Author Topic: Spey Questions??? (Read 728 times)

Nick Naclerio · « **on:** July 21, 2009, 08:55:40 PM »

Dejon I remember you saying you were going to be using a spey rod in the up coming steelhead season and I couldn't pass up the super cheap Loon spey rods so I got one. My questions are what line to get, how large of a reel to get and what kind of flies to swing. I plan on also indicator nymphing with it at using it in the surf (thats the beach for you western NY guys)

maybe. I've been reading as much as I can find on the subject and somewhere I read for indicator nymphing and in the surf you want a regular WF line but about 3 size larger than the recomended for the rod so a 9 wt. would use a 12 wt. line to load the rod. So I'm thinking my best bet might be two lines or just get by with a spey line either way I'm looking for some help. Any ideas? The rod is a 14ft. 8/9 maybe a little overkill but I'm thinking with the price of spey line and huge reels I'm only going to get one and this one has the best chance of distance in the surf.

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #1 on:** July 23, 2009, 01:25:20 PM »

Blacky,

Just been swamped here. I'm gonna give you the standard guide answer: drop by a shop with your rod and try a few reels out. Finding something that YOU feel comfortable with is the best thing. When I was working at the fly shop you'd get 5 guys wanting 5 different reels for the same rod. I'm sure that's not a revelation though.

With many of the tight quartered streams in this area I'm going to start the season off with a long switch rod and an SA Spey Skagit Deluxe line setup on a Konic 4. The rod & reel are economic choices based on past performance with those products not necessarily pure casting and looks pleasure. And the line should be a versatile one. I should be able to transition quickly from single handed nymphing on small streams to swinging classic spey flies on the larger bodies of water. As in every situation like this 4 or 5 setups would better fill the bill, but that bill is too large for my wallet right now... especially because I spend most of my angling money on inland comp. style gear and photography gear.

However, I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be longing for a classic taper and rod length after a bit especially if our 2 larger bodies are fishing well this season: Niagara & Catt.

I'll be drifting all the usual suspects when single handing it like sucker spawn, pink juans, stones, flymphs, etc.... and maybe even a few trout beads when the situation gets tough. I'll be short nymphing it without an indie and carrying hand tied yarn indies and thingambobbers for clients when we need that versatility.

Swinging I'll be throwing what I call "Easy Classic Spey Patterns" like this guy:

I'm going to keep it pretty shake&bake in the spey fly department primarily because I just can't devote all that mental and benchside bandwidth to that genre of patterns. And also because I'm not sure they are needed from a fish catching perspective. Also a handful of standard streamer stuff and then larger versions of inland wet patterns like Invictas, HEs, etc. Mostly the latter because it helps to continue my work on that subject into the steelhead season:)

I'm not too familiar with casting spey in the surf. I hear it's starting to catch on when casting length is a concern without need for accuracy. Oversizing seems like the way to go in this situation too. My 2 cents is you're probably going to need 2 or 3 lines to get everything comfortable done that you're looking to accomplish.

If this wet season continues through September we could see an unprecedented lake run season!!!!

Nick Naclerio · « **Reply #2 on:** July 23, 2009, 02:26:48 PM »

Thanks for the response. Thats what I was thinking that I'm going to need a few lines to do everything I want. At first I think I'll bite the bullet and get a Rio line with the Versitip system.

It should be fun to tie up some different flies to swing.

I've never been steelheading period so I'm just looking foward to that anyways. I know the Salmon run starts in Setember what do you think the earliest is that we could expect Salmon/Steelhead on the Salmon River?

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #3 on:** July 23, 2009, 04:05:37 PM »

It ALL depends on weather and fish mood:) Seriously it can vary from year to year. We have more than a few Salmon River fanatics on this board so I'm positive we'll know when the first big push happens. Would be nice to be in the DSR one year when waves of Silvers come streaming by!!!

Todd Huber · « **Reply #4 on:** July 24, 2009, 12:18:04 PM »

Black - regarding the reel - economically I would buy one reel and add one or two additional spools to carry different lines. You will need a reel with size/weight for two reason - add a little balance to the longer rod and line capacity. There are plenty of options depending on you price range.

Almost more importantly is the line. Talk to 10 people that enjoy the spey and get 8 different line recommendations. One of my favorite all around great lakes steelhead spey lines is the CND Gravity Point Spey Line. Great line distribution that really aids in loading the rod.

I have been playing around with a Rio AFS Outbound line for overhead casting. One of the reason I like it is it doesn't have a connection between the head and shooting line. I have taken off 6 feet of the tip making it easier to turn over larger flies.

Below is a fairly decent explanation of spey lines. It also provides a decent explanation of the Outbound Line.

http://www.redshedflyshop.com/simonlines.html.pdf

Here is the Rio Website Link.

http://www.rioproducts.com/page.php?recKey=9

East Coast Spey is an upcoming site that should prove to be informative. They have some cool videos on casting style here is the link.

http://www.eastcoastspey.com/multimedia.html

If your looking to bring yourself up to speed with regards to spey casting and equipment. I would take a look at the Spey Pages. This is one of the better online resources I have found. Hope this helps it's a beginning anyways.

Nick Naclerio · « **Reply #5 on:** July 24, 2009, 03:31:56 PM »

Thanks for the links. Lots a good info. I just need to buy the stuff and get out there and try it. No better way to learn.

Todd Huber · « **Reply #6 on:** July 24, 2009, 05:06:22 PM »

Yep I agree. Takes a little bit of practice. Its all about positioning the d-loop and anchoring the line. Once you have that timing set your in great shape.

Dejon Hamann · « **Reply #7 on:** July 27, 2009, 12:34:16 AM »

Great breakdown and list of links Spun. You are thus deemed our resident Spey Guru.

If you had to pick one entry level setup for Erie Steel what would you suggest? I know there are a few guys lurking here thinking about getting into the discipline.