Spey Rod

I’m definitely not an early adopter. So now that the use of 2 handed spey rods is more than just popular in the Pacific Northwest (there’s a style of casting named for one of our rivers now, Skagit style) I gotta try it. The trouble is with two Sage (not cheap) rods already in my collection justifying the purchase of even a low end spey rod is kind of hard to swing. For Christmas I got the green light to buy some fly fishing gear and was lucky enough to find some spey rod building kits at Hook and Hackle for a really good price. This whole mess raises two questions. First, why buy a kit and build it myself. Second, what in the hell is spey casting.

Spey casting is a fly casting technique developed on Scotland’s River Spey. A low gradient river lined with trees so the fishermen there favored long 18-20 foot two handed rods to get their flies out. They then invented a way of casting that is essentially a modified roll cast to get their line out where the fish were. This was the birth of “traditional” spey casting. Since those early days where the rods where made out of hardwood, typically Greenhhart, split cane and then graphite rods have changed the possibilities greatly. Now there are spey casts, underhand casts and good old fashioned overhand casts that can be performed with the two handed rod.

It was on the River Spey that the Spey style flies were first tied. Many of the Washington and BC steelhead flies can trace their lineage back to the original spey fiies. Remind me someday to tell you about Syd Glasso……

Now why get a kit? Price is one part, I’d never be able to afford a finished Redington, St Croix or Sage at this point. On top of that I’ve been suppressing for a long time the urge to get into bamboo rod building. This will temporarily satisfy the bug.

The kit arrived today with a good solid handle, reel seat and the bits and pieces to wrap it up and get it into action. The rest is details…..