Jump to content
Fly Tying
Steeldrifter

Spey rod for trout, anyone here do it?

Recommended Posts

Thinking about building myself and my fishing buddy a couple of 5/6wt 12ft spey rods for trout this spring. There's a few spots on the Au Sable where I think a spey would be just the ticket. Anyone else here do smaller 5/6wt spey rods for trout? If so I'd like to pick your brain on a few things about it.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have two of them -- an 11' TFO 5 wt, my heavy weight and an 11' 3" Redington Hydrogn 3wt as my middle weight. (grin)

 

I have had the most time on the water with the 5 wt, It has an Orvis Hydros II Titanium reel filled with a 325 gr Skagit line. which it handles nicely for deep water work and a spare spool with a 6wt long belly steelhead line for floating applications. It handles both nicely -- though the reel size is not right, see below. Getting reasonably adept with the rod was fairly easy. It has seen the most use on big river smallmouth as trout waters nearby are not very wide.

 

The Hydrogen has a 225 grain OPST Commando mini Skagit line that -- with sink tips -- brings the weight up just over 300 gr. I use a one up-sized Redington Behemoth reel that came in a package deal with an extra spool thrown in. (This reel dwarfs the rod but in fact it is perfect for it because of its larger diameter and improved balance. You do not want to fish all day fighting a tip heavy system. Look into the reel size issue before going into trout speying. There is a reason the two handed guys use the big mills. A knowledgeable old hand with the Hydrogen steered me straight on this.) My actual time on the water with this one is limited as health issues shortened last fall for me. The timing on the short compact Commado line was coming quickly and rocket-like deliveries way out there with little or no effort was a revelation.

 

One more thing. These rods in effect are actually switch rods! Length determines the difference between spey and switch rods and there is no other appreciable design feature difference twixt the two. The dealers just settled on the trout spey rubric as it sounds classier and more familiar.

 

Rocco

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm all ears because I've considered building something similar, either switch or spey, in either 4-5 or 5-6. I fish in several locations with limited back cast room. I assume it would be kind of a disaster for dry fly fishing but be good for emergers and sub surface wet flies etc ? For me, I need a blank with reasonable mid and tip action and I just don't know enough about the blanks or researched them far enough yet to take the plunge.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Dennis the reel is actually one of the things I was going to ask about. I've built a number of spey rods for guys over the years, built myself a couple switch rods for steelhead, but I've never built a trout sizes spey and I never have really got deep into spey casting/fishing much myself. So one things I was wondering was about the reel size. I was going to build a 8wt spey rod for steelhead last year and bought a 11/12 Echo Ion for that but that would be too big for this one (that reel is a MONSTER). So was wondering if maybe a normal 8wt size reel would be large enough to hold a 6wt spey line?

 

Also any suggestions on a good 5/6wt spey line that won't break the bank? Planning on probably skagit style spey rodding and going to be using it mostly for streamers with about 250-300grain head for the waters I fish in Mio.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have been using Spey rods for trout exclusively for 8-9 years.

 

Started with 5wt Spey when that was the lightest line weight available, today we have down to 2wt and a few Micro Spey which is under 2wt class (200gr).

 

First decide on the fly weight and size then conditions, windy, distance, etc.

 

You can easily cast small dry flies if you position upstream and use short line techniques with long leader.

 

A 250-300gr class line would normally call for a 4wt class Trout Spey rod.

I like a 240gr Scandi and 275-300gr Skagit short heads on my 4wt rods.

Shooting/running line with two heads and you have almost all conditions covered.

 

Plenty of commercial rods in the 11ft-12ft length are manuf. today.

 

Feel free to PM for additional details if you wish.

 

Regards,

FK

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Following with interest as I'm hoping this type will be next rod I have you build Steve.

Are you planning on using heads predominantly with an bottom hand pull stroke or the more traditional longer bellied spey line with more top hand? This would make a big difference to where I would want the reel weight to sit, screw down or screw up reel seat and the shape of the bottom handle. Also the length of the upper handle reduces with bottom stroke.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A lot of the reading and vid's I have been doing/watching are Dec Hogan's and most of his stuff says for heavier skagit style heads to go with more of a bottom hand pull stroke for power so most likely I'll be using a bit more bottom hand than top hand. My main goal is mostly just to open up some spots where there is no room for backcasts. One spot on the Au Sable in particular I love to fish is a great run of swift 3-5ft deep water and I have taken some really nice trout up to 18" and some decent size walleye from, but I always have to do a side arm false cast and then somewhat weird backhand the cast to the head of the run due to trees and stuff behind me.So I think a skagit style spey where I will just be doing shorter 40-70ft casts with a short heavy head will most likely be the way to go for what I plan on.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Sounds exciting Steve ! I've got some favorite hole that are tough to cast in too, especially with high water and it's dam controlled so high water can be about any time.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Watch some you tube of Goran Anderson. Very useful for where your right elbow wants to sit and helps measure your upper handle. A down screwing reel seat then helps keep all the focus of the fulcrum down in the left hand

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Do not own a proper two-hander, but have been playing with switch rods off and on for a few years. I use an 8wt. reel on my 5 and 6 weights (Orvis Mid Arbor). Finding a cheap line is tough unless you buy a end-of-the-year closeout model. You might want to look at the OPST Commando heads which may solve your problem without having to invest in a new rod/reel. Distances you are talking about would not make me reach for my switch rod. YMMV.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

Distances you are talking about would not make me reach for my switch rod.

 

Yeah it's not the distance that I am looking into building a spey for, it's because of the cast style that I think will help in these spots. Skagit / spey cast style will eliminate the need for backcasts. With the heavy sinking 250/300 grain streamer line I currently use on my single hand 7wt streamer rod there's no way to roll cast that line and big streamer on a single hander. So I think a spey will do the trick much better.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

The short stocky tapers like the Commando --only 12' ! -- call for a wide gape reel for smoother recovery and storage and to save room for room for backing. Those short thicker front Skagit tapers also call for bigger diameter guides than the advertised wt of the rod would suggest. The OPST shooting line laser mono by the way is designed for this kind of work and it is close to tangle free and has very low stretch so it gives a nice feel for a take.

 

Rocco

 

.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I built a 11ft 5wt switch rod,added a abel super 6n reel.I built it mainly for streamers.I currently have not had a chance to fish with it yet.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

 

 

Distances you are talking about would not make me reach for my switch rod.

Skagit / spey cast style will eliminate the need for backcasts.

My understanding is "no back cast" is the main reason Spey casting was developed. Distance is a secondary benefit.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...