The Amateur Approach to Spey Casting
by John Gray
Now I should say
at the outset that I am by no means expert in the art of Spey casting.
To be honest, I am just a learner. I am very much self taught and my
casting style..... no, "style" is perhaps the wrong word..... my casting method, such as
it is, derives from a bit of reading, a few video sequences and an awful lot of
trial and error. Perhaps a lesson or two from a professional instructor might
have simplified the learning process and set me on the right road, but where's
the fun in that..... much too easy..... and it would cost a bob or two! So I
went my own sweet way, applying the various tips and tricks advised by
acknowledged experts. I seem to remember Arthur Oglesby, either on video or in
his writing, saying that he broke the Spey cast into three parts - the lift, the
backward sweep and the forward cast - each movement done to waltz time ( lift,2,3....sweep,2,3.... shoot
) with a short pause between each phase of
the cast. Now he was a very experienced salmon fisherman and knew what
he was talking about. I felt, however, that this advice was unhelpful,
as I have found it better to treat the single Spey cast as one flowing movement and
try very hard not to pause at any stage of the cast. Mind you, the Spey
cast is not an easy thing to describe in writing. It may seem odd, then,
not to say presumptuous, that I am about to attempt that very thing.
Nevertheless, I hope those starting out with the big rod, particularly
fans of the do-it-yourself approach to Spey casting, may find some
interest in what I see as the basic essentials of the single Spey cast.
I recently splashed out on a 14 foot Bruce and Walker Norway Speycaster
(a half price bargain from Sportfish). The rod, though rated #9, is well
suited to the 10/11 weight Airflo Delta Spey line I recently bought,
again a bargain at ten pounds. This combination allows comfortable casts
in excess of thirty yards, much more easily achieved than with the
double tapered lines I had used previously.
I am right handed,
so, ideally, I will be standing in a foot or so of water and a couple of
yards from the left bank with no overhead branches to interfere with the
movement of the rod. The single Spey can be made from the bank but not
so easily. A fairly swift but steady current also helps, with no back eddies
or excessive turbulence
below the angler. I will be standing comfortably with my heels about a
foot apart, so that I can easily move my weight from one foot to the
other as required. My right foot will be pointing in the intended
direction of the cast, say forty five degrees right of the left bank, and my
left foot will be pointing directly downstream, with the left heel
roughly in line with the direction of the cast behind the right heel. [
Note: The feet will move position according to the desired direction of
the cast. If, for example, I wish to cast directly across the stream at
an angle of ninety degrees to my left hand bank, I will point my right foot
towards the direction of the cast, at ninety degrees to my left hand
bank, and my left foot forty five degrees to the right of the left hand
bank, again with my left heel comfortably behind the right heel in line
with the direction of the cast. This allows the whole body to move
backwards and forwards, from front to
back foot, in line with the direction of the cast.]
Using the Delta Spey, with its fifty five foot head, no sinking tip and
a leader of around ten to twelve feet or so, my previous cast will have
been made to a point about thirty one yards away near the opposite bank,
at an angle of about forty five degrees to my left hand bank, and
allowed to swing to a point as near as possible directly downstream. Having
fished out the cast, I will point the rod in line with the fly line near
the water surface and pull in the length of line shot on the last cast,
let's say five pulls of about a yard each, until the whole rear taper of
the head is just inside the rod tip. I will then take a firm grip on the
butt with my left hand and, if concentrating, I will keep this firm grip
on the butt throughout the cast, as I will with the upper hand, too. I
will then begin the cast by moving the rod tip upwards and slightly
inwards towards my own bank. This initial movement will merge, without a
pause, into the upstream sweep, which should be firm, deliberate and
steady. The upstream swing is made as much by swivelling the hips as by
arm movement. As the upper body turns to the right, swivelling at the
hips, the weight is transferred to the left foot, the
back foot, returning to the front foot only on the forward stroke of the
cast. I do not think the height of the rod tip
above the water surface during the upstream sweep is critical. It may
vary from cast to cast. What I aim to do during the upstream swing,
however, is to move the rod tip parallel to the surface (or even on a
slight upwards incline), not allowing
the tip to drop at any time below the horizontal. The speed and strength of
this upstream sweep will determine the "anchor point", where the fly,
leader and last few feet of fly line will touch the water surface. The point where the fly
itself touches down should be level with or slightly upstream of the
angler or, to be more precise, just upstream of the intended line of the
forward cast. Consistency in hitting this important target comes only with
practice.
As the fly,
leader and last few feet of the fly line touch
down, the upward movement of the rod will have begun,
without a pause.
The angler, having swivelled his hips to the right, will now be facing
in the direction of the imminent forward cast, with most of his weight
on the left foot. During this phase of the cast, the arms are moving upwards so
that the right elbow approaches shoulder height. This movement should be a
smooth continuation of the upstream sweep, the rod tip moving slightly
inward of the vertical, and upwards. When the arms reach their
highest point, the D loop will have formed upstream of, and behind, the
angler and the forward punch is made, helped by the lower left hand
being pulled in towards the chest, again with no pause or break in
the flow of the cast, with the weight being transferred back to the
right foot as the cast is aimed at the tops of the trees
on the far bank. The forward punch stroke should be stopped abruptly at
a point about 30 degrees forward of the vertical to allow the spring in
the rod to complete the job.
For what it's worth, then, that is my take on the single Spey cast..... works well
enough for me..... most of the time!
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