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Andris
07-05-2006, 08:23 AM
Hey Bill: I have never tried Spey casting but, from what I've been able to gather, it looks like it provide some real benefits chasing down Steelhead on the Upper Trinity. Primarily, I use a double fly/split shot/ indicator set up. I was wondering if you could give me your thoughts on an appropriate length and weight Spey rod? Thanks, Rob.

Jeff Putnam
07-05-2006, 09:01 AM
Rob, once you try spey casting and experience the effectiveness of this method you'll be hooked. A 6 weight spey rod is a great rod for the Trinity and most of Northern California. The length should be around 12-13 feet long. A Rio Windcutter 6-7-8 is a great line to begin with for these lighter rods.

Andris
07-05-2006, 09:23 AM
Thanks Jeff--I am very much looking forward to the Fall and Winter.

SPG
07-06-2006, 07:10 AM
Andris,

Gary Anderson has a brand new 12 foot 9 inch 6 weight that should be ready by Sept 1st. There will only be 10 blanks in the first round, call him and reserve one. 541-582-4318 This rod is a nymph/indicator and sinktip mod to the Putnam XDS 13'1".

Steve Godshall 541`-840-2594

Rick J
10-27-2006, 02:46 PM
I've fished the Trinity many times with a spey rod and do not think it is overkill although I am not one to indicator fish. Using a spey rod is much more than just about distance. What it really does is give you much better control once you have made the cast.

steve sullivan
10-27-2006, 07:57 PM
Rob, once you try spey casting and experience the effectiveness of this method you'll be hooked. A 6 weight spey rod is a great rod for the Trinity and most of Northern California. The length should be around 12-13 feet long. A Rio Windcutter 6-7-8 is a great line to begin with for these lighter rods.

I fished the Trinity a couple of days ago for the first time by Douglas city and it was more of a creek than a river. I felt a 11 foot winston 2bx or a 10 foot one handed rod would of been more appropriate. If anyone has Simon Gawesworths spey DVD the creek he uses a 1 handed rod on is probably BIGGER than the upper trinity.

Adam Grace
10-27-2006, 08:17 PM
This time of year the water on the upper Trinity gets lower but there are still spots where a rod like Jeff described would be PERFECT. Steve, Andris asked about a spey rod not a singled handed-rod. Jeff 's choice and opinion of rod was great. Jeff chose a nice small outfit that would be an overall nice choice for the Trinity and similar California rivers.

Now I'm not trying to act as thought I am an expert on the Trinity River, but I've fished it enough times to see plenty of spey/big indicator nymphing water to know that Jeff's recommendation was sound.

Jeff has been fishing and been a part of the fly fishing industry for a very long time. His skills and knowledge are greater than you could ever realize Steve.

PaulC
10-27-2006, 10:33 PM
Steve,
I've never used a spey rod before, but could see where it would be a bit less tiring using a spey over a regular rod despite what you view as a narrow river.
Some sections do not lend themselves to deep wading and have brush behind.
I could see Jeff's suggestion having definite merit there. Shoot..I wish I had a spey the last time I was out there.
It would have been fun also!
I don't know you, but man you're posts sure come across as condescending.
-Paul

PS. Hey Jeff, I hope I can get up there for one of your casting lessons one of these days.

SPG
10-28-2006, 10:11 AM
Hi Rob,

At the Touvelle 2 Hander clave on the Rogue River in Sept, super event,
we had 2 guides from the Trinity, Scott Stratton and his buddy Bob, looking to get into spey on the Trinity. They took 3 days of lessons with Jeff Putnam, checked out a lot of rods and bought a pair of 1316 Gary Anderson's. I made them each a custom Scandi line and they are completely dialed into the Trinity. Scott and Bob were good students of spey, they had a great time and love their ACR rods. Steve 541-840-2594

bruce mace
11-06-2006, 11:59 PM
Okay. Now you are getting it... how about a switch rod from the likes of Meiser? A smaller spey with all the ooomph you need on the Trinity. Reach everything with no backcast, mend the bejesus out of the slots. The upper specifically has lots of brushy sides and the spey cast will allow you to cover the holding water where you find it (and the fish). If you choose to single cast it, drifting indicators, you can very well, all day. If you are on your boat with your 2 buddies they won't get as fidgety as when you're wielding a 14'0" Clearwater cannon. Gretchen the dog won't get half as fouled on an 11'6" switch and the whole rod is in the boat for the rare occasion the nose gets buried in the brush because you were all too excited and not watching the drift so good. The upper Trinity is a PERFECT place for a switch.

