“Live line” simply means the fly line has energy in it which results in a cast that requires appropriate timing so that the energy is not lost and creates a D or V-shaped loop shape on the back cast. Lastly, I learned that these lines could bring a certain “Fun Factor” to a day on the water. First is an original Echo Dec Hogan DH1833 13'3" 8 weight spey setup. Photo: Kyle Shea. Amidst all of this are single-hand spey rods and techniques. In fact, I’d say that my “winning kits” section below is based almost entirely on the fun factor… but of course, fun and awesome casting and fishing basically go hand in hand for me. Heck, we refer to two-handed fly rods as ‘spey rods’ for a reason! Sure, your Echo3S 1090 will throw that 480 grain Scout, but your arm will probably hate you by lunchtime. Of course, fly fishing is no different, from cleverly renamed bobbers (sorry, strike indicators) to the niche world of fly rods. Many single-handed casters do something similar to these moves without knowing they are doing them. Examples are the best way to explain it. It takes mass to move mass and the weight required to load your rod must be carried in your D loop. The height and the size of the loop can be controlled by the caster. PHONE. In the end, if you want to throw a really big tips or really heavy flies a really long way, get yourself a 13’6” 8wt 2-handed rod and a 570 or 600 grain Skagit head. I like to think of the 3-weight Trout Spey HD as I do a single-hand 6-weight rod—the do-everything, go-to workhorse rod. For the trout switch rods, we chose Rio’s InTouch Switch, which at the time of the test, was the only switch line available in a size WF-5-F. Equipment you already possess will be sufficient. The Rio Fly Line: InTouch Single Handed Spey with a Hardy Zenith Sintrix rod. First and foremost, the Scout is ridiculously applicable to trout fishing with wet flies and streamers. A cast directed down to the water or even parallel to the water turns over quickly and then stops shooting. The trendy nature of our society can give a feeling of whiplash to the unsuspecting. A basic roll cast has the following steps: This is the defining moment for the roll cast. But Evan says the sharp pain of losing an Alaskan steelhead never dies, and lying in bed at night, he still wonders: “If only Matt had used an Improved Clinch Knot instead of a regular Clinch.” , ECHO FLY FISHING IS A PRODUCT OF RAJEFF SPORTS, http://airflousa.com/project/skagit-scout/. Fly Fishing in the Winter: Where the trout at. Standard 9 foot rods were a good match for the Scout lines up to 15 feet in length (150-270 grains) paired with tips/Polyleaders to 10 feet in length. Two-handed rods are so great because they make pulling sink tips and heavy flies, and moving heavy lines that much easier. Matt’s journey into Spey casting and fishing actually began with trout back in 2000, on the Madison River just outside of West Yellowstone. The biggest difference is the dynamic nature of the cast. Longer rods make it easier to Spey cast with single hand rods. The “anchor” in the definition means that a portion of the fly line near the tip, anchors or holds the fly line to the water during a repositioning move with the energy in the line creating the loop shape in preparation for the next cast. They run from 13.5 feet long (150 grains) up to 18.5 feet long (480 grains), with the vast majority of the lineup between 14.5 and 16.5 feet long (180 to 390 grains). You can cast the lines with them just fine, but you lose a lot of that easy flow that Skagit lines are famous for. While those rods remain popular, more recently, focus has shifted in part to single-hand … Time left 5d 11h left. The Single Hand Spey is incredibly effective on our Ontario Rivers for Steelhead and Trophy Smallmouth Bass. O… All that needs to be done is to wrap and epoxy the rod. Introducing the CF Burkheimer Single Handed Spey Rods. Casting trajectory is critical as turnover time with a very short head is limited. 8 footers are short by Montana trout rod standards, and they aren’t the best for casting these Scout lines. During all this experimentation, I also used the lines on single handed rods plenty of times on water that would probably be better suited to a proper 2-handed rod. In simple terms, single-hand rod action is derived from the top half of the rod, while power is derived from the bottom half. It really is a whole new bag of tricks for the caster. 