I'm kind of peculiar in that I don't like to have to string up more than one rod at a time. I also tend to get into a groove and stay there even though it may be a 'rut'.
I'm becoming a believer in heavy lines for use on big waters and the other day I actually strung up a second rod. You may think a 13'9" with a 770 grain long belly rod sounds heavy but I finally used the Big Gun.
15' Winston with an 875 grain RIO Mid Spey line;
That's an old picture but I didn't bother with many pictures on the last outing. I did however take 1,
That gives an idea of how big this big gun is. The rod on the left is the 13'9" with a salmon reel mounted. The Winston is huge by all means of comparison. The Orvis Vortex 11/12 reel made in America, has a good drag and the rod will cast clear across the Talkeetna River! Of course I didn't catch any fish on 100' or longer casts, all were within 50 foot or less but wow what a difference the line makes!
I like the old Hardy rod, I really like the idea of using the long belly 770 line on it but............ the line is too light and the rod isn't really hitting its stride this way. Meanwhile the 875 on the Winston seems about perfect. You can load up a cast with the entire 65' head out of the tip top and then blast out another 20 - 30 feet of running line behind it! I've never used anything this well matched before and will be testing the 875 on the Hardy rod to see if it will work with that rod as well.
That's all I had to say, I just thought we needed to get some Spey chatter going here I did catch some trout on the Winston and no, the rod was not too heavy. When you use a rod like this there is not really a fish in the river that will challenge the rod, only the tippet.
Ard
I'm becoming a believer in heavy lines for use on big waters and the other day I actually strung up a second rod. You may think a 13'9" with a 770 grain long belly rod sounds heavy but I finally used the Big Gun.
15' Winston with an 875 grain RIO Mid Spey line;
That's an old picture but I didn't bother with many pictures on the last outing. I did however take 1,
That gives an idea of how big this big gun is. The rod on the left is the 13'9" with a salmon reel mounted. The Winston is huge by all means of comparison. The Orvis Vortex 11/12 reel made in America, has a good drag and the rod will cast clear across the Talkeetna River! Of course I didn't catch any fish on 100' or longer casts, all were within 50 foot or less but wow what a difference the line makes!
I like the old Hardy rod, I really like the idea of using the long belly 770 line on it but............ the line is too light and the rod isn't really hitting its stride this way. Meanwhile the 875 on the Winston seems about perfect. You can load up a cast with the entire 65' head out of the tip top and then blast out another 20 - 30 feet of running line behind it! I've never used anything this well matched before and will be testing the 875 on the Hardy rod to see if it will work with that rod as well.
That's all I had to say, I just thought we needed to get some Spey chatter going here I did catch some trout on the Winston and no, the rod was not too heavy. When you use a rod like this there is not really a fish in the river that will challenge the rod, only the tippet.
Ard