Spey Lines...Quest for the Perfect Spey Line

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Spey Lines...Quest for the Perfect Spey Line by Mark Bachmann, for The Fly Fishing Shop, Welches, Oregon, USA
Double Taper Lines	Weight Forward Lines
Floating Lines	Sinking Tip Lines

The first thing that you will notice when listening to a gathering of "two hand" fly rod advocates is there are a lot of different ideas about which is the best fly line configuration. At present there are at least (9) different full floating spey line taper configurations manufactured in the USA.

At present three configurations for sinking tip lines are commonly used. We will try to make some sense of these differing approaches to fly line taper design, knowing and welcoming in advance that there will be some disagreement on some points. We will pass on the more interesting e-mail discussions and ask only that these discussions be limited to subjects thoroughly tested for several long days on-stream.

The perfect spey line,… would fish long,… fish close,… fish calm,… fish windy conditions and throw large and small flies. For the purpose of these discussions the words spey and two-hand will be used interchangeably. The lines listed in the following text are specially designed for spey or change-of-direction-roll-casting. They may not be appropriate for over head casting.

Double Taper Floating Spey Lines To Top

Double taper is the traditional fly line design for two hand fly rods. There are some obvious reasons why. A double taper is the easiest to mend at long distance. A double taper turns over smoothly. Since the belly of the line is a constant diameter there is little need to strip, coil or shoot line. Theoretically turn around time is quicker and the angler is more efficient. Besides when spey casts were first developed, the equipment of the time was more difficult to shoot line with. However double tapers often need long back loops to load the rod for long casts. These loops can get blown by the wind or get tangled in the stream side brush.

Cortland or S.A. Traditional 90' Double Taper

The traditional 90' double taper fly line has about 76' of belly with about 7' of taper on each end. Taper design is dependent on the size of the line and the manufacturer who made it. I've met a number of anglers packing around the 120' spey double tapers that couldn't cast the first 90'. It takes a fair amount of practice to cast consistently 90' and stay under control. The extra thirty feet of bulk of the 120' spey line needs a heavier and often more expensive reel to hold it. Use the 90' line if it fits your conditions.

120' Double Taper Spey Lines

These lines are designed for really good fly casters who fish big rivers with rods that are longer than those that are commonly used for steelhead fishing. However, if you're fishing a very large river and have the skill, it's hard to cast 120' with a 90' fly line.

Custom made, Double taper, tickler-tip spey lines.

This type of double taper fly line has had part of the tip taper removed from one end and is joined to 15' to 20' of a smaller diameter double taper fly line. The tip is often joined to the main line with a loop to loop system. The floating tip can be removed and a sinking one added. This makes it the most adaptable spey line out there. The problem is for me that it doesn't do anything very well. (I know I'll get the E-mails for this one.) However, I have fished with a couple of anglers who can cast very well with this system.

Cortland , Step taper Double Taper Spey Line

This fly line has a short belly with very long front taper on each end, which descends in steps. The taper is designed to magnify the energy flowing down the line and increase line speed at long distance. The double taper design makes long distance mending comfortable. I used one of these lines on the Deschutes River last fall for about two weeks and caught several steelhead with it. It preformed well enough during calm days but gave me fits in the wind. The test line may have been a little heavy for the rod I was using it on. I think that next fall I will try the same rod with the next size smaller line and see what happens. (I'll keep you posted.)

Weight Forward Floating Spey Lines To Top

Royal Wulff Triangle Taper Spey Lines

This line has a continuous taper for 65' to 80'. It has a short rear taper and then enough running line to reach a full 120' length. The rear of the tapered head is larger than a double taper of the same weight designation. The design theory is that as the loop unrolls, a larger diameter line is forcing energy into a smaller diameter line. This helps maintain line speed. The triangle taper fly line was invented by Lee Wulff. It float high on the water and is very easy to pick-up from the surface to reposition. This is one of my favorite full floating fly lines. This line casts long, is controllable long, casts well enough in the wind and lays the fly down delicately.

Cortland Step Taper Weight Forward Spey Lines

Step tapers have a short level belly and a long front taper, which are graduated in steps. It is designed to condense energy much like the triangle taper. I've spent a limited amount of time on the water with this line. My ex-partner, Mark Sensland used a weight forward step taper line extensively on the Deschutes and came back singing its praises. If you've seen him cover the water, it doesn't take long to realize that he's a man of vast steelhead experience.

