[flatbow]

Okay, finally got my copy of Intro to spey casting with the Hazels'.
GREAT tape. Now I can see what I've been doing right, as well as wrong. One question though - I'm still not clear on why the wind direction makes such a difference. Seems to me that one of the nice things about spey casting is that with the line anchored properly, you don't get much wind interference. Am I completely off base?
Let's use this for an example.... I'm fishing with the river going from left to right. What would I do differently in a upstream wind as opposed to down? Thanks. Les

 

[Moose]

Fly stuck in your head

River running left to right, downstream wind. You executa a single spey and bring your D loop to your left side (upstream side) and fire forward and the wind blows your loop downstream towards you. The line keeps blowing towards you as it goes out and the line makes contact with you as it rolls out, of course the fly follows the line and you have a new piercing.:razz: Of course if your D loop is brought to your right side (double spey), downstream and downwind, the line will be blown away from you. Opposite side of the river, opposite approach to the wind. If you can, watch Simon Gawesworth in the Rio International spey casting video. He shows clearly how this works.

 

[flytyer]

Likewise a double spey executed with an upstream wind when on river right (river bank on right when facing downstream) will have a nasty tendency to move the line right into your body on the forward spey; thus, you will have a piercing on the other side of your body.

 

[juro]

In the vast majority of cases the concentration of energy within a spey cast's d-loop is considerably less than the focused energy in a double-hauled overhand cast, and even a tight overhand cast will drift over to a point where the forward cast will cross your body location and threaten to whack you badly in a wind. So a d-loop is typically more vulnerable to wind impact. So wind is a significant factor if you don't deal with it, but the beauty is with spey casting you can so easily deal with it as Moose points out.

You need at least four casts to fish both sides of the river:

(1) Left bank upriver wind, (2) left bank downriver wind
(3) Right bank upriver, (4) right bank downriver wind

For righties you can pick from a variety of casts including:

(1) Left bank upriver wind: single spey, snap-T
(2) left bank downriver wind: reverse snake, reverse double-spey
(3) Right bank upriver wind: reverse single spey, reverse snap-T
(4) right bank downriver wind: snake roll, double spey

For lefties or ambidextrous the choices would include:

(1) LBUW: reverse lefthanded single, reverse lefthanded snap-t
(2) LBDW: lefthanded snake roll, left-handed double spey
(3) RBUW: lefthand single spey, lefthand snap-t
(4) RBDW: reverse lefthand snake, reverse lefthand double spey

 

[Skilly]

Wind

Always cast off your down wind side and you wont eat the fly.

River right downstream wind cast off your right shoulder.

River left downstream wind cast off your left shoulder. Just the

opposite for upstream winds.

 

[Moose]

Or you could go with the multiple piercings and hope for a punk rock ressurection for middle aged flyfishermen. :whoa: I see comebacks for the Speyhole surfers, the Spey pistols, Black Marabou Flag, and Suicidal Casting Tendencies :devil: Am I showing my age here, or what. :smokin:

 

[Hammer]

water load to 65 ft

that's what i used successfully last week,super gusty wind whippingall directions,no time to form any loops,plus,keeps the line low to the water,strange phenomina though,,couldn't seem to make it work well in calm conditionsthe next night,?,line felt too light?maybe barametrics,inversion layers,,or,,just making do with what i could ,,,

 

[BobK]

Well, Guys...

For well over 60 years of fly fishing, I have been lucky enough to keep from having a "feathered ear decoration" for adornment. Pure luck, I can assure you, as I have had "numerous self-hookups", none of which required a pair of pliers, at least, so far... (Thank you, Lord!)

BobK

 

[Bob Pauli]

Wind related to cast chosen.

It is simpler than it appears. Forget right bank, left bank, river right, river left, upstream, downstream etc.

There are only 3 conditions possible:
1. Facing the target with no wind or wind coming exactly front or rear. Use any cast.

2. Wind coming from left side. Cast with right hand on top.

3. Wind coming from right side. Cast with left hand on top.

The above rules apply if you are able to cast with either hand on top. You can learn 'either hand' casting in two days of fishing, and it is worthwhile.

You can learn reverse [offshoulder] casts at a later time, if at all.

 

[Gardener]

I tend to think of the line in a speycast as being a bit like a sail. The D-loop should be as 'full' as possible, and placing the anchor downwind ensures that the wind is always filling the sail, as it tries to blow it away from the two fixed points (anchor and rod tip). Placing the anchor upwind means the wind tends to collapse the D-loop, as it blows it back in towards the fixed points. Also, as Skilly says, a fly that is upwind can hit you, whereas a fly that is downwind will not.

Rather than trying to remember particular casts, hands or shoulders for wind directions, just choose a cast - any cast you like - that places the anchor downwind of you. This simple rule allows for reverse casts, too.

 

[PKK]

Re: Wind related to cast chosen.

[

You can learn reverse [offshoulder] casts at a later time, if at all. [/B][/QUOTE]if at all
Off shoulder cats should not be neglected. They could become one of your favorite casts.

 

[JDJones]

reverse,,,or off shoulder casts

will work O.K. with short belly lines. With long belly lines, it becomes more of an issue as you are limited in adding the drift and longer stroke length required for the longer casts.

 

[flatbow]

All good stuff - went out and practiced a bit today - good day for it, pretty gusty out. I like the "sail" analogy - keeping that in mind I managed to get some reach and not endanger my ears too many times. Pretty easy way to remember how to throw in different winds. (at least for my feeble mind)
Now, next question.... are short vs long belly lines a distance thing? Or do you choose one over the other for a different reason? I assume over the length of the "belly" they will weigh the same.

 

[Dr. Swing]

There is a very lengthy thread just under this one in which the Long Belly vs Short head debate discussed at great length. It is titled "classifying Spey Lines." For another very comical and entertaining thread pertaining to the same topic, do a search for the thread titled "What a Mess." These two should keep you occupied, and educate you on the pro's and con's of each line system. It can be a pretty heated topic.

 

[Grampa Spey]

flatbow

For awhile a guide, fly shop owner, editor publisher and spey caster had a picture of his nose doing a heavy metal imitation with a rather large fly in his nose. I believe that he "miscalculated" an upstream wind.

There is a regular poster, whom I will not mention, with a strong upstream wind knocked his hat off several times with a weighted fly and pounded his skull with the heavy fly in a few hours.

I knocked my Sun Glasses off my noggin one time before going from my terrible Double Spey to my terrible Single Spey with a brisk upstream wind. It hit so hard that the screws don't stay in the temple piece since then. I saw stars for about 5 minutes, and it was 2pm under clear but windy skies.