So about this "Spey" thing...

[Heisenberg 12]

I've contracted a serious case of the fly fishing virus over the last couple of years, to the point where I'll pick up the fly rod(s ) over spinning outfit nine times out of ten. This spring I have also added a centre pin to my collection and caught on to that pretty quickly as well (gotta keep a finger on that reel ...has a mind of it's own!)

My need for another type of rod ranks right up there with a hole-in-the-head but Spey (maybe even Skagit?) looks interesting. I'd love to extend my reach on big water, especially when chucking heavy streamers, The downside seems to be cost. In other words my wife is going to want a whole bunch of new shoes if I come home with a $600 rod

Any suggestions what to look for? ...how to ease the financial sting? ...is a switch rod a good idea, or a bad compromise?

Thanks in advance,

H.

[flybum 95]

I'm not much on the who Spey/switch/skagit, but I am in the same boat as you... the Duck would probably be able to she's some light on this situation.

Rod and reel wise, I am probably going to go with Echo, because that's what I know, they are inexpensive, look great and have a lifetime warranty. Tough as nails as well! The owner of echo just took their reels(all are <100$) out for tuna.... And had no problem!

[spindilla1 42]

A longer rod will give slight advantage in pulling a sink tip with less roll however the Skagit is better with shorter outfits to swing heavier flies, my personal preference is sage but then again I prefer the CP over the fly and those huge overly long rods. I own a skagit specialist 8wt nothing wrong with it but don't use it much because I just love my CP. Loomis GLX is nice too and about that financial thing you really can't get away from it if you want quality. My loomis is 12wt for when I'm down south chasing tarpon but it broke and loomis is not really honoring that warranty, I'm still dealing with this issue as well as another 15' frontier, going through this I will never buy another loomis. Sage all the way, in any length, just my personal preference........I'm building my first custom and I think this would be the way to go if you have other outfits already, this way you can make it the way you want and get the blank you want, you can even engrave it if you wanted to, you can even put a mahogany grip for god sakes like hell yeah!!!!!!.......For those long swings that really has little to do with the rod but like I said before I love the long ones...... The duck probably has many more years experience than I do as I have only been an avid fly and cp angler for around 10 years and I'm only now building my first custom........Even though I don't prefer the fly rod if I do go to grab one to use I pick the sage in 10'6 6/7wt, in regards to extending reach on big water I still have yet to see big water here in TBay so I don't quite get what you mean but big water doesn't necessarily mean bigger rod or bigger outfit, changing your presentation/rig will be sufficient.......this may seem like a lot but it really isn't compared to what I would usually use with the CP......

Long story short Sage........

[Heisenberg 12]

Thanks for the replies. Building my own rod has crossed my mind ...I even have an old lathe setup which would make a sweet winder

About "big water" I was talking about shore fishing the Nipigon, Kam, Little Jackfish, Superior shoreline as well as rivers in BC (get out there every couple of years). I find casting heavy streamers is somewhat awkward even with my 8 weight single hander. The loading of the rod seems to be far from smooth with all that weight dangling around at the end of the line. From having watched videos it seems that the double handed casts can keep the rod flexed much more effectively. Also being able to cast FAR without having any sort of back-cast is very appealing.

And yeah, I probably should just go practice some more...

H.

[spindilla1 42]

Some people don't let the back unroll completely this results in shorter casts......If you let it fully unroll (providing there is nothing behind you) you will definitely see a change and shorter set ups allow for heavier flies to be used, I'm not no 60 year old pro or nothing but I do know a thing or two about swingin, for extremely long casts I found shorter rods with the double handed casts get's it out there reallllll good when you got weight.......There are soooo many blanks from sage out there too that are perfect for that.....

So if you do decide to build keep that in mind.......best of luck to you

If your interested in seeing my final product (if I ever finish it) Ill post some pics or send them via PM

[Heisenberg 12]

Thanks Duck, that reply was most informative.

I can chuck heavy flies with the 8 weight if I have lots of room behind me, so I know (sort of?) what I'm doing in that department. Dense bush and steep banks tend to put a stop to that though. I'm leaning towards Skagit for that very reason. About having to forget what you learned on the single hander: We are only talking about 2 years of muscle memory

I love picking up new things to learn ...so bring on the new!

H.

[brookiebuster 117]

Personally I don't have a need for a two hander. When I fish heavy flies/sink tip with obstructions behind me I do either a roll cast or a single spey.

[spindilla1 42]

I knew he would be more experienced with this than I would.........

I don't know about the no back cast tho, you must be extremely good at this because I can't seem to do it with heavy bush behind me.....

I find with the two hand I don't need to go all the way back but still.......Maybe I should pick up the fly rod more often.....

[brookiebuster 117]

Lots of practise! I'm no pro but I can manage to get the fly out. Look up roll cast and single spey cast on YouTube. Lots of good instructional videos on how to do it.

[Guest FreshwaterFisherman]

This proves the "the more I learn the less I know" theory very well. Thanks for the tips Duck. Lots of insight here.

[Heisenberg 12]

Thanks Duck!

Awesome post ...I'm now all exited about Skagit again.

I ain't (too) scared of no learning curve

H.