[Sparky]

OK, I floated this question last winter while contemplating the cold months in the Okanagan and I'm going to try again. I plan to build a light (i.e. 7-8 weight) Spey Rod. Last year I was thinking about a cheap blank, this year I'm thinking about something special. Let's say performance is the key and leave $$ out of it. . . any suggestions? Anyone using the Sage z-axis? Speyghillie do you have any suggestions? Any ideas on suppliers? Thanks in advance for any feedback.

Sparky

 

[speyghillie]

light Spey rod

Hey Sparky,
I guess it all depends on what size of rod you want and what you want to spend, you can get one hundred different answers on open forums, i have some rods with me made by Clan Rods in Scotland, Jack Cook is the supplier for them,
I am still in Vernon so if you want to try one out, i will let the rod do the talking.
Sparky just PM me and we will go for a cast with all the Clan Rods i got, i think after all the years i have been working on the Spey i have found the most powerful light rod, and will put it up against any rod made by any other company. :shock:
Cheers Gordon.

 

[phearless]

The forecast is a relativley inexpensive blank and it performs very well.

The loop series are excellant bang for the buck and well known for there excellant
casting

 

[SalaR]

Sparky;
Perhaps I may help with a bit of info' ...Having cast and fished with likely 10 of the "better" small Two Handers over the past several years;includeing the Hardy Angel, Loomis ,Sage,Winston,Loop,Orvis and so on, I have found that the "Beulah" 12'7" is a very friendly rod with plenty of depth and extremely agile. Yet I have landed many Chinook in the 30 Lb. Range with little difficulty. albeit in low slow moving water. The 11'6" 6/7 wt is an ideal Steelhead rod...
Contact me if you need to
C

 

[Guest]

I have the G Loomis GLX Grease Line 7/8 15 ft. Awesome rod! Deffinately worth putting in the effort to build one.

 

[Sparky]

Thanks guys. Still looking and considering my options. Keep em' coming!
Sparky.

 

[chew]

Sparky;
Perhaps I may help with a bit of info' ...Having cast and fished with likely 10 of the "better" small Two Handers over the past several years;includeing the Hardy Angel, Loomis ,Sage,Winston,Loop,Orvis and so on, I have found that the "Beulah" 12'7" is a very friendly rod with plenty of depth and extremely agile. Yet I have landed many Chinook in the 30 Lb. Range with little difficulty. albeit in low slow moving water. The 11'6" 6/7 wt is an ideal Steelhead rod...
Contact me if you need to
C

I'm sorry, but how on earth does this describe a rod? An outgoing, intelligent gymnast maybe, but a spey rod? Could you elaborate?

 

[SalaR]

Gymnast...good comparison

:idea: Hello Chew;
describing the Beulah 12'7" small Two Hander is actually simple,like driving a new X5. It has a very well defined and designed Cork Handle and Butt , dual locking reel seat,4 sections and so on. The finish is a green deep colour,no hook keeper, and all the other stuff. Go to their site and see for yourself...However, This is one rod that leaves you with a smile after you cast it for a while and fish it for a while. Because of this rods speed you can adjust from a heavy tipped Skagit system to a long bellied ,floating Spey line without having to re-invent the wheel. The progressive design seems to adjust with little effort on the part of the caster in most situations,yet I have had little fear of breaking this rod even on early Spring Salmon in the 35 lb.range;although I would be reluctant to test that theory on super fast water without having an equally good reel.It is particularily good as a Steelhead or Atlantic Salmon rod, super sensative ,very reactive on demand, 8 3/4 ozs.This rod likes to work hard,is easy on the pocket book . A special note about this rod is that it is one of the few rods that let you adjust your cast 15 - 20 degrees without a blink of the eye. Some rods feel like old style poles for pole vaulting...others feel like the old metal Rods I used as a youngster on the Miramichi River for Atlantics ,some rods feel like they are balooned in the middle section and yet others squeak when under stress . It is the best $600.00 rod on the market...what can I say! This rod is a great fishing tool but not the rod I would use for fishing the Thompson,Skeena with a Grand Spey or XLT...simply not enough rod for such large lines.
Tight Lines
Are you doing any fishing?

 

[stampsteelie]

light spey

Hello Sparky,
for the rod builder my pick would be a Meiser. I would agree with the Beulah rep that their rods are nice. They should be as Mr Meiser helped provide input into the design. I built the 14' 6/7 R.B. Meiser Highlander this summer and it is a wonderful rod. Bob gave me lots of help and advice during this project and I am very happy with the finished result. I agree that the G.Loomis rods are nice but you can't get the GLX blanks. When I spoke to the rep this summer I was told they had no plans on making them available. CND now sells blanks and they make great sticks. I had a chance to have a look at a factory Z Axis and that looked nice too. So there are lots of great choices. As far as $ goes the Meisers are very modestly priced. Take the time to call Bob Meiser and talk to him about his rods.

