Fly Fishing My Last Day of 2023 15 Oct -v1 Short

Spey casting is a casting technique used in fly fishing and can be accomplished with either a single handed, or a double-handed fly rod, often called a Spey rod. Spey rods can also be used for traditional overhead casting.

Spey casting is generally used for fishing large rivers for salmon, large trout such as steelhead and sea trout. The spey casting technique is also used in saltwater surf casting. Spey casting allows the angler to cast the fly avoiding obstacles like trees and high banks on the river bank. The two-handed Spey technique allows more powerful casts with more distance to be achieved often on larger rivers.

Spey casting originated in both Wales and Scotland in the mid-1800s. Before the name Spey cast was popularised in the late 1800s, named after the river Spey in Scotland. This style of casting originally went by the name of the Welsh "throw" and "under-handed" casting. Therefore, the Spey cast was developed so one could successfully cast on a large rivers such as the Spey and the Wye and avoid any potential obstacles on the river bank that could not be managed using the over-head casting technique. When Spey casting was introduced, 22-foot (6.7 m) long rods were used. These rods were made of greenheart, a heavy wood imported from British Guyana, today, rods are only 12 to 15 feet (3.7 to 4.6 m) in length, so a proficient fly caster can cast a line up to 80-90 feet (24-27m).

 

There are two groups of Spey casts, the "air borne anchor" and the "waterborne anchor". The air borne anchor casts contain a backstroke that is in most part in the air. The line falls to the water on the back cast, and the forward cast starts as soon as the tip of the line touches the water (some call it "touch and go"). The waterborne anchor casts are different, as they contain a backcast where the line stays on the water (some call it a "sustained anchor"). In these types of cast, there is no requirement to achieve perfect timing in order to create the forward cast.

 

While there are many variations of the Spey cast, the basic technique is broken down into a few simple actions. With the fly line floating directly downstream on the dangle, with the line in tension, the angler first lifts the line off the water by raising the tip of the rod. The angler then sweeps the line backwards (to the side) just above the water, and allows just the fly and leader to "anchor" the cast by touching the water, one to two rod lengths away. This back-cast is often referred to as the "D-loop", from the curving shape of the line between the anchor and the tip of the rod. While swinging the "D-loop", it is important to make one continuous, deliberate motion with the rod tip climbing at a 45-degree angle off the water. It’s important not to over power this part off the cast otherwise you will not achieve an anchor, this is known as ‘blowing the anchor’. As the D-loop comes around, the cast is completed by moving the rod forward (the forward stroke) with a two-handed "push-pull" motion on rod handle while making an abrupt stop about 10 o’clock with the rod tip of the rod at the end of the forward cast. The cast is most easily compared to a roll cast, although by using the fly as an anchor, a Spey cast allows a greater loading of the rod and thus achieves greater distance than a roll cast.

The two most commonly used styles of Spey casting are the "Single Spey" and the "Double Spey". Mastering both the Single Spey and the Double Spey cast technique is essential if the fly angler is to be able to cast from either bank of the river in whatever type of wind that may be present.

 

Single Spey Cast

The Single Spey cast may be considered better by some, as one can usually cast the line further, and it can be used with winds blowing upstream as the line is carried away from the caster. This Single Spey cast is part of the "air borne anchor" (or touch & go) group of casts.

 

Double Spey Cast

The Double Spey cast is considered to be easier to perform than the Single Spey, but only because this cast can be performed more slowly and deliberately, and corrections made more easily during the break-down elements of the cast. It’s a sustained (waterborne) anchor casts in that some of the fly line stays in contact with the water at all times until the final forward casting is made. The Double Spey cast is useful in downstream winds as the line and fly are carrired away fromthe caster. Other spey casts include the Snake Roll, Circle-C, Snap-T, Perry Poke etc.

