loads the rod, and the rod throws the line.

Tackle tip:
Buy the biggest, heaviest reel you can find. I have a System II 12/13 tarpon reel on mine to balance the rod. Also, it was really cheap on eBay.

[speyfly]

Stew, here is a link to a spey fishing site that has short video clips that many help. Spey castng is kinda like golfing, everyone has their own rythum and swing. You just need the basics then you'll develope your own style.

HERE FISHY, FISHY

[PTS]

I have studied several videos. Based upon a great review by Scott Richmond, I purchased the 90 minute video made by John and Amy Hazel in Maupin. It is great! I would recommend buying it and also go to the Sandy spey clave.

Once you start spey casting, it is a fun day on the river even if you don't catch a fish. For winter steelhead, I carry a spey rod for swinging and my 10 foot 8 wt for nymphing. Nymphing is way ahead of swinging for catching this year, but when the Sandy and Clack get going, I will depend on the spey rod.

Got the John Hazel DVD at the Sportsman Show and it's very good.

[Steelin Steel]

Find someone that knows what they are doing. Thats how I learned in 2 hours, and on top of that caught two nice steelhead a year ago. Also whatch some videos, they also help.

Lance

[SSPey]

basic, but its important to have a line that is well matched to your rod. A line that works for one person doesn't work for everyone, even on the same rod. The Spey Claves (like the upcoming Sandy clave) are nice because it gives an opportunity to try different tackle and lines, to see what suits your style. You can even bring your rod and try different lines on it. At $75 a pop, its worth it to experiment.