 

[SalaR]

trade casts

Stampsteelie,
I would love to try that rod and you can try my new Snowbee or the 11'6 6/7 wt. Beulah..this small rod is a rod I smile about everytime it is in my hand.
Keep in touch and we will meet on the Stamp
C

 

[Rookiespey]

I'm with Stampsteelie...check out the Meiser rods!

 

[Sparky]

Light spey

Any contact info on the Meiser rods?
Thx
Sparky

 

[Rick Baerg]

Here you go! http://www.meiserflyrods.com/fieldtester.html

 

[Sparky]

Thanks

Thanks Bergler.
Sparky

 

[Eric]

i use a sage 5120 it's light but enough power to play a decent sized fish..also light enough so i can single hand cast as well... perfect for summer runs and smaller salmon like pinks and coho.

 

[SalaR]

Still Light Spey

Well, for all you Two Handed chuckers out there ,what is new with the light Spey Rods? I will share something with you...recently Snowbee became available in Canada and I have been fortunate enough to be able to cast their 12'6" 7/8 "Tamar" and their 14' XS-P 9/10 . Note, I have fished the Tamar for the past few days and am very surprised at the light weight feeling yet great butt strength,however,the cork doesn't squeek like some of the very soft rods from Sage, Loomis,Scott and Lamiglas... A little softer than the Beulah 12'7" 7/8 and in so being unable to load as quickly,more forgiving! A perfect Steelhead rod for a more traditional style of casting. The 14' rod is a lovely version of what a 14' should feel like,powerful,agressive and very sensative to every move you ask of it...responsive. The 13'6" Beulah 8/9 wt rod is some what an oximoron ,when all the ingredients were thrown into the oven what resulted was a pure fishing tool. Very light,very powerful and really fun to cast and fish...the tip is likely the best feeling and reactive tip I have ever cast. Dec Hogan won't like it but Mr. Gawesworth will appreciate the freedom this rod gives the fisher/caster.The traditional casts are a breeze and the "West Coast style" is equally at home.
Keep the chat going and watch your fly
C

 

[bthomas]

I have the Snowbee Torridge , 12` 6/7 , and fished it hard on the T for trout last summer . I love the rod , especially with shooting heads , BUT the rod broke on the tip section about 2 inches from the tip-top . I know of two other Torridges that have snapped at about the very same spot . Warranty was flawless , but it was inconvenient to have the rod out of commision .

Oh , btw , I broke the tip section simply by threading line through to start the day , not because I abused the rod in any way .

 

[zulu]

I would have to say that I wasn't all that impressed with the Beulah rods - had two and got shot of them quite quickly.

For the light rod guy - I think you may have to go quite some to beat the Z axis, All tho as stated before, Bob Meiser builds a beautiful rod.

Personally, I fish the 8-1234 TCR (sage) and find it adequate for most of my BC river fishing.

When it comes to switch rods - The CND - Oceana is the rod of choice for me - designed by Juro in the Cape - built to sort stripers out and that's exactly what it does. I have never found anything close to it yet - and trust me I have looked long and hard.

There are of course many other good rods out there, Loomis, Scott, Winston etc, etc, all out of the US. However, there are a few good rods coming out of the UK and Europe as well that should be considered - Loop and Guideline LPXE, are both excellent products -

Tallon out of Australia, is another fantastic rod, built well and not that expensive either.


http://www.winstonrods.com/spey.html

http://www.guidelineflyfish.com/english-edition/guideline/guideline-stang-1.html

http://www.aussiefly.com.au/doubleswmd.htm

Just few of my thoughts, Hope it helps

all the best
Mike

BTW - Here is the Oceana with a little coho, caught in the salt.

 

[phearless]

5120

Het Eric do you use that stick for trout as well?
I am thinking that a light 2 hander might be just the ticket for T trout. Maybe the Columbia as well.

 

[SalaR]

questions

I have the Snowbee Torridge , 12` 6/7 , and fished it hard on the T for trout last summer . I love the rod , especially with shooting heads , BUT the rod broke on the tip section about 2 inches from the tip-top . I know of two other Torridges that have snapped at about the very same spot . Warranty was flawless , but it was inconvenient to have the rod out of commision .

Oh , btw , I broke the tip section simply by threading line through to start the day , not because I abused the rod in any way .

In a lifetime of flyfishing we all break rods...tips especially,that is why many of the better rod companies are providing several tips ...as for the Torridge by Snowbee it is an exception rod in a class of it's own and it is not a new concept rod. I have forwarded a request for info' on those broken rod tips... In another matter;True switch rods are not small"Spey" rods!Switch rods are in a completely different range ... One of my favorite surf casting rods is the TnT 1212 either of the Cape Cod Area ,Miramichi Bay,Bay of Fundy at Noel Shore and even the San Francisco Bay Area,(all very windy locations)I did break it on a cast with a chicken size fly...not supposed to happen but it does! the 1212 is still my fav' surf rod...but it is a 12 weight...the Torridge is a 6wt.