Come join us for a morning of all things Trout Spey at our new satellite location at Zoar Outdoors on the banks of the upper Deerfield River in Charlemont from nine am to noon on Sunday, September 29.
On a river like the Deerfield with its high, tree covered banks and drastic fluctuations of water flow with regular dam releases, Trout Spey is a great way to extend your time on the water when it becomes difficult to wade. Trout Spey allows you to get your fly out to where the fish are still feeding without much room for a backcast and without having to wade very far out into a fast moving and treacherous river. Swinging streamers and wet flies in the higher water can be a deadly technique on Deerfield River trout. We will cover some of the effective techniques and flies you can employ with a Spey rod.
What differentiates Trout Spey from fishing with a more common singlehanded rod is the cast. Rather than loading the rod with long overhead casts that require open space of at least twenty to thirty feet behind the caster, Trout Spey utilizes the water to load the rod and thus requires little backcast space. Think of the Spey cast as a hopped up roll cast. With the proper equipment and technique, Spey casts can achieve considerable distance, even more than the furthest overhead casts.
You will have the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of Spey casting. Jim Dowd, a Fly Fishing International certified fly casting instructor, will lead several demonstrations as well as hands on casting mini clinics throughout the morning. Some casting may take place on dry land but we will also, if conditions permit, take to the water to get a true sense of the Spey cast. Bring wading gear if you’d like to try your hand at it.
While Spey casts can be done with a typical fly line and singlehanded rod, longer Spey rods and Spey specific lines will significantly improve the distance and efficiency of the cast. The world of Spey, particularly the fly lines, can be overwhelming. We will have a representative from Rio fly lines and Redington rods on and to help demystify all this. We will have on hand a variety of Trout Spey rods and lines to test out as well.
All this, and donuts and coffee! If you can make it, please stop by at some point.
Call the shop with any questions at 413-397-3665 or email [email protected].