Spey Casting....

[Darian]

OK Guys,..... While I was out on my bike ride today, I stopped at the Watt Ave area and watched a few guys Spey casting. Not sure that they were actually fishing, tho. Different styles were evident and all of them casting to the opposite side of the river.... 8) Plenty of spacing between casters.... They were set up for a long day; coolers/chairs/books, etc. 8) 8)

I was unable to determine what the point of what they were doing was from my observations. :? :?

One caster was casting accross at about 10:45 and making a rapid retreive thru about 9:45 (If 12:00 is straight across, 11:59 is on my left). He picked up the line at 9:45 for a new cast and obviously wasn't allowing enough time in the water for most fish to notice his fly..... :? :? Great distance caster, tho.... 8)

The second caster was alternating casts between 12:00 and 11:45, swinging thru 9:30 before picking up for a new cast. Either this guy was not an overly good mender of lines or what I've heard about advantages of Spey rods is incorrect.... 8) 8) His fly(s) did spend the most time in the water of the two.... 8)

All of the casters (4) were no more than knee deep in the run (below the Watt Ave Bridge) :?

After watching these casters for awhile, I decided that there are definitely advantages to using Spey rods. Most of the casters I've seen (here and elsewhere) were not using their equipment in a fashion that would take advantage of those uses.... :? I tend to think the trend is to try to cast into the next county when using Spey rods.... :lol: They're a great new toy. 8) 8)

I'm beginning to think that real hot rod for me would be an two-handed, overhead rod. :D :D :D

[David Lee]

D -

Perhaps , practice makes perfect ??

So few of us actually PRACTICE casting - If we really worked on it (Spey , or whatever ...) , we might take advantage of situations where it just might make a difference in hooking fish . I think they might have been 'working' on perfecting the two-handed gig .... not so much 'fishing' , per se .

I've yet to use a two-handed rig for more than about five minutes :oops:

I CAN see why someone would want to learn how to use one properly , though ...

#1 - Line control . Simple fact , you can lift (and control) a long line much better with 14 feet of rod than you could with 9 feet .

#2 - Backcasting room (or lack of ...) . It would stand to reason .... the longer the rod , the more line one could roll cast .

Not like you didn't know any of this ..... I'm just thinking out loud again , and the board has been slow today :P

Forgive , oh , forgive :wasted: :p =P~

:D David :mrgreen:

[Gregg Machel]

Darian, There is a group of guys that meet down there every weekend in the morning (Sat & Sun). They are mostly practicing, some are throwing flies, and others are just throwing yarn. I've actually been going down there with these guys the last month or so (although not this weekend), ever since I got my spey rod. I would say it's more of a get together to try different lines, work on casting technique, and if a fish happens to see the fly and bite, well, that's a bonus. :)

I'll tell you, after figuring out how to finally cast the spey rod half way decent, I doubt I'll ever fish on a regular rod if I can do it on a spey rod. Of course, not all fishing methods are compatible with spey, but if your swinging, you can't beat it.

[Rick J]

I expect most if not all the guys are practicing spey casting so they are not fishing each cast through - thus you will see some guys stripping in fast to get ready for the next cast.

They are casting across the river as they are practicing to be able to cast as far as possible so when they get in a fishing condition no matter what the conditions are they will hopefully be able to make the appropriate cast to cover the water.

Depending on conditons and fishing technique one could cast from 45 degrees or less to 90 degrees and even 45 degrees or more upstream with the initial cast.

Spey fishing is not just about distance - it is about making a fishing cast more quickly, more easily and having better line control once the cast is made. But this is only true if you practice, practice, practice!!!

[Darian]

Good points, all. 8) 8) However, it does seem to me that there is a fixation with distance associated with Spey casting rather than fishing. I've observed Spey casters in other areas and they, uniformly, entered the water to knee depth, stripped off a bunch of line and proceeded to make a long cast their first.... Completely ignoring the potential of nearby fish.... :? :? :?

Oh well,.... Guess I've been guilty of that with a single handed rod, too.... :roll: :roll: It must be the fisherman rather than the difference in rods/techniques. :lol: :lol:

I do see some potential for surf fishing with a two handed. overhead rod, tho. 8) 8)

[Hairstacker]

Well, maybe some day if I feel like I have learned how to cast a single-handed rod, maybe I'll give spey casting a shot. But that day looks a long way off. . . . :lol:

[Rick J]

Darian,
Definitely a trait amoung alot of casters - both single handed and double handed but I likely agree that there is probably a higher percentage of double handed casters doing this as it is just so much fun to cast!!!

Ragarding how far you wade - the longer rod lets you keep the line farther out on the swing so while you may be in ankle deep water where no fish is likely to hold the line on the dangle if your rod is extended is in fishing water. Using a spey rod allows more safe wading as you generally do not need to wade as deeply - not to say that this has ever stopped me!!!

[Jasonh]

You guys are getting me excited with all this talk of spey casting and fishing. I am looking forward to getting out to Watt Ave next time i am home to work on my casting and maybe even a little fishing!

Jason Hartwick

[Darian]

Rick,.... You make a very good point about wading safety.... 8) 8) Something I hadn't considered at all.... :roll: :roll: Now that my knees seem to be slowing me down a bit, I'll probably be more amenable to that part of spey casting/fishing. 8) 8) 8) I still attempt to wage deep.... But not sure how much longer I'll be able to.... :lol: :lol:

Thanks :D :D :D