UPDATE:
Thanks for checking out this post in 2009. By 2012 spey fishing for trout had changed a bit, so we put out this post with an update on spey and switch fishing for trout as of 2012.
Feel free to read on, though!
We’ve posted previously about why we think you should spey fish for trout. Today we talk about how to set yourself up.
Rods
In the past few years, a few major fly rod manufacturers have come out with some pretty amazing spey rods in the 4- to 5-weight range that make spey fishing for trout fun and practical. Rods like the Sage 5126-4 Z-Axis
and the Echo Dec Hogan 4119 are light and really fun to cast, but still have the power to throw moderate sinktips and some surprisingly big flies.
Lines
Coupled with the release of these cool little rods, recent developments with short, Skagit-style shooting heads have made spey fishing for trout versatile and effective.
Depending on the rod, lines like the Rio Skagit and Skagit Short, and the Airflo Skagit Compact in grain weights between 350 and 450 load these rods well, preserve a light feel and get those tips and flies turned over like nobody’s business.
Tips
Floating tips are of course no problem at all. Why would you throw a floating tip on a light spey rod? We don’t think there’s anything in the world cooler than spey mousing for trout on the Arolik.
When it comes to sinktips, it’s important to recognize the limitations of the little rod. T-14 is pretty much a no-go– it’s just too heavy. Moderate tips like 8 feet of T-8 cast like a dream and can still easily huck big flies– in fact that tip exactly turned over the beast of a fly in this photo from a couple weeks back.
Reels
There are lots of quality reels out there that balance these lightweight rods well and have smooth, reliable drags. One of our favorites is the Sage 6080.
Flies
Spey rods will always work best when you’re swinging flies. We’ll cover specific tactics in a later post, but think sculpins, leeches, smolts and of course Mr. Mouse.
Happy Fourth of July!
Hi, your site is awesome! I am new to considering Spey casting. I currently fish alot on the Truckee River and am mastering the nymph dead drift but am curious about the spey option for swinging sculpins as they are abundant. My nymph dry combo is a 5 wt 9′ Zaxis for dries, 6wt 9’6″ Zaxis for wet. Not sure what rod weight to get for initial foray into Spey. Should I get a 7 and be able to use it for steelhead too, or do I go down an line weight, say a 6wt, given the increased length of the rods?? Also, what length is optimal for both big trout, (there are some serious fat boys down deep on the Truckee) and chasing chrome??
Thx
RT
Hi RT, thanks a lot for stopping by!
In general a two-handed rod is going to be more powerful than a single-handed rod of the same ‘weight’ – so a 5 weight spey rod, for example, might be appropriate for fish that you’d target on a 6 or 7 weight single-handed rod. Switch rods are heavier as well, but generally not as much. I fish for most trout at our lodge in Alaska with either a 6 weight single-hander or a 5 weight switch rod.
As far as which rod to get…like everything else it just depends on how specific you want to get, and what you think you’ll be doing more of. A 6 weight spey or switch rod would be a little light for most steelhead and a little heavy for most trout, but would definitely work for both. A 7 would be better for most steelhead, and 5 would be better for most trout.
Length really comes down to personal preference and casting style, but with modern Skagit head systems the trend is definitely towards shorter rods, since they’re less tiring to cast but can throw plenty far now. In the trout / smaller steelhead world, that might range from an 11′ switch rod to a 12 1/2′ spey rod.
Have fun with it!
Andrew
Good afternoon,
I’ve been thinking about getting a small spey or switch rod for trout fishing but I’m having trouble deciding what would be best. I have a Pieroway Metal Detector (thanks Brian Niska) for steelhead fishing and I absolutely love the rod, and they do make a 10’5″ rod that shoots a 400 gr. skagit head. So that’s one option. I was also considering maybe a Sage One, Method, or TCX in 4 or 5 wt. I’m leaning towards a switch rod over a spey rod just for versatility, and I think a good switch rod can cast plenty far for most trout fishing but I’m not really sure what a good all around rod weight is for trout. I imagine I’ll mostly use this rod to swing streamers and maybe the occasional mouse if I’m in a place where I can do that but I’d really like a versatile rod that can do it all. What do you think is the most ideal size if I were to just have one rod between a Sage 4 wt, 5 wt, and that Metal Detector? a 4 wt sounds like a lot of fun but I just wonder if it would have enough backbone and power to throw bigger streamers and sink tips.
Thanks,
Matt
Hi Matt!
I think a 5 weight switch rod would be a great choice – like maybe the Sage ONE 5116-4. I have an older 5110-4 Z-Axis that I love and still fish a lot. That size range is great because you can fish smaller and bigger water pretty effectively with it, and fish that are ‘less huge’ are still fun to fight. 4 weights are really cool but definitely start to lose some versatility because they can have a harder time turning over bigger flies and/or tips.
Have fun out there!
Andrew
Thanks for the info, Andrew. I ended up deciding on a Pieroway Metal Detector 400 gr. I bought a 510 from Brian Niska earlier this year after casting one with him a couple years ago and I like it so much I decided to get another! Hoping it will become a fun tool for fishing streamers and even skating dries.
Sounds great Matt. I’ve fished the Metal Detector 510 and 720 a bunch and they’re great rods for sure. I need to get my hands on a 400 to try!