Let’s start a trout spey thread

Bob Rankin

Bob Rankin

Wandering the country with rifle and spey rod.
For those that are weird about trout spey. Let’s see what you got! All things trout spey, and the love of swinging flys. Rods,reels,flys, fish pics.

And….go.
 
Last edited:
I could use some talk about different lines for an Echo 11" #3 line. What are guys using for floaters and Skagit style?
 
For the floater I love the Rio Trout spey. Also can’t go wrong with a short OPST Skagit.

I have a 11’6” 4wt, so it could be totally different.

There is always the custom line route as well.
 
Here is my small arsenal for trout spey by my main man Bob Meiser. 4 and a 5 weight. A three weight would be cool as well. I just don’t think I would use it as much.
A08EDB16-32D6-4CE8-BC3D-405A7C3AF2BF.jpeg7C8A80E1-9A4F-40A5-B543-2099D3F6479D.jpeg
 
Last edited:
My journey has brought me to Meiser rods and Bauer reels. I tried Sage rods but just couldn’t feel the love. As for reels, I tried Lamson, Speyco and Hardy. Couldn’t feel the love in those either. I do wish the Bauer had a little more sound going out though.
 
I used to really like both SpeyCo and Hardy reels for my trout spraypoles, but I kept having issues with both. I've had fish run wildly enough to both flip pawls on the Hardys and break hexad drag springs on the SpeyCos, so nearly all my troutin' (at least up here) is with Abel and Loop reels.

My springtime setups are all 6wts - ECHO Compact 6120 wearin' an Abel S10 with a 420 Skagit for tip work, an ECHO Full 6130 with an Abel S10 and a 420 Rage for smooth patterns, and a Winston BIIx 6126 with a Bougle and a Scandi 390 for topwater work.

For the fall, I really only fish 2 setups - an ECHO E3 8134 with a Loop MegaLoop and a FIST 540, or an ECHO Full 8130 with a Loop MegaLoop and a 570 Skagit. The 8134 setup gets 11' t-14 and is the sculpin/leech twig, while the 8130 throws 11' t20 / t22 and is the flesh rod.

For nearly all of my "away games" (outside AK ) I fish an ECHO DH5122 and a Hardy st John or Salmon1.

I'll have to dig around the gear pile and share a few "sanitized" fly pics😁
 
I have an ARE 11 ft 2/3 wt im6, which I got for euro and lake but want to try it as trout spey. It’s kind of a noodle, though, which makes it hell trying to net a fish while wading. Any thoughts on head or weight for this rod?
 
PhilR said:
I have an ARE 11 ft 2/3 wt im6, which I got for euro and lake but want to try it as trout spey. It’s kind of a noodle, though, which makes it hell trying to net a fish while wading. Any thoughts on head or weight for this rod?
Click to expand...
I have no idea on lines for that, but maybe get a really long net😬
 
I was given an old Loomis IM6 10’6” 6 weight single hand rod that the previous owner had built for high stick nymphing.
I had a friend with a lathe who helped me fashion a 6” lower grip that we threaded into the butt end and it became an 11’ “3wt” trout spey.

I use a 210 gr switch scandi loaded onto an old Pflueger 1496 medalist reel. The leader is 14’ long. If depth is needed I slide a small conehead onto the tippet above the fly.
 
After doing nothing but euro/mono rig for the last several years, I just started using the two hander for trout last year. I still love nymphing and dry/dropper with the euro stick, but on rivers like the Cowlitz and Deschutes, there is a lot of water outside euro-range. I know that 20"+ redside/cutthroat is out in the middle of the river somewhere. I have a 4wt dually switch that hucks a scout head out there pretty well, I'm still getting the hang of scandi casting with it. I recently got a 4wt imx short spey that I have an easier time with throwing a rage compact. A 2 or 3 weight would probably be more fun, but the 4wt can throw big trout streamers and the rivers I swing for trout/sea runs on also have summer steelhead.

I also love Bauer reels, I have several, and started buying used ones I find when all their designs started looking like the rims on my grandparents delta 88. I have hooked and landed a couple of summers with the 4wt dually and a bauer mac 4.
 
I love this time of year! I went out for a couple hours this morning to swing up some trout. Took the Meiser 12’6” 5wt and used a 375gr Skagit max short with 10’ of T8 and my version of a Daves panic button. It worked😬 one of them was a slab, it may be one of the biggest I’ve ever caught in the canyon.
F44844C6-429D-469E-99E0-C78415D4EC82.jpeg4897A241-36DB-464D-BAA9-A175E86F0825.jpeg897A4CAB-34F6-4C41-9191-6FBEFEF2742C.jpegF8DF06D6-5A3C-4977-9729-7CD976827D93.jpegB63448E2-CB9E-4A71-A53A-5EC5E1E689B9.jpeg54511BFC-4ACB-45E0-A2EC-107C0E6B07D8.jpeg
 
Bob Rankin said:
I love this time of year! I went out for a couple hours this morning to swing up some trout. Took the Meiser 12’6” 5wt and used a 375gr Skagit max short with 10’ of T8 and my version of a Daves panic button. It worked😬 one of them was a slab, it may be one of the biggest I’ve ever caught in the canyon.
View attachment 3804View attachment 3805View attachment 3806View attachment 3807View attachment 3809View attachment 3808
Click to expand...
Awesome! I want a trout spey so bad
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top