The term “trout spey” has become trendy in recent years, but what does it mean?
Spey casting is a term used to collectively refer to a group of fly casts enabling you to deliver your fly to fish or holding water where no space for a backcast exists. Traditionally spey casting is associated with salmon fishing and to some degree sea trout fishing using both single and double handed fly rods. It’s also been used by trout anglers for eons to a lesser extent with single handed fly rods.
Increasing availability of switch and micro spey outfits over a number of years has enhanced our opportunity to experiment with trout fishing techniques using small double handed rods. This offers fly fishers the prospect of adding another arrow to our quiver of tactics AND a great opportunity for keen and novice salmon fishers to practice both casting and fishing technique between trips and during the salmon close season. With many casts and much fishing between salmon on most rivers these days, why wouldn’t you want to be on your game when you do contact a silver king?
If your initial thoughts are, this is limited to river fishing, think again. The use of switch rods and micro spey rods on lakes and reservoirs can really give you a tactical edge in some situations. We’ve been using them ourselves since 2014 and also to coach clients preparing for trips and simply wanting to enjoy the technique.
Checkout the video clip above (spey section starts 10 minutes into this video) which shows a micro spey outfit being used at Lechlade Trout Fishery to target trout in a spot most anglers would not cover using general stillwater trout tactics. I’ve actually done this with a light switch rod in exactly the same spot about six years ago, great fun!
Would you like help trying trout spey yourself? Drop us a line to discuss casting and fishing options we can design to meet your requirements.
Best Fishes
SJY
