I'm in the market for a spey rod and have found the setup that i think would be most useful for me. Let me explain and then can u please correct me if you see anything wrong with it. My choice is a 11'6 beulah 6/7wt spey rod. Its recomended skagit lines are 350-400. I will match it up with a teton tioga 12wt reel and a skagit 350. I'm looking to be using it one the vedder, capilano, chehalis, mabey squamish. Is this a recomended setup for winter steelheading on these rivers? I've talked to a few guys and they've said it would be a decent rod for the job, and i just want a little more clarifaction.
Getting a spey rod
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hey YG
i would recommend bumping up to an 8wt rod for the stability of fishing all species. or possibly a 9/10wt and I would assume that a 12wt reel will be to heavy for a 6/7wt rod
I run a 9/10wt Echo with a Bauer M5 and a Delta Airflow line :thumbup: I love it. and my dad bought Rick's 9140 Dec Hogan with Hardy reel (i think ) and runs a Skagit line. his line is definately easier to cast then mine because of the shorter shooting heads but i like the cast control of mine O0
before you buy you should go to a Spey Clave and cast a bunch of different rods.
i would recommend bumping up to an 8wt rod for the stability of fishing all species. or possibly a 9/10wt and I would assume that a 12wt reel will be to heavy for a 6/7wt rod
I run a 9/10wt Echo with a Bauer M5 and a Delta Airflow line :thumbup: I love it. and my dad bought Rick's 9140 Dec Hogan with
Hardy reel (i think ) and runs a Skagit line. his line is definately easier to cast then mine because of the shorter shooting heads but i like the cast control of mine O0 before you buy you should go to a Spey Clave and cast a bunch of different rods.
always glad to share my limited knowledge LOL I have cast probably 6or7 different spey rods. and i also played with more when i went shopping for the one i have now :thumbup: I love it as its very light and the action is great. i also overlined it with a 10/11wt line so it has a deeper cast stroke (or whatever the proper term is)
if you feel like waiting it out and getting one for steelhead time I would be more than willing to let you whip mine around for a bit and i would bet my dad would let you toss his a few times also. that will give you a bit of help. I will be out with it for Reds this summer on the Vedder :thumbup: i will have my single hander also (probably)
and your rod selection while good is a tad of a short rod for rivers like the Vedder and so on. I would be going with a 13'-15' rod myself and thats why i have a 14' :cheers: and if you plan to do Chum on the Squamish you need at least an 8wt and i have been told they bust 8wt single handed rods every year but with a longer rod you have more control over whats going on and with more rod its abit tougher to snap it :beerchug:
if you feel like waiting it out and getting one for steelhead time I would be more than willing to let you whip mine around for a bit and i would bet my dad would let you toss his a few times also. that will give you a bit of help. I will be out with it for Reds this summer on the Vedder :thumbup: i will have my single hander also (probably)
and your rod selection while good is a tad of a short rod for rivers like the Vedder and so on. I would be going with a 13'-15' rod myself and thats why i have a 14' :cheers: and if you plan to do Chum on the Squamish you need at least an 8wt and i have been told they bust 8wt single handed rods every year
but with a longer rod you have more control over whats going on and with more rod its abit tougher to snap it :beerchug:
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:2cents: I have a TFO 14' 6" 8wt /Reddington reel which I find awesome on the Vedder, my opinion is that this rod is a little short for the Squamish, I use a Sage 15' 10 wt / Ross Cla-6 on the Squamish and its very good. All in all the 8wt is very well balanced and a lot more enjoyable to fish with for longer periods of 8-10 hours, after fishing with the Sage I'm tired after about 4 hours. As for buying your gear check out E-BAy!!!!!! awesome deals if you are looking at the right time.
:beerchug:
:beerchug:
I would seriously consider an 8 or 9 Wt. for the Vedder. I have hauled in some good sized springs on my 9.
Are you new to spey casting? I have a copy of Rio's basic spey casting DVD (a 3 DVD set) I can send you if you want to PM me your address. It's no substitute for hands-on instruction, but I found it really helpful.
Are you new to spey casting? I have a copy of Rio's basic spey casting DVD (a 3 DVD set) I can send you if you want to PM me your address. It's no substitute for hands-on instruction, but I found it really helpful.
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840 Posts
newb casting a 12-7 rod :naughty: I think you should stay with 13+ feet, 8 wt......................
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1,667 Posts
Hmm...throwing a short Skagit line would be a very quick way for a newbie to be able to chuck a lot of line with a double hand rod...I'm just not sure that's the way to learn how to spey cast or not. I'm not that experienced with double hand rods yet, so I'm not sure if starting with a Skagit line is really detrimental or not...just speculation on my part.
well Stone when i was buying my spey setup i use now the people at M&Y told me i could get a Skagit line setup and be able to punch lots of line out however i would learn bad habits because its to easy to cast, they said going with a mid belly line it would force me to learn properly and not develop to many bad habits so i opted for the Airflo Delta line which has a 55' belly whereas i think the Skagit line only has a 27' (my dads has this belly length).
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Those are exactly my sentiments, HOOK...and I'm glad people who have more expertise share similar opinions. I've tried both, and in fact, my 8wt spey is setup for both Skagit and Midspey...the Skagit is certainly much easier to throw heavy tips and large weighted flies.
I still struggle with regular spey casting...probably because I've barely had any time to do it since picking up my rods. : :wallbash: Hopefully I can start going out with the spey rods starting next month.
I still struggle with regular spey casting...probably because I've barely had any time to do it since picking up my rods. :
:wallbash: Hopefully I can start going out with the spey rods starting next month.hook i think i'll be walking past ya again with another steely :thumbup: jk! I for sure want a skagit line, matched with a strictly skagit rod, fishing a meat stick is not my idea of fun, and hooking a steelhead on one of my 8 inch flies will be fun
you better learn to cast YG because those 8inch bunny leeches are hard to pull out of the water and they like to go straight at you sometimes :beerchug: I like sticking to the 4inch bunny leeches but i have some big ones also. You should tie up some stingers as well :thumbup:
i like fishing "fish killers" (4/0) jk, not worth the hassel. I learn how to cast, i haven't hit my self in the head with fly while steelheading yet. kock on wood. Every try thowing a weighted 8" bunny leach with a 6/7. like casting a bicycle chain. Especially with 5ft of t-14 aswell.
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I think you should go out and try and cast a line with a 3-4 inch fly ,some of us that have fished the 2 hander for a while have trouble getting some of the larger flies out of the water, nevermind the 8 inch flies.
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