toolman

Hey Gordon, weathers been reasonable so far in 09'...The fishin's been easy, as always and of course our girls are much prettier than those bowed legged, Highland lassie's you've been courtin' all winter... ps. You've got tree's in those hills?...We've got mountains...real ones...hahaha!

I've used AF Ridgelines in 20lb for swinging and 30lb for nymphing, the most often and find them to be really good all round shooting lines. Last summer, I used 30lb High Vis Stren Stamina for swing presentations, which shoots incredibly well, but coils visciously in cold weather, even if pre-soaked in water. I liked the .024" Monic, but as you mentioned, tiny loops. I have Frog Hair Shooting lines on order in .024" and .030" and have had very good experiences with Frog Hair products, so I'm really looking forward to trying those out in a couple of weeks. http://www.froghairfishing.com/fly-fishing.cfm?product=1047

So how did the weekend go for Team Moffat?

I'll try and get down for the presentation. I have lots of questions for Paul...Will there be free donuts? hahaha.

After re-reading the news release from Zpey and looking at their site info., I'm not sure if the new Instinct two hander series will come with both, Traditional bottom handle and Zpey handle, or only the Zpey handle. I sure hope it comes with both types of lower handles. Either way, I look forward to casting one of these rods with a few of the matching "fusion" spey lines.

I like to use Scandi heads in the 30'-32' range, for nymphing (long line, czech, polish, spanish, high stick etc.), and also with floating, intermeditate sink tips, smaller streamers, drys etc. Fishing up close under the rod tip or out to 80' is not a problem... I've used Mid belly lines with nymphing rigs, but found them a bit cumbersome when working with my back tight to the bank, along tough shorelines and a little weak on the turn over with heavier rigs/indies. They are a bit unstable on windy days, but Mid belly's can sure put it way out there when you need to and mend well at extreme distances. I still really enjoy casting/fishing Mid/long belly lines (Delta spey, CND gps, SA XLT's), in the low clear water of late summer/fall, using small/med. size flies, floating or intermediate tips and delicate presentations. Fine and far off....Very sweet! Skagit heads can work for nymphing, but it is difficult to make upstream mends, stack mends etc., as these heavy, short heads tend to float low and grip the water, so a larger diameter running line will help you mend/control the drift when making upstream, dead drifted presentations... I sometimes use Compact Skagit heads for indie nymphing when the winds get extreme, but in a lighter grain weight than I would use for casting heavy sink tips. I add a short cheater (2.5' - 5'), to help the leader turn over smoothly, preventing hinging and/or over powering the leader system. As for close up fishing with any rod, single or two handed, rod tip action is an important factor. Softer rod tips load easier with less line out of the tip and faster, stiffer rods need a bit more line out of the tip to load. I've settled on a med-fast action, two handed rod, with a Scandinavian head, as the best all round set up for my Bow fishing.

The TFO 10' 6wt. is a single hand rod with a fighting butt which does not spey cast very well with two hands. I know this as I own this rod. Single hand rods have different blank designs/construction than Spey rods. Buy a real two hander if you want to two hand Spey cast or go with single hand Spey casting with your single hand rod, using appropriate lines.

I have no affiliation with Zpey...But, I have a lot of respect for Henrik's equipment design and casting skills.

Have a good one, old timer...and thanks for all of your great contributions to our fly fishing community! Greg

So, what you're saying is that a Scott thought of it first, but you have'nt tried casting one yet, right...hahaha. These new Zpey rods are different than the Opti Zpey that Whistler refers too. I think it is kind of silly to dismiss the entire Zpey line up of more than 30 new single hand, switch and double hand rods as duds, especailly when nobody here has even casted any of these new sticks... Some interesting comments... http://zpey.com/default.asp?m=4743&s=7975

The problem Zpey ran into in the N. American market, is that most casters had no idea how to Underhand cast, so the Zpey lower grip was a hinderance rather than a performance enhancement to those casters. Now, unfortuneately, folks can't get past the funny handle. Tough too get beyond first impressions when introducing new concepts to any marketplace. I would guess that the differences between the First Edition Zpey, Loop's Opti Zpey and these new rods, are that Henrik has designed these new blanks/tapers, the Underhand grip has been modified and all of the Switches, Speys and Single hand rods are new designs, complete with matching lines.

