spey rods

[carpo]

hi larry, thanx for answering who you think the "greatest" of all time are. now i have a few more anglers to study up on. im glad you gave me a few that ive not heard of. i'll have some fun doing some research. my ? to you is have you much experience with spey? i want to get something to fish large stripers this fall run. casting large flies a good distance in the wind, doesnt spey sound like a good choice? i heard you can get them with a fast action to help punch thru the wind? any help? your suggestions are always very helpful........thanx again,............... Carpo..........

[dahlberg]

HI C,
In the case of the spey rods I'd STRONGLY suggest a try before you buy approach.
These rods were designed to manipulate line without having to utilize the traditional tight, candy cane shaped loop needed in a standard cast.

Their length is what enables them to do it. It's a simple matter of linear distance regarding tip travel. Because the arc the tip travels is much longer you can pick up more slack, have more "room" and time to load the rod plus when the rod unloads the tip travels farther as well.

It's length also makes it an amazing tool for mending line.

However, the longer a rod is for a given line the more physical strength it takes to stop, accellerate or turn it over. Plus, as rods get longer they become more and more difficult to throw a super tight loop with.
Since a tight loop is one of the key variables in developing high line speed this is a problem.

If you design your flies properly and your casting is up to snuff you should not have too much trouble casting a fly 75 feet. With a head 90'.

For me, any more line than that on the deck is a pain, but I'm not sure what your needs are fishing-wise.

As an experiment, take a fly reel with a number ten line on it and cast it with a 7 foot med action spinning rod. Now try an 8, then go to a 9 foot fly rod, then a 9'6", 10' , all the way up to the longest you can find. Try to make the tightest loop you can with all of them. You'll see what I'm talking about.
Good luck,
L


I think you'll find a nine footer for a ten weight Also the longer the rod is the more leverage effect the line has upon it so it musapon g

[jbird]

Carpo

The world of Spey is a strange, dangerous, addicting place. There are 500 more variables in spey casting than their are in standard flyfishing. Not the least being, line/rod marriage.

The charm of the spey rod out here on our western rivers is, delivering a long cast with no room for back cast. Many of our steelhead waters are large with tree,shrub infested banks. The spey cast is designed to deliver line in excess of 100' with virtually no room to backcast.

I think the application you are thinking of might be a bit misguided. If you are fishing a river from the bank with lots of trees and stuff for stripers, It would definitley be beneficial. If you are angling from a boat, or anywhere you can backcast, I recommend a fast action 9' 9wt. (ex. sage Xi2...TFO TiCrx...) Outfit it with a small diameter mono running line and about a 400grain, 30' shooting head. You can throw a tight loop (which is what you need in the wind) And it will turn over big flies like nobodies business.

Jay