Fly Fishing - Most Practical Spey Casts To Learn And Get Good At?

jeremy · Last edited by jeremy on Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:49 pm; edited 3 times in total

hey,

i have really taken a liking to the spey casting .. especially in situations where it makes sense .. and there are many of those situations here in maine .. huge ocean going river .. the ocean in fact ... sea run brown trout, striped bass and salmon ... mike holt and greg have been helping me to put together a "simple solution" rod/reel/line that makes sense to me .. but also helping me to cast 12 and 14 foot rods on some big water systems .. also .. i think i have been watched and analyzing the dvd "spey to z" and then putting what i learn to use on the rivers.. i can really feel the difference when i do a switch cast or snake roll or double spey or circle spey effeciently ... like other things .. i am learning that the effectiveness is in the fine details .. anyway .. having fun and going to take a few casts today for some sea run brown trout ... have been putting together a video of casting with myself, greg and austing with a 12 ft, 14 ft and 10 ft ... should have a video up tonight that shows what we have learned ... ..... its been fun .. feels weird at first .. but once the loops start forming and the line gets going ... its pretty cool stuff ... stay tuned ... wait till you see fisherboy .. he picked it up in no time .. and has a nice spey cast ... fun stuff...

AvidDavid · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 10:30 am Post subject: What about for albies?

Jeremy, can you cast a lot further with the big spey rods? Can you reach across the inlet to the albies that always seem to be on the other side?

gilly09 · Newbie Joined: Oct 10, 2004 Posts: 37

I took up spey casting this spring. A shoulder injury forced me to find alternative ways to fish. Like casting left handed and/or spey casting.

Spey casting enabled me to cast effectively right handed and still use a fly Laughing

jeremy · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:24 pm Post subject: spey

ok -- so here goes -- 2 quick videos -- the first one is greg helping me learn to cast the 14 foot spey rod (double spey cast) on some big water and austin (fisherboy)_ and i practicing 4 casts at a sea run river near our houses ... the 4 casts we are practicing are Single spey, double spey, snake roll and circle spey .. If you are a spey caster .. please feel free to critique our casts as we are just learning ...

the second video is a "simple solution spey rod" for me .. 12 and 14 foot are too big for my preferences on most steelhead and salmon rivers and trout rivers .. and i am lazy .. so i don't wanna carry around 2 setups or be limited to only being able to spey with a giant rod and not being able to effectively nymph or overhand cast because i am stuck with too big of a rod on not so big water .. so here is the "spey" rod that mike holt helped me craft up .. love it... certainly if the application warranted it, i would use 12, 14 or 16 foot spey rods .. but this is my go-to all purpose spey/single handed rod ... covers all the bases for me ... thanks mike.

VIDEO 1 - JEREMY AND AUSTIN PRACTICING SPEY CASTS (single, double, snake and circle) ... feel free to critique or give pointers ..
http://www.fliesandfins.com/jeremygregaustinspey.wmv

VIDEO 2 - THE 7 wt. 10 ft. "SPEY" ROD THAT MIKE SET ME UP WITH
http://www.fliesandfins.com/simplespeyrod.wmv

greg · Newbie Joined: May 18, 2003 Posts: 44

Great rod for Spey casting and it looks like you have the basics well in hand, Austin you remain the fastest learner that I know and your casts were unbelievable. Knowledge like this type of casting, will be useful the rest of your fly fishing life, Great work!!!! Tell Jeremy he should get you under contract now as I think you are a fly fishing Phenomina.

wrh · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 5:55 pm Post subject:

Jeremy,

I got a 10 ft 7 wt and have done a bit of spey casting with it. I have a Rio long belly alt/steelhead line and it works ok. I loop t-14 sections onto it for depth. I used it once spey fishing on the SR and for that it doesn't cut it for reaching the spots. Shaq fished behind me and I just couldn't get to the other side and he could easily. You saw the video results. However I llove the rod for nymphing. Let me know how yuo're set up works because maybe it's the line. Robin

Austin · Newbie Joined: Jan 10, 2005 Posts: 84

Hey greg, I appreciate the complements. I enjoyed practicing the casts and can see myself using all four of them in the future. It's not only somthing new but it is fun! It took a little while of playing around with them but now, if I can just remember them, I can actually make the casts without making a fool out of myself. Very Happy

Maybe one of these days I will hook a sea run brown on a spey cast.