Bill Kiene semi-retired
11-07-2006, 12:25 AM
Switch rods sound pretty interesting. I guess that about 11 feet is the standard? I hear Sage has a few nice ones in the Z-Axis series.

I have fly fished for Steelhead for about 40 years now with a fly rod with some pretty good fly fishers but it has been mostly single handed rods so I am not really qualified to make a defining answer here.

I fished the Trinity River for about 30 years with single handed rods with only a floating line mostly from above Junction City downstream to Big Bar on foot and car.

It is very brushy so thinking back on those days I would like a longer rod, but not too long, with a floating line. Maybe a 10' single hand, 11 foot Switch rod or a 12' Spey rod?

I would think that some "single handed Spey casting" would be killer when you are backed up to some 15 feet high willows and waded 4 feet deep. This is the Spey casting techniques with a short rod (9').

I think the lower Trinity River would be more open and conducive to using the longer 13-14 foot Spey rods.

Adam Grace
11-08-2006, 12:48 AM
On my last trip to the Trinity, which I have not posted about because there was nothing much to tell about, I loved fishing my 12'8" Scott ARC spey rod. Jason Hartwick joined me and my friends from the Fish First fly shop from Chico for the last day of our trip. Here are some pictures from that trip.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/flyguyag/fishing/IMGP0482.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/flyguyag/fishing/IMGP0491.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/flyguyag/fishing/IMGP0571.jpg

We spey fished all day long, without any success, but we had a great time.

I did however catch about 6 HP's the day before in the Bucktail to Steel Bridge drift. Here's the largest of the bunch:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v238/flyguyag/fishing/IMGP0410.jpg

bigtj
11-09-2006, 04:01 PM
A little late but better late than never...

I think most traditional 2-handers line 6-wt and heavier are too heavy for indicator fishing the trinity, or steelhead in general, for my taste, anyway. The problem is that these rods are designed to throw 500+ grains of line and thus have pretty thick, less responsive tips. A 12' 5 wt i.e. the latest trout speys might work - I haven't tried them - but casting indicators with something like a Sage 6126, for me, isn't a whole lot of fun. I'm sure many other folks will disagree with me on this because personal preferences differ, but I've got to say that a 6 or 7 wt 2-hander is really meant to fish the swing.

"Switch" rods have been a favorite of mine for indicator fishing for many years and I think they are a great way to go. I use an 11' 3-pc 8 wt Sage RPL for winter steelhead fishing and if I think I might pick up something similar in a 7-wt since most of the winter fish I've been catching are about 30-32". On the Trinity, most of my indicator fishing is done with a 10' 6-wt GLX that I use a 7-wt line on. It's one of the finest nymphing sticks around and in my mind perfect for the Trinity this time of year. It's a little under-gunned for the bigger fish but for the average 6-8 pound steelhead it is perfect, and serviceable for the occasional 10-12 pounder. In fact I used this rod in AK for Silvers and had no problem landing chrome fish with sea lice up to 14 lbs. on it!

I guess what I'm saying is, before you plunk down the cash, be sure to try out a rod if you can, maybe at a demo day or as a rental. If you are like me you might just find the heavier longer rods are too clunky. Sure, they're long and help with mending, but they're also heavy and less responsive. It's up to you to decide at what point length and weight turn from an asset to a liability for indicator fishing.

Good luck,

-John

PS Bill hit the nail on the head...using a single hander with 2-handed techniques is far and away the way to go on the Trinity!

PPS if you do get a longer 2-hander try fishing the swing a little more. Not as many grabs as with the bobber but it is such a more pleasant way to fish with a 2-hander.

steve sullivan
11-09-2006, 04:31 PM
It is very brushy so thinking back on those days I would like a longer rod, but not too long, with a floating line. Maybe a 10' single hand, 11 foot Switch rod or a 12' Spey rod?

I would think that some "single handed Spey casting" would be killer when you are backed up to some 15 feet high willows and waded 4 feet deep. This is the Spey casting techniques with a short rod (9').


I fished the upper trinity with a 12.6 foot spey and it seemed way overkill. I had wished I had brought my 7 weight (aftma, not spey) 2 handed 11 foot winston 2bx. Beulah has a 10.6 foot switch rod that is just a cannon, and light as a feather. Fetha Styx is going to be coming out with a Pro Switch rod using beulah as a blank, it will be preety awesome.
Also, I think TFO's 5 weight (aftma) rod that you can take the butt off would be preety nice for the budget conscious for the trinity.