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hey Carl
I double dog dare you to go up to Frank Bertainia the next time he brings his spey rod out to the river and fishes in the line up And tell him he is an inconsiderate jerk. Lets see how long you live. Lol
As far as the original subject of this post. I use a single hander on the smaller streams around here a spey rod can be overkill when the river is only fifty feet wide.
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When I was guiding the first guys that showed up with two handed rods I did not think much of the rods. As more people became interested in the two handers I went and learned a little about them, enough so that I could at least help a beginner. That kind of started it for me.
There for a few years I did not fly fish for winter fish. Using a single handed rod, heavy lines and big flies just killed my shoulder. When I started using the two handed rods it got me back into winter fishing. I can fish all day and still lift my are at the end of the day.
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You would be surprised what it takes to fish in a lineup.....grow a pair and try it out sometime. I was one of those, "I only want to fish by myself in the wilderness types." It can be hard to stay "on the fish," with that attitude. At least when you live far from the good holes.
I have a buddy thats been doing some pretty amazing recon trips these days....and catching big fish...
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Like Bruce, spey rods have really opened up winter fishing for me and for those streams that are 50 feet across - that is where switch rods shine!!!!
The newer spey lines coming out (skagits and short skagits) make presenting big flies on fast sinking tips a breeze - something you would really have to struggle with using conventional single handed gear. Of course the new short skagits now work pretty well on conventional single handed rods also
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Carl, never fished the Russian, but from what I have gathered it is slower lines, smaller flies and slower water. Elsewhere it is big tips, flies, and faster runs. Switches and speys make airing out all that hardware easier as well as mending and controlling the speed of the fly.
I think people are a little confused as I never specified fishing in a lineup or general step cast mend.
Hope that helps.
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Carl,
Switch rods can be as short as 10.5 feet. The skagit lines can be under 30 feet including tips. These systems are not ideal for tide water but are great for pocket water and deep runs and slots. I am often using very large weighted flies 3' to 5" long. You can be against a bank with overhanging trees and I would venture you would have a difficult time presenting a full sinking shooting head system under these conditions. I am not saying I would use this system under all scenarios and in tide water or open conditions, a shooting head can be used effectively. But I bet I will use alot less effort throwing a weighted 5" fly on my switch rod than you will with your shooting head system on a 9 foot rod
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Spey Rods....
Since I own/use a switch rod on occasion, I see some value in their use. As the name implies, they can be used as a single hander (and I do that....). So, a switch rod with the appropriate line can fit easily into a line-up and not interfere with anyone else. :cool:
Regardless, I've experienced people trying to use a true spey rod in a line-up (standing within 6' to 8' of me) while Shad fishing and flailing their line around so that it crossed in front of me close enough to make me quit until they left. It's not just one time, either. :mad: So, maybe the real problem is the inconsiderate or amateurish types that step into a line-up. They're probably inconsiderate regardless of the equipment used. IMHO, there isn't really a place in a line-up of guys using single handers for a spey caster.... :| Aaaannnd, it does seem that spey lines are all about the diameter of a ships hauser.... ;)
Altho I agree that the effort of casting a large, heavily weighted fly on a spey rod will be less than that of a single handed rod, I can't recall the last time I cast a 5", heavily weighted fly while fishing for Salmon/Steelhead. I can say that I've spent hours (entire days) with single handers, casting similar size and weighted flies for Stripers and a bunch of different saltwater species (either from shore, bass boats and/or panga's) and can't say that I ever worried about how tired I was going to get. Maybe as I age, that'll change. For now, a switch rod is as far as I'm going....:cool:
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Darian,
Although I don't use those big flies on the Klamath and Trinity, I sure use them on the Eel and other north coast and Coastal Oregon rivers - you can't effectively fish them with conventional fly gear but with a skagit system - no problem. Bruce and I go up each year to fish with Scott O out of Tillamook and we rarely use anything smaller than 3 inches
Here are a couple of photos of large flies
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/mole4.jpg
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...DSCN0003-1.jpg
And here is a clip of Bruce using his switch rod on a small coastal river
http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a3...1-25-09005.jpg
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Darian,
A couple of other comments on two handed vs single handed. You indicate that you throw big stuff all day with a single hander but it sounds like most of that is not on moving water. From a boat, it is much easier to cast the big stuff with a overhead cast.
But for steelhead on moving water, using spey casts is much easier as well as quicker than trying to overhead cast big flies and heavy tips especially when you may be wading waste deep.
While you can spey cast with a single handed rod, this is much more tiring than using either a switch or a 2-handed rod. Switches are great for tight quarters but on bigger water, nothing beats a two hander for giving you not only ease of casting but the best possible control once you have made the cast
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Rick,
Thanks for sharing! Without in any way trying to be negative....
BC guide have told me they see higher incidences of getting the fish behind the head with the long stinger hook...way back from the head of the fly. Something about the steelhead attacking the head of the fly and being stung by the trailer so far back.
Have you experienced this?