The Long Rod

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It's happened. I've lived and fished in the Northwest long enough and have heard enough testimonials to have finally entered another part of the fly-fishing world: that of the two-handed fly rod.

For those of you who aren't aware, most fly-fishing is done with a single handed rod, using some variation of the standard cast. The rods are anywhere from six to ten feet, and are, obviously, held with one hand. This is what I assume a majority of people think of when they hear fly-fishing or casting:


Two handed fly rods are a whole different ballgame. Ranging from eleven feet to fifteen on average, these rods are big. There are rods that are even longer (twenty feet!) but we won't go into those today. The two-handed rods originated on the river Spey in Scotland, and the technique of casting them is called Spey Casting. Spey casting doesn't require as much space behind the caster as regular, single-handed casting does, so in places like Washington, where there is dearth of room behind the angler, two-handed rods make a lot of sense. If you were wondering, traditional spey casting looks like this:



There are also a couple of newer styles of two-handed casting, called Scandi and Skagit. I'm still trying to figure out what the difference between the three is, but I heard that Skagit casting is the easiest, so that's what I decided I would try.

My new rig is an Angler's Roost 13' 7/8 weight rod, a Pflueger Trion reel, and a 540 grain AirfloCompact Skagit head with a 10' poly leader on the front.  If you don't understand what all that means, you and I are pretty much in the same boat. Right now, the setup is waiting for me to find some free time to take it to the river; it's going to be a long road to casting perfection, but we all have to start somewhere. When it does make it to the river, I'll be sure to document it and report back here. 

THAR SHE BLOWS

Note: For those of you looking to start out in the two-handed game, The Spey Pages is a good place to start, and the forum there is a treasure trove of information.  Another good place to check out is your local fly shop, they can usually point you in the right direction.

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