One of the most confusing facets of a two handed rod is lining it properly so you can maximize its use along our tributaries.  Line an eight weight spey rod with a regular eight weight WF line and you’re in for problems.  But why? The line designations are the same so what’s the problem? With the drastically increasing popularity of two-handed techniques along our area streams many anglers will run in to the confusing issue of lining their rod properly.  When lined correctly learning and carrying out basic spey casts on a rod becomes a much easier process—do it wrong and you’re in for a great deal of frustration.

Weight of the Line:  The first thing the beginner spey fisherman should understand is that there are two different weighing systems for fly rod.  Almost every fly fisherman is familiar with the weighting system for a single handed rod, however, there is another system for lining two-handers that falls under the same number designations.  The average eight weight single hand fly rod will load appropriately with a standard eight weight single hand line—it weighs in somewhere between 200-250 grains.  The average eight weight two-hander (spey) fly rod will load with somewhere between 450 and 600 grains.

            There are a couple of reasons for this difference—mostly the force needed to load the longer and more powerful rod, the style of casting, and energy transfer through the line but in this article we won’t delve in to those reasons for the sake of keeping things simple.  The bottom line is that your average two-hander requires a lot heavier of a fly line to load it appropriately than a single handed rod of the same weight designation would need.

AFTMA Single Hand Fly Line Standards

There are some basic spey line standards out there.  The new standard for spey lines is divided up be head length—long belly, medium belly, short belly, and shooting heads (also referred to as Skagit or Scandinavian heads).  Each line category has an allowable grain weight measured over a given length of line.  As of now, there are no tolerance standards like there are with single hand AFTMA standards.

            To give you an example of how this chart is used, a line advertised as a 9-weight shooting head would have a grain weight of 430 grains in the first 40 feet. A long belly 9-weight would weigh 780 grains over the first 80 feet.

Line standards for two-handers will be much heavier than the ones given for single handers.  Unfortunately many spey rod manufacturers don’t necessarily follow regulations for these rods—for example, three 9-weight spey rods may each require a different line to cast correctly.  When looking to line a spey rod appropriately the best approach is to get in touch with a local fly shop owner or employee, regional company sales representative, or experienced spey casters—most, if not all of these people will have great first-hand experience to help you out in this process.  To quote world renowned spey caster Way Yin in a post from the Spey Pages “[A small fly shop] is where the "sweetheart" combinations are discovered, popularized, and sold. Here is where the customer's ability, desired target fish, and individual tastes are matched to the best products for him or her. You won't get it from a big box chain.”  He couldn’t be more dead on.

            Many of the larger line companies have charts and spreadsheets with an enormous amount of lining information on them—these charts give long lists of rods from different manufacturers and the particular line manufacturer’s line suggestions for their different brands of spey lines.  A little bit of research and time spent on a manufacturer’s web site can go a long way and is certainly the way to go over picking a line simply off of the chart above.

Different Types of Spey Lines

Long Belly Lines—Long belly lines are ideal for longer rods and larger rivers.  Using a long belly line allows a fisherman to forgo stripping in the head between casts.  As a result, the fisherman has more time to make casts, and spends more time fishing his presentation rather than readying it to cast, or casting.  During the winter these long belly lines can be particularly useful because the lack of stripping the line in prevents ice from accumulating on the guides.

            These types of lines are typically for the more advanced spey caster.  A certain degree of experience and casting expertise is required to handle these lines and their length.  When fishing a long bellied line, most of the belly will be outside the rod tip, giving the angler a good amount of control over the line while also eliminating the need to strip or shoot line.

Here are some things to remember when looking to purchase a long belly line:

1.      The lines are designed for maximum efficiency (more time in the water, less time stripping, shooting, etc.).

2.      Casting in some of the very windy conditions common in the Great Lakes region can be very difficult with a long belly line.

3.      Throwing heavy flies and/or sink tips can be challenging.

4.      In general, more experience and skill with the two-handed rod is required to properly use and fish these lines.

5.      They can be difficult to handle with shorter rods that have the most application in our area.

6.      More backcast room is required when fishing this style of line.

Examples: Rio PowerSpey, Rio GrandSpey, Scientific Anglers Spey XLT, Scientific Anglers Spey Classic, Cortland Tri-Color Spey Long Belly

Medium Belly Lines—Medium belly lines are a very versatile set of spey lines designed to fill in the gap between the traditional long belly lines, and the short belly and Skagit line niches.  These lines were intended to cast fairly long—without requiring much clearance behind an angler—while still being able to turn over tips and flies of moderate weight.  The major disadvantage of these lines is simply that they are a “jack of all trades”—decent at most applications, but not great at facilitating the tasks that are needed most frequently in the Great Lakes region.  More specifically, they struggle in turning over the weighty sink tips and heavy flies that are often most effective on our area tributaries.

Here are some things to remember about mid-belly lines:

            1.  Wide range of application—but doesn’t truly excel in any particular area.

            2.  Better use with lighter sink tips—such as poly leaders.

            3.  Moderate amount of stripping and shooting required—more than a long belly, but less than a short belly or shooting head.