"Looks like a Rifle....Shoots like a Cannon!"...ZPEY... Hey, that might work for their marketing slogan in this "4x4", North American market... Maybe their current slogan, "Redefining Flyfishing", is aiming a little over everyones head in these parts...hahahaha. And they should call the optional straight bottom handle, a new and improved "Skajet" handle...lol.

And the mouse takes the cheese...hahahahaha....

Picked up my new line kit this afternoon at FishTales... Airflo Compact Scandi Kit...10 Scandinavian Shooting Heads from 270 grains @ 29', with subsequent Heads increasing in 30 grain increments, up too 540 grains @ 34', including two Airflo Ridgeline running lines in 20# and 30# and a line/reel case. I'll get to play with my new lines on the weekend!

I think these rods now come with an interchangable Traditional handle and the ZPEY handle used for Underhand casting, but it's the rod blank/action that I would like to try and also the lower grip which has been modified for the new Instinct series of two handers.

Check out what Henrik Mortensen has been up too over at ZPEY...He has developed a new line of two handers called the Instinct series and the Z1 Switch rod series. Zpey will be launching three new series of single hand/switch rods this year with interchangeable handles, that look pretty cool and their own line up of Reels as well...Zpey has also developed a new series of line systems called "fusion" to perfectly match all of the new rods... I contacted him recently to find out when we could expect to have the opportunity to cast some of these new sticks and he tells me that they are in the process of establishing a distribution/dealer network in N. America. In the meantime, I may try and import a few rods directly from Norway so we can get our hands on a few of these asap! http://zpey.com/full_news.asp?m=4915&newsid=4582

From the Specail events thread about our Sunday Spey gathering a couple of weeks ago... I quote... "There will be a great selection of Spey rods to cast, including rods from Loop, CND, Beulah, TFO, Snowbee, Echo, and an assortment of line systems and shooting heads from Vision, Airflo, Rio, Loop, Snowbee, Beulah, CND... The one brand we haven't seen much of at any of our Spey gatherings, are two handers from Sage. It sure would be nice if someone from one of the local shops showed up with a few of the Z-Axis and TCX models to cast. It would also be nice to cast some of the GLoomis models as well, such as the GLX, Dredger, Stinger series... We invite any of the local shops to feel free to bring down any Spey/Switch rods/lines to demo and let folks try out etc." And, I have invited local shop owners/staff in person and via email as well...

ps.1... Loop rocks! hahahahaha... ps. 2...And, I would again like to thank all members from outside of the Calgary area who contribute to this Spey community as well...We appreciate that you share your knowledge, experiences, advice, insights with us. Keep it coming!

Gordon, don't be too concerned about the comments and interests of a few individuals promoting their buddies, favorite brand or flyshop. Everyone has their favorite fly shop or rod, brand etc... I hope that you will continue to play an active role in our Spey community, as you have since it started a couple of years ago, as your contributions, comments, skills and experience are of value to all. Greg

The Megaloop is a great reel to match up with shorter spey rods. I have used it on my 15'ers as well, but prefer my Loop Classic to balance out the longer sticks which tend to be a bit tip heavy. I think the Opti 9132 would be an awesome match with the Megaloop reel for Steelhead, Chinooks, Atlantics etc., but good luck finding a used Opti Spey rod for sale, in any size...Seems most owners really love these rods as I've not seen a used one for sale. I have an Opti 8124 and have no plans on parting with it for quite some time. Very sweet rods!

I think Fish Tales has some of them in stock. Henriks Underhand Spey casting vids are my favorite.

Well, I guess that's my You Tube debut...hahahaha... In this video I am casting HAMMERTIME08's new spey rod, an Albright GP 15' 10wt. 3-pc., which we lined with an Airflo Compact Skagit (600grains @ 26') and a 14' T-8 sink tip. The running line is #30 Airflo Ridge line and about 35' is going out on the shoot...A great afternoon of Speycasting on the Bow ... Thanks too all of the regular attendees for helping the newer casters get started... and too HAMMERTIME08 for the terrific Rod rack...I think we're gonna need a bigger one next time.

I would just try using the fighting butt to two hand spey cast with it or single hand Spey cast it using the line hand to add power on the forward stroke. (turbo spey)

That sure was a great afternoon...Many thanks too all for attending.... A few pics...

Happy Birthday buddy and thanks for all of your contributions to our fly/spey fishing community! Greg