[P 1] The Terms of Spey

As a fly fisherman, I made a choice.  I’m more interested in the process of the sport than the product of the sport.  There are easier ways to catch trout than with a fly rod.

- Tom Larimer answering his question of why we should care about Trout Spey

[P1] refers to Part 1 of an outline or table of contents associated with a broad overview at a later time.  Stay tuned.

Big King on the Kitimat in BC, Canada

Introduction

When I found fly fishing in my 60s the vocabulary of the sport was overwhelming.  Tippet.  Leader.  Line Weights.  Rod Tapers.  Knots.  On and on it goes.  It took a while to navigate all of the vocabulary to figure out what it was I needed for different fishing scenarios.  But it is also true that an hour of casting instruction and a morning on the water with an experienced fly fisher is all someone needs to start catching fish with a fly rod.  Thus, it isn't very difficult to learn to fly fish but one can spend the rest of their life mastering this sport.  That is the fascination for me and it is what Tom Larimer was talking about.  

The terms of Spey we will examine are Spey, Skagit, Skandi, and anchor.  This discovery will start from the point of view of casting, and move to the rods and lines, which are the objects used to cast.  

Spey Casting

Traditional fly fishers are familiar with two forms of casting.  In the first one, plain old casting, the angler makes a backcast and then a forward cast.  If done properly the fly and the fly line remain in the air until the fly hits the water in front of the angler at (hopefully) the chosen spot.  The other one, which drives novice anglers crazy, is the roll cast in which a bit of line sits on the water while the angler makes a casting motion and the line launches to the target.

This short video demonstrates a roll cast and connects it with Spey casting.  A roll cast is useful for launching a fly to the trout when obstruction behind an angler prevents the use of the normal fly cast.  That is, a roll cast for fly fishers interested in the process is another means of delivering the fly, which can be used when the traditional fly cast does not work.

All Spey casts are a type of roll cast called a dynamic roll cast, designed to cast the fly further than possible with a traditional rod.  Spey casting and its associated gear were designed to reach places in a river that can't be reached otherwise.  Because an angler can cast further, they don't need to wade as far out into a river to reach spots, adding an element of safety.   The cast is called dynamic because the lines, rods, and techniques allow an angler to make a longer (e.g. more dynamic) cast than is possible with the traditional single-handed rod.

The word anchor is added to the vocabulary to talk about Spey casts.  An anchor is the position of the end of the fly line at the beginning of a forward cast.  With traditional fly casting the end of the fly line is in the air and hence it is an airborne anchor.  That makes sense, right?  For a traditional roll cast, the anchor will be beside or slightly in front of the angler and it is called a waterborne anchor.  Thus, there are two types of anchors in fly fishing and these are airborne for traditional fly casting and waterborne for roll casting.

Now we have Spey casts that fall into two broad categories of anchors, one is called sustained anchor and the other is called splash and go, terms descriptive of the casts.

Spey casts of all types have three components: the lift, the anchor set, and the fire.  The lift breaks the tension of the water in the line and starts the line moving.  The anchor set, which will define the type of cast, is used to place the anchor in position for the cast, and then the angler fires (e.g, executes a forward cast).  Two examples of sustained anchor Spey casts are the Double Spey and the Snap T.  The Snake Roll and Single Spey are examples of splash and go casts.  In this type of Spey cast, the line is aerialized, the tip of the line (e.g. anchor) is set in the right place, and then the angler executes the cast.

A Spey rod is not necessary for Spey casting -- any of these casts can be performed with a single-handed rod.  OPST makes a line of short heads specifically for one-handed Spey casting and has posted a number of YouTube videos demonstrating this product.  A single-handed rod can make Spey casts with standard fly lines.

The purpose here is to develop the terms of Spey but in a later blog, there will be some instruction, particularly the adaptation of these tools from moving water to stillwater.

Skagit, Skandi, and Spey Lines

We will discuss what these lines are, what they are used for, but first, we will discuss how to match the line to the fly or Spey rod and to do that we need to understand the parts of a fly line system.  The word system implies there are components to the line and indeed that is the case with Spey casting, which is another reason for the complexity of this subject.  To accomplish this we will start at the fly reel spool and work our way out to the fly.  The first thing that goes onto the reel is backing which provides an additional line in case an angler is lucky enough to hook a monster -- going into the backing is a thrilling moment.  Attached to the backing is running line or shooting line, both of which are finer than the head (next piece) and allow an angler to make longer casts.  Whether it is shooting line or running line it is attached to the head of the fly line.  For some types of lines or system,s a tipi is attached but this will not always be the case.  The head is the critical component for matching lines to rods.

Matching a two-handed line to a two-handed rod is an early puzzle that anglers new to two-handed casting encounter.  With a single-handed rod it is simple: put a 5-wt line on a 5-wt rod.  It is not that simple with Spey Lines.  Why is that?

All fly rods cast the weight of the line and rods are designed to cast a certain amount of weight.  With the single handed rod the higher the number the more weight it can cast.  Thus a 7-wt rod can cast a heavier line than a 5-wt line can.  But each rod also needs a certain amount of weight to load it properly.  Thus there is a window of weights that enable a rod to work well.

For a single-handed rod this is made simple as a standard 30' is measured and the weight of that 30' determines whether it is a 3-wt, 4-wt, 5-wt and so forth line.  Thus, the grain window and grain weight is encapsulated in the single number -- the weight of the fly rod and weight of the line.

