Thread: spey hooks and spey hackle

TF for 1.5s that's about right they have gone up a bit due to demand . The last year or so they have become hard to find because of the radiation problems in Japan they were not being shipped. The last I bought were I think $79 for 100 pack. Bronze mallard is from a colored up male on the flanks you'll need matched pairs meaning left and right feathers.

Originally Posted by Broadheadscreek

TF for 1.5s that's about right they have gone up a bit due to demand . The last year or so they have become hard to find because of the radiation problems in Japan they were not being shipped. The last I bought were I think $79 for 100 pack. Bronze mallard is from a colored up male on the flanks you'll need matched pairs meaning left and right feathers.

allen just went down stairs and located the bronze flanks so i have for birds worth!! nice right

TF..absolutley have to use poly leaders..they anchor themselves in the water for spey casting..talk to drew at tight lines in parsippany..better yet you really should book a lesson with him..its alot to learn and can be a bit overwhelming at first..thats my opinion

TF, when using poly leaders you just tie on about 3 foot of tippet,maxima or flouro. not leader then another leader.

Nice thread here with tons of great advise and help.

I'll chime in real quick and 2nd the polyleader recommendation. Depending on the length of your rod (no homo), you will want to get either 10' or 14' polyleaders. Depending on the flows and season, you will want to buy floating all the way to 5.6ips, and it won't hurt to have the 7ips either. They sell the whole leader setup with a wallet. You eventually will buy them all, so save yourself the hassle and get the entire lot right from the get go. If your rod is 13' or longer, you will want the 14' leaders in order to maintain anchor throughout your sweep and d-loop action.

A scandi head is perfect for the type of unweighted flies you will be tying up. When you start tying tube, marabou/zonker conehead winter type flies, then it's time to start talking skagit heads. Rick hit it on the head with leader. With scandi heads, I use 3' of 10lb or 12lb Maxima ultragreen. In terms of running line, just make sure it's a decent floating one, you will be shooting line quite often if you get into a wide run. I use both Airflo Ridge and Scientific Anglers mono depending on the season.

Originally Posted by Broadheadscreek

The last year or so they have become hard to find because of the radiation problems in Japan

I gotta get me some of these. Think of the up side. 1. hook will never freeze to hookeeper on rod due to constant warmth, 2. you will be able to follow your fly as it glows through the water, 3. can be used as a hand warmer on those cold days on stream. 4. put a few in your pockets and you will never have to hear the wife talk about vasectomy again.

See, you guys look at the glass half empty, i look at it as half full

Lots of good information in this thread especially the recommendations on poly leaders. In my opinion Compact Scandi lines paired with poly leaders are the way to go especially on the East Coast. My prefer is to fish 10 foot poly leaders as opposed to the 15 foot poly leaders. In some instances I use some 15 foot polys that I have cut down to 12 feet. I found that the shorter poly leaders work better with my 13 foot rod. If I am using rods under 13 feet like my switch rod I sometimes use 8 foot poly leaders primary on the smaller rivers Lake Erie river/tribs.

Weight should not be an issue with compact scandi lines in most instances. Often times "flies" are not as heavy as we would initially perceive them to be. In most instances tubes can be lighter then Irons especially the A.J. irons.

A good example might be these three "flies":









The heaviest of the flies is the one tied on the A.J. with the lightest of the bunch is the one with the cone head, which most might perceive at first as being the heaviest. Had the bugger been tied on a copper tube as opposed to a plastic tube it would have been the heaviest.

For hackle cheap and easy is the way to go for fishing flies the only expensive materials I really think makes a difference especially when fish have keyed in on bait fish pre or post spawn is Jungle Cock when used with bait fish style speys.

When it comes to color and size of materials you will need to buy that could be dictated by the area or river you plan to fish and what time you plan on fishing. Perhaps if you gave us more information such as when you plan on fishing and what system you plan to fish if you will be fishing for Salmon or Steelhead we could be more helpful.

im going to be up there a couple times early and definatly in november few times

TF

I buy all my hooks by the 100 pack. I would buy them by the 1000 pack if they still sold them, but they don't. I use the Alec Jackson spey hooks. There are a bunch of hooks out there, some even hand made. I guess it's all in how much you want to spend. The AJ hooks seem to be the best as far as quality control goes. Then again, I haven't bought many of the others.

You paid $80 for a 100 hooks? You got ripped off BHC.

There are these blue heron spey hooks. They are a bit pricey though.

rule of thumb with poly leader length is rods under 12 ft.you should use 10 footers..rods over 12 ft..you should use 15 footers..if your leader is not long enough for the rod length then you will just lift your anchor in the air everytime...instead of having it anchor in the water like it should,,making the cast totally useless

my rod is 12' 6" is 10' allright?

TF

Originally Posted by Trout Fever

my rod is 12' 6" is 10' allright?

TF

It will be fine.

What pitbull mentioned may be true for him, but I know plenty of guys who use 13'6" rods and use the 10' poly with no problems. Not everyone casts the same, and so some may prefer the shorter poly leader for their casting style, where as some may like the longer poly leader.