Wednesday 14 July 2010

Spey Casting for pike


Getting back to the question of Spey casting for pike, Dan Mcguire uploaded another video yesterday with regards to the set up he uses to cast all manner of different flies and especially how easy it is to cast them considerable distance. Since I started using this method I've found its not the distance I'm battling with,but finding a fly that will stay elevated long enough before it starts dragging on the bottom. Even with a slow sink intermediate on, once I've cast it 90 to 100ft, with all the rocks here around the island, I'm getting snagged up more times than not.

I have some decent bridges to fish under (Replot bridge being one of them), that have some depth under them but on a whole I'm fishing generally in depths of around a meter to two meters. My Rattle n Hums seem to be okay but I'm going to have to go back to the drawing board as I've found the wire with the beads on..... that act as a counter weight and keeps the hook point up turned........ hinders casting slightly. What I do know is that its going to have to incorporate some form of bendback style fly or at least a fly I dont have to use a weed guard with.
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7 comments:

  1. David14 July 2010 at 16:37

    How about using a big plastic worm hook with some lead round the shank or clouser eyes to flip it round point up? I've got some experimental ones of these in my box but haven't needed to use them yet.

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  2. Danny14 July 2010 at 22:14

    What type of setup are you using for rod, line? I'm very interested in your progress.. I found a good deal on ebay for a loop adventure #9 13'2 and bought.. hopefully get it rigged up next season. I have an 11wt Wulff triangle taper I'm going to test this year just to see if I can cast.. Excited though. Take care Simon. lovin your site as always!

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  3. Unknown15 July 2010 at 00:08

    Hey Simon mate - Here are a nice thread with ideas for new bendback style patterns that should prove very snagfree out there. You could weigh down those worm hook patterns as David suggests. I really love those tied by Chris on first page :)

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  4. Unknown15 July 2010 at 00:09

    And ofc i forgot the link haha:

    http://stripersonline.com/surftalk/showthread.php?t=712299&highlight=bendback

    There we go!

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  5. James O Durbin II15 July 2010 at 01:02

    Simon-
    Not quite sure if you think the spey is more effiective or your just interested. I have tried it and it seems to be alot more work for me than one false cast and shooting. Realize i am throwing my big ten inch flies so no one can say the fly is not castable. I am generally throwing 60-70 feet. The problem with the spey, is the two handed rod sucks to strip retrieve and the long rod makes retrieving my own fish impossible. The waters i fish have steep banks so beaching the fish is not possible. I do talk to Dan on another website and he is a great guy that I hope to go fish with this fall.

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  6. All about the grab15 July 2010 at 09:04

    Thanks for the feedback lads.Danny at present I'm using the Zpey True Blue switch series rod 10# 10ft 4 pc with a Zpey compact doublehand sink 1/2 #9/10 34grams/524 grains 9.8m shooting head and also the Zpey Fusion doublehand floating line.

    James, Actually as you mentioned it does have its drawbacks but I spend a hell of a lot of time fishing from elavated rocks due to most areas being nigh impossible to wade around as there are millions of slippery rocks here underfoot and by using a spey rod I've been able to fish previously in accessable areas with relative ease. Another bonus is the extra distance I'm able to cover which I battle using a single handed rod. I do agree with you about stripping the line back and my concerns about finding a better fly for this type of fishing will be looked into Jeppe,thanks for the link mate.

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  7. Diver Dan20 July 2010 at 04:51

    Hi guys. Just to answer a couple of the points brought up here:

    I use a stripping basket which makes the retrieve no problem. I have landed a bunch of pretty big fish myself. Both of my spey rods are 15' long and I have not had a problem landing one yet, and my biggest this year was a fat 42" one. In my first video, you can see me land my own fish there, and it was a pretty nice fish too.

    I have not used sinking lines much, but I did mess around with a Trevor Morgan 'Javelin' sinking spey line and a couple of Trevor Morgan sinking leaders. You can fish really deep stuff with them. I have found it is better to use a floating line and a weighted fly. I did think about a slightly bouyant fly and the sinking leader though. I will experiment with it and get back to you on it.

    Dan

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