[McIntyre]

Would be interesting to see what style of spey casting people here prefer for their fishing. To see if there are any differences between salmon and steelhead speyers I post two polls.

Limited the styles to the 3 major ways of speycasting, traditional, scandinavian and skagit.

 

[David Dornblaser]

Would you please edit the poll to add a fourth category: "I don't fish for Atlantics but want to see the results"? Right now you have to vote to review the results. I, for one, have not fished for Atlantics, yet, but I would like to see the results and not have to skew them by casting a false vote.


David

 

[McIntyre]

Would you please edit the poll to add a fourth category: "I don't fish for Atlantics but want to see the results"? Right now you have to vote to review the results. I, for one, have not fished for Atlantics, yet, but I would like to see the results and not have to skew them by casting a false vote.


David

I don't think its possible to edit the polls, maybe one of the moderators could add this?. There is however a link under the poll for "View poll results". I didn't vote for the steelhead poll, as I haven't yet fished for steelhead.

 

[speyghillie]

Speycasting style

Hi Guys,
On the Spey i never see anyone fishing scandinavian style, or skagit style for Atlantic Salmon, not sure why i would.
Most guys fish traditional style long belly lines, floating or sinking depending on a number of different factors.
I think part of the reason is with the long belly lines you have more control , easier to mend , dont need to strip in so much line, and they are less affected by the wind.
Not sure about the circle cast, perry poke half tuck twist cast, or any others invented in the last couple of years. :saeek:
Cheers Gordon.

 

[fishingd0]

Which spey style do you prefer for atlantic salmon?

What range of flies are these? I havn't seen them yet.

 

[McIntyre]

Which spey style do you prefer for atlantic salmon?

What range of flies are these? I havn't seen them yet.

:razz:

You know the word spey is also associated with a certain type of flycast which originates from a river not very far from you :smokin:

 

[Smolt]

In the interest of full disclosure, I cast a vote for the "traditional" style because the only Spey cast I can execute is the single spey; and I only use that when fishing from shore. When I fish from a canoe, I simply use an overhead cast using a two-handed rod. I can't really call that Scandinavian casting because I don't use a shooting head, and I don't use my bottom hand much -- although I sometimes try.

 

[wrke]

Traditional style most of the time with XLTs and Carron Jetstreams. I prefer the efficiency of not shooting and stripping. I sometimes use tips, but most of the time I use floaters or intermediates . . . and every once in a while a full sink Ian Gordon Partridge line. This year, I also fished the Scierra HMS shooting head system and intend to explore its use even more. Seems very useful when little or no backcast room.
Bill

 

[fishingd0]

McIntyre

Joking aside, I would say I tend to stick with the more traitional style cast. However, I know Willie Giunn would have a thing or two too say about my style being traditional, I think he phrases it “Ness no style” :tsk_tsk:

Since learning the snake roll at this years Golden Gates casting competition, I have been converted to using it instead of the double spey when there is a down stream wind. I find it so effortless and less time consuming. The only down side to the cast is that more room is need behind when anchoring, thus making it not so easy when you are fishing close the a bank.

 

[speyghillie]

Fishing style

Hey Gordie,
If i ever see you or Scott fishing Skagit style or scandy style on the Ness i'm off home, and going to ask if the ghillie can be sacked.
Gordon.

 

[fishingd0]

Gordon

Wouldn’t attempt it!! With all due respect for the US boys that use the cast. I must be one of the only boys on the club water to use the snake roll . I think if I strted using the skagit cast, I'm sure my menbership would be promptly removed. I have been told by a number of the younger fishers, that the old timers on the river think I am taking the p**s with the snake roll. Some people just don’t like change!!

 

[McIntyre]

Hey Gordie,
If i ever see you or Scott fishing Skagit style or scandy style on the Ness i'm off home, and going to ask if the ghillie can be sacked.
Gordon.

Is it not scandinavian style these guys are using in the competitions? A shooting head attached to a shooting line. It's just a veeeery long shooting head

Some people prefer to call it underhand casting as long as you are using the underhand and other call it underhand casting when you are using power only with the underhand. However I don't know many scandinavians who only apply power with the lower hand, most casters have a tendency to apply power with the upper hand as well even if they try not to. I myself always use the underhand, but with long lines I prefer to use power with both hands, especially when picking up the line. I find it very difficult to use a pure "Gøran" technique (no power with upper hand) on a belly longer than 70 feet. However I prefer to call it all speycasting as long as you anchor the leader on the water (I know Gøran wouldn't agree with me on that ).

 

[Willie Gunn]

Is it not scandinavian style these guys are using in the competitions? A shooting head attached to a shooting line. It's just a veeeery long shooting head

I think you have skated on to some very thin ice, I suggest you scramble back before it breaks below you and you end up in some hot water to mix a metaphor.

