Breaking in the two hander

[PaulC]

Went out this morning to give the two hander a solid morning shot in the surf and see what I could run into.
Definitely way overkill for the perch, but still fun casting it.
A fouled shovelnose put a big bend in it and this chunky Yellowfin Croaker gave a nice pull on the rod.
Either way, definitely was fun chucking the whole line out there without too much effort or false casting.
With things winding down, it'll be fun hitting the harbor with this to practice spey casting with a floater for the winter.
-Paul
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/Cronin/YFC_2Hander.jpg

[DonCooksey]

Paul:

Sounds like the perfect solution to backcast problems on southern California beaches! I don't know much about spey rods; are there lighter weight versions that would get the line out far enough but still be fun with smaller fish?

[Darian]

Paul,.... That's a good sized Croaker. What line size does your rod handle :?: :?: :?: I'm thinking of getting a two hander but don't really have much of an idea what would be overkill in the surf. :? :? I've casted the Sage Z-Axis, 11', 7 weight rod and was sold on the casting but I'm sure that perch will not be much fun with the 7 weight. :? :?

[PaulC]

Hey Don and Darian,
This rod was one of the smaller switch sticks on the longer end that Bob makes. Its a 5/6/7 wt which translates into a grain window of 350-550 grains.
I recall he has a size down from this, but you could check his website to be sure.
Definitely makes a nice roll cast and shooting line pretty easy for those LA beaches if the action is in reasonably close. At least the range is farther than I can roll and shoot with my 9 ft. rods.

I was chucking a 400 grain depthfinder line. Definitely way overkill for the perch, the croaker was fun, and would definitely be a blast for some of the bigger halibut next spring.
I could feel the bigger perch and their characteristic tapping put bends in the tip, but the dinks felt non-existant.

Just a different experience casting two handed and was a fun change to the norm. By no means a corbina stick unless blind casting far out or maybe dapping in the skinny water. lol.
-Paul