Spey Casts

1. Lines

1.1. match line weight designation with rod action

1.2. 4 types: short belly, medium belly, long belly, double taper

1.3. full floating vs. multiple tip or versa tip line

1.3.1. 5 & 6 weight rods are designed for use with full floating lines for surface or near surface presentations

1.3.2. 7 to 11 weight rods are designed for full floating or multi-tip lines

1.3.2.1. different tips allow fishing different depths

1.3.2.2. tips available in compensating densities from type 2 to type 7

1.3.3. leaders 9’ to 12’ long

1.3.3.1. steelhead and salmon are not leader shy

1.3.3.2. long leaders “screw us” anchor system

1.3.3.3. with sink tip lines, use significantly shorter leaders = 2’ for dirty water to 4’ for clear water; doesn’t have to be tapered, use 0.021” or 0.017” leader material directly to sink tip

1.3.3.4. http://gorgeflyshops.blogspot.com/2012/07/sink-tips-polyleaders-versileaders.html

1.3.3.4.1. Polyleader by Airflo & Versileader by Rio: similar to traditional leader; polymer coating surrounds inner mono core; they are tapered

1.3.3.4.2. Tips extend particular fly lines (eg. VersiTip II by Rio for single hand rods)

1.3.3.4.3. Spey heads, such as Skagit style lines are meant to turnover tips of all sizes – even extremely dense or aggressive sink-tips

1.3.3.4.3.1. These short spey lines need a tip to cast/fish effectively – whether it’s a floating tip or a sink-tip

1.3.3.4.3.2. Examples of these are the Airflo Skagit Compact, the Rio Skagit Max and Skagit Max Short or SA Skagit Extreme.

1.3.3.4.3.3. longer spey heads there is the Rio Unispey VersiTip Line that comes with interchangeable tips in the mid-spey category (52+ feet)

1.3.3.4.3.4. Skagit lines as well as longer spey lines that are built for integrated tips all perform well at casting high density tips but other lines cannot handle heavy tips and this is where poly/versileaders come into play.

1.3.3.4.4. Most floating single-hand lines are not properly tapered to handle addition of looped on tip.

1.3.3.4.4.1. short or light tip may be manageable; poly/versileader is a better choice

1.3.3.4.4.2. shorter a given fly line, then the easier it is to cast an added tip or polyleader

1.3.3.4.4.3. Extreme weight forward fly lines between 20-40 ft will cast a looped-on tip much better than longer headed lines

1.3.3.4.4.4. Rio Grand, Rio Outbound Series including the new Rio Outbound Short Shooting Head and the Airflo 40 Plus are examples of shooting head style lines that can handle added polyleaders or short tips

1.3.3.4.5. sink tips

1.3.3.4.5.1. initially by “Type.” Type x – sinks at x inches/second

1.3.3.4.5.1.1. typically 10 & 15 foot lengths

1.3.3.4.5.2. later people made their own tips out of straight Tungsten material

1.3.3.4.5.2.1. dense and sinks quite quickly depending on the grain weight

1.3.3.4.5.2.2. not tapered

1.3.3.4.5.2.3. T-x where x = grains/foot 7 <= x <= 20

1.3.3.4.5.2.4. sink rates T-7 => 6 inches/sec, T-8 => 6.5 inches/sec, T-10 => 7 inches/sec, T-11 => 7.5 inches/sec T-14=> 8.5 inches/sec, T-16=> 9.5 inches/sec, T-17=> 10 inches/sec, T-18=> 11.5 inches/sec

1.3.3.4.5.2.5. Tungsten tips sink faster than poly/versileader with the same sink rate because no taper

1.3.3.4.6. RIO MOW Skagit sink tips

1.3.3.4.6.1. two part – meaning that they are made up of both a sinking portion and a floating portion of line

1.3.3.4.6.1.1. 2.5 ft float/7.5ft sink, a 5ft float/5ft sink, and a 7.5ft float/2.5ft sink

1.3.3.4.6.1.2. change the rate of sink without altering the overall length of the tip; staying constant with the length of line really aids the spey cast

1.3.3.4.6.1.3. short lengths of aggressive sink tips (e.g. Mow Heavy 5ft Float/5ft sink Tip) help you get that fly in behind structure like boulders without worrying about hooking the rock with the rest of your tip

1.3.3.4.7. Rods from 6-8 weights will be most enjoyable with T-10 – T-11

1.3.3.4.8. Fast rods will be able to handle heavier tips

1.3.3.4.9. Long rods (14 ft and above) will be happy with longer and perhaps, heavier tips; but even short rods, like a 7 wt, 11 foot switch rod can handle 10 feet of T-14

1.3.3.4.10. floating tips for Skagit lines. The Rio Mow Tips have the best floater tips; Mow Medium Floater for 7 weights

1.3.3.4.11. Length

1.3.3.4.11.1. tip length between 10 – 13 feet casts best on spey rods between 12-13 ½ feet

1.3.3.5. {more} – left off at S”ingle-hand lines... Most floating single-hand…”

