Looking into spey gear

[Coastrider]

Well, I am very intruiged by the spey world and was just looking into brands, lengths, lines and it seems to be a whole new world. I still like single handed casting but will be adding to the arsenal here by the new year. For those of you that are experienced in the spey/switch world, I am looking for an unbiased opinion on makes, models and lengths for beach/river fishing rods. I will be looking first into the used market but most likely buy new(er). I am not sold on anything yet and would even consider Amundson as I have had great service from them and they are as good as they need to be for me, as far as my skill level. I know there is alot of knowledge and opinions on here, so lets hear it!!!

[BCBound]

This should be an interesting thread. I've been doing some looking into this myself lately, and I tell ya, there are as many opinions on these matters as there are people who fly fish. I think my biggest problem is that I want one rod that tackles a lot of different scenarios. Beach, river, salmon, steelhead, and the big dollies / bulls of the Squamish. I thought a good switch might cover that spectrum, and still allow me to do some spey casting while on the rivers, but for every person I find who says I can get it all in one rod, there is another who says no way. I even spoke to someone today who said for beaches you want a shorter rod. First time I've heard that.

I think I'm in the same boat as you Coast, hoping to have a new set up by January. Who knows. Should be a good read to see what people contribute.

[btree]

I'm not sure, but I think it's a common experience for many people to get a rod at a reasonalbe price, either a used higher end model, or a new lower end model, learn the basics and then realize that they got a rod that doesn't really suit their casting style... It's not a big deal really since there seems to be a healthy market for used gear and one can recoup a lot of the initial expense, but there is always the danger or accumulating a lot of semi to totally expensive gear that only gets used a few times and then hides in the closet.

If it were me, I'd see about getting to know a few rods by asking about doing a demo or going to a spey clave. Matching lines to rods, and both to casters can be a real pain in the butt.

I started with a 12'6" 8wt that was an older model that was quite well regarded in it's day. It came with a windcutter and a reel. Seemed good to go, but it was damn hard to learn on. Got a skagit line and was making fishable casts in half a day of flopping and thrashing about. After a couple months, and having the opportunity to cast a few mid priced rods, I found one that I really liked and sold the old rod. But that got me into "needing" a new line, and so it went. Bought some gear that was ok, sold it and got some better stuff. My current rod as a 12'6" 7/8wt which likes a mid-belly 500 grain line, and can handle all but super heavy tips and massive flies. Probably the windcutter would be fine for me now, but it just wasn't the line to learn on for me. I needed to start with the skagit...

The biggest difference that I notice between my old rod (Fly Logic Signature Series 12'6" 8wt) and my current rod (Snowbee 12'6" 7/8wt) is the action. My tempo favours a faster snappier rod. I also like a lively rod that gives me a lot of feedback when swinging a fly. I found that I had little to no feel or connection to my fly once it was in the water with the old rod. I like to know when I've caught the bottom

All that being said, my next venture into two handers is going to be a switch rod. I've had the pleasure to cast an now well experienced Beulah 7/8 classic switch and found it quite friendly to cast. A 10lb steelie puts quite the bend on the rod! That being said, they are a bit out of my present price rance, so I'll be looking into building a 6 or 7wt rainshadow 10'8" switch rod (blanks about ~100 USD). Either that, or I'll got for a pricier blank and get a Meiser! New and built they are way way way out of my range, but they blanks are quite reasonable, and I think I can turn out a decent rod for about 200 bucks (blank is ~150USD).

For that "do it all" medium-big fish rod (steelhead, salmon & large trout, but not springs!), I've been recommended a 6wt spey or a 6/7 switch. Loved casting the #6 Beulah Platinum spey, and I've seen it next to some really nice steelies, though I think it would still be fun with an 18" trout. If you want to include fishing for springs, you need a different tool (8wt minimum) that will make catching a 4-5lb trout not as much fun. Mind you a 4-5lb trout with a 7/8 wt switch rod that had a reasonably full flex would still be fun, but allow the ability to toss a 450-500 grain skagit head with a big ass intruder in tow to a deep holding 20lb winter run steelie.

As for the beach, I've fished with guys who love a 12 or 13 ft spey rod for overhead casting, and others who prefer an 8'6" super fast single hander.

One thing to consider is the size of flies you plan on casting. That will dictate the sort of line and rod weight you will need. Lots of people who go the switch rod rout will go with a good running line and two heads - a skagit and a skandi.

I've also given the TFO switch rods a wiggle and they seem quite fishable to me Wish I had more opportunity to go to spey claves, but not much like that on the North Island.

Lots of options out there for conversion kits as well to go from a single handed rod to a switch rod, or from a long two hander to a shorter switch. Too many options!

[grizzly]

Well here goes, I am a spey newbie having purchased a 13 ft 7wt Echo and also a 11ft TFO 7wt switch( like night and day) the switch is a good deal lighter to handle and is going to be my allrounder to much for island trout but great for every thing else. Have landed a few 20 -30 lb springs and 40-50 pinks in the Campbell-Quinsam-Oyster-Eve areas with the TFO and have two lines for it, a Skagit setup for rivers and a 40+ for off the beach. Am not capable of 120ft casts but anything within 80ft is possible and all day casting is a lot easier on my 70 yr old arm. Though both are 7wt rods they can not handle the same weight of lines and the Echo can huck a fly much farther but is heavier.

