Spey Fishing

[kmacisaac]

So I hope to get into the two hand swing, but hopefully at a reasonable price. I hope to eventually head out to BC for salmon/steelhead in the near future and my research is starting here. As far as rods/reels go, what are people using, and what should I look for or avoid? I am hoping to find a second hand setup and practice casting here at home on the Bow. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
Cheers

[Lornce]

Depends what you mean by reasonable. I have a few Spey rods I'm very satisfied with by R.B. Meiser, G Loomis, and Loop. TFO has some decent entry level Rods. You could do more research at the Fly Fusion Forums (Spey Casters Lounge section) and over at the speypages forum.

[Altaboy]

I would look at a 7 weight TFO Deer Creek series for a rod. A bit heavy for the Bow but anything less is useless for Salmon and Steelhead. As for a reel the Echo Ion is ok and not expensive. Lines! Now there is a can of worms. A 500-520 grain Scandi line with a 10 foot poly leader is likely the easiest to learn with and will work nicely on the Bow and for Steelhead. For Salmon I find that a Skagic line of the same weight and MOV tips works better. A setup like this is affordable and will last you a long time. Now the best tip I can give you is GO GET LESSONS

[biggyJ]

Lots of second hand ones pop up here and there (AO, FFC, Kijiji)

I was you about 5 years ago.

I started off with an inexpensive TFO signature rod 8/9wt, redington delta and a fancy SA Skagit interchangeable tip section.

I toiled with this rod for awhile on my own playing around, and it was pretty good for a learning rod. Maybe a little soft.

I then graduated to a Deer Creek 8wt. I found this rod much better, way stronger back bone, and I felt I could cast it better.

I am now into a 8wt Redignton Chromer that I bought second hand. I love this rod. It has been to the Skeena multiple times, and I feel that my casting is finally where I need it to be. Its not pretty, but it gets the line to where it needs to go. Definitely nothing beautifly like an April vokey cast with a tight loop that lays out line like the videos.

If you want to cast well, I would recommend a lesson, or at the very least find someone who can teach you the right way. I still mess up to this day on setting my anchor.


Things I have learned:
-NO need for fancy interchangeable tips setups. I just get a skagit max, and then get iron bow to build me tips in t7-t17. Depending on water speed ill weight up or down
-ariflo running line sucks, it seems to delaminate off the braid after a week of hard fishing. I have no solution for this.
-get a big enough reel with lots of capacity, 250yds backing, 100yds of running line, 20-30ft shooting head + tip. You will quickly run out of room. I like the Redington Behemoth. A little heavy, but inexpensive and lots of capacity.

[Fenix_84]

I echo what biggyJ says, get casting lessons or find someone competent who can teach you. Watching YouTube videos will only get you so far, it's much more involved than than the overhead cast. Get rid of bad habits before they start.

When buying gear get something decent, don't mess with the entry level stuff. It's harder to learn with and harder to sell when you move on.

Good luck!

[kmacisaac]

Thanks for a ton of info to mull over guys. I intend to watch the various used platforms and slowly put something together. I also have to do a bit more reading as to what route I'm going to go down. Either way as mentioned, I will be getting some instruction on casting.

[Lornce]

Nay of the shops has a free Spey Clave on local rivers so you can get out and have a look at casting styles, Rods, Reels, and equipment. Nice way to have a look at various equipment.