headscan

Ah, ok didn't realize you guys were talking Scandi heads. Thought I had seriously misunderstood the way spey lines work. Thanks for clearing it up for me.

Doesn't D loop size also depend a lot on the line you're using? For example, wouldn't a line with a shorter belly require a smaller D than a long belly line? I can see where the rod length comes into play, but I was under the impression that it had as much or more to do with the line, especially if you're looking at two rods that have only a foot of difference between them. This illustrates what I'm talking about: http://www.snowbee.co.uk/_wp_generated/wpabf9e813.png

Gordon, Did you mean Saturday April 19th and Sunday April 20th?

As another spey newbie, I have to say that the Beulah rods are fantastic as well. Haven't cast any Loops, but I'm sure they're good as Max says. If you can hold out until the show, Courtney will likely have Beulah and Snowbee rods and I believe that Gordon will have some as well. The good thing about the Beulah rods from a beginner's point of view is that you can buy an Elixir line that is matched specifically to one of their rods. Takes the guesswork out of choosing a matching line, though Rio has a chart of matching lines for various rods. As for reels, make sure it's big enough. Your LX 4.0 should be good for a lot of lines. I have one of the Loop CLWs on order (WF10+290yds of 30#) like Max recommends. I noticed in the last week that it's pretty tough finding large reels in the city. Couldn't find any Lamson 4 reels, big Pfluegers, or even the big Ross reels. CDone had a big Grey's reel on his Beulah that isn't overly expensive (GTX I think) but looks like it gets the job done. Anyways, there are lots of guys around with far more experience than me but I thought you might want to hear the point of view of someone else who just started out.

I only tried a fluoro leader once and didn't notice enough of a difference to justify the extra expense. In my mind, using a mono leader with fluoro tippet gives you a best of both worlds scenario. You get a bit of shock absorption with the mono, but the fluoro tippet is a bit stronger, doesn't float, and is less visible underwater. I tend to use fluoro tippet for nymphs and streamers since it sinks and mono for dries since it floats.

I usually fish heavy and short leaders for a single-handed rod. I think that's exactly what I'll do - start short and work my way up. How does cutting back polyleader affect the line characteristics? Is the taper gradual enough that cutting back a few feet won't make much difference?

Yeah, so far the Frog Hair FC is the best that I've used. Tried the SA and Rio but had some problems with it. The line would really stick when I was tightening knots and result in abrasions (yes, I was lubricating the line first). Haven't seen the Seaguar stuff before so I can't comment on it. In fact this is the first I've heard of it.

I haven't had any problems with fluoro yet. If I'm connecting fluoro tippet to a mono leader I just use a four wrap surgeon's knot. Using two or three wraps I had the fluoro cut through the mono once in a while but not once since I went to four wraps. Sounds like you might need to bring some of that Magic Line out for the show. If it floats like mono I'd be interested in trying some for dries. So if Beulah suggests a leader 1.5 times the rod length and I have a 16' polyleader, then for the 11'6" rod 2 feet of tippet sounds like it should be just about right. Am I getting that correctly or am I off?

Smart move telling him to go elsewhere. Sounds like the kind of guy that would try to stiff you or come back and claim you broke his computer or something like that. Not worth the trouble.

Ok, so I have some Snowbee 16' polyleaders (floating, intermediate, fast). I've been using a perfection loop on the end of the polyleader to connect a couple feet of tippet and everything seems to be turning over properly for me. The thing is I don't have a clue if this is the best way to turn my flies over. Should I be using longer tippet (or a leader) or using a surgeon's knot to connect the polyleader to the tippet? Since I was using an intermediate sinking polyleader I figured fluoro would be the way to go so that everything had some sink to it.

My bet is the guy wants to use MSN and Limewire on his computer at work but the ports are blocked by the firewall. Since it's a work computer he can't bring it to you anyways so he just wanted free advice on how to bypass the firewall.

What I did yesterday was hold the butt of the rod against my gut and held the top grip with my right hand just as I would a single hander. Held the line with my left and used it to strip. Don't know if that's the accepted/recommended way of doing it, but it just felt natural to me to do it like that. Almost forgot - I think either Peter or Colin mentioned that it's a lot easier to set the hook by sweeping the rod to the side than pulling up with the double hander.

Is there a "best" tape to use? I've heard that 3M electrical tape is good, but there are multiple varieties. Another suggestion was self amalgamating tape. Any opinions?

I've heard too many stories about guys cutting their fingers down to the bone using gelspun backing. I was talking about Gord at West Winds about using gelspun backing today to fit an Elixir line on a Danielsson LW 6nine. He told me he won't even use gelspun on any of his reels and he fishes in the tropics a few times a year. On the plus side, gelspun will cauterize the cut at the same time

I asked Beulah about reels for the Elixir lines. Here are the suggestions Bruce gave me: Ross CLA 3 and 4 for the switch rods For the spey rods: Lamson Velocity 4 Hatch 7+ mid and large arbour Ross CLA 4 and 5 Teton Tioga Magnum 10

True enough, I didn't have any problems with my Elixir coiling today. I don't have anything to compare it to as far as other spey lines, but it was very easy to load and cast as well. Yeah, it was kind of like a Beulah commercial out there. Was there a single Beulah there that didn't originate from Courtney?

From left to right: Bhurt, Max, Cheeler, and PKK. It was a great time and really helpful to be able to watch other people casting. Whenever I had trouble with my casts I just stopped and watched everyone else for a couple minutes until I figured out what I was doing wrong. Must have been an interesting sight to see seven or eight guys in a row with two handers on the Bow, err, I mean at Spey Beach.

Sounds like a plan to me.

Is anyone heading out to swing the big sticks on Saturday? I just got my switch rod rigged up and I wouldn't mind the opportunity to get out for a while with someone who knows what they're doing.

I've been waxing the ferrules on my single handers for a while since I had a roll casting, uh, incident. Just buy a cheap white candle from Walmart or something and rub it on your ferrules. I find I only have to do it every few weeks, though it probably depends a lot on how many times you use that rod in a week. Keeps the ferrules together really well but is still easy to pull them apart as long as you twist and pull in one motion. I'll probably tape my spey rod but only wax my switch. I also read elsewhere that cheap tape can damage the finish on your blanks, so make sure to use the good 3M stuff.

I asked the same question on Speypages about my 6/7 spey and 5/6 switch with Elixir lines. The reels recommended to me were: Danielsson LW 6nine Hardy Marquis 8/9 Lamson Radius 4 Also check this thread: http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=27693 I ended up buying a used 6nine locally and it's a pretty nice reel. HTH.

Oddly I was just looking at the Hardy website and they've updated it for 2008. New reels - Demon, Angel2, and Swift MKII.

Might also be worth considering a pack like the ones from Fishpond and William Joseph. I used one this past summer and won't go back to a vest. They aren't as hot as a vest in the summer and many of them come with the hydration systems.

No Bauer or Nautilus?

Sage. The FLI is easily one of the best bang for the buck rods out there IMO.