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Post 29 May 2023, 16:50 • #1 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/07/12
Posts: 865
Location: US-CA
This year's historic snowfalls in the Sierra have pretty much wiped out my usual spring mid-elevation creeking, but I'll be on a tailwater for a few days next week. One of the ways I frequently end up fishing is with a big dry-dropper rig, which tends to challenge my ability to push big flies decent distances. Of course I've gone looking for an equipment solution rather than get better at casting or give in to siren song of the super-fast graphite world.

My latest experiment was to pick up a Rio 2wt Trout Spey line on sale. This is basically a short (23ft), heavy (230 grain), triangle(ish) taper head with a really thin integrated running line behind it. I spooled it onto a Hardy Viscount Mk III reel, strung up my new Kenney 8055 glass rod, and headed to the park this morning for some test casting.

Verdict: it actually works (in the park, at least). Single-handed Spey casting (Double-Spey and Snap-T) both seem to work ok with this rod, and for fun I did some aerial casting as well. The aerial results were interesting - I had just the head of the line out of the rod, fired a single cast, and easily got 30-40' of shoot each time with a bushy test-fly (no hook) at the end of the leader. And it didn't feel like I was killing the rod with a super heavy line. This makes sense to me, since the head is heavy at 230 grains but also short. So it's not that different from, say, 45' of a double-taper 5wt line. This isn't going to be a delicate-presentation rig, but it should be fine with fat dry-dropper terminal tackle and faster water.

I'll post an update after I get it on the water for some real fishing...



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Post 29 May 2023, 17:17 • #2 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/23/18
Posts: 614
Location: Eastern Wa
Outstanding idea Motosacto! Very useful information. Thanks for sharing. I might have to consider it sometime for 5 wt rods. I love my 8055. I see you are enjoying yours. How do you like it?


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Post 30 May 2023, 06:55 • #3 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 04/20/07
Posts: 8920
Location: US-ME
When you try mending line or swimming a fly, especially across varied, complex currents, or even retrieving that line in a heavy current with such a light rod, you may change your mind. Or for that matter, getting full tension on it quickly enough to set a large hook.


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Post 30 May 2023, 10:18 • #4 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/07/12
Posts: 865
Location: US-CA
I have no illusions about the limitations of such a rig. Obviously, the running line won't be much use for, say, stack mending. I've used 5wt glass quite a bit to fish the water I'm going to hit this week. My biggest challenge hasn't been hooksets or enough rod power, but rather getting the fly where I want it with limited backcast space. This will be a fun alternative approach...


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Post 31 May 2023, 07:32 • #5 
Master Guide
Joined: 07/21/21
Posts: 447
Location: Florida
Beautiful rod and really like that reel seat. I always like to see folks experimenting with different ways to catch fish, thanks for sharing.


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Post 31 May 2023, 11:54 • #6 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 11/06/17
Posts: 2498
Location: South of Joplin
I'd probably just go to #7-8-9 level line (or DT) on the "#5" rod and have the same short loading but with mending capability, since the rod is only lifting the few feet of line that you get into the "D" you shouldn't be near the rod's capacity, at the distances I fish.
However your experiment is interesting and if you are shooting 30-40' plus the 23' head and leader and with a single roll cast, you are hitting in the 60'-80' range, fantastic stuff.
That is likely to be beyond effective mending distance even with a DT, and on streams I'm familiar with would cross enough currents that it would be instant drag, I don't don't fish "dry-dropper" so have no idea if the drag helps or hurts. I'd think this cast would be better for a taut line presentation with wets.
I'm interested in how this works on the water.


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Post 31 May 2023, 15:40 • #7 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 08/14/06
Posts: 1227
Location: Panther City, Texas
thats a very creative solution, I hope it works for you. I really love the Kenney 855 rod, another reason I hope the Spey line works


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Post 31 May 2023, 20:53 • #8 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/21/06
Posts: 3081
Location: Orygun
I'm curious as to why you're heading this direction (total curiosity question, nothing more)?

You shouldn't have too much trouble reach mending but certainly stack mending will be an issue at distance (I'm sure someone mentioned this already). I fish a ton of shooting heads on my glass rods and they work VERY well, but I'm fishing mostly streamers with them which is an entirely different animal than hopper/dropper. Then again, you may end up deciding that that type of shooting head works very well for your waters and style of fishing. I can't wait to hear what you think once you give it a legit go on the water...

One thing for sure though, you'll have loads of fun playing around with various single hand spey style casts....they're a blast and can get you into some water that you never really thought possible.

Cheers!


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Post 09 Jun 2023, 11:18 • #9 
Master Guide
Joined: 06/07/12
Posts: 865
Location: US-CA
So here's the report. Fishing was tough this year on the McCloud - really high, off-color water. I got a bit of action every day, and had a couple of good sessions, but I also got in a lot of "casting practice." Except for two evenings, the action was all subsurface, so dry dropper fishing was basically thinly disguised indicator nymphing. My rig was a really big Chubby Chernobyl (that didn't get even one hit) suspending a beadhead jig stonefly nymph and another smaller beadhead nymph below that. This is a big, complex, draggy rig to cast.

Over all, the line did exactly what I hoped it would. I was able to motivate the terminal tackle mostly to where I wanted it to go. Because the water was so high, access was challenging and I had a lot of brush right behind and above me most of the time. So I was definitely performing different kinds of single-Spey, double-Spey, and Snap-T casts to avoid getting tangled up in the brush. I also set up a soft hackle rig for part of the time and experimented with 5' poly leaders, both intermediate and fast sinking. I fished an evening hatch with this rig and picked up a nice rainbow on the swing. I did not have a chance to really shoot the line with overhead casts. that will have to wait for a Sierra lake trip later in the summer.

So - for rivers, this rig works pretty, pretty well. I can get out 40+ feet under tough casting conditions (no backcast, lots of brush, etc.) with no problem.

One more note - The Larry Kenny 8055 is AWESOME. Super happy with it. Worked well with this "specialty" line setup and a garden-variety 5 wt line for dry fly fishing in the evening. Going to sell all my other rods. (well, maybe not that last part).



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Post 09 Jun 2023, 11:41 • #10 
Master Guide
Joined: 09/23/18
Posts: 614
Location: Eastern Wa
Thanks for the report! Glad you love the rod. It would be one of the last rods i would sell (out of ???) and if I could only have one fly rod it might be the one. Might have to order one of those lines for streamer fishing in tight quarters.


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Post 09 Jun 2023, 20:19 • #11 
Glass Fanatic
Joined: 06/16/05
Posts: 2537
Location: Georgia
Yeah, you can find a lot of uses for that rod. But maybe don’t sell all the others. Variety is the spice of life, I hear.


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Post 11 Jun 2023, 06:31 • #12 
New Member
Joined: 08/12/22
Posts: 8
I have the OPST commando head sit up and it works like a dream for single hand Spey. Check out YouTube they have some great videos of them throwing in on a 3 weight.


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