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Spey rod for stripers?

11K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  DPB 
#1 ·
Hi guys,

I am about to buy my first spey rod within the next week or 2. I am no stranger to fly casting, but I have no experience in the spey department. I'm hoping you guys can steer me in the right direction. I'll try to be as detailed as possible.

This may sound odd, but I am buying the rod for the striped bass run into a local river from a nearby lake. In a the majority of spots on the river, the water is too deep and swift to wade far enough from the bank to get the backcast I need in order to make long casts. This has limited my fishing to only a few spots where I can wade far enough into the river to allow a good backcast.

The rivers width ranges from 40-100 yards across, and in most spots is less than 5-6 feet deep. The flies I use are decievers and clousers in various sizes. I typically use them on a floating line since the stripers seem to like taking them close the surface. The average fish is roughly 10-15 pounds...and are a handfull in the rivers current.

As of right now, I am leaning toward a Winston rod, since I am able to get a once per year guide discount from the company. That being said, I have no idea what length/weight to buy. Any advice on lines etc... would be helpfull as well.

Thanks in advance for any info

Dan
 
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#2 ·
Spey/switch rod for stripers

Welcome, and thanks for the details about the water you want to fish!

I've only fished stripers in the California Delta and get pretty close (40-80') from where they lie. Also, I fish mostly Clousers on the end of 30' of LC13 or T-14 after a count-down and strip the fly back to a boat.

I use a single hand 10' 8 wt and succeed. I tried an 11' 8 wt switch rod and was amazed that I could cast 80-90+' with little effort.

Unless you swing flies for stripers or possess more ability than I and can comfortably strip flies using a 13+' rod, using a longer "spey" rod may not be an advantage for your application...

I vote for an 8 wt switch (which translates to a 10 wt single hand rod) for what you want to do...but you have to be that close to the fish!

Look forward to other board member suggestions...

Don
 
#5 ·
DPB - I've always done my striper fishing with a 9' single-handed 8 weight rod and an agressively weight-forward intermediate line that I could shoot pretty far. But, like yourself, I am branching into the spey world to effectively work some of the larger southern waters like the Chattahoochee, Coosa, and Tallapoosa Rivers.

To that end, I just bought a 15' 8/9 TFO Deer Creek as my big water striper rod. From the sound of the others on this thread, it may have been a mistake to go so long, but I really fell in love with it at the shop and had to get it.

I know some guys down here that swing for stripers in the fast stretches of these rivers, but you of course have to be able to strip the fly too at times. I haven't even been out on the water with it yet. I'll let you know how it goes when I do...

chatt
 
#6 ·
Welcome to the board.

Dan,

Give Bob Meiser a ring. He is a Board sponsor, as well as a great guy. I have the 11'7" for 5/6/7. It would work well for your application of up to 10-15# fish. A compact skagit of about 400 grains or a little more should work well with little back cast room needed. Bob may have something even better for your application.

Ted
 
#7 ·
Thanks so much for the information guys!

I currently use an 9' 9wt glx native run. I have no trouble shooting lots of line with it until I get into positions that don't allow much room for a backcast.

The stripers do take on the swing in the heavier current, but I would need to strip in about 80% of the situations i would run into on the river. I see the point that a 14' rod may not be right for this.

Tell me a little more about switch rods, and their applications. As I said in my first post, I am leaning toward a Winston, since I get a good discount through the company, but I am certainly open to any suggestions you guys may have, and will check out Bob Meiser's website tonight.
 
#8 ·
Switch rod

That might be just the ticket you're looking for. You can line it with a skagit line allowing you to throw big flies and do plenty of stripping. The rod will crossover between overhead and skagit casts when you don't have the room behind you. The BIIX 11' 7 weight, or BIIMX 11'6" 6 weight could be a lot of fun.
 
#9 ·
How about a Scando rod? Short shooting heads, room to strip, and with the right set-up, you can overhead it, too. A 12' 8 or 9wt would be sweet. The Guidelines DDC head would cover all your needs, from intermediate to as deep as you want. Floating heads, too, of course.... Then bring it to the PNW for steelhead!

