Welcome to the Aussiefly Newsletter where we look a bit deeper into fly fishing and tying that the normal quick sweep over. Here we take a look at product reviews, fly tying ideas, fly casting and travel.

What's new in Fly Fishing?

There is a mini revolution happening with the fly rods, because at long last, the Double Handed fly rod has arrived here in Australia as it did long, long ago in most fly fishing places around the World.

Not the rod most people think as a Double - the Spey rod. These new rods are specially developed for our conditions in both the salt and freshwater for this country, Australia and New Zealand and specifically designed for casting Overhead.

Now why it has taken about 200years for Aussie to catch up to the British and Scandinavian countries we will never know. However, this delay could be viewed to our advantage because now there are rod building design and constructions techniques available that were not considered about 5years ago.

And with the introduction of lines pacifically designed for these long rods the path for the average caster has been made a lot easier than ever before.

As a general overview of the exciting new World of Double Handed rods and lines and their capabilities, here are a few of the facts to start you thinking.

Rods. The smallest rods are around 12 foot long in 7/8w - 430grains class. However a 7/8w Double Handed Rod line is the equivalent to a normal fly line of about 11w. Which enables the caster to reach distances around 80/100 feet* with a quick Overhead cast back and once forward stroke. Added to the performance factors are the potential of Roll, Underhand and Spey casts. Roll cast with a head like a fast sinking T-14 to around 60 feet plus is considered the average. If the caster were to add one of the specially designed Overhead lines this would increase the flexibility, as most have a floating Head section which improves the Roll, Underhand and Spey casting.

There are a number of Overhead Double rods available in what, at first, appears a strange way of describing the rod or line class as the normal is described as the line weight and the rod length, with the following being the standard in these rods: 7/8w - 12foot, 8/9w - 13 foot, 9/10w - 14foot, 10/11w - 15 foot. Other sizes and rod lengths are available and commonly used, however, these are mainly as Double Handed Spey rods where a 16 to18 foot rod is not uncommon.

The reason behind adding the rod length to the description is so that the consumer can select a suitable line for his or her rod and, at first glance. With the shooting head types of lines there are generally 3 types, Sinking, Intermediate and floating.

3x the rod length of a Double Handed Head is generally ideal. However both the Overhead and the Spey rod lines are designed around designed line or head size/weight. This 3x length can produces the smoothes loop in the sky which, in turn, produces a higher line speed, which then produces a greater cast distance.

The sinking heads being the thinest which can be the shortest and the floating the longest length of head, this is because of the air drag on the larger diameter head which requires a slower cast stroke

 

Just a thought : If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking. General George S. Patton