My last decade of swinging for Kings and steelhead was pretty much exclusively with switch rods. My 11' Beulah 9 wt tidewater fave could just jack an intermediate line OH without ever having to get my hands above my ears.
Aside from longer casts, what are the benefits of a 2-handed rod?
- Thread starter downriver79
- Start date
Where are you located? I’d be happy to loan you a 13’4” 7wt and a 13’9” 8wt so you could try out the lengths and weights. For me those are the basic do-everything rods for the PNW (BC to Oregon, Idaho to Washington). Kindof like 9’ 5 and 6wt 1h rods.
I see absolutely no benefit to the two handed rod, maybe cause you cant and I mean cant cast a single hand rod.
Spey casting is just that CASTING.
A well knowledge angler knows the fish are easily within 40-60 ft .
Sure the back cast is limited on certain runs of water. So what, learn to roll cast and fish close in and be stealthy.
Not to mention, in my opinion, the added stress the fish has to endure working against 13-15 a guides (drag) on a long rod that most anglers dont know how to handle.
So hook a fish 80-100 ft out how long will it take to land that fish?
Folks will proclaim that "I landed the fish quickly" You may have done well but how did the fish do?
Did it take a little exrta time for the fish to recover? Lets be honest.
I was enough into it that a took lessons and caught fish.
Got pretty good at it actually.
Casting Spey is fun but fishing Spey not not for me.
Sorry but Im not a fan.
YMMV
Spey casting is just that CASTING.
A well knowledge angler knows the fish are easily within 40-60 ft .
Sure the back cast is limited on certain runs of water. So what, learn to roll cast and fish close in and be stealthy.
Not to mention, in my opinion, the added stress the fish has to endure working against 13-15 a guides (drag) on a long rod that most anglers dont know how to handle.
So hook a fish 80-100 ft out how long will it take to land that fish?
Folks will proclaim that "I landed the fish quickly" You may have done well but how did the fish do?
Did it take a little exrta time for the fish to recover? Lets be honest.
I was enough into it that a took lessons and caught fish.
Got pretty good at it actually.
Casting Spey is fun but fishing Spey not not for me.
Sorry but Im not a fan.
YMMV
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Confident, ill-informed, and questionable grammar. If you decide on a second career you’d do a passable job filling as an AI.
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fatbillybob
Steelhead
Agree! Super way to cast with minimal energy expended. I have a 7wt. Beulah opal 11ft. beach rod. It is optimized for overhead casting. I have never cast a tidewater. Other Beulah speys I have cast are really slow like my 6wt. beulah platinum switch I use for summer steelhead and bigger trout. It's really a 5-6 closer to 5wt. My primary steelhead rod is 7wt. NAM 12'3" travel 6 piece. It's a faster scandi rod. As I was learning spey I fumbled with T&G casts. I picked up the NAM (faster rod) and bang the T&G became intuitive and easy. I got that rod for travel. Later I realized the action of the Beulah opal was similar. Wouldn't you know it Beulah advertises this rod as overhead never mentions spey and yet this rod bangs out the T&G casts almost as well as the NAM. If I optimized the line for the Opal I bet it would cast just as well as the NAM. Go figure!
You dont know me from Adam...
I speak from a reasonable experience that you obviously have not.
You are not dealing with a bot...
But a very experienced angler of many years.
Care to share your obvious varied experience?
But a very experienced angler of many years.
Care to share your obvious varied experience?
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Pink Nighty
Legend
#1. About 3-5 minutes
#2. Swam off hard, immediately
#3 No
In my experience swinging flies comes down to angle of attack as much as anything. If you're hooking all your fish 40ft away, its probably because your single hander cant make the angle to hit that log jam in the middle of the Skagit that splits the flows and holds a fish every time.
Most of the time 100 footers are for me, I'll give you that. But structure 60ft out is gonna need 100+ ft of line and significant upstream positioning to be fished effectively.
That said, I fished a single 6wt on the Skagit all day today and hooked a bazillion stinkers, but I wasnt swinging flies or covering water.
Sure, what the heck. Here goes:
1. The "Can't Cast a Single-Hand Rod" Claim:
This is a classic ad hominem attack and the easiest to dismiss because it’s a logical fallacy. I’ll ignore the ad hominem attack on me in the quoted post I’m replying to because I implied you would do well pretending to be a bot. I was wrong. But you may want to reconsider basing claims and arguments on fallacies.
2. “Spey Casting is Just That, CASTING" nice tautology there but mostly meaningless statement. The whole point of a spey cast is to deliver a fly in a way that is impossible with a single-handed rod, particularly when you're wading deep or have limited backcasting room. It allows you to present a fly to a fish in a manner that's often far more effective and efficient than a roll cast from the bank.