[herkileez]

My first experience with a spey rod was fishing with a buddy's on a trip to the Skeena last year. I found learning to cast difficult at first, but stuck with it and finally was able to produce some recognizable casts. This past winter I picked up a custom-built (read: homebuilt by a friend) 7/8 wt St Croix that handles a 500 gr Skagit well with a full set of MOW tips I built mysef. The whole package was only about $300. I just returned from another 10 day trip to the Skeena, where I discovered my set-up was a little too light to pitch out the weighted leeches and 10 -12' of T14 I needed to get down. I did manage to hit a few steelies in the 15 - 20 lb range, but had to resort to an overhead cast, sometimes with a double haul to force the tip out. The rod had no problem playing the fish, but was just light for bombing out the heavy tips. I finally used a 14' 9 wt Thomas and Thomas and had no problems with tips. I made a decision to build a 14' 9 wt setup and will definitely look at Meiser blanks (thanks for the idea, btree!) in the never-ending quest to accumulate rods.
The short version of what I just said is that you don't have to spend a ton of money (check out the classifieds on Speypages), and that your first spey rod probably won't be your last.

BTW: I do find that speycasting is now much easier on the body than singlehand....Just have to stick with it !!

[TieFlier]

I started casting spey lines this year and have picked things up pretty quickly. I first bought an sage z-axis 11' 8wt switch rod last year in January which I used as a long single hander. While casting the single hand line I experimented with spey casts to change the line direction after a swing. I think this really helped my casting with a skagit line when I first got it in January this year. The line I purchased is a 425 grain skagit short. With this line and rod combo I am able to cast a 12.5' tip of T-18 close to 60 feet with regular consistency. I prefer to use a 12.5' section of T-14 and can punch casts close to 80' with a decently sized fly. I am still learning the proper way to set the hook when using these lines. I hooked two steelhead this year and lost both of them soon after the initial grab. What a rush though!

I really like switch rods, not for their versatility as a single handed rod or double handed, but for their use a a short spey rod. I have cast some longer spey rods and liked them too but I don't like the idea of have to land a fish on my own with a rod longer than 11' as it is still a challenge at time with a rod of this length. I like to think of fishing with spey rods as an addiction to casting. Those who like to cast fly lines will like spey rods. It feels great to cast a huge bomb of a cast out into the water. This feeling can be a distraction at times from the fact you are actually trying to catch fish. I have had this happen to me a few times where my beautiful casting rhythm has been interrupted by a hooked fish (rough life I know). To summarize as a casting tool a longer rod (11'+) is a great casting tool, but I think a switch rod may be a better fishing tool for me.

As far as one rod for all, it can be done depending on your definition of "fit". When playing golf you can use a 3 wood to make a put, but a putter is a much better tool for that job. Same goes for spey rods. You can fish for trout in a lake with a 15' 10wt rod, it won't be the best tool for the job but it can be done. The big limiting factor being is you rod strong enough to handle the fish you are targeting. In my opinion you could get away with a 12'6" 7wt for most of the fishing that one would do. It can handle winter steelhead, Chums, Dollies, Bull trout and beach fishing. Smaller fish would require a smaller rod and bigger fish like chinooks would require a larger one. A 7 wt switch may also fill this spot. If you were to go with two rods then I would say a 5-6wt in 12'6"-13' would be great for pinks, off the beach, dollies and bull trout and lighter steelhead and a 8-9 for chums, winter steelhead and maybe even some lighter chinook (30lbs and under?). My dream team would be a 5-6wt switch for dollies, pinks, off the beach and summer steelhead, a 7-8wt for switch for chums and winter steelhead and a 9-10wt for bigger chums, winter steelhead when huge flies and sink tips are needed and Chinook. I am two thirds of the way there, just need my Chinook rod. I am looking at getting a Meiser 9/10 switch for this, but I'll have to wait an see. Hope this helps.

[bthomas]

and would even consider Amundson as I have had great service from them and they are as good as they need to be for me, as far as my skill level.

The Amundson 12.6 , 7/8 is a better rod than the price would lead you to believe . I fish one every year on the Skeena tribs , and for fish under 15 lbs. or so , it does everything I want it to do . It rocks with a 450 grain scandi head , or a 7/8 delta , or a 480(ish) grain skagit head . The rod likes lots of bottom hand , especially with the skagit heads .

[btree]

I can't afford it, but if you want a tool that can do it all check these out: http://www.meiserflyrods.com/conversion-rods.php

You might end up packing around some extra pieces to "do it all" but you can pretty much fine tune your rod selection in minutes. For a summer rod, I'd love to have the $$$ to blow on the TM110139. Say you were casting dries to rising trout with your 11ft 4/5 switch, but as you work your way down river you come across a big pool or a deep run where you suspect a fat bull/dollie or a summer run steelie might be hiding. Now if you brought your gear you could now be fishing with a 13'9" 5/6/7 spey. Not only would you have more backbone for casting a sink tip, larger fly and reaching the other side of the river to cover all the water, you'd have a tool that would allow you to land that big fish in good time and cast what might be necessary to catch it. But for chum, springs and rivers where the steelies are regularly over 15-20lb, I'd still feel under gunned.

Basically it seems that the "do it all" concept for rods really only covers ~10lb intervals. For example, many 5/6 switch rods are likely effective for fish in the 0-10lb range, a 6/7 switch - probably 2-12, and a 7/8 around 5-20lb. But it all depends on the design of the rod and the person using it.

[herkileez]

[QUOTE=btree;36032]I can't afford it, but if you want a tool that can do it all check these out: http://www.meiserflyrods.com/conversion-rods.php

Finally...the Swiss Army knife of rods!!!...Nice looking rods !!

[BCBound]

Great responses everyone, and very helpfull. I think adding two rods to the arsenal will be what is needed eventually, but I'll probably start with a 7/8 switch. It sounds like it's enough rod to handle the fishing I want to do now, with the added bonus of allowing me to start spey casting but still be able to single hand it if I'm having a hard time with it.

Christmas can't come soon enough