Description

Single spey casting lesson with Al Peake

Here Al Peak gives a demonstration of single spey cast for fly fishing. Watch the video or read the transcript below.

Original video transcript

Hi, my name is Al Peake from Twin Peakes Fly Fishing and in this episode we’re going to talk about the single spey cast.

What is spey casting?

Spey casting was developed in the 1800s on the river Spey where they had to be able to cast across quite a wide river with limited space behind the tree lined banks where they weren’t able to overhead cast. 

Spey casting was formed as a way of using a long length of line, landing an anchor and creating a D loop. So, you can cast long distances across the river with very limited space behind you.

Pros and cons of spey casting

It’s also a very good cast because it doesn’t take a long time to execute, there’s not lots of movement to it. It’s a nice fluid movement where we set up that anchor. So we spend more time fishing and less time casting.

The only downside of the single spey that I could say is that it’s not the easiest cast to master when you are a beginner. The reason for that is because we are lifting the line and maintaining tension through that line in the air and landing the anchor. 

That does take an element of skill and experience using the double handed fly rod. So, we wouldn’t start a casting lesson with a single spey if you’re a complete beginner. We’d probably begin with a double spey or a circle C.

But once you’ve mastered the single spey it is without doubt the go-to cast for possibly 70-80% of your fishing, when you have an upstream wind or no wind situation. 

Spey casting grip

Before we get started on how to do the cast, I want to have a little look at the grip. This is a 40 foot double handed fly rod. It’s got two handles. 

The upper hand is used to guide the rod around. There is very little power used in this top hand. It guides where the rod goes, where to land the anchor and the direction of that forward cast.

So it’s very important that we hold it with a loose, relaxed grip. We never want to see white knuckles through a clenched fist there. That’s always going to ruin your cast.

“Key grip” for single spey casting

I like to use what we call the “key grip”. That is index finger underneath, thumb on-top and loose relaxed grip. Simply how you would hold a key to a car door. 

Sometimes you’ll even find that we just cradle it through an open palm. We’ve just got to make sure that we have a loose relaxed grip here. 

The bottom hand however is our driving force. That’s how we flex the rod, coming back to set the anchor, the D loop and forward flex the rod against the weight of the line.

So it’s very important that we hold the rod right at the bottom end of the cork. I like to make a circle with my finger and thumb and just go round the cork, then pull right back. So, you’re sat on that ball shape on the back of the cork there. 

You can also use a variation with your thumb on top, index finger underneath. That’s also a really good grip.

What we don’t want to see is that bottom hand right the way up, with the thumb on top coming to the back of the reel. That’s going to make you use more top hand, which we don’t want to do. 

So, just to recap:

• Loose relaxed grip
• Very loose on the upper hand, imagine you’re holding a key to a car door. 
• Make sure that you’re holding it right at the bottom end of that bottom cork for maximum leverage

Demonstration of single spey cast for fly fishing.

OK, so we’re going to have a look at where to start with that single spey.

So to begin with, always start with your feet. Choose your target where you’d like to cast to and I’m going to cast to about 6 degrees here. 

Body positioning for spey casting

Because we have an upstream wind, we’ll be fishing from our upstream shoulder. So I’m going to put my right foot in line with the target. And I’m going to put my left foot slightly behind, also in line with the target. So, both feet are facing the target.

From here, we are going to address the line below. I’m going to turn my body and I’m going to address the line that is down on the dangle. So, there is a slight twist against the knees here. 

Here we’re going to start with our reel against our left hip on the inside side. We never want to be starting over here with our arms under our armpit or elbows. Always start with the rod on the opposite side of your body; the rod tipped down at the water. 

This should be the starting point for every single spey. Our feet are facing the target. We’re twisting our body back down to address the line below. 

From here we’re going to begin with a slow vertical lift, that is going to relieve some tension from the line on the water and then we’re going to turn our body. As we turn our body, you’ll notice that we’ve made that angle change. Our hands haven’t done anything yet, we’ve just simply lifted and turned to address the target. 

So once the rod is facing the target and our feet are following in alignment, all we’re going to do is push that bottom hand out and raise the top hand up. We’re going to let that anchor land and we’re going to make the forward cast.

So I’ll just show you that again. In real time, we’re going to twist to address the line below. Slow vertical lift just to relieve tension, we’re going to turn our body, accelerate with our bottom hand out and top hand up. 

You’ll notice that the anchor is landing around about a rod length away from me here.  It’s landing facing the target. The D loop and the anchor are in full alignment of where I want to cast.

How do we know when to make the forward cast? 

It’s what we call a touch and go cast. Or a kiss and go cast. As we accelerate back and lift, we do the upwards motion into that second lift.  That’s going to force the anchor back down to land.

As we come round we’re going to lift and turn our body. Then we’re going to accelerate our bottom hand out and top hand up. Anchor lands; make that forward cast. 

You should see that D loop forming under the rod tip, just before you make the forward delivery.

Thanks a lot for watching my demonstration of single spey cast for fly fishing. Cheers for now.