Welcome everyone and thanks for being a part of this today. The first time spey casting got my attention was 9 years ago up in Alaska on a river fishing for Coho. This is when I witnessed this man using a double handed rod. I watched him spey cast and the movements were so graceful and poetic that I thought to my self “damn that’s sexy!” Needless to say we married 6 years later. And this is when I also started my dance speycasting with a double handed rod.
Spey casting is a technique of fly fishing with a double hand rod that was developed in the mid 1800’s on the River Spey in Scotland. Traditionally rods were 15-22 feet long and anglers used long belly lines with heads over 70 feet, casting single speys with either left or right hand up.
The double handed rod is meant to be used with either your left or right hand up (or on top).
For those new to spey casting the reason to cast either off your left or right shoulder is based on the side of the river you are on and the wind direction. If the wind is blowing down stream you will want to keep the fly below you so it doen’t hit you in the face.
Show Double Spey for wind direction.
Rogue Angel Mia Spey Casting, photo courtesy of Ken Anderson
If there is no wind you could then do a Snap T, Single Spey.
Lets say one is casting from the left bank such as now. First if there was no wind and you are right hand dominant then doing a Snap T or Circle Spey would be the most efficient cast for winter fishing with a Skagit head. This cast with a mend will give your fly the best presentation for the fish.
If you have an upstream wind you would still do a Snap T, but lets say you have a downstream wind. Then you would want to cast off your left shoulder and keep your fly below you so you don’t get hooked. To do this one would need to make a Double Spey cast. This cast will keep the fly below you and still give your fly the best presentation in the water. In any situation a Cack Handed cast is just as effective but I believe you get a better fly presentation by casting off the shoulder closest to the water.
Show a Cack Cast and a Cack Hand left cast.
Over the last 10 years with the development of Skagit casting, shorter lines, shorter rods, and cack- handing has taken presidence in the United States. Cack handing is an effective way to cast with a shorter line because you don’t need a big D loop and you don’t need to let your rod drift. Drifting the rod allows for a bigger D loop.
Show a cast with a Skagit line
Swith to bigger rod.
When you start getting into using scandi heads, deltas, and long belly you will need more drift to form a complete D loop and load your rod. You can’t accomplish this with a cack hand cast because you are forced to stop. Show a single spey and demonstrate drift. The spey rod has never been specifically designed to favor one hand over the other.
I know some of you are thinking, I can never use my left hand for anything. With a little practice you’ll be surprised at the capability your left arm has.
A great way to accomplish this is by mirroring your dominate casting arm. Do a good cast with you dominate side then switch and do the same cast with your non dominant.
Demonstrate
And remember, the important thing is to have fun fishing. Fish don’t care what the cast looks like, it’s all in the presentation of the fly.
Thanks again for coming out today for the first annual Ladies Day at the Sandy River Spey Clave. If you ever have any questions, please feel free to ask me!
-Rogue Angel Mia Sheppard
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