As two-handed Spey casting has exploded in popularity over the last 20 years so, too, has the technology available in the manufacture of two-handed (Spey) rods. Spey casting is a fly-casting technique that evolved in Scotland in the mid 1800's. This one is for the steelhead bums out there. As Hugh Falkus suggested in his seminal work on Atlantic salmon, these conditions are eventually encountered everywhere, and while most anglers are proficient with a number of overhead casts, the ability to roll, switch, or Spey cast remains woefully neglected, usually to the angler’s detriment. This will give you a consistent forward delivery casting advantage and will counteract the depth adjustments often experienced while wading down through a salmon pool and allow every forward delivery to be an absolute peach! While beginners might be in awe of big water like the Nushagak, Alagnak, or Kanektok—those classic-type Spey waters—that 95% can put on a Skagit Line and a hunk of T-14, a Super Prawn or a Jumbo Critter, and be casting 45 to 70 feet on Willow Creek, the Kasilof River, or a similar road-system king fishery and be catching fish the evening after a morning class.” As that begins to happen and other anglers get a chance to see the effectiveness of the Spey rod for Alaska king fishing, we can only expect their popularity to continue to grow. “Learning to Spey cast is not a daunting task if you begin in a class,” he says. As it specifically relates to fly-fishing for Alaska’s king salmon, Spey casting is only beginning to catch on, but advancements in equipment, along with casting styles that are tailored to North American waters and the Pacific’s anadromous fish, make it seem like the techniques are here to stay. Spey technique is also used in saltwater surf casting. In contrast, the majority of Alaska’s steelhead streams don’t require the longer two-handed rods, primarily due to their short coastal nature, with anglers more apt to be prospecting pocket water with standard nymphing techniques than laying out long casts and swinging flies through extended runs. Ian Gordon’s Speyonline provides the best in Salmon Fishing and spey casting instruction packages available. Like all the species of Pacific salmon, Chinook stop feeding after entering their natal streams. Seamless sink-tips, super-light but extra-fast graphite fly rods, reels with sealed compression drags: Today’s fly tackle is even more sophisticated, and as a result, the modern angler has been granted unparalleled access to even these fish. The traditional Scottish Spey cast has to be fully understood to be conducted effectively and part of that is watching the Spey cast… If your 'lift' has been high enough and your 'swing' smooth enough then you should be in total control of the positioning of the anchor point. The key to the entire deal is to tune your peripheral vision into watching not only the positioning & shape of the anchor point but the timing 'off' the water too. Great Practice for Steelheaders. Working from principles of rod loading that are in opposition to those of contact Spey casting, the sustained-anchor concept uses the unsticking of a thoroughly stuckfly line from the river’s surface as the mechanism for creating casting energy and loading the rod. Modern day line systems although easier to cast with (if no Spey casting tuition has been undertaken) come nowhere close to an elegantly tapered Spey line for casting and actual salmon fishing 'effectiveness' via total fly control at range which only a minority of salmon anglers understand or pay attention to these days. He maintains that the techniquewill open up more water to the angler in any situation, even though there may be a lack of bank obstructions in a typical southwest Alaska salmon fishery. “In most instances, there aren’t a lot of trees and bushes making backcasts impossible near the prime Chinook water on these rivers.”, Recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on Spey casting, Gawesworth was elected captain of the England team for the 2003 World Fly Fishing Championships and has been promoting and teaching Spey casting professionally since he was 16 years-old. For one, once mastered they can produce consistent distances of 75 to 140 feet without a backcast, opening up water that was previously only within the realm of anglers utilizing conventional gear. Spey casting is a method of fly fishing used to create longer casts without the overhead backcast. That category of Spey caster are however few and far between so stop Spey casting like a 'race horse with blinkers on' and pay attention to the shape, distance and timing 'off the water' at the critical anchor point moment which provides the 'pulling power' that makes the entire forward delivery possible and effortless if executed perfectly. There are numerous casts (and variations of those casts) designed to present your fly in situations which would be otherwise impossible with a traditional overhead cast. Professional salmon fishing guide advice on the ever changing styles and rod actions that Scottish and global salmon fishing is subjected to and why nothing beats the traditional Spey action rod for ease of casting, salmon fly presentation and the enjoyment of using and playing a salmon … This div height required for enabling the sticky sidebar. Hi. A well timed anchor point release should be virtually sound free. “And I see it continuing to grow for the foreseeable future, especially in a place like Alaska where the big fish and the angling conditions are so ideally suited to it.”