Trout Spey - Why Do It


Curious, being a Northwest fly shop in the heart of Steelhead country we can get clouded into thinking that all fly anglers are involved in two hand spey. Having spent time away in other locales I've come to realize that spey is still a very small part of the overall fly fishing scene. Outside of steelhead water even when you remove the obvious non-spey circumstances such as flats angling or boat angling, I rarely find another two hand angler.

When I'm out wading in the trout stream I still feel very alone swinging a two hand rod. It's funny to watch reactions for other anglers I encounter. Some disregard what you're doing as no big deal. A few will watch for a minute with curiosity. Most will flat out not look at you and pretend you do not even exist. I try my hardest to put on my best show. Slow down, let the line rip from the water and remember to pull with the underhand to launch a sweet tight loop. I always hope I will hook up in front of one of these anglers for no other reason than throwing affirmation their way that fish can be caught without a bobber. Rarely does the hookup happen in front of others and even on the few occasions when it does usually it's in front of the ones that won't glance your way.

Trout Spey Quick Notes

  • Trout spey generally refers to using light two-hand rods, switch rods, or single-hand rods with short spey-style heads to swing flies for trout.
  • It is especially useful on rivers where wading anglers need to cover broad runs, tailouts, seams, and structure without a traditional overhead backcast.
  • The method is not only about catching more trout. For many anglers, it is about the cast, the swing, the grab, and fishing water in a different way.


Why Do It?

To be honest normal trout tactics really don't much appeal to me. Of course dry fly fishing is one exception to that statement but even then I don't much care for it if a fly gets smaller than say a sixteen. As long as the flies are patterns that I can see on the water then I'm good but midge and baetis, you can have that stuff.

Indicator fishing is not really my thing either. I'll do it if from a guided drift boat but even then I'd rather we throw a hopper dropper setup and maybe get a fish to show himself to a chubby once in a while or let's rip some streamers. Really I wish more guides would anchor the boat and get out with anglers to wade more often. For me wading really does add to the experience.

Wade nymphing just does not interest me at all. I like to cast so lobbing a cumbersome nymph indi rig over and over again just takes away from part of the reason I'm fly fishing in the first place. If I'm just going to lob a rig than I might as well have a spinning rod in my hand and even as I make that claim it isn't true either. On the occasions that I have fished a spin rod in a stream I still want to tight line fish so I won't even lob a spin rod. I guess I just prefer to tight line fish, period!

Why Some Trout Anglers Gravitate Toward the Swing

  • The swing creates constant tension between the angler, line, fly, and current.
  • Instead of repeatedly casting to one target, trout spey allows an angler to methodically cover water step by step.
  • For anglers who enjoy casting as part of the experience, trout spey adds rhythm, timing, and feel back into the day.
  • The grab is often direct and memorable because the fish usually takes against a tight or semi-tight line.

What Was The Question? Why Do It? Why Trout Spey? Why Not!

The Cast is the first reason that comes to mind. I like to cast. Not that I will ever win any competitions at it but I cast well enough. I notice a lot of non two hand anglers have the idea that learning is really tough. My opinion is learning to spey cast is rather easy but getting good at it takes time, patience and practice. Most anglers that start spey casting with an instructor are usually fishing within minutes of picking up a two hand rod. I don't buy into the argument that it is too hard to learn.

The tight line is the second reason that comes to mind. I want to feel what's going on on the other end of the line. I'm seeking the tug. The connection to my quarry. It's real to me. The feeling of the grab indicates there is life in this stream and it wants to eat my fly!

Spey Casting Fact

  • Spey casting was developed around the need to cast efficiently with limited room behind the angler.
  • The cast uses the water to help load the rod, rather than relying on a long aerial backcast.
  • Modern trout spey lines are much shorter and easier to manage than traditional long belly spey lines, making the technique more approachable for trout anglers.