Rio Windcutter Spey Lines

These lines are specifically designed for windy conditions. They have comparatively short heavy heads that are designed to turn around quickly with a shallow back loop and load the rod deeply for maximum line speed. The running line is small diameter for minimum wind resistance. I fished a couple of evenings on the Deschutes when the wind was blowing so hard that it would have been impossible for me to cast with any other line. One evening I hooked three steelhead and landed two. Beats sitting around camp. Even if you are an angler who likes the feel of a double taper or longer belly line, you have one of these lines in your arsenal for those really bad days. All of the Rio spey lines are designed with added micro bubbles so that they float very high. This makes them very easy to pick up and re-position which is an extreme advantage. The higher a line floats, the smoother it leaves the water. This helps facilitate split second timing, reduces drag and builds line speed. The Windcutter is by far the most popular spey line sold in the Pacific Northwest. It is the easiest line for beginning casters to handle. The Windcutter was designed by Jim Vincent, owner of the RIO Company. You can receive personal casting instruction from him and his friends Simon Gawesworth from U.K. and Leif Stavmo from Sweden via their great video:
RIO International Spey Casting Video

Rio Windcutter Up-Grade Lines

This is not a complete fly line, but is an accessory to the Windcutter line series. Windcutter lines are available in a set that comes with four different tips. It also has an extra set of loops so that it can be changed into a shooting line for shooting heads for over-head casting. The "Up-grade" extends the length of the center section of the Windcutter an extra 8' there by changing the head length from 54' to 62'. This will enable you to fit "in-between" size rods or provide more line weight to load a rod more deeply.

Rio Mid Spey Lines

The Mid-Spey is a 110' to 140' long weight forward line with a 65' head. It is slightly heavier than the stock Windcutter per line designation. The reasoning is that the longer the head of the line, the farther you can cast if you are able to handle the extra line while loading the rod. This is a popular line with intermediate and advanced casters for covering big water.

Rio Accelerator Spey Lines

These lines are designed to give and extra kick at the end of the tip turn-over. They are a 150' long, long belly weight forward configuration with an 88' head, which tapers down and then once again enlarges to create extra mass near the tip. This line is more popular with advanced spey casters than with beginners. It is a line that is most suitable for very large rivers where casts of 80' to 120' are common.

Sinking Tip Spey Lines To Top

There are many conditions when steelhead will take a fly but they won't rise to the surface for it. A sinking tip fly line takes the fly down to the fish's level. The only problem is that there are many different depths and current speeds that will hold steelhead. Several sink rates are necessary to cover all the conditions you may encounter. Carrying and changing extra fly lines can be cumbersome and time consuming. A floating line with changeable sinking tips is more streamlined than carrying extra spools with different lines. It is a system that is readily adapted to the spey rod. The extra length of the spey rod gives the advantage that this loop system doesn't have to enter the guides when stripping or casting. Since the line isn't aerolized during the back cast any hinging effect caused by the loop connection isn't a factor. Lines that are designed with a front taper to blend the energy flow for a specific weight of sinking tip, do turn over more controllably than a level drop connection. Staying in your casting rhythm is easier if all of your sinking tips are the same weight and length and the density is varied for different sink rates.

Custom, Double Taper Sinking Tip Spey Lines

This system is simply a double taper floating fly line with all or part of the tip taper chopped off and a loop installed for adding sinking tips. Like its full floating counterpart, it doesn't have to be stripped back to be recast. It can be mended to very long distances. It does have some design disadvantages however. If the line has enough mass to turn over a tip that is heavy enough to have an effective sink rate, the line becomes heavy enough to bog the rod down at longer casting ranges. Pulling a sunken tip to the top of the water so it can be recast is fatiguing and more difficult to time at longer distances. Often the line must be stripped back so that the tip can be pulled to the top of the water. Because of the larger diameter of the line remaining in the guides, double taper lines don't shoot as easily as weight forward taper fly lines.

Windcutter Sinking Tip Spey Lines

Wincutters are made by Rio Corporation and were designed specifically for fishing on windy days. They may be purchased as a system, which is complete with both floating and sinking tips. This system comes complete with a Rio Tip Wallet and a spey casting instruction book written by fly line designer Jim Vincent. The sections of line are joined with hard loops so they are easy to assemble and disassemble. The two sinking, and one intermediate tips that are provided with the system are the same length and weight, but sink rates. This is a very workable and comfortable line to cast and fish with.

Launcher Changeable Sinking Tip Spey Lines
Launcher Lines are not currently available.

"Launchers" were manufactured by The Fly Fishing Shop in Welches, Oregon from 1988 to 1999. They were designed to fish local medium to large size rivers when water conditions weren't conducive to raising fish. They have caught steelhead from many rivers of the western U. S., British Columbia and Atlantic salmon from Canadian, British Isles, Scandinavian and Russian rivers. The basic design of the Launcher had already gone through several generations of development when it got to us. Northern Washington anglers who fished the Skagit and Skykomish rivers developed this spey line design. We added our own refinements.

The RIO Windcutter is approximately the same configuration and we found it was easier to buy 'em and sell 'em than make 'em and sell 'em.

The Backyard Spey Line Designer

Several of my best fishing buddies are constantly experimenting with new spey line tapers. They own a vast collection of various diameters of fly lines. Several of these folks are very skilled at making quick, strong, smooth epoxy splices. Every two weeks, or so I hear about a new hot taper that someone just invented. It seems in the last year that I have heard of no less than a dozen new spey line designs. Even though I think most of the bases have already been covered, and I don't want any kind of splices in the body my own fly line, I salute these back yard inventors. Wulff and Kelson were back yard inventors too.