Tom
 
#10 ·
I have a meiser 11'7" that he built for me with saltwater components and I use it for stripers from the beach and in a tidal river. I got it late in the season last year so I do not have a ton of experience with it but it seems to be just what you would be looking for. Two hand overhead or spey style works great.

I also have older Sage 8wt 11'3' and a sage 12'6' 9wt rods that works well also.
 
#11 ·
If you have to...

...achieve a bit of distance AND strip retrieve, I would suggest looking at faster action Speyrods of 12' to 12 1/2'. I have found this length range of rod has what it takes to make casts out to 85' plus, and is short enough to make strip retrieves in a comfortable manner (at least for me it is). This is my favorite length for catching silvers in Alaska off of river bars. The approach is to cast almost square across the current, mend to sink the fly, when it has reached the desired depth employ a strip, pause, strip, pause sequence until about a rod length's of the belly is inside the guides, then roll out that line and segue right into a standard spey-type cast. With a short Skagit, plus 10-ish foot tip, the retrieve as described will bring the fly to within around 20' of one's casting position, which in most cases of bar fishing silvers is well "out of the zone" for taking fish at that point. The 12 1/2' Loomis 7/8 Stinger is my pick and is great fun on our "average" 8 to 10 pound silvers. I can't say how this would compare with 10 to 15 pound Stripers though.
 
#12 ·
Stripers

Hooking a striper is like hooking a plow horse in my experience. There's no acrobatics. They just pull. I greatly enjoy it because of their strength. You're not sure what's going on out there.

Around here people go out armed with 10 wt. single-handers. Overkill in my opinion, but they're all prepared for a 25 lb beast like these: http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/recstr01.htm. Maybe I'm not optimistic enough, but I think a 8 weight single hander is plenty since the majority of fish caught are much smaller.

This will be my first full season going after them with a two hander. Been after the stripers and the shad with single-handers for the last two springs. Between my fishing buddy and I, we will have an assortment of line weights and lengths trying to figure out this puzzle.

It will be interesting. These are our local anadromous species, and are targeted mostly by the gear guys. I feel like a weirdo and a pioneer when I'm out on the river throwing snap-t's while everyone around me is chucking rapalas. Hahahaha. I see the occasional single-hander, usually fishing the PA side of the river.

Anyway, I'm rambling, but if anyone has any pointers about stripers, shad, or trying to figure out how to and where to catch anadromous fish with a two-hander in a river system where no one else is using one, please feel free to chime in.
 
G
#13 ·
Too often people think that the size of the fish determines what line weight to use, and it sometimes does. However, I find that the majority of striper guys use a ten weight to be able to toss the big flies that are used, especially in the fall, and in order to deal more effectively with the almost constant wind.
 
#15 ·
I totally understand that in the surf, but I'm talking about from a boat in a river. Ten weight, intermediate line, giant eel flies, October, in the surf.

May on the lower Delaware? yeah the wind might kick up. yeah you could put on a pattern the size of a 2 lb buck shad. but if you string up a two-hander and a skagit line do you really need anything more than a 7/8? maybe an 8/9? I dunno. Plus the deceiver's I'm tossing aren't all that big. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?
 
#16 ·
The rivers width ranges from 40-100 yards across, and in most spots is less than 5-6 feet deep. The flies I use are decievers and clousers in various sizes. I typically use them on a floating line since the stripers seem to like taking them close the surface. The average fish is roughly 10-15 pounds...and are a handfull in the rivers current.

I currently use an 9' 9wt glx native run. I have no trouble shooting lots of line with it until I get into positions that don't allow much room for a backcast.

Thanks in advance for any info

Dan
I find myself wondering how much current your fishing? If they're 'a handfull' on your 9wt GLX single hand a double hand 7/8 would be minimal [my subjective opinion] 8/9 might be better. 10'6" - 12'6" range.

Fly sizes, possible weighted flies, and weather conditions are a valid concern as mentioned above.

Good luck.. Sounds very interesting.
 
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