[Dana]

Been wondering about Snowbee Spey Tackle?

Read the Speypages Review!

 

[sean]

Glad to hear you like it. I always hesitate to call it a fast rod as people immediately think of a T&T or Loop fast tip action. As you noticed it defintely bends but has a good quick recovery which I think gives the rod better feel but still fills my desire to fish fast two handers.

I have been loving the 14 footer this summer. Finally after a long search I think I have found a couple two handers that will be with me for a long time.

-sean

 

[prairiespey]

Hi Peter et All

Probably asking a lot- but i,ve been looking at the Snowbee rods/lines with interest. Beyond the verbal description-would you have any vid of casting the rod. Opinions/descriptions aside( very usefull if introductory) it would be far more informative to see vid- as casting style etc bears directly on evaluation. You mentioned stiff tip and balance( tip heavy)- this suggests a rod suited to sunk line work?)

Will

 

[sean]

I guess we could. Not sure it would help much. I cast short lines to the longest bellies with the rod.

I switch around from a Simon Gawesworth type two hands working together , more traditional cast to a purely underhand stroke ala how Dana is casting in his casting videos. Well at least I try to cast like those two guys

I do not feel I am at the casting level I would like to be at to be comfortable putting video of myself up on the site. Do not want others to develop my bad habits. :roll:

A better option if you are interested in trying to rod is to get Mike at Red Shed or Jack Cook at Irish Angler to send you a demo. That way you can really be sure if it is the right rod for you. Just be prepared to not want to send it back.

-sean

 

[MJC]

Snowbee Rods...

Well as a Snowbee dealer I will admit to being a little biased.

The first time I cast a Snowbee rod/line combo I wasn't looking for another rod line to sell. I only wanted the lines. While I was talking with my friends at Snake River Outfitters Lee pulled out this Snowbee 14'-9/10 rod matched with a 2-D (mid length) line. Being partial to my beloved Sage 9140 "greenie" and CND Expert 1409 with thier slower action my first thought was "it's a little fast for me". At that point I had some line pulled off and made a few switch casts in the yard. With the first cast I knew I'd found a winner.

If a person likes 14' rods and fishing with a mid length head I think they will be very pleased with a 14'- Snowbee rod matched with a 2-D line. With top of the line fittings the Snowbee rods look good, they cast great, have a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser, and are priced right in the high $300.00 to the high $400.00.

Another sweet rod from this company is the 12'6" Torridge. A floating 5/6 WC or a Skagit line made from a 9/10/11 WC belly with a 100grn tip just rocks.

 

[speyman]

Test Drive

As always if you are interested in casting one I will send one your way for a test drive. If you don't like it simply return it in new condition and you are only out about $9 in postage.

And yes, it is a rod very well suited to sunk line work. It makes fishing a sunk line like fishing a floater.

 

[sinktip]

I would not worry one bit about the "top hand push" with the Snowbee rods. I'm a 60-40 top hand dominant caster and had no problem with either of the Snowbee rods I have fished.

 

[speyliner]

Hi Guys,

Great to hear you guys are enjoying using the Snowbee Spey Rods. When I first started developing them, I wanted the action to match my own preferred style of 50/50 top and bottom hand but also wanted a rod that could handle sunk line work with ease. I often refer to the action as 'Fast with Feel' - If you're using a lot of top hand you're probably not going to get the best out of a Snowbee XS-P Spey. Try going the other way and it really will start to come alive! :whoa:

Speyliner

 

[speyliner]

The Snowbee rating system of 44 grams for any length of head has me confused as normally the shorter the head, the lighter so as to produce the same load.

Confused....I doubt it but here's what I hope is a reasoned answer to a good question...

Snowbee first introduced its 3D Spey system of producing various head lengths with the same head weights in 2003. The Scandinavian-Spey lines, introduced this year, have given us the opportunity to go slightly shorter with a 44ft head, with the same ‘Optimum Head Weights’ (OHW), we felt we’d already matched to the Snowbee XS-P Spey Rods. The OHW being based on the ideal head weight needed to load a rod effectively by an ‘Average’ caster.
Yes, a more accomplished Spey caster might opt for a lighter line to load his rod over a long cast, whilst the total beginner might need to go slightly heavier for a short cast. The OHW is what we all recognise as the line best suited to the ‘Sweet Spot’ of any fly rod…..sounds a bit like Goldilocks…..
….but eventually you find the line weight that’s just right!

The thinking behind this system involves each respective head length requiring a different amount of ‘casting energy’ for the positioning of an energised ‘D’ loop, which in turn creates an equal amount of loading on the rod.
It is generally accepted that a long line of say 75ft will ‘feel’ light when hanging outside the rod tip compared to a short line of the same head weight. However, the long line has a greater length of line ‘stuck’ in the surface film compared to that of the short line. Consequently, the longer line will at the same time produce a greater degree of rod loading during the lifting phase of the cast, compared to the short line.
If we are to create an energised ‘D’ loop with a long line, we require a long stroke and an increase in ‘casting’ energy. Conversely, the short line, whilst still being of the same weight, requires only minimal energy to position the ‘D’ loop. What’s different is we have the added ‘feel’ in the weight of the short line loading the rod.

Short Head = Heavier Line ‘feel’ (line rod loading) = Less Casting energy = Rod loads effectively

Long Head = Lighter line ‘feel’ = Increased Casting energy (applied rod loading) = Rod loads effectively

Speyliner

 

[sean]

Dana and I got a couple of the new integrated running line scando lines to try out on the 1510. I will admit I thought the 10/11 to be too heavy for conventional casting. However if you adopted a continuous motion skagit stroke thy are awesome. Looking forward to trying the lighter size for touch and go casting. I think these integrated heads have some potential as fishing machines.

-sean

 

[Interceptor]

"Another sweet rod from this company is the 12'6" Torridge. A floating 5/6 WC or a Skagit line made from a 9/10/11 WC belly with a 100grn tip just rocks."

Yep its sweet !