Dry Flyfishing with Spey Rods for Atlantic Salmon
When water temperatures are just right, my first flies out the box will be dry flies. Dry flyfishing has got to be the most exciting way to fish for Atlantic salmon!
"But two-handed rods are too cumbersome and not fit for casting and dead drifting dry flies...."
Most salmon anglers I've spoken with would agree with that statement. I believed the same in the beginning, but with practice, I've come to realize that it can be done. A lot easier than most think too!
In some situations a 2 hander can be limiting. Smaller rivers, for example, are better suited to single hand rods whether it be for dry fly or wet fly fishing, but for larger rivers, 2 hands are better than one!
In this blog, I'll break down my preferred tools; rods, lines, leaders, and fishing methods that work for me. Hopefully this can be a starting point for those who would like to attempt to fish dry flies for Atlantic salmon using a two-handed rod.
Two-handed Fly rods
In today's golden age of everything "spey", there are a multitude of two-handed rods to choose from. Each with different tapers, actions, flexes, and lengths. Made from traditional materials like bamboo to the latest in graphene technology. All will do the job to cast a fly line. Use what you've got, line it correctly, practice, and make it work for you! All of flyfishing and casting is about adapting and adjusting to the situations that present themselves. Make the tools you use work for you.
When choosing a rod specifically for dry flyfishing, rod length and rod weight are what I consider to be most important for me to enjoy casting and fishing dries comfortably and efficiently.
Rods that are light in weight and well balanced with a good reel are what I
prefer. Different stream situations require adjustments to achieve a drag free drift. Stripping in slack line, lifting line away from a back eddy, and mending line will all cause you to manipulate the rod in many ways, while often having to hold it with only one hand. During the course of the day, your wrist, arm, and shoulder will be in pain if your gear is too heavy or off-balance.
Your top hand, where you are most comfortable holding the cork handle, is a fulcrum. A proper outfit will be able to balance the rod on one finger at the fulcrum or balance point and the rod will stay level, not tipping in either direction. A tip heavy or butt heavy rod will tire you out quickly.
Newer, lightweight rods paired with a balanced reel will eliminate the fatigue and pain and keep you focused on the task at hand. Two hands in this case!
These 2 rods at 14'6" in length are perfect for fishing medium to larger sized rivers
Rods that are between 14 feet and 16 feet will be able to cast and lift longer lines; exactly what the longer rods were designed to do in the first place.
What if you wanted to fish water within the rod’s length? This can be easily done with the long rod also. Two-handed overhead casts are as easy as a single hander. Maybe even easier for some! Just like single handed lines, the two handed lines can be overhead cast from any length within the head's front taper.
For example; a 60 foot head fly line for two-handed rods are, for the most part, designed to be cast with the entire 60 feet of line off the rod tip if casting two handed casts like a single or double spey. Using the same line for overhead casts enables you to cast at any length within the 60 feet hanging from the rod tip. So you can overhead cast 10 feet, 20 feet, or whatever amount of line is needed.
You can even use the rod’s length to drop a fly on the water with most of your leader in the guides following its drift with the rod tip.
One of the cons of using longer rods and lines is the amount of space needed to cast, whether traditionally or overhead. Low hanging trees, tight to the river edge is a nuisance for any type of rod.
A change in standing position or placing your anchor further outward from you and the obstructions will help. Adaptability is key.
Fly lines
Just like the rods, fly lines come in a plethora of shapes, lengths, and sizes. My preference for fishing longer rods on larger rivers are mid and long bellied lines in the 60 to 80 foot head range, preferably with a long and thin diameter front taper for delicate and stealthy casts . These lengths give me the versatility of being able to reach further lies with traditional casts or to fish short overhead casts. Thanks to their length, they can be easily manipulated on water or in flight when a mend or reach cast is needed to help a fly drift drag free in the varying currents.
Shorter than 14 foot rods and shorter lines can definitely be used to dry fly fish, but you do limit yourself to the length of line you can cast and control. I prefer shorter rods for smaller rivers. I like lines in the 30 to 60 foot range for these rods, but I would much rather use a single hander if I were to fish within the 50 foot range. What's more, if casting much further than the head's length, a good amount of running line will need to be managed. This can be a nuisance while trying to maintain focus on the perfect dead drift. Also, running line can't be mended very well, if at all in certain circumstances.
Leaders
Casting accuracy will greatly increase your chances at getting a salmon to react to your deadrifting fly. Landing a fly right where a salmon wants it can really trigger a bite! Conversely, a bad cast can sometimes put wary fish down for good.
Accuracy will greatly improve with the right leader setup. A tapered leader will turnover a big air resistant bomber or any dry fly and improve accuracy moreso than a level leader will.
Mono leaders are the best option for dry fly fishing because of their floating properties. Fluorocarbon should be avoided because it does sink and it will affect a fly's deadrift.
Knotless tapered leaders or hand tied tapered leaders using a 60/20/20 or 60/40 ratio work well for me.
This ratio consists of using a butt section of monofilament of...
