Spey: crack for the fisherman

today was the beginning of a new obsession.
since i was 13, fly fishing was all i could think about. casting, tying and most of all catching the occasional fish.

today i tried the spey, with of all people the notorious bill lowe.
it was more fun than the law should allow.

first of all, bill is hilarious, an amazing teacher and exceedingly patient. his reputation as one of the best is very well earned.

in no time i had a switch cast, then a double spey, and then a snap t forming around me.

heck, i caught a halfpounder steelface on my first time with a spey, on the swing.
i mean seriously, ive been fishing the A for the last few weeks and the smell of skunk is still lingering around burning my nostrils.

i got off the water today around 6 after playing with my singlehander for a while, and it is now around 10pm, and i currently have a buyer for my gear that will provide the much needed cash to get my new spey rod.

i name rods. weird i know, but as in "the river why," Gus Orviston named his main tool, "rodney," quite fitting really. he explained how he was the rod, and the rod was him and they become one. i have a feeling it will be the same with me and "sierra grande" as i will call her.
yes, its a she

Lower Sac with Shane Kohlbeck and Neil

Today was a great day. We were graced by not only the weather gods but also the fish gods that smile ever so seldom. Smiles were wide and often and it was a great day to be alive.

Fishing started right round 8:15 and we were greeted with instant action that continued throughout the day. These fish hit and pull hard, and a 7wt 10ft zaxis was a perfect match with a rio atlantic salmon/steelhead line for throwing the monstrous rigs that we were fishing, this is chuck and duck fishing at its finest.

The trout that reside here are very agressive, even in the frigid temperature of the water at this time of year. The river was higher and had less visiblity than is desired, but fishing was still prime!

These two fish came off of an isane double up in the fast water. Neil had the front of the boat and got a hit as soon as we hit this great riffle, and i recast my line into the slick and as soon as it hit the water i was on too. The water here was really fast so we had to navigate rocks and the current until we could pull up along the back to land the fish, and these guys pull harder than you would think, my rod was doubled and got to the last bit of the flyline before we got to the beach. Both fish got netted and we were stoked!

This was the first fish of the day, and was a mirror image of all the fish we caught. The smallest of the day was around 16, and most fish were right around 19, all in all i got about 5 over 20 inches to hand, which is an amazing day for any river!

Looking closely at alot of these fish you can notice large scars on their sides, mainly due to the large population of ospreys that reside along the river. These fish are tough and if you dont put the wood to them fast they let you know whos boss real quick!

All in all it was one of the better days ive had in 2010 so far, hopefully followed by many of the same caliber. Shane Kohlbeck was a great guide and teacher, constantly helping us out, and letting us know whenever we missed a good take.

Bottom line go fishing with shane. His site it www.lowersactrout.com and he knows this river like the back of his hand. Hes fished this river for 13 years all season and will get you into some nice fish.

Tight Lines,

Tayler