I started Spey casting in 2005 with some fellow
guides who were also experimenting with the Spey technique;
due mostly to increased interest and client request's to
go Spey fishing on the Trinity River. We had long 14ft
and 16ft 10wt rods, and I must admit I was a little overwhelmed
at first. I compared it to my own experience with skiing
all of my life and then trying to snowboard. That transition
for me was equally as successful.
In 2006 I went to
a week long spey casting clinic put on by Gary Anderson on
the Rogue River. I met Jeff Putnam a casting instructor with
the Kiene's fly shop in Sacramento conducting the clinic.
It took him a couple of days but he eventually showed me
the light. I now use my Spey and cross-over rods as much
as I can, and I have perfected my single handed Spey casting
technique's to where I rarely back cast, with much greater
success, and enjoyment;(in a nut shell it has made me a better,
more efficient caster). The key for me was the new shorter
spey and hybrid cross-over rods that have hit the market.
They are simply more practical for smaller rivers like the
Trinity. The longer rods have their place but are mostly
to long for the upper Trinity, where the cross-over and smaller
Spey rods 10-12 ft are ideal. You can roll cast and mend
these rods with ease, and follow seams and riffles across
the other side of the river that would be very difficult
with a single handed 9ft. rod. It is also nice to make a
long cast across river with your back to the brush behind
you.
I have been taking
my clients who want to use their longer rods down river from
the Del Loma area to the Hoopa reservation, or over to the
Klamath where they can let the longer rods go.
I personally
feel that Spey casting is a breath of fresh air: Reintroducing
an artful and a more traditional style of fly-fishing,
Getting away from the indicators that seem to have taken
over the sport.
