ogilvie

That is a very nice little rod! I just sold the pre-runner to that rod to a serious Spey fisher...had too many in the closet,,,but not that rod...I have all 3 versions of that rod and definitely love them.!Not the greatest rods to fish 30lb fish with but anything under 20lbs. Tim(Rajeff) has some good lines for tha Lamiglas rods, Rio's 5/6/7 Windcutter is nice and Hardy Mach 1 or 2 lines(if you can get them ). Also,a great match for that rod will be the Beulah Elixir 6/7 spey...several of the fellows on this board have just received some of the Elixir lines ...see if you can cast it..you will be hooked! C PS..I'm on my sons computer in Prince George,here for the NewYear celebration...miss the Steelhead on the Island...

"There can be Only One" Hardy

I had to vote for Hardy Angel simply because the rod holds value and fish as well and better than most. The Hardy Angel single handers out fish(in hand feel) any other manufactured. However,there are many more great rods mentioned on this thread...

My goal for 2008 is to finally fish for Brown Trout on the Bow(the only serious trout species that has eluded me) and a Grayling...and of course surpass the 30 Lb Steelhead barrier ...

BAsically it's an enlongated version of the Snap "T" or a Circle Spey....very fast and very positive move to deliver your fly/anchor basically to where you want it...this cast permits you to pivot your body about 200 degrees and you know what that means... my wife is chaseing me.. gotta go C

What do you mean filling your pockets???!!!Thanks for the laugh..I needed that..For those of you that may have the delight to know my wife Val...she is a Brit' born within hearing distance of some Bell(Cockney),,,anyway,she has "qued" her entire life and when we first met she had me 6 hours early at the airport(last Time),anyway,we are off today and she is chaseing me about the house to leave way too early so...thanks for the laugh...of course I'm doing everything to stall...very good at that ! Life is great...have a good new year! High Sticking is as Gordon says a great way to nymph...here on the Island we have a few places where we can do this on the larger rivers and very effective... OPPPSSSS she's behind me..have to gooooooo

Well I was out today trying some new line matches and variations with weighted flies ,poly tips and so on. During some of the casts I noticed that if I left about 8-10 " overhang with a slightly weighted streamer(Steelhead) ,on the 7/8 Elixir Spey Line ,14' FS POlyTip,casting the Snowbee Tamar,standing in fast water up to my belly,a simple Snake Roll deliver the line gently about 90' without working the rod. A Cack Handed Snap Z delivered about 100' with the same effort...these are very productive and interesting line designs...a winner for sure C

What I've seen of these rods is somewhat limited but I have fished with a fellow from japan on several occasions in different years who used these types of rods...No reels,just an elastic type line that is somehow positioned down the middle of these rods...but trust me,centre of Gravity plays a major role in manageing these tools..Squawts are needed and the ability to rotate while being in the squawt position...and these rods are telescopic ,graphite and can be very expensive($2,000.00 plus!) and not fly rods

There are some very good DVD's out there ...Rio's Modern Spey casting,The older Rio's International version, Derek Browns and a few more. If you can find a copy of Mike Maxwells tape you will have a very clear understanding of what a spey cast really is ..if all goes well we (Gord McLeod) will have some new cds of Scott MacKenzies at the fly fishing show...and if there I will have it playing on our screen much of the time.. Welcome to the world of Spey casting and more importantly,Spey Fishing... Remember....the fish are not alway on the other side of the river! C

Both the Pentax and the Olympus waterproofs are good for we mere fishers. I have been useing them for 4-5 years now and have only had One issue several years ago...I didn't lock the camera and it did leak...but was repaired and it works fine...in fact I do Magazine work with the pictures so that tells you something. Pentax sells a silicone jacket for the Optio camera that assists in greater depths... When taking pictures with underwater cameras there is a time delay between exposures.....unlike film that is almost instant...once you get by this it gets better. Good luck and have good fishing C PS...in cold weather the lens might condensate on the outside if you have had it underwater...getting the drops of water off the pictures is another issue...I bring along a clean lens cloth at all times

May the warm breezes be at your face and tight lines be regular...Have a good Xmas Speygillie... Courtney and Val And of course may your kilt remain fit and draft free!

