[E. simulans]

When trout fishing large rivers at high flows, I have encountered trout rising just out of reach of my 9' 5 wt single hander - about 80'. Would this be an opportunity to break out a trout spey to fish a dry? What type of delivery is preferred for dry fly fishing with speys? Please forgive my newbie questions, I have never cast a spey rod.

 

[Moose]

I like to fish small olive and tan stimulators with a caddis emerger as a dropper. You apply a good floatant to the stimulator and it acts as an indicator that you can see out to 80 feet. I have had a bit of difficulty seeing smaller dries out past about 60 feet, but there are some high vis parachute patterns out there I haven't tried. Might be difficult to fish a spinner fall :Eyecrazy:

 

[fredaevans]

I like to fish small olive and tan stimulators with a caddis emerger as a dropper. You apply a good floatant to the stimulator and it acts as an indicator that you can see out to 80 feet. I have had a bit of difficulty seeing smaller dries out past about 60 feet, but there are some high vis parachute patterns out there I haven't tried. Might be difficult to fish a spinner fall :Eyecrazy:

fly selection is a matter of 'taste,' hopefully the fishes. :>)

Have been experimenting with the SA nymphing line on two light spey rods (trouters if you will) line worked very well with either rod for dry's. For 'sunk fly's' the 5/6 WC is still a grand line ... but light in the head for tossing large 'fluffy' drys so far for me.

 

[Grampa Spey]

Fred Evans, all

"Have been experimenting with the SA nymphing line on two light spey rods (trouters if you will) line worked very well with either rod for dry's. For 'sunk fly's' the 5/6 WC is still a grand line ... but light in the head for tossing large 'fluffy' drys so far for me."

With the winds we have in N. California and S. Oregon, the WC 5/6 gets a little fluffy and very light in the head at its maximum range.

The best dry fly line, I have found has been the Mid Spey 6/7 with as long of a floating furled leader as the rod, line and I can handle with about 3 foot of tippet.


A single or double spey and sometimes a snake roll will work if I get the loop shooting out in an upward loop with the fly dropping like a parachute at the end. It is a real blast to have a trout strike the fly just before it hits the water or as it hits.

The problem when I get more than 50' of line out is catching a fish that strikes the fly or just gulps at it. Even if you see it, by the time you respond to the strike the fish is gone. They have to hook themselves, which can be a lot of fun getting pecks and strikes in a certain area or for a large part of the drift.

The second problem that I have noticed this year as my casting skills get a little better is that the average dry fly will not hold up very long for me with the long setups, anchoring and the force of the casts.

However, when it all works, it is really a blast.

When a trout hooks itself, you need to get them in very fast. Dragging a whole spey line in the current really tires out even good sized trout in a very short time.

 

[Carl]

ASST>>

I've done well with the Atlantic Salmon Steelhead Taper line in a 7 or 8, with nice distance without giving up turnover. I fish soft hackles more often than dries, but have also found using an oversized dry effective as an indicator with small flies at a distance.

Carl

 

[ZachMatthews]

Distance 5s

There's no reason to give up on a 5 weight at 80 feet, but you are hitting the upper limit of your effective ability to set a hook at that range unless you can get a nearly slackless drift- and that's not good for dries. I frequently switch around and overhead cast my 13' 6/7 Expert and it will easily reach well over 80'. I am using a Windcutter and I generally overhead cast with 5-6 feet of overhang just as I would with shooting heads. The advantage of the spey rod is of course that you can leverage a fish even that far away.

This spring, fishing nymphs under indicators (which might as well be dries in terms of behavior and hooksetting), I landed a nice 18" rainbow (big for my water) from almost 100' away, and the spey rod let me fight him back over some mighty nasty moss pods. It certainly can be done and success with it is a blast.

Zach