. I’m going to … Spey casting is a fun, efficient, and versatile way cover a whole bunch of water. As Don Thomas illustrates elsewhere in this issue, kings require specialized gear and techniques, neither of which are particularly pleasant for the anglers involved. For the other 95%, he says there’s about a 20- to 30-hour learning curve before they reach a comfort level allowing them to fish effectively—and that doesn’t just relate to casting distance, but more to a level of comfort and confidence in the new equipment and casting motions that allows them to concentrate on fishing and not casting. https://flyfishusa.com/blog/Spey-Rod-Steelhead-and-Salmon-Fishing But ever since the advent of lead-core shooting lines in the 1950s, technological advances in the manufacture of fly-fishing equipment has made all water—and all species—fair game. With Spey rods today,” he continued, “there is an opportunity to fish water of varying speed and depth that previously could have only been approached with hopes of low-percentage success.” He went on to say that before anglers would have employed lesser lines and flies, or been forced off the gravel bars and into boats, where they would have to cast the most arduous sink-tips available (500- to 600-grain lines) to gain even a marginal chance for success. “In the last five years, the caliber of Spey lines in sink-tip variation and adaptation, coupled with the next generation of stinger-style flies, has created a tackle matrix for the Spey-casting enthusiast, who can now approach favored fisheries with the best possible chances for success. Gawesworth explains that one of the most significant differences traditional fly casters will notice is that they’ll no longer need to lift and accelerate to begin their casts. Advantages of spey casting and why you should learn to cast a two-handed rod and how to apply these casts to a single hand fly rod. Spey fishing, however, takes the cake for being the most ridiculous. All of these situations require the angler to cast larger flies, over … Once the cast is made the degree of line control is astounding; with the longer rods anglers can place the fly and mend more efficiently, keeping it in the bucket longer than possible when fishing with a regular nine- to ten-foot fly rod. Spey rods are longer to accommodate the different casting techniques and feature extended handles for placement of both hands in making the cast. He has sourced and personally fished some of the best Salmon Fishing … They’re favored with tremendous size and almost unspeakable power and around them swirls just enough myth and mystery to keep everyone interested when the odds suggest we’d all be better off chucking fry patterns at Dolly Varden. It is named after the river Spey - one of Scotland's premier salmon rivers - and is most likely where the technique started to … We can get deep with the kings, effectively fishing the swiftest water, dredging the gravel-bottoms of the deepest channels, and once we find and hook one, we have the rods and reels to stay in the game. George Cook, who teaches classes geared towards Spey fishing for Alaska’s kings as well as his regular casting clinics, explains that the recent advances in equipment design greatly aid the angler looking to make the transition to the two-hander. They’re also most comfortable in power water, often preferring to travel and hold in the deepest, swiftest portions of a river system. They come in a variety of tapers as well, from Scandinavian to traditional Spey actions, which should be paired to the style of casting and fishing to be employed. In this episode of FLY TV, we get to follow Antti Guttorm in Northern Norway when he fish for big salmon with two-handed rods. Until recently, Alaska-bound Spey casters were limited to either building their own shooting heads or utilizing lines that incorporate interchangeable tip systems, like the RIO WindCutter or Scientific Anglers Tri-Tip Spey. Learn better spey and switch casting … “Books and DVDs can be important learning tools to perfect your technique, but the best step to begin is to take some lessons, as there’s no substitute for on-the-shoulder help.”. Learning spey and switch casts are essential to help you understand where, how, when and why you should be using this very effective style of fly casting. It’s not uncommon for one (or more) of the aforementioned to break, and more … As far as Salmon Rivers and fishing for salmon are concerned, The Spey is the one that ticks all the boxes. Sage also markets a number of Spey rods besides the TCR series that are effective for Skagit-style casting, including models in the new VT2 series and the 9141-4, a European-Style action that Cook refers to as his teacher’s pet when instructing Spey casters on how to approach Alaska’s kings. … Individual fish routinely exceed 30 pounds and can grow much larger. The Skagit Line is designed specifically for this method of Spey casting, utilizing a short, heavy head and accommodating heavy sink-tips like the T-14 and large, weighted flies. Don’t wait for that one … Spey fishing for steelhead, salmon, trout and atlantic salmon with Walt Geryk. The term Skagit Casting was coined in the early 1990s to describe an offshoot system of traditional Spey casting that was being used at the time by steelheaders like Ed Ward on Washington’s Skagit River system. Sizes for Spey rods vary almost as much as they do for single-handed rods, but for kings the most popular are nine- through 12-weights in 14- to 16-foot models. Searching for clemency from a winter spent locked away from the stream, many of Alaska’s fly anglers look to kings. Spey rods are longer to accommodate the different … This allowed for the development of lighter, … After the great success my young lad had at the casting clinic put on by the Perth club I’ve decided to take him with me on my annual trip up to Helmsdale to fish for the grilse. Spey casts are also ideal for handling and fishing extremely heavy sink-tips on the swing, a definite boon for down-and-across salmon anglers. There's nothing more elegant & satisfying than being able to perform the Spey cast off either shoulder with ease & grace so it's well worth learning. Spey Casting is easy to learn and is effective for Rainbow … “With the previous setups available, this was challenging at best, if not debilitating.”