Which spey line to choose?: Steelheader.net- Steelhead, Salmon and trout fishing

The following cut and paste is from the UK fly fishing forum board. Question was: 'which/how to choose a spey line.' Best answer I've ever seen in print.

Fred
Forgive my ignorance but I am interested to know a bit more about this subject area.

To be honest when it comes to fishing tackle I am not that technically astitute.

I tend to just get going with a line and rod rating that match, get a feel for it if its a new set up, and start casting away. Maybe I adjust my action a bit depending on the rod. For example with my Diawa Whisker 12ftr I generally have a softer wrist and more relaxed slower stroke, but when fishing with Mick's XL50 9ft 6wt my wrist is kept firm and the stroke faster. These small adjustments just seems to make me get on better with the rod, especially if fishing 3 or 4 flies.

My main interest in the line belly regards Double Handed Salmon rods. I have always been able to Spey cast to a level which allows me to cover most rivers and I dont feel a need to cast any further.

But my main question is what is Line Belly refering to and what are the effects of different characteristics? Is it something i should give some consideration to?

As ever I am sure this has been asked before and I am very grateful to anyone who takes the time to reply.

tight lines

C4
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Berlin
5 Star Member

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Posts: 518
Re: Question about line belly
« Reply #1 on: Today at 05:44:49 »

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Hi Corin.

The belly is the fat bit. Simple as that.

Fly lines have slightly different tapers to make them more (or less) suitable for a particular tast. This can range from casting large flies, casting into the wind, Presentation, ability and distance.
Which ever taper you choose is a compromise of the features above.

A general purpose line is exactly that. It will manage all of the above but be master of none. The more specialised you go the more you compromise the features at the other end of the way you are going (so using a distance line will compromise presentation, using a shooting head will compromise your line mending etc)

There seems to be a greater and greater push to buy specialist lines and this is fine if you want to own half a dozen lines and a bill for 300 quid.

However, the specialist lines only offer a slight increase in useability in the area compared to the loss of ablity in the other areas. As you generally don't know what the prevailing conditions will be when you arrive for the fishing or the fact that they could change during the day mean that taking a bog standard middle of the road line offers far more diversity and ability to cope with whatever happens.

So, Salmon lines. Well generally they all have a long taper to aid long distance turnover. There are generally Five different head lengths:

1) Shooting heads (shortest at about 44')
2) Short (about 55' like the Rio Windcutter or Snowbee 1D)
3) Medium (about 65-75' like the Rio Midspey or Snowbee 2D and 3 D
4) Long ( 100' like the Rio Grand Spey or SA XLT)
5) DT Extra long (up to 120')

So what are the benefits?
Well a shooting head needs little casting room and once thrown cannot be mended. You also have to strip it back to recast.
The shorter heads are great for beginners and can be used for smaller rivers and for shooting for larger rivers. They may require some stripping back before recasting.
The medium heads are great all rounders and for intermediate casters. They can be mended well.
Long heads are for the advanced casters and very large rivers and can be mended.
DT is all about versatility. it can be cast a long way, mended better than any of the others once over 100 ft and can be fished very short to very long. But the turnover is slightly down on the long taper lines above.

The taper desings themselves vary in each of the categories above. Generally the more weight at the front of the line the more the ability to turn over heavy 3" brass tubes.. the firther the weight it back in the head the better the presentation.

Personally I'd recommend you go for a great all rounder until you know the particular specialist traits you are likely to encounter and require. A Rio Midspey or Snowbee 2D or 3D would be a great first line.

Finally I don't understand the knocking that the Windcutter gets. Its a fantastic all round line, great for beginners, can be used like a shooting head by advanced casters. It can be used for rivers that are very small to rivers that are very big and handles any size fly admirably. Maybe its head length envy?

Cheers,
Carl