This is a topic I took to the Store with me today, deeply embedded within my physcie(?) For the major part of the Beach fishery this year I cast and fished the Grey's 11' 7wt single hander..yeah it's long and powerful,almost full flexing,but the ability to deliver full line casts was so apparent that i would be a fool to cast another rod that didn't meet that standard! Yet ,being the eternal gear fool, I decided to fish a proto type Beulah Single hander(now discontinued) 9'6" 8 wt with a Snowbee XS Two Colour floating line(9wt) and found a match made in heaven. Both rods deliver the entire line(90') on a single pick-up..the edge goes to the greys simply because I can use it often as a switch rod when the power is needed! Two Handers are much the same...there are several rods that I grab very quickly because I know and recognize their abilities under all conditions. Two rods Stand out very clearly for me..One being a 12'7" Beulah and the other a 12'6" Snowbee;both very different in initial feel and action but once dug into there is a reserve of power ability readily available to hand...so for me Progressive action with plenty of back-bone is the ticket...even with my 3,4,5wt,rods this same standard applies. However,the main ingredient that helps one recognize "THEIR" favs are the line matches. Thanks for the imput...this is very helpful C

Over the years I have been very fortunate to have worked with many of the Worlds best rod manufacturers in some degree;casting,testing,compareing,developeing and so on. Both single and double handed...but my question to myself and I suppose ultimately to you, an age old question is, " What makes a very good rod?" One that is your go to outfit that bears total confidence in what you are fishing. Many times when I am guideing clients into remote Rivers after Fresh Water Salmon (to 40 lbs)and Steelhead (to 25 lbs) that question enters my thoughts as my preparations evolve. And of course the same is true with One Handers for use in connecting with spectacular Sea Run Cutthroat Trout and Rainbows. My answer will be somewhat biased but I will say that the Middle of the Road offers many benefits. Lets see where this goes? C PS..of course we all understand that all the fishing circumstances and types will have a drastic effect on this..

The friendliest of all the colour coded series was actually the Yellow..seriously. The Newer and first edition of the Grey or Goran Andersen rods were and still are exceptional rods...I have both the 13' yellow and Grey and the 14' Blue,Yellow and Green. The problem with the Green series is that they are prone to breaking in the Handle section...these are still very nice rods; and yes they are discontinued! C

Gord you are making this really freaking tough??!?!!The details please... BTW...was out today ,decided to whore myself with gear and failed miserably,,,,..so ,perhaps with some help from the fish gods I asked for forgivness and swung flies on my favorite stretch of the Glorious Stamp River...and low and Behold a bright Winter Steelhead of about 12 lbs decided to entertain me for a while..beautiful fish,yes it was snowing,yes I was cold and yes I landed this beaut....have been doing some work on smaller heavy flies ...worked well. I must say that swinging a fly is sweet...takes all the competition out of the day! If I don't chat with you before Xmas have a good One>e from both of us C

The coatings and core are the issues with Tropics lines...many of you lake and cold water fishers know what coiled fly lines are like...yet they perform better in warmer waters...Mono core lines are or have been the saving lines in the heat..Today the coatings are much better and designed to hold their body better in the heat... as for bringing Two Handers to the deep south is really not an issue...but I do know that the guides don't like Two Handers there...if you are a good caster and have a good line then 100' casts are simply made with One pick-up and cast...you may only have One shot... Surf casting is something else though... C PS..the Snowbee Tarpon Line is(sky blue) designed for One pick-up and fire....quite the line...but you need a good stick! C

Hello you guys...?? I just sent several lines South myself...One of the Lines is a Snowbee Tarpon line(intermediate) that is very heavy and slick..I did use it here on the west coast for Coho but found it too much for my 8/9 Switch,thats right,tooo much. The line weight was 48gr.,about 750 grains...ideal for a smallish Two Hander. If you are useing a longer than 12' Two Hander then shooting heads is the way to go...adapt a Scandanavian Short Head shooting head with a slick running line and you are off to the races. I have a dealer in Belize that has gone through several dozen this year..lost most of the lines to shark hook-ups!

I figured Dan would be out there...Man' I hope the water will allow a few of us to cast and fish your waters during the Upcoming FlyFishing Show dates. AS the time draws nearer we could put together a gathering of sorts on the BOW...lets hope??!!

Man,the River is getting higher...was out today...landed my nicest Cuttie of the Year...reminds me of Our Late Jackie Gleason...huge belly...the fish was only about 4-5 lbs...these fish are rare on the Stamp River,everyone is a jewell! The river turned muddy about 1PM...so I went to the Upper Reaches above the High BAnks that spread forth their runof during the rains...hope we can get something done with these banks....like the Cowichan Hows the Bow?