Austin

jeremy · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:18 pm Post subject: anchor spots

the funny thing is this .. out of the 4 casts that i know (and probably not that well) .. the single spey actually was the hardest to get ... i watched "spey to z" and i really like the way that dvd explains things .. and once i watched the sngle spey cast section about 5 times .. it finally hit me .. its all about anchor points, rotation and getting the loop BELOW and NOT ABOVE the rod tip .. and when i tried it on the water and did it correctly so that the fly was aligned with my casting shoulder when it touched the water and as soon as it touched the water i hauled on the forward cast .. BANG! i finally felt the mechanics of it all .. and it seems to me that once i comprehened the mechanics of the single spey cast in terms of the anchor point and fly position on the water from back cast ... and i was able to make and feel an effective switch cast with a haul on the forward motion .... it finally clicked ... and correct me if i am wrong .. but that SWITCH CAST is really the crux of ever cast and having that fly position correctly in relation to the casting shoulder and the anchor point ...

i am really enjoying the spey casts ... and learning the dynamics of them ... regardless of what size rod ... when i finally got a single spey cast down (according to how Way Yin teaches it on the single handed rod on the Spey To Z video) it truly opened up a whole new door of casting that I had not know about ... and for me, it made sense to be able to do it on a single handed rod like Way was doing it and then moving on to a double handed rod) .. he made it look so easy on the video and the loop seemed to just form so naturally under his rod tip .. and he nailed the anchor points so effortlessly .. the end result was a killer cast that i wanted to replicate on both single and double handed rod .. but it took some practice and still does .. but every once and awhile when i hit the anchor point right and make the perfect switch cast .. my line rolls out and it just feels so cool ...

ok ... i am studying some techniques for my next casts that i will be learning ..

jeremy · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:43 pm Post subject: gilly

gilly -- you use the spey in salt water for stripers? if so what size and line .. and how is the casting if there is surf? i would imagine it makes still water spey casting a little more tricky with 9 foot surf?? anyway curious to any advice you may have and what kind of techniques/casts you use .. thanks.

steeliestarter · Newbie Joined: Aug 27, 2005 Posts: 6 Location: tennessee

JEREMY,SURE AS THE SUN COMES UP,YOU AND ANYONE ELSE STATING SPEY,WILL END UP WITH EITHER A 13 OR 14 FOOT ROD,COUNT ON IT!!Guys like Shaq andFISH AND CHIP,ARE THE GUYS THAT KNOW..LISTEN TO THEM...FRANK

jeremy · Posted: Sat Nov 04, 2006 8:52 pm Post subject: Maine

frank -- certainly this won't be my only spey rod .. i am sure that a 15 or 16 foot spey will be practical for spey casting into the ocean here in maine ... and my 7wt 10ft all purpose spey/single handed would not get the job done ... and, a 12 footer would infact fall short ... so, just to clarify ... the 7 wt. 10 ft. is an all around steelhead/trout/salmon spey/single handed rod for me .. i can certainly spey cast and do everything i can do with a single handed rod (nymph/overhand cast etc..) ... and for steelheading it is perfect for me .. because if i fish a big river and a couple creeks in one day .. i don't gotta change rods .. and yes, i will sacrafice a little distance in spey casts on the bigger river but will pick up the simplicity of just being able to use one rod in a versatile fashion .. because if there is one thing for sure .. some of the creeks i fish .. it would be tough to even walk in with a 14 foot spey rod .. never mind fish a 14 foot spey rod .. that would be silly ... ok, just clearing things up so you or anyone else did not think i was saying that this is the end all be all spey rod .. it is just a little simple, well rounded solution that does enable me to dable in all facets without getting to commited to any one style and being bound by limitations .... so the 7wt - 10 ft .. makes sense for me, for that reason .. and in those instances .. but not all instances such as (ocean, gaspe atlantic salmon, certain sections of kennebec river and other maine rivers, west coast steelhead etc..)
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ps.. hey everyone .. especially mainers .. mike hosts a spey class every year on the kennebec and brings in jim rusher to teach it ... there is a video on mikes site showing jim rusher go over the single spey cast .. and also the spey rod, reel and line setup that he recommends for stripers in maine and spey on the kennebec river ..... i know greg learned from jim rusher and mike too ... in addition to learning from mike and greg and others ... i plan on taking this class this year ... just an fyi if your from maine, its a nice opportunity to learn from jim rusher ... ok .. here is a link to the video from a 2 or 3 years ago .. i think ... talk to mike about when this years spey class is ..

http://www.maineflyfishing.com/spey.htm

also -- some good faq's on spey in general and rod matchup for maine freshwater applications and saltwater applications ...
http://www.maineflyfishing.com/speyfaq.htm

waterwhippa · Posted: Sun Nov 05, 2006 12:06 am Post subject: tasty

dude those casts are all tasty. I can rip a couple of them but have not yet practiced the circle spey. Looking forward to getting together and punching out some line.