. The single Spey cast involves the formation of a single loop of line over the water, to one side of the angler, prior to the forward cast. If you're only focussed on the forward delivery target area and your sense of timing is 'expertly' acute then you'll likely get away with optimising the forward delivery energy during most casts. One of the most widely used techniques of spey cast rods is called a roll cast where the line is rolled essentially from side to side in big loops before the main cast out into the river. “Plus, changing direction is so much easier with the Spey cast, and it’s a lot safer to make a cast with heavy sinking line and weighted flies if you don’t need to lift the fly from the water and bring it past your ear, especially in areas with lots of wind.”. The true test again is 'visual' and you should be seeing a straight line ripple on the surface of the river the split second after the line has gone. Only a few of the state’s most productive steelhead rivers, like the Thorne on Prince of Wales Island or Kodiak’s Karluk, really lend themselves to the use of a two-handed rod at all. If I can see salmon when fishing dry flies (as opposed to blind casting for salmon), I use a Sage 9-foot for a 7-weight rod with an 8-weight line. “The Skagit Line has truly upped the ante in terms of the ability to cast long and straight with T-14 setups and flies of the lead-eye, Intruder-style variety,” Cook continued. Plus, it’s just plumb more interesting.”. “The biggest obstacle for single-hand casters to overcome is the lack of muscle memory. The all-tackle world record, a 97.4-pound early-run king, was hauled from the turquoise waters of the Kenai River, where the state doesn’t even consider a 50-pounder a trophy catch. “The extra rod length is a major advantage for better control of the fly during the swing,” he continued. If you take the time to study 90% of UK Spey Casters you'll see that they are only focussed on the target area when their forward power stroke is being applied and not the critical anchor point 'release' timing which is the catalyst for optimal power and salmon fly turnover. For further information on Spey Casting instruction or Guided salmon fishing please contact Ian Neale The Single or Double Spey Cast? That, he says, eventually results in increased chances to hook and land bright fish. Spey casting tips and fine tuning from one of Scotland's top professional casting instructors and salmon guides. Enter RIO’s T-14 tips, with sink rates of over eight to nine inches per second, which as Cook explained have taken Spey anglers “from fishing an X-amount of water to fishing XYZ.” The tips are matched with RIO’s new Skagit Lines and propelled via the casting system that brought about their advent. The first returnees of the state’s Pacific salmon, Chinook tote with them amnesty from a seasonal gulag that features heavy piles of snow, ice a foot thick on all our favorite waters, and increasingly vague memories of chrome sides and sea lice. On the other hand if you're hearing a frequent 'wooshing' sound it means the anchor point has been missed completely or you're a millisecond too quick with the power application. The average beginning Spey class Cook teaches runs three and a half hours in length, and as he explains it, about 5% percent of his students come out of that initial class ready to get right in the game. If you're fishing with one of these modern day 'talent compensator' washing lines and a stiff broom pole action rod then this is going to be a tricky thing to achieve unless you're very gentle with your lift and swing. We live and guide rivers in the Pacific Northwest and have tons of first hand experience setting anglers up with flies, leaders, sink tips, shooting heads, and rods for both salmon … Examples include the Sage TCR series rods or those offered by G. Loomis in their new RoaringRiver line. Spey casts are also ideal for handling and fishing extremely heavy sink-tips on the swing, a definite boon for down-and-across salmon anglers. Spey casting is a fly-casting technique that most likely developed during the mid-1800s on Scotland’s River Spey, where bankside trees and other obstructive foliage makes overhead casting unlikely if not impossible. This logically minimises the energy loss by keeping perfect 'straight line' shape true to the intended delivery line angle instead of the line having to unravel a 'dog's breakfast' as it's lifting from the water. Spey Casting Schools and Instructions are are available on the Deerfield River, Salmon River, Miramichi Rivers and others throughout North America by Walt Geryk. In 1949 a 126-pound Chinook was captured in a commercial fish trap near Petersburg, and unverified reports of fish up to 135 pounds have filtered down from the Cook Inlet commercial fleet. Kings are the least abundant of the Pacific salmon in North America, but they’re also the largest. That and more has made the technique popular everywhere from its birthplace on the rivers of the British Isles to the Atlantic salmon fisheries of Northern Europe, Iceland, and eastern Canada. As far as making the transition from single-handed to Spey casting and picking up enough of the principles of the technique to effectively begin chasing Alaska’s Chinook, it’s not as hard as it might sound. 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