/60% of the total length of the leader in a diameter that is in relative proportion to the diameter of the tip section of your fly line
/ 20% mid section of the total length of leader of a smaller diameter of mono than the butt section
/ 20% tip section of the total length of leader of a smaller diameter than the previous section.
I prefer as long a leader as I can turnover efficiently considering conditions, but to keep it simple, a leader length that is the length of your rod will be an ideal place to start.
Most of my dry fly leaders are about 10 to 14 feet of 20, 18, or 15 pound Maxima leader material tied to 6 to 8 feet of 12, 10, or 8 pound Maxima.
I do prefer shorter leaders in windy conditions.
Flies
I mostly fish bombers and will carry a variety of different sizes and colors in my box. Mostly because they are easy to tie and will float longer than many other styles of dry flies.
I will swap sizes and colors when I feel it is necessary. For instance, if I raised a salmon, but it doesn't show interest again, I will change size or color multiple times until I peak its curiosity again or move on,(but not before showing it the first fly that got its interest)!
These bombers both found fish for me that day!
I don't think the type of fly matters much when fishing unpressured, fresh, happy players. They'll take anything at times, but in pressured pools or low and clear water, fly choice can make a difference.
When faced with these conditions, I will start with small, drab flies and focus more on being stealthy by not overcasting or lining a pool.
In heavily pressured pools, I will sometimes tie on something totally different than what salmon have been seeing. A different pattern like a caddis or mayfly imitation can do the trick, when salmon don't want to take bombers. Parachute Stonefly patterns are another great option!
Casting
As mentioned, all traditional spey and overhead casts can be applied to a fishing situation. Every fishing situation is different and needs to be thought through if you want to cast in a stealthy, and efficient way.
Consider where your target is in relation to wind or any obstructions behind you and where your backcast or D loop will be.
In a perfect scenario, I would be able to cast at any angle out from my upstream to downstream bank.
Like casting with single hand rods, lifting line off the water and into your backcast to recast should be done with ease and stealth. Ripping line from the water surface should be avoided. Summer dry fly fishing is usually done in clear, sometimes low water conditions. Your odds of fooling a fish will increase if they don't know you are there!
Casting fundamentals are key. Remember that your top hand is a fulcrum on a balance. Like a teeter totter in a playground, the effort or torque needed to counter the load(flyline), will be easiest if it is countered at the furthest distance from the load in relation to the fulcrum. That being your bottom hand. It would take tremendous effort if one was to counter the load of a teeter totter by pushing closer to the fulcrum.
It is the same with two handed casting. Your bottom hand pushing and pulling will make the tip and fly line move anyway you want with very little force or effort.
A good experiment I like to use to teach beginners is by letting them cast a two hander with one hand as they would a single hander. Then I'll let them hold the two-handed rod vertically by holding the top handle with only the index finger and thumb and use the bottom hand to cup the butt of the bottom handle and let them move it back and forth with that hand. This teaches them not only the difference in effort required, but also how easy it can be to manipulate the fly line in any direction one chooses.
Presentation
There really are no rules as to how you can fish a dry fly with the two hander. Skating, dapping, and stripping a dry fly will all work at certain times for certain fish, but dead drifting flies over salmon is the method I prefer and what seems to be most effective here in the Eastern Canadian provinces and in the rivers I fish.
My process is not a strict set of rules to follow. I adapt to conditions and especially to the behaviors of each individual fish that shows interest.
What's more, fishing for salmon you can see versus blindly casting to likely areas of where a salmon can hold should be approached with different strategies.
Casting to visible salmon
Casting to visible salmon is, in my opinon, the pinnacle of our sport. Many factors from water clarity ,wind, sun angle, glare, etc, will dictate whether you can spot a fish to cast to.
When conditions are favorable, watching a salmon's reaction to a dry fly drifting over its head, can bring multiple emotions in one short dead drift. The anticipation and excitement of a salmon swimming up from its lie to inspect your fly, to the feeling of rejection and frustration when it refuses it! It is an addictive dopamine hit and a learning experience eveytime!
I will always approach a fishing situation much like a hunting one. Salmon are wild animals. They are much more at ease or willing to take a fly if they know there are no potential threats.
I will approach from behind if I can and try to stay out of a salmon's field of vision. My ideal position is to stand downstream and at a 45 degree angle from my target. This allows me to cast my dry fly in front of or on either side of my target with only my leader and not the colorful flyline splashing down or drifting over it.
At first, I aim to land my fly softly with as little splash from the fly or fly line as possible. This stealthy approach is critical for success in clear, low, or pressured water.
A bad cast happens to all of us, whether it be wind or just poor casting. The best thing to do when this does happen is to let the line drift below the salmon before picking it up and stop fishing for a little while. The pea size brained salmon will hopefully forget what just happened. You can take the time to check your leader for wind knots, tie on a new fly, or think of making adjustments to your approach.
Gin clear water is both a blessing and a curse, but it's always fun!I prefer to cast my fly between 1 foot and 4 feet upstream or ahead of a holding salmon, relative to its depth in the water column, and let it drift over and past the salmon. My goal is to let that salmon see the fly land and hopefully trigger an instinctual feeding response, an aggressive territorial instinct, or an inquisitive playful instinct to inspect, destroy, or eat that fly, but at the same time limiting its response time to react to it.