3. The "Fish are Within 40-60 ft" claim forms the bulk of your argument but it's a massive generalization that doesn't hold true for all types of fishing. It’s often true for smaller rivers or specific runs, and in those cases, a single-hand rod may be perfect. But on a large river like, say, the Skeena or even a wide section of the Skagit, the fish are not always within 40-60 feet of the bank. Fish hold in runs and seams that are often 80, 90, or even 100 feet from shore. Or you find yourself deep in a river. A two-handed rod usually allows you to reach those fish with minimal effort compared to the single hand rod and without spooking the close-in fish. It's about covering water effectively and efficiently. It also allows for more efficient and effective mends, but we were talking about casting on this one.
4. The "Limited Back Cast / Roll Cast" point.
A roll cast is a great tool, and every angler should know how to use it. But a roll cast is not designed to cover the same amount of water as a spey cast. A good roll cast might get you 40 feet, but a spey cast can easily double that distance with the same amount of physical exertion. A two-handed rod isn't about avoiding a roll cast; it's about giving you the ability to cast far and cast often without wearing yourself out or needing a ton of space behind you.
5. Your "Added Stress on the Fish" argument is a valid concern but your logic is flawed. In my experience a properly used two-handed rod often reduces fight time, especially on a large river and/or with a large fish. This is a really interesting point, and it gets to the heart of what a two-handed rod is for, it just doesn’t cut in favor of your position. A longer rod is about using leverage to your advantage. A 13-14 foot rod with a fighting butt allows you to apply constant, heavy pressure on the fish without tiring yourself out. You can actually land a fish faster with a two-handed rod because you can control the fish and pull it away from structure more effectively. It's like using a winch instead of a hand line, you’ve got a bigger lever. Landing a fish from 80’ away in my experience takes no longer than landing one at 40 feet on a single hand if you're using the right rod and know how to use it.
6. "Fishing Spey is Not for Me" argument is completely fair, and I respect that. Fly fishing is about finding a style that you enjoy. But for me, the benefits of a two-handed rod—the ability to cover vast amounts of water, the low-impact cast, and the power to control a large fish—make it the most effective and efficient tool for fishing big rivers for big fish. It's not about being better than a single-hand rod in every situation; it's about being the right tool for this specific job. To say or suggest a Spey rod is always trumped by a single hand rod is ill-informed.
Have a fluffy day.
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Pink Nighty
Legend
I dont feel like this is getting the attention it deserves. Slap hitters love to talk about average. Chicks want a souvenir ball. The math is easy. Load slow and go son!Chicks dig the long rod....
Pink Nighty
Legend
I've never met a single hand rod that can make my reel and onlookers squeal at the end of a cast. That's a fact
Flymph
Life of the Party
OK, here it goes; you can't cast due to close proximity to brush/trees/etc. and roll casting has its limitations. That said, cast up stream and back cast down stream (wind permitting). I have nothing against spey casting and see great artistic like movements with those that have mastered the various types of casts. Just saying those of us on a budget (cheap skates, if you will) find ways with what we have.
Yard Sale
Life of the Party
Wait, are the fish easily at 40-60 feet, or at 80-100 feet?
Fish how you want and enjoy it. I like to fish dry lines so the far and fine is my style. I mostly fish 13-15' rods with dry lines. It's fun and I enjoy it. Kinda why I'm out there. Besides the scenery, camping, friends, wildlife, food, drink, peacefulness, escaping regular life, wait, what were we talking about?
Mic drop! End of story!
And I hardly ever fish TH rods because of my SH glass affliction.
downriver79
Steelhead
Well that's awful kind of you and I appreciate the offer, but I'm all the way down in N. CA. All of my steelhead fishing is on the Trinity.
lol..should have been more clear, casting the Beulah 'in tidewater' just a mile or so from the rivermouth. The rod itself was an early beach model.
excellent scandi style fast action switch rods are made by Guideline and Mystic, either jack an OH line
fatbillybob
Steelhead
oct 22 I'm 90% going to be on the Trin doing some DIY for steel probably explore lewiston/douglass (I've only floated the trin with guides from weaverville) . I'll be on the sac and feather earlier in the week. I don't need too much encouragement to make the Trin a for sure. If you want to meet up and fish and try out 2 ends of the spectrum a slow action deep loading progressive 2 hander and a fast tippy scandi 2 hander let me know.
downriver79
Steelhead
Unfortunately, the 22nd is a Wednesday and my fishing is limited to weekends and maybe a couple of hrs here and there after work on the way home. I live right on the main stem so the area I mostly fish after work is from Cedar Flat up to Big Flat. I'll occasionally get up to Lewiston / DC area on the weekend if there's something I need from the Trinity Fly Shop. If you do decide to make it to the Trinity, shoot me a PM and I'll give you a recent report. And if you want to make it down below the N. Fork confluence I can clue you on on some good wading spots w/ easy access from 299 and possibly meet up with you after work.
