Traditional Spey Casting
The traditional Spey cast started in Scotland on the River Spey in the 19th century. Back then they used greenheart rods of up to 21’ with first horsehair and then silk lines with gut leaders. Some of the casts, like the “Planet Cast”, have been largely forgotten, but the two standbys from this era, the Single Spey and the Double Spey are still in use. To this we have added a more modern cast, the Snake Roll.
Traditional Spey casting was usually done with double taper (DT) lines, but in the last two decades or so, we’ve seen the growth in the weight forward (WF) Spey lines ranging from 50’ to over 100’ in head length, plus running line. Long rods of 15’ or more are associated with this casting style, however, we can make traditional Spey casts with a 6’ trout rod if we so wanted. In practical terms, these casts can be performed with mostly any fly rod of any length using a broad variety of lines.
Not only are these casts very elegant, they are also very practical fishing casts and in the hands of an expert, can deliver a fly a very long way. All of the championship Spey casters of the past decade or so are using variations of these casts to win these contests.
The traditional Spey cast started in Scotland on the River Spey in the 19th century. Back then they used greenheart rods of up to 21’ with first horsehair and then silk lines with gut leaders. Some of the casts, like the “Planet Cast”, have been largely forgotten, but the two standbys from this era, the Single Spey and the Double Spey are still in use. To this we have added a more modern cast, the Snake Roll.
Traditional Spey casting was usually done with double taper (DT) lines, but in the last two decades or so, we’ve seen the growth in the weight forward (WF) Spey lines ranging from 50’ to over 100’ in head length, plus running line. Long rods of 15’ or more are associated with this casting style, however, we can make traditional Spey casts with a 6’ trout rod if we so wanted. In practical terms, these casts can be performed with mostly any fly rod of any length using a broad variety of lines.
Not only are these casts very elegant, they are also very practical fishing casts and in the hands of an expert, can deliver a fly a very long way. All of the championship Spey casters of the past decade or so are using variations of these casts to win these contests.
Here's an early season casting tuneup with a long belly line and a Single Spey
Here's the short version of an early season casting tuneup with a long belly line and a Single Spey