 

Alexander Grant (b.1856 d.1942), born at his family’s croft at Battangorm near Carrbridge in the Highlands of Scotland. He was one of the most gifted individuals and a major contributor to the sport of Spey casting and the development of the modern two-handed rod and was the inventor of the "Grant Vibration" rod. Rather than the rod being one piece of wood, he sectioned the rod using lap joints (which he patented on the 28th May 1894, No 10,385) bound together with linseed-treated leather lacing (later replaced by insulation tape). The lap joints enabled the rod to flex as one unified spring, with none of the dreaded ‘flat spots’ that had plagued rod builders. The design allowed the load of the fly line to distribute evenly throughout the rod allowing longer casting distance. Another unique feature of the ‘Vibration’ rods were the ‘Drop-Down’ rod rings, which folded as the rod was lifted from the horizontal into the backcast. As the rod tip neared the vertical, the oscillating rings clasped against the rod, thus trapping the fly line and preventing any little bellies of line forming between each ring.

 

It must be noted that Grant was also an acclaimed violin maker and solo performer. An accomplished musician, his knowledge of acoustic design no doubt laid the foundation for building his "vibration" rods. He applied techniques derived from violin making to his greenheart rods, matching joints in frequency to the note of a tuning fork.

 

Born in Scotland, Grant fished on the River Ness and it was here in 1895 he was invited by the local magistrate and angling author, Mr. J.H Corballis to a casting competition that "The Wizard of the Ness" would make history. There would be no switching of the line involved and the cast would simply be executed straight downstream alongside a measuring board, which had been specially constructed for the event. Grants competitors, a selection of notable casters from across the Highland region all took their turn casting from an anchored boat on the River Ness and with a colossal effort, a roll cast of 56 yards was achieved.

Grant with his 21 foot rod had his longest cast officially registered at a staggering 65 yards of line, lifting the entire 65 yards clear from the water and returning it without shooting any fly line on the forward cast. This record remained in place for some 110 years before Scotland's local ghillie and three-time world speycasting champion Scott Mackenzie (who also gillied on the River Ness) cast 68 yards with an 18-foot Diawa rod in the 22-24 July 2005 Musto CLA Game Fair. However, it’s not comparable to the cast that Alexander Grant made using a greenhart rod with a silk square plate line and lifting the entire line of the water to make the cast. Mackenzie was casting with a modern 85ft prototype PVC coated XLT line with a nylon core and a 20ft leader with a monofilimient runnining line using the spey casting technique.

 

As well as being a gifted caster, Grant was also an accomplished fly dresser and in 1884 started a large-scale fly tying business in his hometown of Carrbridge. This was to prove a challenging way of trying to make a living and the following year he took up the position of ghillie to Lord Burton of Glenquoich Forest on the River Garry. In 1887 Grant moved from Carrbridge to Inverness to start up another tackle business and at the back of the premises, a hairdressing shop. To subsidise his income he also continued to ghillie for Lord Burton and during the same season became a member of a very small group of anglers that can lay claim to landing an Atlantic salmon in excess of 50lbs. Whilst fishing the River Garry in September at the outlet of Loch Quoich, Grant hooked this creature on a Thunder & Lightening fly. After much heart-pounding runs and a titanic struggle, the fish finally gave in to the greenheart and his prize lay at his feet – the salmon weighed 55lbs.

 

The world's longest 15 ft 1 in (4.60 m) rod using the single spey cast was made by Geir Hansen from Norway. The cast measured 65.5 metres (215 ft), and was made during the Hemsedal Spey Competition in 2021. Hansen also set the world record for the 18ft class, with a 77.0 metres (252.6 ft) cast, at the same event.

Gerard Downey of Foxford set a new world record distance in 18ft Spey casting competition at the Loughs Agency Fair. n . Ireland on 8th March. He threw a magnificent 222 ft cast or 74 yds (37.6m) in the qualifiers using a special 18ft Carron rod and Carron Jetstream 105ft head Spey line.

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