Spey casting – PNW Gal On The Fly

Cast, cast, cast

December 29, 2019December 29, 2019by Lisa RLeave a Comment

One of the best ways to learn and improve on your spey casting, is by watching yourself cast. Note what you’re doing wrong, and try and fix it. Note the good things, and try and repeat them.

Get out on the water and practice as much as possible. Watch others cast who are more seasoned than you.

Be humble. I know I still have so much to learn.

Try and fix your mistakes. Nothing will be perfect, and that’s okay. But, you can never get better if you don’t constantly observe, listen, and put your time in on the water.

Happy holidays everyone!

Cheers,

~Lisa

Photo Blog, Spey casting

Spey Cast Saturday

February 22, 2014December 8, 2019by Lisa RLeave a Comment

I decided to continue the photo blog trend that I started last Saturday with a new theme for this week: Spey casting.

I love all of the various styles everyone has while using the same general double-hand casting methods. Depending on the rod, line, conditions, person, etc., each individual has a unique way of doing a “double Spey”, “snap T”, “snake roll” and every other type of cast one can do with a Spey rod. I felt this idea was intriguing enough to scan people’s Facebook pages once again for photo inspiration– only this time, it’s all about the Spey cast… Enjoy!

Tim Arsenault (photo by Adrienne Comeau)

Catherine Laflamme (Photo by Adrienne Comeau)

Paula Shearer (Photo by Adrienne Comeau)

Lisa Rice (Photo by Jeff Marsh)

April Vokey (photo by Nick Pujic)

Hannah Belford (photo by Todd Moen)

Chris Anderson (Photo by Aaron Stiny)

Whitney Gould (photo by Adrienne Comeau)

Gray Struznik

Kaylyn Talbot (Photo by Mia Sheppard)

Andrew Schweitzer

Mia Sheppard (photo by Darcy Bacha)

Stevie Morrow (photo by Adrienne Comeau)

FTC Disclosure, Sage, Spey casting

A METHOD To The Steelhead Madness

November 13, 2013November 25, 2019by Lisa RLeave a Comment

I had the chance to try out the new Sage METHOD 7126-4 spey rod during my last steelhead trip to Idaho.

The color catches your eye immediately when you first pull the rod out of the bold red and black case. Most fly rods I have seen are a black, brown, green or blue color… The red was a bit of a shock. Pretty bad ass looking, in my opinion.

I had read other fly-fishers reviews of this rod– most of which came to the similar conclusion that the METHOD was “very fast-action”.

I own the Sage TCX “Deathstar” in the same line and weight of 7126-4, which is a fast-action rod in itself, and is what we both describe as a stout rod that is light-weight and when timed correctly, a skagit or scandi line launches with ease.

I started out by putting a 525 gr skagit line on, with a T-11 sink tip, and I was able to throw out some nice casts even with the wind blowing in my face. The key with these fast-action rods, is timing. If you’re used to a slower or wider stroke, you want to feel like you are tightening everything up with the METHOD, otherwise it will feel like you are trying to cast yarn into a wind gust, or you at least won’t get a precise turnover with your fly. Once you have that sharp, tight casting stroke with the timing right, you’ll notice the METHOD feels like you could launch 150 ft of line no problem. (Not that I was doing that, but the way the line casts out with ease, it makes it feel easy.)

I also cast it with a 550 gr Scandi line with a floating line, and that setup worked even better than the skagit set up for casting dry flies or standard fall flies.I used my favorite Ross CLA-6 reel with it, and that size was perfect for the rod. I also use the same reel on my TCX, as well as my 8wt. DEcho spey rod. (See my other review on the CLA Here.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t get to actually fight a fish on the METHOD during this trip, as the fishing was pretty slow and the rivers not in ideal shape. I would have loved to feel that rod with a bend in if, but hey, it wouldn’t be true steelhead fishing without some torture thrown in there.

In summary, I feel the METHOD Spey rod is one that’s best suited for the intermediate to experienced caster, but if you are able to learn how to spey cast initially with this type of rod, you’ll be able to cast just about anything. It is also a versatile rod that will have you covered for all seasons of steelhead and salmon fishing.

For more info and where to purchase:

http://www.sageflyfish.com/fly-rods/two-handed/spey-rods/method/

Spey casting, Steelhead, Women on the Fly

Women on the Fly

March 13, 2013November 25, 2019by Lisa RLeave a Comment

I hope most people have seen a photo or two of this awesome gal holding a gigantic steelhead already at some point, but for those who have not, meet Anette Lauder:

Courtesy of Anette

Anette is an avid fly-fisher from Smithers, B.C. where she is a R.N. by day (or night, depending on when they need her I’m sure!) and a badass steelheader when she isn’t busy taking care of patients.

Courtesy of Anette

First of all, how can you resist that smile? When I first started getting into steelhead fishing, I came across many photos of this woman holding monster chromers with that amazing smile, and I couldn’t help but think how not only was she clearly a fantastic fisherwoman, but she also looked like someone you would want to meet and get to know. (I hope that happens soon!)

Here is a bit she wrote explaining this gorgeous photo she sent me:

“It captures the beauty of a Northern BC river on a cold October day and appears to be mysterious and dark. Love it! Steelheading is especially a challenge on those days. After switching to the other side of the river, I hooked into my biggest buck just before dark in the fast tail of this run. Last cast and an incredibly aggressive take by this steelhead… Experience of a lifetime with my husband Gregg and our dog Bear at my side. Sharing those moments is the best!!!”

I could not agree more, Anette! That type of story will stay with you forever, because as you and many of us know, if it wasn’t for the challenge, winter steelheading would be far less rewarding. Half of the beauty in catching these magnificent creatures, is the way you go about hooking them… Swinging flies in tough conditions is my favorite way to seek out these fish, and I know sharing those moments with your loved ones (dog and husband in my case too) is the icing on the cake.

Thanks for sharing girl!

Fish on~

-Lisa

“Swing Flies, Be Happy”

Spey casting, Women on the Fly

Women on the Fly

February 27, 2013February 4, 2014by Lisa RLeave a Comment

I decided to start an addition to my blog, called “Women on the Fly”, which will do exactly as it sounds: Feature women who share my passion for fly-fishing.

I got the inspiration from other ladies who have similar features on their blogs, and I felt with the amount of photos and stories I am starting to receive, I might as well add a feature to my own little blog.

I don’t know how often I will have an update to this new segment yet, but we’ll start with one that I received this week from a wonderful woman I met through a very close mutual friend, Debbee Trent, over 2 years ago on the Salmon River in Idaho:

Kaylyn Talbot

Kaylyn casting

Real spey gal indeed!

“Taking a break, after a spectacular day on the river” -Talbot said about this great photo of herself with Pam Harris, Debbee Trent and Mia Sheppard on the John Day River in Novermber 2012.

Kaylyn and I had a great time getting to know each other over fall steelheading, and both being fairly new to spey-casting, we had something in common (not to mention the same 7/8wt. Deer Creek TFO spey rod!). I look forward to reuniting with this fun and passionate fly-fishing gal–hopefully sooner rather than later!

Fish on girl~

-L.S.