Why Swing a Two-Handed Rod for Trout?

Updated and formatted for Gorge Fly Shop while preserving the original voice, opinions, and trout Spey perspective of Greg Darling.

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 the reactions from 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 who won’t glance your way.

Why Do It?

To be honest, normal trout tactics really don’t appeal to me much. 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. Midge and baetis? You can have that stuff.

Indicator fishing is not really my thing either. I’ll do it from a guided drift boat, but even then I’d rather 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-indicator 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, then 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.

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 that learning to Spey cast is rather easy, but getting good at it takes time, patience, and practice. Most anglers who 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 at 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.

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 line, especially Skagit-style lines. Skagit heads have greater mass to carry sink tips and weighted flies.

Another benefit is that 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 who 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 of the day.

Fishing Untapped Water

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

Trout Spey is not just about casting farther. It is about reaching and controlling presentations in water that is awkward, overlooked, or simply ignored by most anglers.

No Backcast Space? No Problem.

And then there is the backcast space. I need very little backcast space to make a two-hand cast. I seek these areas on rivers where single-hand anglers cannot backcast.

It’s like fishing untapped water.

I find that even water like this, the kind of water boats drift indicators 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 used to seeing.

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 dry-line techniques include skating dries, tandem soft hackles, and combinations of nymphs and emergers. These can be deadly productive, especially on heavily fished water.

Swinging Soft Hackles

Somewhere along the way, anglers have been convinced that 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.

Two-Hand Spey Is Not for Everyone

While I make it obvious that I endorse two-hand tactics, let me 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 is not 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 are generally better suited to single-hand overhead casting for both accuracy and presentation.

Shop Two-hand Trout Spey Fly Rods

Best Fit for Trout Spey	Better Fit for Single-Hand Rods
Swinging flies in rivers	Boat fishing
Sink tips and weighted flies	Flats angling
Limited backcast room	Sight fishing
Covering long runs and seams	Stillwater target casting
Soft hackles, streamers, and swung wets	Precise dry fly presentations at short range

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 I was lucky to get a hook in and even luckier to land. The fish 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 until 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?

Example setup: Swung on a single-hand Winston 9' 5 weight equipped with a RIO Skagit Trout Max 200-grain head 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 to 10 foot range can be a great trout Spey stick with the advent of the latest extreme short Skagit heads now available from RIO, OPST, Airflo, and Scientific Anglers.

I’m not going to stop swinging my Sage Trout Spey HD or Winston Micro Spey 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 Skagit and get a taste of trout Spey with a rod already in one’s arsenal. The cool aspect of this idea is carrying an extra reel spooled with a dry line and just switching out if a hatch comes off.

There’s no reason not to experiment now, and if trout Spey hooks you, then reach for a dedicated two-hand stick.

More about this idea: Single Hand Skagit - How to Get Started.

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 and choose to do things a different way.

Greg Darling
Trout Spey Series