1.4. http://gorgeflyshops.blogspot.com/2013/03/skagit-lines-which-one-is-best-for-me.html

2. Double Spey Cast - D-loop off right shoulder - used when downstream is to the right

2.1. Summary – 3 Steps: Setup, D-Loop, Stroke

2.2. Setup

2.2.1. get rid of any slack in the line (to the right) with a roll cast

2.2.1.1. lift rod up to break surface tension; lift this high

2.2.2. bring rod across to left shoulder

2.2.3. stop so there is slack line in front of you
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2.2.4. keep left hand in tight

2.2.5. line leader junction must stop at anchor point

2.3. D loop – don’t let it settle on water behind you

2.3.1. D-Loop shape

2.3.1.1. if D-Loop is narrowed to bullet shape, maximum power is achieved by loading rod more

2.3.1.2. accelerate more across the front of your body to achieve this bullet shape

2.3.2. to maintain anchor position when making D-Loop, must leave a couple of feet of line (and entire leader) on the water

2.3.3. D-Loop must be exactly 180 degrees from direction of cast

2.3.4. Must sweep the rod at the end of the D-Loop formation, then pause as one would with a back cast; from end of setup to creation of D-Loop, rod tip must remain in the same horizontal plain parallel to the water surface.

2.4. Forward cast

2.4.1. When rooster tail dies, it is sign to begin forward cast

2.4.2. grip should be light with right hand, thumb, index and middle fingers holding butt section; left hand moves away from body as D-Loop completes formation

2.4.3. Snap left hand towards the body to make forward cast; right hand really just guides rod tip

2.4.4. Do not raise rod tip high

3. Reverse Double Spey – D-Loop off left shoulder - ideal when wind is not blowing at all or is blowing downstream
he is using 15’ 200 grain sinking tip, which means he has to strip in a bit to bring the tip up in the water column
With sinking tip the rod can be loaded more easily; He is positioned “river left” = left bank as looking downstream

3.1. Strip in a bit to bring the tip up in the water column

3.2. Raise rod tip slowly

3.3. Make setup

3.4. Big Rooster Tail

3.5. Strong forward cast

3.6. Must have line leader and fly downstream of cast direction

4. Reverse Circle Spey – Circle cast is better for sink tips (and snap t for floating line)

4.1. Lift line tension off the water to 45 degrees

4.2. Move rod tip up and roll the line ( flick upstream, then bring tip slightly down and all the way parallel to bank on the right) out to center river

4.3. Keeping rod tip in same plane (and rod at 45 degree angle), sweep the line behind

4.4. Forward cast when rooster tail reaches the line leader junction at the anchor point

4.5. If windy stop rod tip at about 9:30

4.6. If calm, stop at about 10:30

5. Circle Spey – on left bank with upstream wind so want to cast of upstream (right) shoulder - Easiest cast to learn

5.1. Lift rod tip

5.2. Make a giant circle, ending with rod tip in same spot it started in. This should leave line and leader upstream

5.3. Keeping rod at 45 degree angle away from body, Make D-Loop and fire cast out

5.4. If going too fast, everything ends in a pile

6. Single Spey

6.1. Start with line straight below (parallel to bank)

6.2. Lift rod to 45 pointing slightly at bank

6.3. Keep rod at 45 and untwist body so rod tip makes plan view half circle upstream with you being the center of the circle

6.4. Line will land straight slightly upstream

6.5. As soon as line kisses the water, make forward cast

6.6. this cast can be made with very little room behind

6.7. easy to change cast direction

6.8. this cast uses very little arm movement, it is mostly untwisting the body

7. Snap T - Alternative to Single Spey on River left with upriver wind - snap t is better for floating line (and Circle cast is better for sink tips)

7.1. Lift rod tip to break surface tension

7.2. Somehow snap the rod down and it will throw the leader to the upstream side – not sure how that works

7.3. Make D-Loop and forward cast

8. Reverse Snap T - Strong upstream wind blowing so will have to cast off left shoulder or upstream sid of body

8.1. Slowly bring rod tip up

8.2. Accelerate, then Snap the rod down will send line upstream to left and a lot of slack in front of you

8.3. Bring rod up to 45 degrees

8.4. Load rod tip by making D-Loop

8.5. Forward Cast

8.6. Difference from circle cast – in circle cast, more line is upstream; snap t bigger loop and more power in the cast

9. Snake Roll cast – intermediate difficulty alternative to the double spey

9.1. continuous motion; roll is always to center river

9.2. Lift rod tip up to break surface tension

9.3. Roll in an oval shape

9.4. When line kisses water make forward cast

9.5. Can make cast to any direction, but be sure to start at 90 angle plan view to direction of cast

10. reverse snake roll cast - Wind is headed from right to left as is current

11. power roll cast

11.1.seems quite similar to circle cast – out and up

11.2.bring rod back to roll cast position slowly so D-loop doesn’t get tangled in bush

11.3.snap rod tip towards water

12. Overhead cast – 1 foot of fly line out with 10’ leader – to fish close water - just like single handed traditional cast, but two hands on the rod