Hi Art, I got into the spey thing about 3 years ago, and took the wrong route or should I say the more expensive one. There are a lot of things to consider if your thinking about picking up the spey rod. First of all find yourself a shop that is knowledgable on all things spey and can let you try a few differant set ups. You'll save yourself a lot of money this way. Then make sure you take a lesson or two. The learning curve in spey casting is huge but well worth it and lots of fun. Good luck.