            4.  Manageable head length for mending and line control over medium distances.

Examples: Rio MidSpey, Scientific Angler Mastery Spey, Airflo Delta Long

Short Belly Lines—Short belly lines are a great choice for the beginning spey caster looking to learn the basics of spey casting.  These lines will allow you to go through all the basic casts—while also being able to shoot and strip line.  Sink tips can be handled fairly easily on short belly lines, and mending ability as well as line control still exists over a moderate distance.  Short belly lines are the most versatile line for the average spey caster.

Here are some things to keep in mind about short belly lines:

1.      Decent line control and mending ability over medium-short distances.

2.      Better than medium or long belly lines at handling sink tips

3.      Easy to learn on.

4.      Can still require some stripping and shooting.

Examples: Rio WindCutter, Scientific Anglers Short Spey, Airflow Delta

Shooting Heads (Skagit or Scandinavian)—These types of lines are called shooting heads for a reason—they consist of a very short, but very heavy belly, and lots of running line.  The casts are conducted with only the short heads outside the rod, and then the angler will shoot the running line to follow the cast.  Skagit and Scandinavian heads can be handled much easier than mid and long belly lines, and thus, are easy for a beginner to get their feet wet with.  These lines excel at fishing heavy sink tips and weighted flies over short to medium distances (40-75 feet), especially in cases where backcast space is limited, and thus, have an enormous amount of potential for application in our area.  Energy is transferred very well through the short compact heads due to their thick diameter.

As mentioned in other F&F contributor Will Turek’s article, “Spey: A Guide To Terminal Tackle” there are two key concepts to consider when looking to get a shooting-head type or Skagit line for your rod: “When selecting a Skagit line, the only grain weight that should be taken into consideration to properly match a rod with a Skagit line is the weight that LOADS the rod, i.e. the weight of the line in the D-Loop. Although the weight of the tip, floating or sinking, may effect how easily the tip turns over it does not play any role in loading the rod.  When casting shooting heads it is important to maintain a constant ratio between the rod length and the head length. Each angler will have a somewhat different ratio falling between 3 to 3.5 times the length of the rod. For example, at a ratio of 3.5 a 12 ft rod requires a 42 ft head length. Since a Skagit head is 27 ft, adding a 15 ft tip = 42 ft. At the same ratio, a 14ft rod would require a 49 ft head length.”

Here are some things to keep in mind about these types of lines:

1.      Two key concepts—head length and head weight (see above) 

2.      By far the best line for turning over heavy sink tips (such as T-14, LC 13, T-11, and T-8), and weighted flies.

3.      Line control can be tricky due to short head length.

4.      Best bet for fishing in situations where back cast space is limited and compact cast is required (ex. against a shale wall or steep bank)

5.      Lots of stripping and shooting involved.

6.      Best bet for lining a switch rod as the short head length is easier to handle with the shorter rod.

Examples: Rio Skagit, Airflo Skagit Compact, Airflo Scandinavian Shooting Head, Scientific Anglers Mastery Spey Skagit Deluxe

            Since most of my fishing is done using sinking tips and large streamers, Skagit lines are my personal choice when it comes to lining my Great Lakes spey and switch rods.

Lining Your Spey Rod for Indicator Fishing

            Many anglers in the Great Lakes area like to fish two-handed rods as drifting or nymphing rods for steelhead.  Due to their long length, two-handers can make a great drifting stick, allowing a fly fisherman a greater degree of control than with a single handed fly rod.  However, lining your spey rod with the same line weight you’d fish on your single hander isn’t going to work out very well. When looking to line your spey rod with appropriate line anglers should consider moving up one to three weight sizes.  Your six weight spey won’t load with a single hand six weight lines—a seven, eight, or even nine weight line would be a much better choice. The reason that a heavier line is needed is simple—designations for two-handed rods are much heavier than that of single handed fly rods.  For example, an AFTMA approved eight weight single hand fly line can weight from 202-218 grains; an eight weight spey line can weigh anywhere from 360-710 grains.  Clearly there’s an enormous difference. Don’t hesitate to get in touch with your local fly shops about what single hand line and line weight will be the best combination for your drifting needs on your spey rod—you won’t regret it.

Final Thoughts

            Two-handed rods open up an entirely new world to the fly fisherman—this world can also be confusing.  Many manufacturers’ websites have information about lining almost every spey rod in production—the suggestions on these spreadsheets are developed by some of the most knowledgeable spey casters in the world, and are almost always great ways to line your rod.

This article is intended to give area anglers more insight in to the realm of spey lines.  Making the jump from single-hand to two-hand “spey” rods can seem to be overwhelming with the new terminology and myriad of options for terminal tackle.  Don’t hesitate to contact your local fly shops, area guides, manufacturer’s sales representatives, or manufacturers themselves with your questions—they are there to help and are more than happy to do so.   Different locations in the great lakes will have different streams—sizes, current, etc. and will be best suited by different lines, styles, and rods.  Getting in touch with these types of resources can be a significant help when looking to purchase new spey terminal tackle.

F&F has been lucky to have contributions by local spey guru Will Turek—his articles are great reads for those interested in spey fishing and can be found here:

http://flyandfloatfishing.com/spey/intro_to_spey.htm

http://flyandfloatfishing.com/spey/spey_terminal_tackle.htm

Tight Lines,

Brett McCrae

Any questions or comments on this article can be directed to Chagrin River Outfitters guide and F&F fly-fishing pro Brett McCrae at brett@flyandfloatfishing.com