headscan Posted December 8, 2008 Posted December 8, 2008 It's a topic that's only spoken of in whispers and most people who do it will deny it. If you're opposed to it don't read any more, close your eyes, hit the back button on your browser, and just pretend you never saw this topic because I don't feel like debating it. I know there are people out there using their spey rods with an indy for dead drifting nymphs at this time of year. So my question is, what kind of setup are you using for it? Line type, leader lengths, which casts work best, etc.? Quote
luukesh Posted December 8, 2008 Posted December 8, 2008 Is it a big no-no even for trout fishing? I always figured it was the steelheaders that were against the "bobber" fishin. Ive been gettin down with an afs head with a normal tapered leader, does the trick well.......double spey and snake rolls mostly. Only in the winter though. Quote
FlashGordon Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 1264 TFO Pro Reddington CDL 9/10 i have a kinda skagit/scandi line that bhurt threw in with the rod i bought of him,i guess best description i can figure is it's scandi by length(34' chopped for the rod) and skagit by thickness,no idea what logo it or the running line is phil rowly quick release indie,since for the most part it's so far away i use x-large so i can see the damn thing,i like the quick relese so i can reel my leader into the eyes 6'-9' leader 3 bugs at about 18" apart with one or two split shot 6" above top fly mostly snake roll or circle c depending on side of the river the spey rod has been great even just a modest 50' (give/take) cast is done w/o effort (34+12'6+9) and i have been working on shooting a cpl rod lengths i think all i need for this set-up is a sink tip for streamers i find mending and being an indie ninja is tougher with the heavier line used on the spey,that's prbly more me though but i am still partial to my single hander....i want to put time into technique/lines with it next summer and for 'toon fishing it will be the rod ...i'm thinking opti stream and overlined by one weight....been picking brains and chatted a few times w. Maxwell about this kinda stuff,he puts a lot of gear through it's paces i truly love fishing dries as far as controversy goes but it comes down to fishing...and if it's nymph rigs,streamers or dries i'm there.... Quote
maxwell Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 lmao! this topic makes me laugh.. hell the only reason i picked up the spey rod last year and started tossing it on teh bow was too toss indicator rigs way out there and fish em.. steeleheading atlantic salmon and stuff too in the future but it was the idea of fishing nymphs way out that got me going... i do enjoy swinging and now love swinging flies too streamers n nymphs.. but i love indi fishin wiht my spey...... i dotn care if its not normal or traditional. i have a few friend who are against it and that is fine. i fish the way i like too fish and hope others do teh same wether it be the same or different.... i fish a loop goran andersson 6120 wiht a rio afs head i cut back a few feet off the tip.. i use my same nimpy set up after that only difference is the rod and line... Quote
headscan Posted December 9, 2008 Author Posted December 9, 2008 I've been using spey casts with my single hand rod for all my nymph fishing in the spring/summer/fall since most of the fish I hit at that time of year are within 20 feet or so. I figure that since spey casts work so well with the single hander on a 2-3 nymph rig with an indy that the long rod would work just as well. I've been using the Decho 5122 with a RIO AFS head as well. I really love that line for everything and will even throw smaller streamers with it no problem. Normally I'll use a 10' polyleader with it, but for nymphing I cut a 5' floating polyleader, attach about 5' or 6' of 10lb Maxima to my first fly, and whatever to my second fly another foot or so down. I rarely fish more than two nymphs since I find it increases chances of tangles exponentially. I initially tried a leader on the end of the AFS, but I found it didn't turn over quite as well. The main problem I'm having is that it's difficult to set the hook quickly with a lot of line on the water. Might try going to a lighter running line to see if that has anything to do with it. Quote
maxwell Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 u got 2 hands on teh rod hit em harder~! anotehr trick would be keep less slack in the line.. get a good mend but dont keep a ton of slack or allow your line too belly while in teh dead drift. i have found taht the spey lines are traditinally ment for swinging to they do no tride as high as some refular floating single handed lines so line control can be key! Quote
FlashGordon Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 i have the same problem with the typical leader not turning over....think i will try one of these polyleader set-ups Quote
maxwell Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 i found that the poly jstu makes a longer more suple tip.... imho.. makes it harder for better/stronger turnover....... but if u chop a 10 foot poly u will have the meet of teh poly if u use the back half.... so it might help some..... i cutt a few feet off of my scandi head too get a stronger turnover... also helps too shoot your loop high so it has time too open up and straighten out before hitting the water... Quote
toolman Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 An 11'6"-12'6" two hander, can be a magic wand for high sticking, czech nymphing or indicator fishing, giving precise line control out too great distances if needed. I can stand on the shoreline and slam fish from 10' too 80' away. Spey rods give me the casting/fishing advantages, that I don't get from a single handed rod. I routinely cast triple fly rigs with few tangles or issues with turn over. My favorite nymphing line would be a 32'-33' Vision Ace shooting head, which casts effortlessly, turns over well at the front end, floats high and mends well. I add a short, custom cut 4'-5' Polyleader too the end of the line and then add a hand tied Fluro leader. Quote
headscan Posted December 9, 2008 Author Posted December 9, 2008 Max: It's not a problem with reefing it hard enough. If I miss the set I'm decorating the trees behind me. I think the Airflo running line is just heavy because of the high diameter so it takes a while to lift off the water. I'm not leaving much slack on the water at all. Usually just throw a good mend then start stripping slack throughout the drift. I agree with the fact that they're probably not made to float as high since they're made for swinging. I wonder if the Sharkskin running line might not solve this. RusteHookz: If you pick up a polyleader the first thing you'll want to do is cut the mono off the front of it and make your own loop using the polyleader itself (fold back, nail knot). I've had that mono fail on a hookset before and it isn't a fun feeling. Quote
headscan Posted December 9, 2008 Author Posted December 9, 2008 but if u chop a 10 foot poly u will have the meet of teh poly if u use the back half.... so it might help some..... Good point. I'm using a 16' Snowbee polyleader cut back to 5', not a 5' polyleader. Quote
maxwell Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 its hard soo say about the running line dude im using teh airflow 30lb floating.. havnt had any problems.. didnt like slick shooter.. found it was sinking a touch and gave too much line resistance.... maybe 20 lb would be a good answer or try teh sharkskin stuff... Quote
toolman Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 Many missed takes are due to slack in the underwater leader/tippet system, which delays movement in the indicator when a fish strikes. I like to use #30 Airflo Ridgeline Shooting lines, as they float well, mend well, have high visibility and I can get a good grip on it when casting or managing line through the drift. Quote
FlashGordon Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 right on Max and Headscan,thx.... speaking of loops has anyone ever heard of using larva lace to make loops,secured with a drop of glue i had a guy tell me about this and to be honest he's never streered me wrong but i haven't had a chance to try it he told me that loop to loop he couldn't pull them apart Quote
headscan Posted December 9, 2008 Author Posted December 9, 2008 its hard soo say about the running line dude im using teh airflow 30lb floating.. havnt had any problems.. didnt like slick shooter.. found it was sinking a touch and gave too much line resistance.... maybe 20 lb would be a good answer or try teh sharkskin stuff... Yeah, I am using the 20lb orange stuff. I think my Decho might have more flex in the tip than your Goran if it's anything like my Goran 6126. The Goran has tons of back bone so that probably makes a difference. Quote
headscan Posted December 9, 2008 Author Posted December 9, 2008 right on Max and Headscan,thx.... speaking of loops has anyone ever heard of using larva lace to make loops,secured with a drop of glue i had a guy tell me about this and to be honest he's never streered me wrong but i haven't had a chance to try it he told me that loop to loop he couldn't pull them apart You mean using larva lace to secure the loop? Never tried it. I use 10lb Maxima Chameleon. Two nail knots, 5 or 6 wraps each about a nail knot's width apart with a bit of UV knot sense over it so it slides through the guides better. Never had one fail yet, but you need to redo your loop every so often because the line will crack eventually just behind the back most nail knot. Quote
toolman Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 The Ridgeline 20lb running lines are yellow....The orange is 30lb. As for softer/slower tip flex and hook sets, I used a Deer Creek Spey (which has a softer tip), for nymphing last year and had no problems with it. I really like my Loop Goran 6120 for nymphing, but I have started using my winter rods recently and am re-discovering them again, with better line matches than I used on them last winter. This weekend I pulled out my Loop Blueline 8116 and lined it with a Vision Ace 7/8, which was pretty sensational and a very effective nymph set up. Last year, I primarily used this rod with a 450 Compact Skagit and sink tips. I usually carry two rods for my fishing, one for upstream presentations with Nymphs/Drys and one rod for down and across swing presentations with Drys/Soft Hackles/Nymphs/Streamers. Quote
headscan Posted December 9, 2008 Author Posted December 9, 2008 The Ridgeline 20lb running lines are yellow....The orange is 30lb. It's actually 25lb and it is orange. The yellow is the 25lb slow/int. running line. The 30lb is mint green in floating and translucent aqua blue slow/int. http://www.flylines.com/Flylines_AirfloFly...unningLines.cfm Quote
toolman Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 They must have changed their running line specs and color code system, as I have been using these running lines for the past couple of years. Thanks for the heads up. Quote
toolman Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 Check out the Airflo 2008 PDF catalogue. It takes a minute to load...Ridge Running lines, #20 yellow and #30 orange... http://www.flylines.com/templateimages/fly.../Airflo2008.pdf Quote
maxwell Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 yea i agree with TM on taht one.. still got my box from last year and teh 30lb use too be onrange.. this years colors must be different... Quote
toolman Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 http://www.flylines.com/templateimages/fly.../Airflo2008.pdf The specs that Headscan has mentioned, are for the Polyshoot XT shooting lines which feature low coil memory, using braided cores, which I have not tried yet. They have different color code/specs than the Ridge lines. They might be better for the cold water, but the stiffer Ridge running lines probably shoot a little better. I have not had problems with the Ridgelines coiling in cold weather/water, but I'll have to pick up an XT and give it a go. Quote
cheeler Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 Since I saw the article on speypages (sorry, on a slow connection and I can't find the link), I've had good success welding polyurethane coated lines (not so much with the PVC). With the thicker spey lines I use a smaller diameter PU coated line and melt it all together to form the loop - for the running line end I double the line up, and add a third length in the shrink tube. For my nymphing setup I have a midspey line on the Deer Creek - it's a bit heavy and probably not as sensitive as I need, but works well when you need to get a three nymph rig out. I bought a scandi head for it, but I've only had a couple hours to cast it, and I'm thinking I need to cut it down a tad (or get better at casting it). Quote
maxwell Posted December 9, 2008 Posted December 9, 2008 gotta track me down a xt running line or two... sounds like its worth a shot! now back too teh topic.. who else is all crooked with there double handed fishing and lobs out indicators? Quote
headscan Posted December 9, 2008 Author Posted December 9, 2008 Since I saw the article on speypages (sorry, on a slow connection and I can't find the link), I've had good success welding polyurethane coated lines (not so much with the PVC). With the thicker spey lines I use a smaller diameter PU coated line and melt it all together to form the loop - for the running line end I double the line up, and add a third length in the shrink tube. http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=31079 Yeah, I've been wanting to try those as well but haven't gotten around to getting the shrink tubing and heat gun. Looks very cool though. Quote
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.