As a video guy you can give me anything but spey casting
to shoot since it is a bit tedious … Cast, Cast, Cast, two steps down, Cast,
Cast, Cast. I do understand the joy of it all and the special club one joins by
plying the waters in this manner. What I
don’t get is that when fish are just not taking a swung fly, why one would
persist? Perhaps having made a living more
by documenting folks catching fish than those just fishing I have been
warped. I am also not exceptionally
patient and somewhat enjoy the additional maneuvering and rigging a
single-handed angler requires, and the tugging of a fish from time to time.
Fly Fish TV has some good spey fishing videos and I did enjoy
shooting them. Working with John and Amy Hazel on the Deschutes in Oregon really gave me a feel for the special thrill
and flavor of spey angling. However being a man of modest means and possessing
a considerable arsenal of standard fly gear, I felt the investment required to
really get into spey might be more than “The Warden” would easily tolerate. Thus I am on the outside looking in, which is
where you often find critics.
Perhaps what it comes down to is that I just want to
catch fish and when I am sure they’re down there I want to go after them. I don’t really get to spend that much time on
the water since the camera guy is the last one to get a chance to fish. If things are tough the on-camera talent has
to keep at it, and if fishing is really good you always have to be ready for
the big-one that the stars are convinced is coming on the next cast. So when I do get my turn I want to be putting
my fly where the fish are. Perhaps it is
old school of me but when I have my chance I will most often grab the
single-handed rod, and indicator, and something that really looks like fish
food.
I guess
the reason I bring it up now is that I
have been talking with my most popular video host, Kelly Galloup, who has
recently joined the Airflo fly line pro staff and thinks a new steelheading
video should include a lot of spey angling. My feeling is that we should spend our time
showing folks how to best catch steelhead with a single-handed rod and let the
rest of the thousands of “spey video
producers” have at it.
Despite
over-modulated audio in Fly Fish TV’s “Introduction to Spey Casting Video” I still
think it is as fine a beginner’s spey casting lesson as there is. And between “Spey Fishing Steelhead” and
“Advanced Spey” I am pretty sure the Hazels have covered most of the basics of
the sport. I would rather see Kelly
spend his time showing us the most effective ways he knows of nymphing and
stripping streamers for steelhead. He guided for years in Michigan and has had
the chance to fish many of the best waters the West has to offer including the
Dean. I have seen him on numerous
occasions take fish after fish out of waters that has been speyed to death.
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