The Fly Fishing Place Spey Pages: What Is A Spey Rod?
WHAT IS A SPEY ROD?
Good question! Technically, "spey" is more a type of casting than a type of rod. Spey casting has its origins on the River Spey that originates in Loch Spey in Scotland and flows about 100 miles before it empties into the North Atlantic at Garmouth. The Spey is a large river that is tough to wade (see the slide show below) and some of the best runs are shrouded with heavily forested banks and rock outcroppings. To allow the early Scottish anglers to reach the salmon in those difficult lies, specialized casts and rods were developed that didn't require extensive backcasting and that could produce long casts. Long rods, often as long as 20 feet, were developed that required two hands to cast.
Today, the River Spey has given its name to not only the casting techniques necessary to conquer difficult wading and casting conditions, but to the two-handed rods that allow those casts. Just keep in mind that you can make a spey cast with almost any modern fly rod, whether it is a traditional one-handed trout rod , a two-handed or long rod, and more recently the hybrid "Switch" rods . For steelhead anglers fishing the tree-lined tributaries of the Great Lakes or the rushing rivers of the Pacific Northwest where wading more than 5 feet from the bank is often literally taking your life in your own hands, the advent of spey casting and modern spey rods in America has given us the tools to solve many of our longstanding challenges.
What Is The Difference Between A Spey Rod And A Switch Rod?
Traditional Spey Fly Lines
Skagit Spey Shooting Heads
Scandinavian Spey Shooting Heads
Which Spey Line Should I Use? Comparing Traditional, Skagit and Scandi Spey Lines
What is a Skagit Cheater?
Do All Skagit Shooting Heads Require an Additional Tip?
What is a Poly Leader or Versileader?
Return To Spey Pages Index
Traditional Spey Fly Lines
Skagit Spey Shooting Heads
Scandinavian Spey Shooting Heads
Which Spey Line Should I Use? Comparing Traditional, Skagit and Scandi Spey Lines
What is a Skagit Cheater?
Do All Skagit Shooting Heads Require an Additional Tip?
What is a Poly Leader or Versileader?
Return To Spey Pages Index
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The River Spey, Scotland
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