For any fence sitters

[eimaj]

I meant to write a quick note to those of you fence sitters, that have been putting off getting a two-hander :P

I've been tossing around the idea of getting a twohander rod for probably 2-3years now. For whatever reason, be it cost, fear of learning a new style of casting, the idea that my single handed 8wt may collect dust, I've put it off. So as I wrote a couple of weeks back I got myself one. Now trust me my head did swirl when they rang in the total at the counter, but I had made the plunge.

I posted earlier about the set-up I got. You don't have to spend the same amount, there are great rods for less, but I'm glad I did. Like others have said it's important to match the rod and line, but like I also learned it's important to match the set-up to your intended fishing conditions.

So 2 weekends ago I bought the set-up, and through the week I was lucky enough to borrow some videos from a bud, including the Rio videos and Dec Hogans video. These gave me a good idea of how the different casts work and when to use them. Then last saturday I hit the river. Now I did have the fortune of fishing with a friend who knows how to cast one of these long rods, but honestly to get one to work for fishing is not hard. Don't get me wrong, I am not in any way graceful with my casts yet, but as far as fishing with the rod and being able to cast in a useable distance for the local rivers it doesn't take much. A poor cast with one of these rods will still lay out over 50ft, I was laying out about 70ft half way through the day. Not always consistantly mind you, but that's only cause I was getting lazy. But the impostant thing was I could fish the water effectively after a couple of hours on the river.

I know it'll take me alot of hours on the water to get that pretty looking cast that I've been dreaming of, with those tight sexy loops, but for now I'm ecstatic about what I can already do with this rod. And let me tell you, a day on the water casting this rod doesn't leave you with any sore shoulders, and even if you don't get any fish, casting it is just plain fun.

So if you can afford it, get off the fence and try something new, but don't skimp on the time you put in researching the rod/line set-ups, or the gear itself. And do what I did and bug the heck out of a few of these guys that know there stuff, sorry guys

It'll be worth it the end.

[Fish Finder]

Way to go eimaj!...I know what you mean by sitting on the fence. I've been contemplating jumping into a double handed set up for some time. I just have so much fun using my single hander out there. Nothing puts a bigger smile on my face, than when it gets bent on some steel. Having said that, I'am making the jump, and hopefully will be out there two handed style very soon. Feel free to drop me a PM if you want to head out some time.

Finder

[britishguy]

You make it sound so tempting getting a double hander
I am still learning to walk, well trot on the single hander but would love to try a double
i watched Rick last year casting from the other side of the river from me and landing his fly within inches of me every cast he made it look so easy
yet i hooked into more steelies that day(beginners luck)
I would love to hook up with some feather chuckers this year on the river

Fish Finder maybe we can have a little fish off singles against doubles
what do you say eimaj
sorry not trying to steal your post

[eimaj]

Sounds good, should we do it on the Thompson?


Just kidding around, I'll be out next weekend probably be to busy trying to make pretty casts to catch fish though.

[Fish Finder]

Hey I've taken my single out to the Tommy before. The big issue I found between me and those hauling double handers was, they out drifted me 3-1 easily. It makes a big difference when your fly is not in the water. Especially if you want a hook up. Way more work covering big water like that on a single hander. On smaller water like the Vedder it's much easier work wise and more suited for a single handed rod.

Finder

[Eric]

if you think double handers are more efficient then single handers on bigger rivers..it will be even more efficient on smaller rivers like the vedder.
If you want to swing flies to steelhead there is nothing more efficient.

[eimaj]

The one really neat thing I found out this weekend is that my single hand 8wt can chuck 50ft of line no problem while using a double spey cast. So and even a circle C to either shoulder is no sweat. so it's not just the rod, it's the casts. Now I just have to figure out how to stick a bottom handle onto this rod