lethfisher

That looks like a pretty sick rod there bhurt! I'll take one!!! I have Sharkskin on my 5 wt right now and it seemed to work okay for the anchoring on a single hander. I actually found it easier if I didn't even anchor the actual line in the water, rather just my nymph rig and split shots. I have a 5 foot poly leader then 4 more feet of 3X tippet, and I was fishing my indicator maybe 2 feet from the top of the leader so 7 feet was hanging below. Maybe this is a casting technique error but whenever I did a double spey and the indicator anchored the cast wouldn't go as well. You know you flop it in front of you then pick it up around and toss it, and if I tossed it quick enough so the indy wouldn't settle back down and just the nymph rig and split shots were the anchor I could cast really well. As soon as the indy settled back down then it would go kaput lol Luukesh had the Opti Stream line he let me try on my 5wt and it was pretty sweet, You could definitely tell the difference in lines and how the opti wanted to really zip out there with a tighter loop than the sharkskin would. I also liked how it changed from orange to white at the end of the shooting head so you know what your doing. He also had the SA Nymph taper to try out which seemed a little slower than the opti stream. It was a thicker line and you had to slow down the cast almost or wait for a second to form a good loop. The head on it is super long so I could pick up more with the double spey without having to strip any in like the opti. But honestly I found I was better off stripping in more and shooting more than just picking up the whole deal and no shooting. Overall I think I liked the Opti line better For my next setup I am thinking of going for a 6 wt with fighting butt and an Opti Stream line on it, should be perfect for the Bow Thanks for all the advice guys, I appreciate the answering of questions without making me feel dumb haha

After going out once with my 5wt I can definitely see where a bigger rod would be the right tool for the job. I could chuck out my rig fairly decently with the 5wt but definitely not much past i'd say 50 feet if that. With those bigger sticks you can cover more area that's for sure. But then again the fish I caught was like 15 off the shore lol Also before the weekend I was kinda against a fighting butt because my 8wt has it and is annoying but I can see how that could also be useful against the larger fish. I wouldn't mind getting a new rod, probably a 6 wt maybe 9 or 9'6" for that extra reach

If you guys have a fighting butt on say a 6 or 7wt rod have you ever used that fighting butt to use as a grip for your other hand?? I know you're probably not supposed to but just curious if anyone ever does that?

Is this the knot you guys are talking about?? http://www.killroys.com/knots/duncan.htm

Well I am pretty impressed with the voting on this poll!! Lots of people which is awesome! Also interesting that there weren't more votes for the spey rods. I don't know why but I was thinking that there was going to be a ton of people with the spey rods. Pretty overwhelming victory in the 5 and 6wt category that's for sure. I thought that 5wt would be the lowest you would want to go and am surprised by the people using 4 wt and less for the dry flies. Thanks for all who voted!

I thought it would be interesting to make a poll to see what kind of rods you guys use on the Bow. I made it multiple selection so you can check off as many as you like. Right now all I have is a 5wt... The results of this poll won't influence my decision on my next rod at all EDIT: Sweet the poll worked!!!

Hi Marc, I am definitely going to try out my 5wt I have right now. Luukesh has a opti stream line #5 coming in the mail next week and he said he would let me give it a try so I am pretty excited about that. Stephen

I found this article on spey in general but I don't know how much it applies to single handed spey casting. "A medium action rod will suite most average casters the best. The caster can still feel the rod load with a medium action, while faster line speeds can be obtained. The Sage Z-Axis series, the Winston BIIx series, and the Burkhiemer Classics are all good examples of medium action Spey rods. Medium action rods will handle a wide range of casting strokes and line types. Fast action rods are for the angler that demands high line speed from their weapon. Good examples of fast action Spey rods would be the Echo2 series and the Sage TCR series. These rods really shine with shooting taper style lines. While most folks will struggle with a fast rod, expert casters can command the water with one. That isn’t to say that all experts use fast rods. More times than not, most advanced casters still lean towards a medium to medium fast sticks." Taken from https://steelheadbum.com/store/pc/viewContent.asp?idpage=5 Seems a medium or fast rods are your best bet according to this... I am sure if you are a good caster you should be able to handle any speed.

I am starting to look more at the 6wt 9' to 9'6" range and line it up with a loop stream line or 40+. When looking at buying single handed rods for mainly spey casting is it better to look for a fast action rod or a slower rod that bends further down more like a two handed spey rod. I have read a couple reviews on 6wts that are pretty stiff with fast action, all these reviews say the rods start to shine around 50+ feet when the rod is actually getting bent a bit. This seems like you wouldn't want this for a spey casting rig... Thanks!