10 foot rod – Echo3 5100, Scout 240 grain, Steelhead poly leaders (note the 10’ 5wt Echo 3 is more like a true 6wt), double softhackles, small weighted streamers, medium to large unweighted streamers. If you plan on fishing large Steelhead rivers where 90' to 120' casts are the norm, a 14' to 15' rod is the weapon of choice. Warranty: Echo lifetime warranty . I don’t want to spend a ton of time on this, but a Skagit Scout line is essentially an ultra-short version of a typical Skagit head that you might throw on a longer 2-handed rod for trout or steelhead. Continue up to roughly the one o’clock position at the end of the stroke. At this point if you’re a spey junky your eyes may be bleeding as you cringe over details I’ve left out. Making several more casts Billy picked up the Deer Creek 4wt for a few casts to cleanse the pallet. It has limitations, primarily in change of direction and distance, but understanding how to perform the roll cast consistently with a good loop is a necessity, and something new fly fishers should learn on day one. Subscribe to Fly Fusion and experience the Soul of Fly Fishing, PLUS save up to 40% AND receive a half dozen FREE flies as our thanks! Waiting too long will result in the D-loop falling, energy being lost and the forward cast collapsing. However, it’s important to note that by definition spey casting is a style of fly casting, one that can be performed by both two-handed “spey” rods AND … Matt claims he redeemed himself with his contribution to another steelhead that Evan landed – invalidating the prior lost fish. Regardless, make sure your loop-to-loop connection to the running line is really clean with this short rod. When it’s time to cast again, you use a sweeping single-Spey motion—back across your body—to get the line in front of you, finishing with the presentation roll-cast cast directly upstream. That is admittedly broad. Example 2 – Getting absolutely smashed by a big, hot Missouri River rainbow trout while fooling around with Scout pairings on the Echo Gecko kids rod, losing the fish, bursting out laughing, and then looking up and down river hoping that there was someone floating by to see what just happened. The power it generates can really be compared to two handed spey rods. For a few years, the development of smaller spey rods—typically 11 1/2 feet or smaller and lighter in weight—geared towards two-handed spey casting, but on a similar scale, predominated. In this reawakening, spey casting has taken a front seat and now drives fly angling in the anadromous world. Now raise the rod tip slowly to a nearly vertical position with tip pointing up and slightly back at approximately one o’clock. Start with the rod tip near the water’s surface and the line in on the water in front of you. The line can have slack but should be positioned so that during delivery the line on the water and the direction of the delivery path do not intersect. Example 1 – Unleashing a cast that shoots so clean that it hits the end and dang near bounces the rod out of your hand, which triggers that “OH DAMN!” feeling, and then stripping off a few more pulls of line as a big grin spreads out across your face. Master them, and you’ll be ready to cast a two-handed rod … The reel is fully setup with backing, slickshooter shooting line, … Instead, grab your 7 or 8wt single hander and 300 to 360 grains, and get after it. R.B. No special rod, fly lines or gear are necessary. That said, with some finesse (so that you don’t blow your anchor to smithereens) these lines will also work just fine for performing touch and go casts like the Single Spey and Snake Roll. Currently residing in Helena with his wife and young son, Matt’s now the guy that folks here at Big Sky Anglers look to for help with their casting, gear selection and more. For the foundation let’s start with the basic roll cast. In a sweeping motion lift the rod tip to approximately the nine o’clock position. The grips are hand glued ring on ring, using the same Flor grade cork, reel seats, and grip profiles that we would use on our build schedules. EMAIL [email protected] The next phase is the standard forward motion, an acceleration to a stop as you would with a normal forward cast but with a little more power. You can cast the lines with them just fine, but you lose a lot of that easy flow that Skagit lines are famous for. The Scientific Anglers product “Spey Lite” in a 275 grain suits well with a 6 or 7 weight rod. The perfect line for roll, and single handed Spey casts. The rod and line has formed the typical D-loop with no energy in the line. Those anglers who fish almost exclusively with single-hand rods might feel a little left out when discussions turn to Spey and Skagit casts, but that shouldn’t be the case. From this point we can modify the roll cast and follow similar steps to accomplish the forward spey or switch cast. Enter Spey casting, long rods designed to be cast with two hands offering the best solution to your problem at hand. CONTACT INFO. First, just because it is a Skagit head, doesn’t mean that it is guaranteed to throw chunks of T-17 and a huge lead eyed bunny leech with no problem. Designed on the water for practical fishing applications, we are extremely proud to offer