Sink Tips

I never enjoyed casting sink tip fly lines with single hand fly rods. Let's accept some fishing facts, fish live near structure and structure is usually found in the depths and bottoms of rivers. Seams, current breaks and eddies are all created by some kind of structure. Getting your fly to these areas is not always easy. Weighted flies and sink tips on trout size fly rods can get a bit dangerous. Spey casting can remove the danger and help present a fly into these difficult areas. It removes the danger by anchoring the fly in front of you so the fly never comes flying past your body. Using two hands instead of one provides push pull mechanics to a cast that greatly increases available power to move the fly and lines especially skagit lines. Skagit heads have greater mass to carry sink tips and weighted flies. Another benefit is you never repeatedly false cast line therefore no energy is wasted with time spent getting distance in your cast. I want to finish this paragraph with one fact for anglers that have not yet experienced spey casting, casting a sinking tip is effortless with two hand rods and you won't need shoulder surgery by the end the day.

Sink Tip Advantages

  • Short Skagit-style heads are popular for trout spey because they carry sink tips and weighted streamers with less effort.
  • Sink tips help control fly depth while still allowing the fly to swing across current.
  • Because the fly is anchored downstream or off to the side during the setup, two-hand casting can be safer and more controlled than repeatedly overhead casting weighted flies.
  • Trout spey does not require heavy steelhead gear. Many trout spey rods are in the 2-weight to 5-weight range and are designed specifically for trout-sized flies, tips, and rivers.


Fishing Untapped Water

Another benefit I enjoy especially on heavily fished water is I often find myself fishing water that no one else wants to fish. Fast tail outs, long fast runs and seams on the opposite sides of the river that single hand casters cannot reach.

Water Trout Spey Opens Up

  • Long riffles and tailouts where trout may slide into softer edges.
  • Opposite-bank seams that are difficult to reach with a single-hand rod.
  • Runs with limited backcast room due to brush, banks, rocks, or steep terrain.
  • Soft inside edges below faster water where a swung fly can travel naturally across the current.

No Backcast Space...No Problem

And there's the backcast space. I need very little backcast space to make a two hand cast. I seek these areas on rivers were single hand anglers cannot backcast. It's like fishing untapped water. I find that even water like this that the boats drift indi's through all day can still be very productive to the swing angler. I believe fish respond because it is a different presentation than what they are use to seeing.

Good Places to Try Trout Spey

  • Brushy banks where a normal backcast is difficult or impossible.
  • Medium to large trout rivers with broad runs and defined current lanes.
  • Water below riffles, ledges, boulder gardens, and drop-offs.
  • Heavily pressured water where trout see indicators, dry-dropper rigs, and dead-drifted nymphs all day.


Not Just For Sink Tips

I know I talk a lot about sink tip fishing and all the benefits of two hand delivery but you don't have to fish sink tips with two hand rods. Some examples of fishing dry line techniques includes skating dries, tandem soft hackles and combinations of nymph and emergers can be deadly productive especially on heavily fished water.

Dry Line Trout Spey Options

  • Soft hackles swung just below the surface during caddis, mayfly, or general attractor activity.
  • Small wet flies fished in teams through riffles and walking-speed runs.
  • Skated dries when trout are willing to move to the surface.
  • Light streamers or leech patterns on floating or intermediate-style presentations.

Swinging Soft Hackles

Somewhere along the way anglers have been convinced to fish a nymph you have to use a bobber. I'm here to tell you it's not true. I'm not writing this to dog the indicator and yes there are some pieces of water that simply won't effectively get fished without "bob" but much of the time bobs are like training wheels. They just support you while you learn. It might be time to remove the training wheels and learn to achieve connection. Just saying!

Soft Hackle Reminder

  • Soft hackles imitate emerging insects, drowned adults, small bait, and general movement in the current.
  • The swing keeps the fly moving naturally across the current, often triggering trout that are not actively feeding on the surface.
  • This style can be especially effective through riffles, inside seams, and softer water below fast current.

