Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts

What do you need to start spey fishing or spey casting? The essential gear to start is a spey rod in a weight and length best suited for your primary fishing, a good reel that balances correctly with the rod and that has a large capacity for a spey line and backing, and a spey line matched correctly to the rod. First, select a spey rod that is best suited for the type of fishing you will be doing. Are you spey casting for pacific steelhead on large West Coast Rivers? Are you spey fishing Atlantic salmon in the traditional manner in Europe? Are you spey casting great lakes steelhead on medium sized creeks? Are you saltwater spey fishing striped bass on the northeast coast? Each of these types of spey fishing requires a different spey rod. Of course, there are crossover rods that can be used for more than one application but certain lengths and actions are best for certain types of fishing.Once you have selected the right spey rod, you need to select a spey reel (with a good drag system) to match the rod. There are two primary considerations when selecting a spey reel for your spey rod, balance with the rod and capacity for the spey line and backing. Balancing with the rod is important both for casting and in holding the rod when fishing. The correct (large) capacity is important since spey lines are much longer and much larger in diameter than conventional fly lines. Finally you need a spey line that matches your spey rod correctly. You cannot use a standard fly line on a spey rod; it will not load the rod correctly and will not allow enough line to be on the water to properly execute a spey cast. In addition you need to select a line that matches the type of fishing that you are doing. In the next article, selecting the right spey line will be covered in greater depth.