I think you will find that Gordon Armstrong would not go down the cut line and running line technique sitcking with an un cut Carron line.

Take care

 

[McIntyre]

I think you have skated on to some very thin ice, I suggest you scramble back before it breaks below you and you end up in some hot water to mix a metaphor.

Imagined I would get some responds on that one :hihi:

I think you will find that Gordon Armstrong would not go down the cut line and running line technique sitcking with an un cut Carron line.

Take care

The Carron line also has a shooting line on it, the difference is only there is not a knot

I guess I should not go any further. It all depends on how you defines "traditional style". I know people who only recon is at traditional as long as you don't shoot line. Actually the style most traditional casters use today is more of a "modern traditional style". But who has the right to decide what a traditional style is. Certainly not me, so I guess I scramble back now...

 

[fishingd0]

McIntyre

Malcolm is spot on.

To date I have never used a cut line in competition. I managed to cast over 60yrds using an uncut carron line at the Cla this year. This is something that hasn't been done with an uncut line since Alexander Grants made a cast of 65yrds many moons ago.

If AG didn't have to use cut line all these years ago, then there's no reason why in our modern day and age we can't get the same result if not better.

Safety clause
Hopefully I'll never be converted to the uncut line in competition. However with Scott Mackenzie casting a massive 68yrds this summer (using an XLT head & nylon running line), I am without doubt that it would take an exeptional cast in perfect conditions to get anywhere near that with an uncut line. So never say never.

Long live the uncut lines!! :saevilw:


Rant Over! :smokin:

 

[McIntyre]

Safety clause
Hopefully I'll never be converted to the uncut line in competition. However with Scott Mackenzie casting a massive 68yrds this summer (using an XLT head & nylon running line), I am without doubt that it would take an exeptional cast in perfect conditions to get anywhere near that with an uncut line. So never say never.

Long live the uncut lines!! :saevilw:
:

Gordon, you just have to make a Carron line with an even longer head than the 95' and I think you beat him next time! The only questions is if you beat the Norwegian guys :hihi:

Jokes aside. What you and Carron has achived in the competitions is truly amazing! Guess I have to get me one of those lines soon.

 

[speyghillie]

Shooting heads

look out for me at the next competion Gordie, going to use my new shooting head, hope its not windy, but should be ok cause it means tying a brick on to the end of a roll of elastic and casting it with my beach caster, its called the beach-brick, over the shoulder boulder holder speycast.
Off to practise in the neighbours garden. :lildevl:

 

[ness-sider]

Hi Guys,
I've been following this thread for sometime and thought i would throw in my two pence worth, traditional spey casting on the Ness afer the Alexander Grant days of grease lines has always involved shooting line how much or little has always be up to personnal preferance,after grease lines double tapered lines were all the rage ,but a lot of the good spey casters of that time found the standard 30yard line to short for them,so they spliced to lines together to give them a longer belly ,later on in the late 1970s or early 80s they started to splice a much heavier line at the front and a thinner one at the back,this was the start of what is today the modern single tapered line,so it hard to define what is a tradional spey cast if you are refering to lines and whether you should shoot line or not,i used the Ness as only an example because of its links to spey casting spanning 3 centuries.With regards to competition casting i'm not going to get drawn into this one to much or i'll be typing all night but Gordon you did come close at the CLA this year with your custom built 110ft head Carron line,but competition casting is just that a competition you use the line that best suits the conditions on the day,and it is totally different to casting on a river .

Scott Mackenzie
www.spey-casting.com

 

[speyghillie]

Speycasting

Hi Scott,
Could'nt agree more, not going to get into the competion thing, having seen you and Gordon there's no point in me doing that, i know my position ....last.
But distance casting is just that, but i know that you both are great casters in normal fishing situations,damn, so i will just plod away with the planet cast and the Alexander Grant thing, can't fault me for trying, off out to practice and its snowing.

 

[fredtrout]

Couldn´t vote because I use both spey lines and shooting heads. I prefer spey lines, since I find casting them much more pleasing and it´s nice not having to strip a lot of running line. However, there are a few situations where I find the shooting head superior:

-when you´re wading ridiculously deep
-when you actually gain from stripping line, for example on a really slow pool (also, when fishing really slow pools I find it sometimes hard to get a good lift using spey lines because you need a bit of drag from the flow to load the rod while lifting)
-when casting really big flies, 4 inches or more
-when fishing really tight spots

Can´t understand why some people can´t see the merits of either system. I´m not a purist, a try to fish in the most effecient way possible with the minimum of hassle. But 3 times out of 4, I´ll fish a spey line.

All this talk about the shooting head being almost unheard of (and unseen) in Scotland worries me a bit, since I´m going there in March along with two shooting head friends (me, I´ll use a spey line). What´s going to happen to them, Malcolm, are they going to be poured miniatyre drams at the local pub or worse?? :hihi: