Spey Fishing/Overview
Posted Oct-15-07 12:02:52 PDT
Speyfishing is a somewhat misunderstood concept in the USA. Basically, it’s a type of flyfishing that was perfected in the 1800′s to deal with the difficult conditions encountered when fishing the River Spey in Scotland—big brawling water and trees right to the waterline. It consists of fishing with a long long flyrod with no backcast behind you. Every casting motion is performed in front of the angler or at his side. The TRUE Spey rod enables the angler to fish in Waltz time which allows the caster time to perform the Spey movements. Thee-quarters Waltz time also seems to be the rhythm of the rivers and defines the speed of the current in the areas where a fish will take a fly. Most of today’s rod manufacturers equate power with speed. This is the challenge for the rodmaker! A true Speyrod has SLOW power, best exemplified by the Greenheart flyrods of yesteryear. Too fast of a flyrod does not give the fisher enough time to complete the Spey movements without hurrying them along and putting pressure on the caster. The extra length of the Spey rod enables the angler to cast long distances as well as to mend and control those long lengths of line. (Some of the Scottish gillies routinely cast 140 ft. without much effort!). This feat requires a flyrod that bends into the cork. Otherwise, whatever percentage of the rod that does not flex, must be made up by the effort of the angler. It’s analogous to hiring an employee who will only do 50% of his job thereby forcing his employer to work harder. In my years of searching, I have found very few true Spey rods and I truly treasure them. I would very much like to hear from other fishers of the long long rod. Please go to the website: www.robertstackleco.com. Also visit the eBay Store: Custom-Made by Roberts. I hope my blog was of interest and I appreciate your time in reading it. Sincerely, Capt. Bob