That thing looks like a giant turd right at the end lol

I shoulda jumped on that 6 weight TFO Axoim you had earlier luukesh Well I think I'll give it a whirl with my 5wt next time out to see how that works.

well i have sharkskin for my 5wt right now, so it looks like I am good to go haha. I just looked it up and see that the loop opti stream comes in WF5 so thats good to know. Do you need to go a line up for single hand spey casting? I have 5wt do I need 5 or 6 or whatever? Ya I could save myself a big headache if I was a master class caster lol

Thanks for all the info guys, I really appreciate it I am starting to lean more towards a longer single hander like Mark was talking about or even just trying out my 5wt also. I really like how far the spey rods can cast and how much river they cover but when I actually think about it I would probably be better off fishing in close where the water might not be as fast and deep. But then again maybe there is a fast current right in front of you and a nice slow pocket on the other side of the river lol I am starting to realize that what I am wanting doesn't "really" exist, have lots of control in close with a nice dry or nymph but also can throw a heavy rig a longer distance. But isn't that kinda what a switch rod does? Does both fairly well but doesn't excel in either? Seems like most guys on here though prefer one or the other so you can get the best of both worlds, just carry both rods!! What if I got an extra spool for my 5wt and put some airflo 40+ or Loop Opti Stream on it so I can switch between lines as I need?? I could just single hand spey cast with the right line? Do they make such lines for 5wts? But if I am doing this its probably better with a longer stiffer action rod ie sage flight aaaah overwhelmed!! lol I need to go talk to Fish Tales guys haha

Ya I want a rod for the bow, all I have now is a 8'6" 5wt and wouldn't mind getting something a bit heavier. I am kinda stuck because I can either get a 12' foot spey rod and use double handed techniques, an 11' switch rod that can spey cast and overhand or just get a larger single hand rod and learn to single hand spey cast properly. I am on a fairly tight budget (I am in school and should be buying books not fly rods haha) so I want to be sure before purchasing something. Demoing something from Fish Tales sounds like a really good idea. I wouldn't mind trying a properly lined 9' 6wt for some single hand speying. Oh well I guess I'll decide eventually lol

Other than the actual switch rod being 1 foot longer, would there be any difference in casting with a 10 ft 6wt with a fighting butt rather than an 11 ft 6wt Switch rod... I am asking because on the TFO site they have 11 ft 6wt Deer Creek Switch for $339 http://www.templeforkflyrods.com/rods/Switch.html#T But you can get a 10 ft 6wt Professional Series for $194 http://www.templeforkflyrods.com/rods/professional.html#T (scroll down a bit to the ones with the fighting butts) Surely only 1 foot more of rod can't cost $145 can it???? Why wouldn't you just "spey cast" with that 10 ft rod... plus you can use to money you save to get line for it...

After fishing with a spey on the Bow I have a couple questions that I was confused about while on the river. The main one is how do you fish in fairly close say 15-30 feet? Whenever I cast in close like that the line didn't really want to go out, it seemed like as soon as you got to that distance where the shooting head ended I could cast fine. Inside this distance it just seemed really akward. I tried casting up stream a ways and letting it drift down infront of me but then I had to strip in lots of line to keep tension in case of a strike. Once it was all stripped in it was a big pain in the @ss casting out to a distance to do the drift over again. Which is kinda my next question as well, how do you get the first 10 feet of line outside the rod tip when setting up on the stream, I usually ended up roll casting or even single hand casting to get it out before the spey cast seemed to work well, is this right? Although I didn't mind the stripping in every time back to the top of the shooting head I was wondering if I was using the scandi (I think) lines as apposed to the skagit shooting head would I have to strip it in every time?? I definitely thought the spey rod was the right tool for the job on the bigger rivers, it just seemed odd to me that I couldn't fish in close if I wanted to. There has to be a way though lol I must be missing something. Thanks!

thanks for all the advice guys. I went out today to the Princes Island park area and was giving it a go. I tried a double bugger rig but mostly 2 nymph rigs. I had a single streamer on but it wasn't weighted and my split shot kept falling off so I said forget that lol Thats an interesting idea about the smaller chasing the larger, that sounds like something i'll try next time out.

I'll be the first to say that they suck haha They used to be decent though... Its a good thing they have Luongo otherwise they would be tanking.

I have fished droppers when nymphing quite a bit and they seem to work pretty well. I have heard of people using a double streamer rig. Does anyone on here do this?? I am sure Max uses a triple rig lol Anyways I was wondering if you tie the dropper streamers on in any special way. When nymphing I usually tie direct to the hook shank of the top fly, would you do that the same way for a streamer rig?? Also do you put the heavier streamer on the bottom or the top?? If you need to put on a split shot do you put it above the top fly or between the two flies?? Thanks in advance!

I was born and lived in Vancouver until I was 6. I then moved to central BC so I am happy to call myself a Canucks fun. I was pretty happy when Sundin moved to Vancouver haha I was also stoked when Calgary picked up Bertuzzi, he was sooo good in Vancouver before the incident. Right now I am watching them destroy the Blackhawks, it's 6 - 0 with 8min to go in the 2nd. The announcer just said "Stop the senseless slaughter!!" haha

I am also interested in this. I am going to Puerto Vallarta for Reading Week, mid-Feb, and would be interested in maybe going fishing. I am going with the gf so more like if she'll let me lol Anyone been?

wtf is that a ray on a fly!!! haha I guess when you fish the ocean there is a gazillion species you can catch...

That definitely makes sense, I used to fish all those (buggers, clousers, bunnies...) when I was first starting out, fishing for small pike in lakes around Lethbridge. I am super stoked to fish the bow soon, hopefully will be getting a spey rod in Feb so I can go play on the Bow like the rest of you guys Appreciate the help!!

Holy crap look at all those chronomids!! What are you going to do with all those things?? Do you mainly fish lakes?? Are chronomids a popular river choice?? I have only ever used them in lakes...

are these the type of streamers you are fishing on the bow?? I saw your post from Jan 30 and you said the fish liked the streamers, is it stuff like this ( ie big with lots of materials ) PS I don't want any secrets and I'm not trying to probe you for your favourite patterns, just a general question