Spey: The Flies

Spey flies, the term alone conjures up visions of elaborate and ornate patterns tied with elegant and exotic materials. The term “Spey Fly” comes from the original patterns developed for spey fishing on the river Spey hundreds of years ago. The spey fly had a few distinct characteristics that were indicative of fly designs of the time, material availability and functionality. The spey fly was typically tied very sparsely on a long shank hook without a tail, with a low-lying wing almost flat against the body, and a longer than normal, sparse hackle. These days, there are many patterns out there that are called spey flies some of which follow these early styles and some of which only have a few of the original characteristics. In many cases, the only similarity is that they use a longer “spey” style hackle. The characteristics of the spey style of fly and the way it behaves in the water are representative of the enticing factors of many of the more productive patterns for a wide variety of species. Of course, spey flies and flies with their characteristics are very productive, but they are far from the only type of fly you can use a spey rod to fish with. In current times, spey rods are used to throw everything from tiny size 12 wet flies in very low, clear water for Atlantic salmon to giant 6+ inch long streamers to stripers or steelhead and they are capable of everything in between. It all depends on what you are fishing for, what the fish are willing to take and the type of fly you want to use. In my book, there are no rules when it comes to flies. Use flies that you enjoy fishing that imitate whatever you want and most of all have fun doing it!