Spey rod set up

[geoffvl]

How is your spey rod set up?

[btree]

You might want to be a bit more specific about that question...

[SalaR]

How is your spey rod set up?

The Question???is.........?

[geoffvl]

What do you use for your running line, heads and sink tips?

[SalaR]

Hi Geoff, As I said "thanks for the smile"...the simplicity of your question is wonderful! However,as with all fishing techniques there are many tools and ways to use a tool seeking different fish species. The Scots and Brits have for the most part perferred to have longer rods to 17' to cast dry flys and boombers at Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout...the scandanavian have shown a differing desire to use shorter and faster action rods with different strokes to fish also for Atlantic Salmon and Sea Trout.The water ways are really the difference. The brits waterways are slower and meandering whilst the Scandanavian waterways are more like ours here on the Pacific North West,faster,deep and rigorous.
The answer to your question lies there...I will give you a guide...if you plan to fish for Steelhead on our rivers like the "Cheddar",Squamish,Chehalis,and other similar size rivers then a good guide would be to use either a sound Switch Rod or short Two Hander no more than 13'. Longer rods will also work but the vast majority of the New Spey Casters have discovered the shorter rods are bang on.14' and longer rods are good on the bigger rivers like the "T",Skeena,Bulkley,and others in that size.
Skagit style casting is or was developed specifically for our vigorous needs . If you are just learning then I would suggest that you consider a Skagit style set-up as part of your "Spey " options. Simply because of it's fishability.
You would be wise to also have a good floating line the really learn the Spey Casts ...
Running lines are also varied...you have Mono running lines...slick,coily and difficult to manage,but will add much distance to your final cast. A more smooth running line is a slick coated line over a braided core,thus little coiling and easier to handle...the distance capabilities are slightly less but the fish are not always on the other side of the river.
Here are a few of the heads...Scandi(Scandanavian Short Heads), Skagit Heads,Compact Skagit heads, Full SInking heads,Floating heads and a few more.
So now you know why the questions about your question...keep this thread going...
I had a client last week on the stamp river...teaching Spey Casting...a great session that took about 7 hours...a bit much in most cases but we did fish during interevals connecting to what was learned. During the floating line,dry fly section he was amazed at the ease and distance accomplished with a well matched set-up...and he is right. Another area of the day covered a Scandanavian style cast using a soft Shorthead Spey line,fast sinking Poly tip and small weighted fly..(12' Small Spey rod")...a very effective fishing style getting the fly into the Zone.

Have fun
C

[geoffvl]

Thanks alot Salar!! So would you take a sink tip like T-14 and attach to your running line or to your shooting head?

[SalaR]

It seems that T-14 is the go to word these days...the heavy tips neeed to be attached to some kind of head capable of lifting OFF or UP the heavy line during the loading segment of the cast....
C

[btree]

ok, I'm tagging along with this thread since I just got a beauty 13' Dec Hogan rod. I assume it's designed with the west coast in mind. I also have the 8/9/10 windcutter full floater by Rio - 55' 585 grain head.

I'm gonna be thrashing about with the 55' windcutter for a few months while I'm up in Fort St. John on the Peace River, and when I make it down to the coast, I'm thinking about a skagit line for casting in tight spaces.

For skagit lines, what are people out there using mostly? Rio? Airflo? or has anyone tried the beulah Tonic?
And is there any need to go to T14 if there are nice friendly poly tips that can get 8+ips?

Also, what is the formula for figuring out what lenght and weight head you need for skagit head lines? Last I heard it was about 3x the rod length, but that there was some debate and it depends on one's casting "style" - what ever that means. It also seems that from what I've read so far, the grains for matching skagit lines seem to be a "few" grains heavier than if matching a longer belly line to a rod.

Finally, would anyone recommend going for a different short head line like the Elixer (SalaR?) instead of a skagit line? - I think the elixer maxes out at just over 520 grains, so I dont know if that would load my rod properly...I think I need closer to 600 grains, but I'm not sure...