There are three kinds of fly rods: single handed,
switch and Spey. Most people begin fly fishing with a single-handed rod. There
is good point in this, as learning the basics of a forward cast sets the stage
for all other fly casting. While it used to be the case that big water lead to
learning Spey casting and the extreme distances the rods can throw, these days
there is another path.
Switch rods came on the scene after the move in Spey
to the Skagit-style lines and matching 12- to 13-foot Spey rods – rather than
the long 14- to 16-foot Speys. The heavy Skagit tip is seldom longer than 30
feet and matches very well with the shorter rods. The line systems became very
popular with coastal fly guys who fish for steelhead and salmon. In the former,
the issue is reaching a lie, with the latter, the issue is lofting a heavy sinking
tip easily.
And learning Spey casts sets a fly fisher up for switch
rods. While the roll cast is the basis of Spey, and one can make a roll cast with
a single-handed rod, it is the versatility of the casts that is useful. In both
the Single Spey and Double Spey, for which the key word is taking your time and
being deliberate in setting up the D-loop behind you, the tip touches the
water, and then the forward part of the stroke is last. Other casts like the
Snap-T, or Circle-C are really variations on the other casts; still, the key is
deliberately letting the D form, before the forward cast.
But the most important thing to remember is that Spey
casts are change of direction casts. That may not seem so important until you
get the casts down, but it is the key of versatility. Both the single and double
Spey begin with retrieving the line at the end of the swing below you, and
laying it down close to your body, and then on to the rest of the cast. Then, the
important thing is that the cast changes the direction of the cast by 90
degrees, from downstream to laying the line out perpendicular to your body.
It is that change of direction that leads to
versatility. Once you can cast proficiently, you will find endless times in
your day where you want to cast 45 degrees or even 120 from where you stand. If
you see someone with a single-handed rod who seems to be able to land his/her
fly virtually anywhere in front of him/her, you are watching someone who has
learned Spey, and then uses it with a single-handed rod.
In the middle of your cast, if you see a fish rise, or
wind changes direction, you can use Spey casting to make instant adjustments and
place your fly where you want. And one additional thing here: spend your day on
the water, trying to put your fly within a foot of where you want it to go. If,
for instance, you can cast all the way across the river, and into the forest on
the far side, then every cast, try to put your fly within a foot of the
opposite bank.
You will lose a lot of flies at first, but then your
judgement of cast distance improves. If the cast is going long, if you lift the
rod tip, the fly will land short, something that one does all the time when
casting dry flies, but rarely in the subsurface fishing we normally do on the
coast. Your sensitivity to your circumstances, and practiced, fluent casting,
leads to being able to land in front of, beside, just above a surface branch, in
a gap and so on.
If you are never willing to go through the period when
you lose more flies, you will never be able to count on your fly going where
you want it to go. Reconcile yourself during the learning period, making
multiple, simple nymphs or marabou creations that are quick, cheap and light
enough to make casting them easy.
Now, think of switch rods as short Spey rods. And the
single Spey, the easiest of the Spey casts becomes your good buddy. Line systems
have moved on to the Skandi system of specific grains, or weights. The other use
of switch rods, like Spey, is: not having to do a single-handed back cast, to
set up the forward cast; this means you are less likely to catch your fly on
bushes behind you.
As a D is rarely 10 feet behind you, you are far less
likely to be chagrined by catching flies. This is particularly useful in winter
when rivers are higher and force you back into the forest, as in closer and
closer to sticky branches. The other thing to remember is that in a D-loop the
fly line hangs vertically behind you rather than horizontal. A vertical line
hangs on bushes without getting a hook tangled, and thus, even when your D-lays
on vegetation, it seldom gets caught. And the cast goes well.
Moving to a switch rod (though the change was really made
by manufacturers to sell more rods), allows you to cast farther than you do
with a single-handed rod. And even more importantly, it is far less effort to
Spey cast all day than conventional back and forward casting on a single rod.
Add to this that Switch rods allow you to land a fish without
breaking the tip off, as happens with longer Spey rods. When you try to ‘surf’
that fish to you – at then end, judge when the fish is tired enough to allow
you to get its head out of the water, and ‘surf’ it to you – the closer it
gets, the more likely your rod tip, up in the air is bent over double, and if
it snaps that could be the end of your day, not to mention Ka-ching. Fly
fishers seldom kill a fish, so releasing them unharmed, without having to drop
your rod in the drink, or have someone with a net is a bonus offered by most switch
rods.
Always, always, take two rods with you when you have a
day on the water. If one breaks, you are still fishing. And that versatility
thing can help you out in trying conditions. I fish a lot on Johnstone Strait
beaches, where the wind is always blowing up to 25 knots over your left
shoulder. I am left handed, and simply learned to make a single Spey off my
wrong, meaning right, shoulder. So, I don’t hit myself in the side of my face almost
every cast, if I had cast off my left shoulder.
If you watch fly people who can Spey cast, they can,
on every type of rod, make instant decisions on what cast will get their fly
where they want it with the least amount of energy. Switch rods make great
sense because once you get Spey casting down, they easily place that fly
anywhere within casting distance. Also, if you watch someone who seems not to
be doing a conventional forward/back cast on a single-handed rod, yet their fly
is on the money all the time, you are watching someone who has integrated Spey
into single handed casting.
Another option is: lay the line out in front of you
with a short single Spey, then lift it off the water – surface tension loading
the rod – directly behind you and use a haul on the forward cast to reach out
your fly. The other advantage is that there is no false casting. Each false
cast can lead to a failed cast and having to start over again. Some people will
use as many as 10 false casts, each of which could lead to a failed cast. With
Spey casts, there is no false casting, and far fewer failed casts. Just be
deliberate, making those D-loops, and you will be Spey casting in no time.
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