[PeterD]

Hi there, Folks...

I would like to ask the experienced among you a beginners question.
I am new to fly fishing, just starting out,in fact. Is there any reason NOT to start out with spey casting right from the start? What do you all think? Thank you for your advice. Go Well.

PeterD

 

[Dana]

Peter, I've been teaching Spey since 1998 and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people I've met who went straight to double handed fly rods. Some people believe that starting with a single hander is better because everything you need to know about good casting is easier to learn with a single hander because you only have one hand to worry about. I'm not sure that I agree with this. After working with hundreds of Spey casters I can tell you that the few I've met who didn't have a background in single hand casting didn't seem to struggle with the two-hander any more than anyone else.

My one question would be this: are all the situations you are most likely to fish in going to be appropriate for a two-hander? You can learn to Spey cast with a single hander, so if some of your fishing is appropriate for a single hander, you might want to go the single hand route first, learn to both overhead and Spey cast with it, then get yourself a two-hander.

 

[Whistler]

Peter, an interesting question. My girlfriend picked up the speyrod 3 years ago. This was in fact her first fishing experience of any kind. For one year all she could do was speycast- hadn't even tried the single hand. What is interesting is how quickly she was able to pick up the single hand after becoming a decent two hander. With the guiding that we do in the winter and spring months here in Whistler we get a lot of beginner Steelheaders. In some cases these folks have never flyfished before. Instead of messing around in the cold weather trying to teach these clients how to single hand cast we go straight to the Spey now. It is amazing how quickly a true beginner can pick it up with some decent direction. In all cases, with well matched gear, beginners can get out a fishable amount of line(35'-50') almost right from the get go. Personally I say go for it-Speycasting isn't rocket science-single hand only if you have to!
Brian Niska

 

[t_richerzhagen]

Slower Cycle

Beside the above, a two handed rod has a slower cylce for overhead casting and is easier to learn for most people.

 

[speybum]

Yeah you betcha

Peter,
I have just finished up with a Family of three who were headed for a 20-day trip to Alaska.
None of them had fished let alone had used a Speyrod.
It took a little hard work and lots of practice on their parts but in less than 12 hrs of instruction spread over four week they could do all four basic cast and understood the reason of each.
In the early 90’s I taught a young man to Spey cast and as far as I know he has never used a single-handed rod to this day.

I agree with Dana and Whistler go for it.
After all you have nothing to loose and everythig to gain.