Trout Spey For Beginners

[cdixon1]

I am somewhat new to fly fishing. I have a 9' 5wt as my first rod. the more i read, the more interesting Trout Spey sounds. being a gear head, any excuse to get a new setup is always good. So i am thinking about giving it a try. I will mainly be fishing western nc for trout.

Being new to this, it is quite overwealming. What i am thinking is getting a TFO drift rod. This would give me a options to try spey and euro nymphing with one setup, as well as a 9' 3wt for dries. While maybe not as good as a dedicated rod for each method, i fell this will let me experiment easily. I had these questions that hopefully more experienced fisherman can help me with. I dont mind spending the money, but i want to make sure it makes sense.

1. any reel recommendation to match the TFO drift?
2. after researching, it seems like opst line would be good to try. thinking of the Commando Smooth Integrated. Would this work? would the regular commando with running line work better? weight recommended? any other recommendations?
3. anything i am missing?

 

[Ard]

I moved you here into the Spey rod forums hoping one of our light Spey guys will reply. I've stayed away from the micro Spey rods because I have a bunch of 11 1/2 foot #7 rods that work fine for trout and light salmon.

If no one replies soon I'll bump the thread

 

[dillon]

I fish for trout with single hand rods and steelhead with Spey rods after starting with single handers. As you are a novice my advice would be to stick with what you have as it will cover all kinds of trout fishing. Spey casts can even be made with a single hand rod. As you gain experience it will inform you on where you might want to go from there. I have many rods but always go astream with just one...

 

[huronfly]

For sure it would work. Either 150 or 175 grain OPST, I would get the integrated version but of course depends if you intend on switching out heads or not. It would be nice to not have the fly line/running line junction going through the guides if you are stripping flies in close to you. Don't forget your sinktips!

 

[bocast]

I love trout Spey, and although the Drifter is an option, you would get a better trout Spey experience with something like the Loomis IMX Pro Short Spey in 3 or 4 wt ( the four weight giving you more options for heavier flies or sink tips.) This rod goes for about $575. I haven't tried it, but multiple reviews by those who know much more than I ever will suggest this rod fishes every bit as well as my pricey and smooth Winston Microspey 4 wt or the faster, crisper Sage One trout Speys.

3 wt trout Spey to fish mainly soft hackle wet flies, can use polyleaders for some depth.

4 wt trout Spey if you want to include small streamers on Skagit lines with sink tips such as MOW tips to get more depth.

I just picked up a new Echo Glass Spey rod on clearance for less than $200 as they are being discontinued. Mine is a 7 wt 12'9" for steelhead and it is wonderful. If you can find one in trout Spey weight you might love it and the price as well.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[bocast]

If you go with the Drift, go with the OPST smooth so you can strip in without hiccups. A well-timed strip can sometimes yield awesome results on those NC waters.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mcnerney]

I love trout Spey, and although the Drifter is an option, you would get a better trout Spey experience with something like the Loomis IMX Pro Short Spey in 3 or 4 wt ( the four weight giving you more options for heavier flies or sink tips.) This rod goes for about $575. I haven't tried it, but multiple reviews by those who know much more than I ever will suggest this rod fishes every bit as well as my pricey and smooth Winston Microspey 4 wt or the faster, crisper Sage One trout Speys.

3 wt trout Spey to fish mainly soft hackle wet flies, can use polyleaders for some depth.

4 wt trout Spey if you want to include small streamers on Skagit lines with sink tips such as MOW tips to get more depth.

I just picked up a new Echo Glass Spey rod on clearance for less than $200 as they are being discontinued. Mine is a 7 wt 12'9" for steelhead and it is wonderful. If you can find one in trout Spey weight you might love it and the price as well.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I have the G. Loomis IMX Pro 11 ft 11 inch Trout Spey in 3 and love that rod. I picked mine on eBay for about $300. Just realize that a 3 wt Trout Spey is equivalent to a6 wt single hand rod. Give trout spey a chance, you won't regret it.

 

[bocast]

I have the G. Loomis IMX Pro 11 ft 11 inch Trout Spey in 3 and love that rod. I picked mine on eBay for about $300. Just realize that a 3 wt Trout Spey is equivalent to a6 wt single hand rod. Give trout spey a chance, you won't regret it.

Mcnerney:. What kind of sink tips can your G.Loomis IMX Pro 11'11" 3 wt handle? What grain weight and length head do you use on it?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[mcnerney]

Mcnerney:. What kind of sink tips can your G.Loomis IMX Pro 11'11" 3 wt handle? What grain weight and length head do you use on it?

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

I bought the G Loomis 3 wt Trout Spey rod last fall, initially I bought a Rio Intouch Skagit integrated line (275 grain) line. I'm not sure on the sink tip as I have a bunch and have lost track, but I can tell you I love how this rig casts.
Later on I bought a Rio Intouch 3 wt Trout Spey line (265 grain) for throwing soft hackles, but haven't used it yet. Both lines are integrated lines, meaning the head and running line are all one piece. I have a Sage ONE 6 wt that I bought on clearance a few years ago (based on another forum members recommendation) but I find that rod way too power much for trout, it is more of a steelhead rod, I will probably sell it off as there really isn't any steelhead fishing nearby western Wyoming. On the Sage ONE I bought a Skagit head, running line and a few sink tips. This is all personal choice, but for me I didn't really care for the separate head/running line, I like the integrated lines better but YMMV!