For those in the area there will be a small Spey Gatheing on the Stamp River near Port ALberni , VAncouver Island on December 22...should the river blow out we will find a location close by.. C Bring your rods,waders and rain coats..although there will be plenty of rods therre all set-up

Oh...Oh...it's like Xmas...very soon C

you don't really want to cast that rod..I personally don't have One and will get CDone (if he will)build mine for me....my wife has One and rarely lets it out of sight incase I am about..Damnit!I have used those shooting head and others Ie: Loop,Air Flo and Hardy. If it's distance you want then that is a great way to go...the running lines can be very slick and offer little resistence through the eyes. On the Lower Dean River in BC I use Shooting heads a lot because the distance is about 140' and mending the line is of little concern...Unlike the Thompson where mending the line is a benefit..water clarity is really an issue between both those great Rivers. What I really like about the Shooting Heads you mentioned is that they come in gram weights corresponding to rod weights,for example a 20 gram(308.64 grains-divide grams by .0648) is rated or recommended for a 6/7 Two Handed rod. They go all the way up to an 11/12 or 48 gram line...wow;incredible versatility.However,these heads have distinct fron tapers for both single and two handed uses. Voila..keep it simple C

You fly fishers are very lucky in your area with fairly wide open rivers that are not super deep and fast. There are many great Spey lines on the Market that are seriously overlooked here in the Pacific North West and in fact ,especially in fact throughout our brothers range south of the 49th. Snowbee,Hardy,Carron,Partridge,Air Flo and a few other "european" line brands have lines specifically designed with various lengths of "Sink Tips" integrated into the line;making these lines very sweet good lines to cast and especially fish well. I can only imagine the degree of enjoyment in fishing a wide river like the Bow one of these lines that enable me to fish within the top 24" to 30" at will. The Rivers of Eastern Canada,UK and even the Great Lakes region have such rivers as well that could fish extremely well with these lines. In the next few years we will be seeing the"NA Line manufactures" bringing these on line. Cortland did introduce a few lines that crashed..next time C

Many companies have shooting heads that you can buy and attach to various running lines to your choosing. These head are typically sold in 45'-50' whereas you deside the length you need and cut that length.... The 1D(51'),2D (62'),3D (73') and the 4D a massive 84' are designed for more of the traditional casts but do have a shooting /running line combination. For example,with the 1D line it is designed for situations where you have little room behind you,the line allows you to create a short D/V loop behind you that loads the rod well and provides you with the ability to complete a forward stroke propelling your line out well into the running line.The running line creates less resistence when slideing through the eyes and consequently delivers greater distance. My favorites are the Scandanavian style shooting lines...45' heads...but there is a distinch disadvantage in these types of lines for a long distance mend,it can not happen...you can't mend running line. We are told it is not about distance??!! Then why are the fish always on the other side? C

Both Gordon and I agree on the use of the full sinking(Sunk for the Brits and Scots)lines. The down side of the Sunk Line technique is that you have to master the drift more diligently in slower and not so deep water. However,there are some very sound points in using dark coloured sunk lines..the visibility factor from above(Fish Eye View) and the way the line actually tracks the fly so naturally. But you must be careful to manage your line's drift so as to not wrap around underwater snags.I have also found that when mending the full Sunk line there is less irratic impact on the fly itself during the drift from a mend...thus sight to fish is more constant! BTW,the full sunk line we(?) are talking about is actually a shooting line...like the Hardy Mach 1 ,Snowbee Scandanavian Short Head Spey and others where the head is about 45' long with a lighter coloured running line .The Scandanavian's have been doing this for some time,what we are also calling "Scando Style". Loop has a great selection of shooting line set-ups for Scando and Underhand Styles. The Skagit system is entirely different...a large balloon body(27') that floats, having an attached tip of various densities. What the large body of the Skagit does is allow you to create short stroked casts with little effort,and at the same time pick-up big flies and heavy tips that are not too far down in the water column. So as you can imagine,with a 20' length of T14 off a 550 grain Skagit line on a 14' Two Hander,a simple and well timed Static pick-up will lift the entire line to the surface whereas you can then continue to complete the desired cast. Rod length is somewhat important, but I often will use a 10'6" Switch rod with a Skagit set-up,shortening the tip length and increaseing the timeing of the pick-up and forward stroke. But with the shorter rods you must be very clear about rod position and stop location..there is a tendency to bring the rod back to an almost vertical location off the shoulder resulting in the loop formation being directly behind body and ' Ouch"! on the forward stroke. Have fun C