Light Spey for Local waters

 I will bet as soon as I say Spey cast most people think of a some guy standing in a huge river with a 14 to 16’ rod throwing insanely long casts with a long (sometimes 80’) bellied line. While this is one of the disciplines of Spey casting, there are many others. Now, instead of saying Spey cast what if I told you I could show you a casting system you could use in most of our local waters that has several benefits to you, the fisherman. I’ll bet that got your attention. It is true. With the introduction of new, lighter weight, rods and matched weight heads light Spey casting is now right at home on many of our local rivers like the White Clay or the Brandywine. There are many advantages to this type of casting. Some of these casting styles, particularly Skagit casting were developed right here in the good ole’ USA. With this type of casting you can throw quite a long cast with minimal effort, much less effort than a single hand rod of the same weight throwing the same distance. Less effort means less fatigue at the end of a long fishing day. Less wear and tear on your body can possibly eliminate the shoulder and elbow issues that are sometimes common in fly fishing. Longer casts mean you can cover more water without the need to wade through as much water. The less you have to wade the odds go way down that you could sustain an injury from a fall. These are all good things to consider as we move further and further down the road of our fly fishing careers.  

Not so local, but here Terry is on the beach in Sanabel Island throwing underhanded casts form the beach. This technique can be put to use right here in our area. 

Here I am on the Brandywine throwing a C Spey cast. This is about a 70' cast with a 4"long weighted Crayfish fly and a sink tip with 5 feet of T-8. This cast would be a tall order with a single hand 6 weight. 


In the past there has been a lot of “smoke and mirrors” involved with Spey casting. Well, not anymore. With the popularity of the sport growing by leaps and bounds there is a wealth of knowledge available to the novice Spey caster. Gone are the days of buying two or three heads per rod to try and find the sweet spot. The new Rio Mega Kits (which we have in stock) allow us to "try before you buy" and we can match the perfect head to your rod and type of casting. Be it Skagit Flight, Scandi Short, or the new Skagit Max Short we have the kits in house.  

One of the four Rio Mega Kits we have in house

Novels have been written on the different casting styles that are full of instructional information. Countless DVD’s are available with topics ranging from casting instruction to fly design. The Skagitmaster series of DVD's are some of the best on the subject. We have all 4 in stock now. 

With the benefits of Spey casting so great if you are interested you owe it to yourself to give it a try. With careful selection we can put together a quality Spey set-up for quite an attractive price with running lines and heads matched to your rod. Stop in and check out all that is available in the world of Spey casing. Hopefully we will see some of you swinging wets on our local Trout rivers next year.  


The shop will be hosting the first annual “Marblehead Spey Clave” on Saturday September 28th starting at 10:00 am. This dual spot event will take place at the shop as well as on the river. A day dedicated to all things Spey. For more information go to www.amarbleheadflyfisher.com  or click here
 

Hopefully you can make it out on the 28th. We look forward to seeing you there.