03-07-2007, 03:42 PM
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3][cool]Why is a form of casting first developed in the mid-1800s the hottest technique on salmon and steelhead rivers? [And you all thought that it was a new fad] Because with a spey rod, you can put a fly in front of a distant fish without wearing your arm out. [/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The method was first developed on Scotland’s River Spey, where conventional fly casts are made nearly impossible by high banks. Using 15- to 20-foot rods crafted from greenheart and bamboo, salmon fishermen were able to power double-handed casts to salmon lies 100 feet or more away without using a back cast that would snag the brush behind them. [/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Today, most salmon and steelhead anglers in the Pacific Northwest fish with spey rods, and the approach is also catching on in big-river trout fishing. The resurgence of interest is largely due to modern graphite fibers that can be built into long rods that are extremely light in weight. This leads to one of spey casting’s biggest advantages—less arm fatigue. It is far less taxing on muscles and tendons to cast a long rod using two hands all day than it is to cast a shorter, one-handed rod. [/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Spey casting offers other distinct advantages for a wading fisherman. First, he can reach distant lies from any spot in the river because he doesn’t have to worry about obstructions at his back. Second, he’s able to mend line and control the drift of his fly at greater ranges than he could with a single-handed rod. [/size][/green][/font]
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[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]The method was first developed on Scotland’s River Spey, where conventional fly casts are made nearly impossible by high banks. Using 15- to 20-foot rods crafted from greenheart and bamboo, salmon fishermen were able to power double-handed casts to salmon lies 100 feet or more away without using a back cast that would snag the brush behind them. [/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Today, most salmon and steelhead anglers in the Pacific Northwest fish with spey rods, and the approach is also catching on in big-river trout fishing. The resurgence of interest is largely due to modern graphite fibers that can be built into long rods that are extremely light in weight. This leads to one of spey casting’s biggest advantages—less arm fatigue. It is far less taxing on muscles and tendons to cast a long rod using two hands all day than it is to cast a shorter, one-handed rod. [/size][/green][/font]
[font "Poor Richard"][green][size 3]Spey casting offers other distinct advantages for a wading fisherman. First, he can reach distant lies from any spot in the river because he doesn’t have to worry about obstructions at his back. Second, he’s able to mend line and control the drift of his fly at greater ranges than he could with a single-handed rod. [/size][/green][/font]
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