But it is more complicated for a two-handed rod because heads can be as short as 10' or as long as 100'.  There are emerging systems for matching a line to a rod with a single number but that is not as definite as for a single-handed rod.  Better for the angler is to understand the system and that requires four pieces of data -- the length of the head, the weight of the head, the taper of the head, and the grain window of the rod.  It is not as bad as it sounds but it is a bit more complicated than it is for a single-handed rod.  In the section on rods, we will pick up this discussion.

Simone Gawesworth's Rule of Three provides rough equivalence between the weight of lines for a two-handed rod and a single-handed rod.  To convert a Spey line to a singled handed line weight add 3.  Thus, a 3-wt Trout Spey would be roughly equivalent to a 6-wt single handed rod.  Your 8-wt single-handed line should work on a 5-wt rod.

In his videos on the casts, Jon Hazelett mentions Scandi and Skagit lines.   Skagit Lines, named for the river in Washington, were designed to cast heavy flies on sink tips in a river with very little room behind the angler.  To meet these needs the heads are short 3-3x the rod length and must be used with some type of tip.  Skandi Lines, short for Scandinavia, are a bit longer and are designed to cast lighter flies, including dry flies.  Traditional Spey Lines casting started with line 80-100' in length that are cast all at one time.

Skagit Lines are a bit easier to cast that either a Scandi or a Spey Line.  Because they are designed to lift heavy flies and work with sink tips, they are an element of a very flexible fishing system.  I'll write more about this in a later blog entry.  Traditional Spey lines are more difficult to cast and a bit of a specialty.  This blog will concentrate on systems with Skagit and Scandi lines.

On Bob Meiser's website, you will find a good discussion of matching lines to rods (here and here), and how grain windows fit into the puzzle.

Spey, Switch and Trout Rods

These are generally characterized by weight, which will be covered shortly, and length.  There is no standard definition for these rods, leaving sales and marketing people to define them.  That is that.  

Spey rods are the longer rods (13-20 ft) that handle the heavier lines (8+ two-handed rod weight).  Switch rods, as the name implies, allow an angler to switch between two-handed and one-handed casting.  It should be noted that some switch rods are more Spey like and others are more single-handed like.  But, Switch rods are generally 10.5-12.5 ft in length and use line weights from 5 to 8.  Trout Spey rods are the smallest of the bunch and are 9.5 to 12 feet in length and use 2-5 wt lines.  

It should be noted that your skill and style as a two-handed caster will determine the best line configuration for the rod.  As one advances as an angler, the other pieces of data mentioned in the line segment will become more important in the configuration of systems.  

Configuring Your System

We are finally ready to talk about choosing your first Spey system, which won't be very difficult given what you now know.  If at all possible, I would recommend buying it from a local fly shop.  It is always best to work knowledgeable person nearby if you can do it.  If not, then a fly club or a guide would be of great assistance.  

The first question is how big are the fish you plan to catch?  In my area (NE corner of NV), the Ruby Marshes have trout 10-12 lbs, the local reservoirs of trout 2-5 pounds, and a Pyramid Lake cutthroat can go 20 lbs.  The first step is easy, divide the weight of the fish by 3 to get the size of the rod.  For the ruby Marshes a 3/4 weight would be a good choice; for the local reservoirs a 2/3 weight would be a good choice; for Pyramid Lake, a 6/7 weight is a good choice.  In the summer, I sometimes fish for salmon in Canada and have run into them to 30 lbs and for that, I use a 9 wt rod.  

See, that was pretty easy.  

If your rod is 2 to 5/6 weight a Trout Spey would be a good selection and if in the high end you might consider a Switch Rod.  If your rod is 5 to 8 weight then you will want a switch rod and if it is 8 weight and up you will want a Spey rod.    

Picking a line.  There are line selectors available at some of the line suppliers and also a Google with your rod and line recommendations will turn up ideas.  But generally, if you plan to fish deep or throw an indicator, or if you want flexibility in how deep you fish, pick a Skagit Line appropriate to the weight of your rod.  I would try to select a line that is 2-2.5 times the length of the rod.  If the fish might be spooky or if you plan to fish dry flies then a Scandi line is your choice and it should be 2.5-3 times the length of the rod.  

If you've selected a Skagit Line then there are tips to be selected to match the capability of the line.  That is too much to cover here but there are websites that will help with the selection of the tips.  There is one thing to be aware of, which can be difficult to check, the total weight of the Skagit Head plus the tip must fit within the grain window of the rod.  Often people ignore this and wind up with a head-tip combination that is too heavy for the rod, which makes casting more difficult and risks breaking the rod.  If you aren't sure how to match this up, find someone who knows and talk with them.  

Finally, you will need a reel to carry the line and there are three things to consider:  #1.  The reel needs enough capacity to hold the backing, running line, and head;  #2.  The reel must be sturdy enough for the gamefish you plan to catch.  I have had a big salmon bend a cheaper reel and that is terrible on a once-in-a-lifetime trip;  #3.  The reel needs to balance the rod.  What this means is when you hold the rod where you grip it with the top had to cast it should balance.  Neither the rod end nor the tip end should dip down.  This reduces fatigue and improves casting performance.

Good Luck.  I hope this advice helps.