Why I love Trout Spey in the Fall

Fishing with a 2-handed rod is a whole lot of fun.  Every fall I look forward to changing gears and switching to one of my preferred fly fishing styles.  Once I became proficient at Spey casting with a 2-handed rod, I discovered it to be a very soothing style of fly fishing.  It’s recreational, and recreation is really the point of fly fishing.  We don’t choose to fly fish because we have to.  We do it because it’s fun, engaging, entertaining, and soulful.

Ready for Trout Spey Sessions?

When summer days are long, the activity of fly fishing can be intense and even tiring.  However, when fall rolls around, I want to enjoy a style of fly fishing that does not require 100 percent focus throughout each cast.  I want to choose my level of focus and engagement.  After months of staring at indicators, trying to dead drift tiny dry flies to precise locations and throwing streamers until my arm hurts, I’m ready for a new style of fly fishing.  I’m ready to swing flies with a 2-hander.  I’m ready for fall trout Spey sessions.

Watch here how Mia Sheppard's short game puts more fish on the bank.

Swinging flies on a 2-hander is very different than nymphing.  If you want to nymph well, it requires intense focus.  Some folks think nymphing is easy, but you can’t just cast your flies out and let them hang around.  Nymphing requires precision moves such as mending and feeding slack without creating tension.  Nymphing requires constant adjustment for depth control.  And, nymphing often requires numerous fly changes and rigging activities throughout the day.

Swinging flies on a 2-hander is very different than fishing dry flies.  Like Nymphing, dry fly fishing requires intense focus.  Casts and presentations must be precise.  Wind, variable surface currents, and moving targets can make the dry fly game maddening at times.  Sometimes, you can’t even find your tiny flies in the surface glare.

What is the best Spey rod set up? Read our recommendations here.

Swinging flies on a 2-hander is very different than fishing streamers from a boat.  Streamer fishing from a boat generally entails lots of rapid-fire casting and quick retrieves down shorelines or over flats.  It can be really fun, but it’s also a lot of work to continually cast and retrieve, and cast and retrieve, and cast and retrieve.  You get the idea.

What is it Like to Swing 2-Handed?

Swinging flies on a 2-hander is about searching out productive water and presenting fish with something they might choose to eat. Casts are often long and each swing is a mini session of fishing activity with varying levels of intensity. I can work my fly actively with mends and with twitches, or I can just let the currents do what they will while my eyes wander a bit.  I can search down a run and plan my next cast, or I can scan the cliffs looking for bighorn sheep.  I’ll feel the tug when my cast is disrupted.  We all love the feeling of the tug.

To tape or not to tape? Read about Spey rod ferrules here.

Fall is a perfect time for Trout Spey.  Days are getting shorter, waters are cooling, fish are changing their habits, and, as an angler, I’m ready for something new.  Gone are the days of consistent hatches and lots of steady food in the drift.  Winter is closing in and fish that still want to eat are forced to become more opportunistic.  I like to swing them some offerings.  I’m ready to fall into trout Spey again.

Looking for the right Spey rod? You can order online here.