mike holt · Newbie Joined: Jun 26, 2003 Posts: 17

Hey Jeremy,
Glad to see that rig is working for you. As you replied to Frank I’m sure that won’t be your only Spey Rod – you seem to be having too much fun learning Spey to stop there. That 10-foot rod is going to get you hooked for sure and I don’t mean hooked by a fly. Smile

wrh is right in his post about distance is going to be the thing that drives you to longer rods. If you want to make the 90 to 100 foot cast people talk about when Spey casting you’re just going to have to get a longer rod. Guys like Simon Gawesworth, Way Yin, or Greg Pearson may be able to get into the 90 foot range with a 10-foot rod but guys like you and I are better off figuring that 10-foot rod is going to cast and fish well at something less than 70 feet.

To my way of thinking, when Spey Casting, distance is determined the length of a suitable Spey Casting rod. However, true to your personal philosophy (Simple Solutions) you wanted a rod that would accomplish a host of things – Spey capability, High-Stick nymphing, Dapping, limited Bush-Wacking (could you picture carrying a 15’ Spey down into the gorge) and still be a good single-handed fishing rod. Well, there is no such beast but the 10’, 7-weight rod we selected is close, and the videos make it look like it’s working for you.

Here are some comments on the videos:

I was glad to see that when you, Greg and Austin were casting you weren’t hip deep in the water. The deeper you wade to shorter the distance you can cast.

Your Single Spey clip looked to me more like a Switch Cast. Both casts are Splash-n-Go casts but the Single Spey normally involves a change of direction – say from a downstream dangle to 45 degrees down and across.

The Switch Cast is a straight cast and when repeated the fly returns to the place you picked it up from. The Switch Cast is a great practice cast but has little fishing application. That is mainly because after 10 minutes of Switch Casting you’ve pounded the water straight out in front of you pretty hard and every fish out in front of you has headed for cover.

Practice is the key. I’m so glad you guys are out casting. Many people watch the videos, read the books and then DON’T GO OUT AND CAST. Confused

You have to get on the water to learn Spey Casting and not just once a season – practice – practice – practice. You guys are already getting it and it’s because of the amount of time you’ve already spent on the water in the short time you’ve been Spey Casting.

When I watched the Double Spey, Circle Spey and other clips I thought the same thing as when watching the Single Spey – no, or little, change of direction. Look at the clips with Greg at Six-Mile and then the clips with Austin.

Your Double Speys with Greg were fine and you were changing direction from a downstream dangle to 90 degrees straight out in front of yourself. When Austin makes the good Double Spey in his clip notice that he has to make an angled cast downstream before he makes the Double Spey. Most of these Spey Casts are designed to make a cast with limited backcast room and to change direction. If the water isn’t moving fast like it was at Six-Mile then you have to reposition the line yourself like Austin did.

It looked like Austin positioned the line, for his Double Spey, with a Switch Cast but I couldn’t tell because the clip didn’t show the beginning of the cast. Here’s a combination of casts I often use when I’m on water like you and Austin were on – water that isn’t flowing fast. I’ll cast straight out from my shore and then turn my body 90 degree downstream and use a Snake Roll to reposition the line straight downstream. Then I turn my body back 90 degrees and make a Single or Double Spey (depending on wind direction) to cast straight out from shore again. Then I repeat the process.

I don’t mean to be so long on a post but I’m excited to see you guys doing it. Here are a couple more quick comments and I’ll stop typing, but what we’ve got to do now is get together again and work on refining the casts you’re learning.

Slow down let the rod work for you.

Spey casts can be done with both hands – don’t forget to try your left – I make a much better Single Spey cast using my left hand than with my right even though I’m right handed.

If you’re doing single-handed Spey Cast you might want to try hauling for to add line speed.

Did I say slow down let the rod work for you?

Keep focusing on the Anchor Points – you’re right when you say “it finally hit me.. it’s all about the anchor points”

Learn which casts are Splash-n-Go and which ones are water borne anchors. The water borne anchors not only call for a slow rod speed, many call for a pause as well. Oh, did I say SLOW DOWN YOUR CAST? If I didn’t I meant too. Laughing

Shaq · Posted: Wed Nov 08, 2006 9:37 pm Post subject:

hey Mike all good points. The one thing that I was thinking is that on the video, the reason they had to position the casts before the "Casts" is that some of them are attempted from the wrong side of the river. The reason the double looked so good was the application was right. The reason the single looked wierd is that it was performed from the wrong side of the river. THese casts are not used in a vacuum and each has it''s place. It's hard to perfom the single if the anchor is heading downstream towards you, not going away and anchoring the cast. The single looks good in techjnique and if they crossed the river and performed it from the other side, I think it would have looked great.