Anyone using Single Hand Spey Lines for bobber fishing?

Landlocked

Landlocked

Steelhead
I've got a few of the Galloup Indicator lines and they work well on my 10' 6wt Z's. Watched a few guides using the Rio Single Hand Spey lines for rolling bobbers out (both boat and bank) last week...big bobbers and heavy multi-fly zirdle bugs, on 9' 5-wts. Looked effortless and I was blown away they were rolling that far with 5 wt 9-foot rods. Of course they were good casters, and as most guides do, make things look easy. I've got a bunch of Godshall's integrated lines that may work, but probably pretty clunky, and some integrated lighter SA streamer/switch lines that may work, but are really Skagit heads...just thinking here. Don't love toting around anything over 10' in the boat. At $129 retail for a Rio Single Hand Spey line, I'm not in that market,IMG_8363.jpeg till they hit Sierra at half price, but just curious if anyone has been using the dedicated single hand spey stuff for trout bobbering. Here's one that came off that setup last week (Dan Parsons, Solitary Angler, one of the best on the Wyoming Green)
 
I've used OutBound and 40+ lines for bobbercating, but I always come back to dedicated indicator lines with long rear tapers. The shooting head-style lines are great for initial delivery, but they're hard to control if you're fishing squirrely water or anything that requires post-cast mending at distance.
 
G_Smolt said:
I've used OutBound and 40+ lines for bobbercating, but I always come back to dedicated indicator lines with long rear tapers. The shooting head-style lines are great for initial delivery, but they're hard to control if you're fishing squirrely water or anything that requires post-cast mending at distance.
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That’s great info! Thanks.
 
G_Smolt said:
I've used OutBound and 40+ lines for bobbercating, but I always come back to dedicated indicator lines with long rear tapers. The shooting head-style lines are great for initial delivery, but they're hard to control if you're fishing squirrely water or anything that requires post-cast mending at distance.
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Mending with a skagit style line is no bueno!
 
Slightly guilty about it if I think too much but I’ve got a few knock-off single Spey lines — and I like them an awful lot. I try not to overhand cast heavy beadheads with the old rods I mostly fish, and the single hand lines are pretty great on jigs at modest range.
 
I mean..."the darkside" that I'm not proud of is an occasional part of my game. I can't stand looking at or passing up water that should have some pig laying in one little divot or dip behind whatever obstruction is creating it. Sometimes a stripper or swung streamer just want cut it presentation-wise. So then I have the "rod of shame" strung up and stored in the most invisible rod tube on the boat (stored without a bobber on it), and break it out when needed. I also tell my passengers that if they ever want another free ride down the river, they'll keep their yaps shut about what is about to go down. Usually only get a sideways glance, a smirk, and maybe a snide comment from them. What happens on the boat, stays on the boat.

So just pulled the trigger on a knock off single hand spey line to try it out. For 30-bucks what the hell? What could go wrong? Just like buying knock off ink cartridges for my HP printer at 1/4 the cost (oh wait, that stuff ruined the firmware in my printer for weeks...screw you HP).

Happy to see there are some other folks who keep one foot in the gutter here. I mean regarding bobbering of course. Assuming there's tons of members hear who watch bobbers on stillwaters on a regular basis. Still fighting the moral battle of if using a chubby with a weited dropper is bobbering.
 
On a center pin which is a vastly superior method it's called a float. There's a ton of different floats that all have a purpose. That in its self is a science.
 
Styskal said:
On a center pin which is a vastly superior method it's called a float. There's a ton of different floats that all have a purpose. That in its self is a science.
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I'm so interested in CP that I bought a good CP reel to experiment with on my spey rod. It seems to me that CP fishing can be but does not have to be bobber fishing. I'm liking the idea of the float and weight set up being balanced more neutrally buoyant like almost an intermediate flyline and then swinging flys with it. I think the control of the drift and swing with CP might be superior to how I'm doing it with spey. I'm thinking something like 15 g float, 15g weight 3ft long to a swivel then 2 ft of tippet and a sunray tubefly should be perfect for say 4ft deep walking speed water. targeting 3 ft deep in the column.
 
Dilemma:
There are a couple of outside bends on the Bulkley that I have become obsessed with. Namely for the inability to make long enough casts with a DH rod to skate the length. I have hooked up plenty in the two zones with super short leaders on the CP setup, due to the increased drift afforded. I knew that the fish would slam a skated offering due to them repeatedly hammering the float, instead of the jig dangling below it.
So I became overly focused on concocting a 12", 25-30 gram tapered float for CP use. It would need to lay/track horizontally, with a tapered leader and surface fly attached. I wanted the ability to control an extended surface presentation under slight tension.


Solution:
A few months ago a late night lightbulb moment occurred while sorting through lines - Why not just load a Scandi on the CP reel and use it on the DH rod? Make the desired cast then freespool to extend the drift. Duh!
 
Joe H said:
Dilemma:
There are a couple of outside bends on the Bulkley that I have become obsessed with. Namely for the inability to make long enough casts with a DH rod to skate the length. I have hooked up plenty in the two zones with super short leaders on the CP setup, due to the increased drift afforded. I knew that the fish would slam a skated offering due to them repeatedly hammering the float, instead of the jig dangling below it.
So I became overly focused on concocting a 12", 25-30 gram tapered float for CP use. It would need to lay/track horizontally, with a tapered leader and surface fly attached. I wanted the ability to control an extended surface presentation under slight tension.


Solution:
A few months ago a late night lightbulb moment occurred while sorting through lines - Why not just load a Scandi on the CP reel and use it on the DH rod? Make the desired cast then freespool to extend the drift. Duh!
Click to expand...

Genius! can you explain the rig more? So you got a full scandi head tied to the CP line so you can skate a dry fly. Do you scandi cast or single spey? how do you get the CP reel going to cast the head like in a BC cast? I don't see how you could BC or Wallis cast this? What am I missing? Are you paying out 50ft of CP mono and shooting that through the guides as you launch your head? won't that tangle? Or are you using spey mono runner like SA flat mono spooled on your CP reel?
 
Zero CP casting technique required.
Any DH cast with appropriate head overhang using 20# - 30# mono running line works.
When line comes tight under tension begin freespooling into the drift. Feathering running line after the cast is basically the same as float fishing.

I understand a longer rod may be more effective for keeping line off the surface, but I prefer 11'6" - 12' 7/8 weights to keep things tight and under control.
 
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