Advanced Anchor Placement

I recently did a video post on the Deneki Outdoors Blog on advanced anchor placement for Spey casting, Check it out

Mono Shooting Lines

Pete Laskier getting throttled in AK.

I’ve never gravitated towards mono shooting lines for Spey casting, mostly because mono is hard to hold on to.  However, mono has some huge advantages over other running lines.  First, because of its fine diameter, it shoots faster than extruded or braided lines.  Consequently, it tangles less and shoots farther.  Second, you can hold larger loops of line, which also aids in reducing tangles.  More so, it pulls less water into the guides than other running lines, which is a huge benefit in the colder months of the season. -Less water in the rod guides means less guide freezing and warmer fingers.  Last but not least, it’s cheap! 

However, it’s still hard to hold on to.  That said, my good friend Andrew Bennett from Deneki Outdoors recently showed me an easy trick to help with the grip issue.  (Andrew later informed me that Alaska West head guide Ed Ward showed him this trick) Simply wrap the top six inches of the upper grip of your Spey rod with plumbers tape.  The tape will give you sufficient grip on the mono during the cast.  Although many anglers will still prefer an extruded running line like Airflo’s Ridge Running Line, those looking to add a few feet of distance with less tangles will love mono.

-TL

Making Poly Leaders Last

If you're not fishing a Poly Leader on your floating Spey lines, you should be.  They help turn over your fly, especially when making shorter casts.  Plus, a Poly Leader give you more "grip" on the water when forming your D-Loop.  More so, you can buy them in different densities from floating to fast sinking giving you a lot of flexibility in your dry line fishing.

Although Poly Leaders work great out of the box, you can get a lot more miles out of them with a simple modification.  Using 20 pound Maxima, tie on a 1' butt section using a seven turn Albright Knot.  Finish the other end of the butt section with a perfection loop. Loop your 2' to 4' of tippet on using a triple surgeons loop and you're ready to roll.

I've seen some leaders start to delaminate when an angler accidently places their fly into a tree and pulls like hell to get it out of squirrel land.  By doing so, the core material can separate from the polyurethane coating.  The Albright knot will displace the pressure equally on the core and coating.  It's a great trick to make your Poly Leaders last a long time.

-TL

Spey Casting Michigan Style

I had a wonderful time on a recent trip to The Northern Angler fly shop in Traverse City, Michigan.  It was great to see the north woods again!  Thanks to all that attended my Spey classes and the awesome staff at The Northern Angler for all their help.  If you're ever in northwest Michigan, stop by and check out their huge selection of tackle, soft goods and fly tying material.

-TL

Sandy River Spey Clave This Weekend

Jeff Hickman charging it in AK.  Image: Tom Larimer

If you’ve never been to the “Clave”, it’s worth your time to check it out.  Every Spey rod and Spey line imaginable will be on hand for you to try.  Plus, some of the worlds best casting instructors will be giving casting demos all weekend.  If you’re there on Saturday, I’ll be giving a demo at 4:30.  I’ll also be in the Airflo booth all weekend.

Hope to see you there!

-TL