Take a look at this trip report, pretty much all of these fish were landed using that G Loomis 2 wt Trout Spey rod:
Wyoming in the Fall

 

[bocast]

Larry, That trip report is beautiful. Great fish! You mentioned you were casting 4 inch slumpbusters with that 3wt trout Spey rod. That's great! Clearly a little Wyoming wind adversity did not defeat you guys or the rod!

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

 

[eastfly66]

Nice score on that IMX Pro 31111 Larry ! Congrats ! I have the ONE 3110 and like you found a 41111 IMX Pro also. The 4 I know and I am confident from all I have read the 3 is exceptional too. If I knew than what I know now and the IMX was available at 1/2 the cost I would have done the Loomis all day every day.

Below is a line chart for those interested, well knwon chart and I find it dead on accurate:


On the 41111 I first tried the integrated SA Scandi lite 270 gr. This is my first integrated line and I do like it. The line has a refined front taper , rolls out nice and makes nice presentations. I did not like this with the versileaders or poly but where it did excel is with a long mono leader. It is best with swinging soft hackles and lightly weight streamers. I'm going to give some dry fly a try this coming summer , should be fun.

I do have a Rio Scandi 240 for my Sage 3110 and it is fantastic, there is no doubt it would be a sweet match for the Loomis and unlike the SA Lite it does handle the verileaders well. I think I am going to have to get one of those too.

Next up was the OPST 275 grain with iMOW and Commando tips. I already had the head & tips from my One 7100 so give it a run. A compact and smooth cast this will carry any of my Strolis Ice Pick streamers on # 1 & 2 hook no problem. This is another nice match if your a OPST guy, even better if you alredy own it.

Aiflo Skagit Scout 330 , I really like this head, maybe more than the OPST with this rig, not sure exactly why but I think it is a little smoother casting and I am becoming a fan of the Airflo products. It might also be because Tom Lamiar is involved with Airlfo development and also behind the IMX Pro so I figured it should be a match (Brilliant of me, don't you think ?). Like the OPST it handles the larger stuff and effortless to cast. This head with the SA lite and I'm good to go.

I do have one of the discontinued Airflo Scandi Compact 300 grain I picked up cheap but have yet to give it a spin. I don't think you will go wrong with any of the Airflo matches and having the Rio SHS 5 for my One 3110 I think it is close to the SA Scandi Lite. I will recommend staying away from the discontionued Rio Trout max (skagit) it is shorter than the new version and I found it a bit rough on my 3110 but it was what was there at the time. It is not a bad head , just that there are better options like the new version or Aiflo/OPST.

The trout spey is a fantastic way to expand your options for trout , SMB or whatever and you will be getting far more bang for your buck than getting another SH in a different length or weight. Loomis hit a home run on this one. I'm in New England and "new ideas" don't go well here but I am slowly seeing other guys sporting the short spey each season....and yes, I have heard the arguement "I can do that with a SH and commando" and I agree you can but not as easy and effectively as I can with two hands and a longer rod...my thoughts anyway.

 

[eastfly66]

Additional notes:

Commando Tips are 96 grain 12 footers. Went with 12 on advice from OPST for 7100. Larger D-loop = greater distance and longer tip for longer rod (Trout Spey) iMOW are 10 footers light (T8). Versileader and poly are all 10 footers. The long mono leader for SA Lite is 15 ft. or more 18 is nice. Hand tied Maxima. I think shorter tips might cast heavier weight , have to try that one out and see .....

Like I said above, Loomis hit the ball out of the park on this one with the IMX Pro Short Spey at a reasonable price. I found the Echo Trout spey to be pretty sweet too and that is pretty reasonable. If the idea sparks a little interest , take another step and give it a try. You might just find it's a fit for you too.

 

[mcnerney]

Paul

Thanks for all that info above, I'm pretty new to Trout Spey so I'm still learning. Here is a chart that Red's Fly Shop posted that gives a pretty good baseline for those considering getting into Trout Spey:



Here is a video by Simon Gawesworth on how to setup a trout spey rod (I spotted this on Moldy Chum):

Fishy Friday's: Trout Spey setup w/ Simon Gawesworth on Vimeo

 

[jddietrich]

I've got a Redington Hydrogen 3wt. and an Orvis Recon 10' 3wt. I spey cast for trout with both, the Orvis, single handed. I can't recommend highly enough the Hardy cassette reels. I like to dabble in lines, and at about $10 per cassette, they can't be beat. I can purchase a line and a cassette for considerably less than a spool for my Nautilus FW. I've got a CLS 5000 on the Redington and an ASR 4000 on the Orvis, and they balance well.
Good luck with whatever you try.

 

[ryc72]

I have the loomis imx pro 3wt as well and it’s a pretty sweet rod. I first tried a skagit scout with it but kept blowing my anchor. Switched to a 20ft 275 grain Rio skagit max short with a 10ft 5wt tip (think the tips are 55 grain but not 100% certain) and for me it made a huge difference...much easier to cast. Also have a 23ft 4wt 240 grain rio Scandi and use the same tips and it’s pretty sweet with that as well. 30lb lazar line for running line. Shoots really well and no issues tangling so far but not easy to handle in the cold but in warmer weather it’s awesome. For colder water/weather going to try and figure out an integrated setup with a longer head. Just picked up a 280 grain sa adapt switch line to experiment with...selling those on eBay for $35 so not a huge financial commitment to experiment with.

 

[jddietrich]

Ah jeez,
After reading all of this I just went out and bought an IMX 31111. Arrrgh.
Ryc72, why did you go with the 280 gr adapt switch? Is the taper closer to a skagit or are there other considerations?
Thanks.