these fly fishing tools with the same elegant aesthetic you know as an ACR rod. I had more questions about this rod and line combo after my presentation than all others combined. If you are looking to toss lighter, smaller streamers, or teams of weighted or unweighted soft hackles, then 4 through 6wt rods matched properly with 150 through 270 grain Scouts will treat you right. very slick, low memory, integrated line with a 33' head . The tapered Polyleaders seemed to clean up and smooth out the aggressive turnover that these short, heavy heads bring to the table. The InTouch Single Handed Spey line has been designed to be a fantastic tool for anglers that prefer/need to perform roll and single-handed Spey casts. Second, it seems like there is a limit to how heavy you can really comfortably go on a single hand rod for Spey casting. Echo Fly rods: Full Spey . The loop should unroll off the water. Buy It Now +C $7.71 shipping. Ready to Wrap (RTW) Will Include: Action: Med /Fast. A cast with an upward trajectory, on the other hand, will keep shooting once the head has turned over completely, and score you more distance with these short heads. Add some nuanced edits to your trajectory along with a haul on the delivery stroke and it plain launches. Ultimately, the goal was to learn, and be able to share what I learned with everyone out there. With single hand spey, essentially you’re looking to deliver nymphs, wets and light streamers on lighter sink tips or polyleader type systems. ADDRESS. Seller assumes all responsibility for this listing. Slowly, without having the line leave the surface of the water, move the rod tip out to your casting-arm side and parallel to the water until the rod tip is at slightly more than a right angle to the starting position. Introducing the CF Burkheimer Single Handed Spey Rods. Not waiting long enough will result in a poor anchor point and the anchor will slip loose. Designed with the typical Skagit taper scheme, the result is plenty of grains-per-foot to turn over some pretty decent tips, polyleaders, and/or flies. Toll Free (888) 811 1163. ideal for 7/8wt single hand rod, 3/4wt spey rod or 4/5wt switch rod. 600 River Rd Massey ON P0P 1P0 . Step 2 should be done with awareness of where the forward cast will be directed. This is the definitive book on single-handed Spey Casting. My goal is not to teach spey casting from the technical standpoint, but rather to share how easily, and possibly unknowingly, you can begin to experiment with spey casting. With a little practice and intentional thought these casts can dramatically increase your fluidity and casting prowess on the stream. A big kid Spey rod with Trout Spey feel. Some folks think this is the same as the second grip on a switch or spey rod. Most of the time, when people hear the words ‘spey casting,’ they immediately think of two-handed rods. So, I called up the good folks at Rajeff Sports, told them of my woes, and they were kind enough to loan us a few Skagit Scout demo lines so that we could fool around with them over here in Montana and figure out how they might fit into our trout fishing in time for Spey Days. Whether its trout, steelhead, or salmon, on the two-hander, he is happy to teach and share what he’s learned on his own journey. These rods do it and do it with ease. From United States. Shipping and handling. "When it comes to finding the right Spey rod... the best length really depends on how far you need to cast. By adding a haul during the spey cast you will be amazed and awed by the results. Aside from that, it was just some good-natured, semi-scientific experimentation disguised as fly fishing. First, let’s be clear what spey casting is. ~ Matt Klara is the Media Manager for Big Sky Anglers in West Yellowstone, MT. The back cast should be directed 180 degrees away from the desired target. The cast can be executed as well at time zero as at time 10 minutes. This might be the ultimate Spey gateway drug. Value I have owned and fished quite a few ECHO rods over the years, and the OHS is no exception to the quality and value one would expect. In this great video, Fred Telleen of North 40 Fly Shop runs through a quick primer on how to rig your standard trout rod with a Skagit head and a sinking tip, which is a great set-up for streamer fishing on big water. Learn the single-hand spey cast. Smooth junction loops are nice. With the right match of line weight to the type of tip/polyleader and fly you want to fish, these are a super fun and effective angling tool. This rod is the ideal gateway for any beginner or less active angler who only uses the two-hand rod a few times a year. So, at the very least, these lines are a nice “gateway drug” into the world of Spey for folks not yet ready to commit to a full 2-handed rod setup. 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