Two Hand Spey Is Not For Everyone

While I make it obvious I endorse two hand tactics let me just clarify that two hand rods are not going to replace single hand rods and many anglers won't have a need for them at all. Two hand rods really lend themselves to river environments. Generally swinging flies is a tactic to cover water and not really ideal for target casting fisheries and stillwater fisheries. Some anglers are using switch rods for overhead shoreline and beach casting because the extra length can provide a lot of leverage for distance casting. Boat angling, flats angling and sight angling is generally better suited to single hand overhead casting for both accuracy and presentation.

When Trout Spey Makes Sense

  • Best fit: rivers, wading anglers, swinging flies, streamers, soft hackles, and limited backcast space.
  • Less ideal: stillwater, tight target casting, boat fishing, flats fishing, and sight fishing where quick accuracy matters most.
  • Trout spey is not a replacement for a standard trout rod. It is another tool that gives anglers a different way to fish moving water.


A Different Presentation

In this article I've often talked of showing a different presentation. I'm convinced resident fish on highly pressured water become accustomed to standard presentations. Sure these tried and true presentations still work or anglers would quit doing them but I'm not necessarily after just numbers of fish. My most memorable days are not the days I caught 50 fish. Instead my memorable days are often associated with that one brown trout that I was lucky to get a hook in and even luckier to land it. The fished that attacked my fly so hard he nearly yanked the rod from my hands. I want to catch the fish with attitude! The one that fights till the end and splashes water in my face when I release him. I'm not suggesting that you should go to the river with a one fish expectation but ask yourself this, what do you want your experience to be?

The Value of a Different Look

  • A swung fly moves across the current instead of drifting straight downstream under an indicator.
  • That change in angle, speed, and movement can be enough to interest fish that have ignored more common presentations.
  • On pressured trout rivers, showing fish something familiar in an unfamiliar way can be a major advantage.

Swung on single hand Winston 9' 5wt equipped with RIO Skagit Trout Max 200gr and 8' of T-8 swinging a conehead tube fly.

What's In The Future

Actually I believe the future is unfolding now. Many like myself are figuring out that a good moderate-fast stick in the 9-10 foot range can be a great trout spey stick with the advent of the latest extreme short skagits now available from RIO, OPST, Airflo and Scientific Anglers. I'm not going to stop swinging my Sage Trout Spey HD or Winston Microspey and replace them with single hand sticks but I have experimented with and regularly employ single hand rods in the 8'6" to 9'6" range with amazing results. I think a door is wide open for a trout angler to line a reel with trout skagits and get a taste of trout spey with a rod already in ones arsenal. The cool aspect of this idea is carry an extra reel spooled with a dry line and just switch out if a hatch comes off. There's no reason to not experiment now and if trout spey hooks you then reach for a dedicated two hand stick. More about...Single Hand Skagit - How to get Started

Modern Trout Spey Gear Notes

  • Dedicated trout spey rods are commonly built shorter and lighter than steelhead spey rods, making them better suited to trout-sized rivers and flies.
  • Short Skagit heads, integrated trout spey lines, and compact shooting heads have made the technique much easier to learn than it once was.
  • Some anglers start with a compatible single-hand rod and a short Skagit-style head before moving into a dedicated trout spey rod.
  • A second reel or spool can make it easy to switch between a trout spey setup and a standard floating trout line when conditions change.

But Why Do I Trout Spey

I trout spey to bring me closer to the stream and its inhabitants. I trout spey to give me freedom to fish weighted flies and sink tips with ease. I trout spey to swing my own flies and know that the fish in that river are seeing something they have never seen before. I trout spey to utilize water others disregard. I trout spey because it helps me find peace and serenity. I trout spey in search of something real in life that will be remembered to my dying day. I trout spey for the challenge and I live for the tug. I trout spey because I choose to do things a different way.

Greg