If I get no interest after a couple of drifts, I will cast to the left side or right side of the laying salmon. Sometimes, they just seem to be triggered to a fly at a different angle from them or relative to the sun.
If a salmon shows no interest after a few casts in each of these positions, I will either rest it or switch to a different fly and repeat the process.
If still no interest, I will then begin to cast the fly a little more aggressively to get it to land on the surface with more impact and disturbance. At times, this method will "wake them up" into taking.
When a salmon shows interest but does not take a fly, I will rest it before I cast to it again. Although there are times when a quick recast will do the job, a good habit is to rest the interested salmon. But follow your instinct. An aggressive rise to a fly can warrant a quick recast, whereas a slow, cautious rise will need a good few minutes.
There are many ways to interest a salmon to your dry fly offering and I have found that this method works best for me, but I am always open to trying something different. Twitching or stripping the fly can also trigger a response. The beauty about this type of fishing is that you can be as creative with your presentations as you'd like and in clear water, you can see and adjust to a salmon's reaction.
Casting blind
Finding fish is the most important factor in any kind of fishing. Circumstances like low light or dark tannin stained water can make spotting salmon impossible. Randomly casting and drifting dries in hopes of finding a salmon in a big pool is a waste of valuable time. This is where a little knowledge in reading good holding water comes in handy.
Salmon can hold in many different areas. These areas can change depending on many factors like water conditions, time of day, sun direction, angler pressure, etc... keeping this in mind can help locate fish.
Once you've located an area where you think a salmon is likely to hold(i.e.,tailouts, boulders, heads of pools, etc.), covering water in an efficient way will find you a player.
I prefer to start from the bottom of a pool or run and work my way upstream at a 45 degree angle covering water in an imaginary grid like fashion. I start close and work a square area of water of about 5 x 5 feet.
I will cast up to a dozen casts in this area extending a foot out and further upstream every cast. I will then move on to the next square area until I cover the areas I think will hold fish. I'll work my way out perpendicularly to the current and sweep the area in arc like fashion, stepping upstream a few steps after covering water in each arc. Much like covering water when swinging wet flies, only stepping upstream instead of down.
It's important to concentrate your focus not only on the fly, but below the surface and around the area it is drifting, looking for any sign or reaction a fish can make. A silver or golden flash, a shadow, a boil on the surface behind the fly or any other sign can indicate a salmon's general location. Mark these spots and work them with different flies and presentations, before moving on.
This Cascapedia salmon took a blue bomber
Managing Line and Setting the hook!
There are many theories on when to set the hook on a salmon that has taken your dry fly. They are all correct!....at times.....
There is no way to predict how a salmon will react to or take a fly. Every salmon is different. Some will nip at a fly, some will take quickly and spit out as quickly, while others will keep it in their mouth for a while.
Being focused on the fly, how the salmon will take it, and if it has it in its mouth will tell you when the right time to strike will be. I tend to strike if I can't see my fly anymore.
Managing line is a must when trying to achieve a perfect dead drift. Reach casts, mends, or feeding line all come into play when needed and can be easily performed using the two-hander.
An important thing to remember is to try to have the least amount of slack line off the rod tip as possible. Salmon can take a dead drifting fly when you least expect. Setting the hook when having too much slack line on the water will not let the hook penetrate the fish's mouth correctly. Keep stripping in the slack line without interrupting or jerking the fly's natural dead drift.
Recasting all that stripped in line can be awkward at first, but with a little practice, it can become as easy as false casting a single hander. Infact, on short casts and with small lengths of line stripped in, an overhead cast is all thats needed to clear line.
On longer casts above 45 feet, and if stripping in more than 10 feet of line, overhead casts are not always the most efficient cast.
My go to cast to lift long lenghts of line off the water(45'+) and clear stripped in line is a snake roll or aerial snap T . They are efficient and stealthy casts.
If I have a short length of stripped in line, I release the line I'm holding between my hand and the cork as the line peels off the water. The tension created by the rod and line peeling of the water clears the stripped in line and I can complete my cast with the full line out.
If I have a longer length of line stripped in, then I will clear line in steps. The goal is to release the loose line I'm holding between the top hand cork section of the rod and my fingers very soon after it comes into tension from the rod movements needed to begin the snake roll or snap T. I'll pinch it again if I still have more line to clear as I move into the sweep, bending the rod, creating more tension and then release again as the line comes into the d loop.
If there is still more line to clear, I will pinch again as I perform the forward stroke and release when the the rod is fully extended forward. This will clear all the stripped in line in one single cast.
If all else fails, or there is still some amount of line to clear, an over head false cast will help providing there is enough room on your backcast.
The same idea goes for any style of casting if you want to clear stripped in line. A circle spey, snap t, and perry poke can accomplish this very easily, but I do not like to rip line from the water surface when performing the sweep on these waterborne casts. Summer dry fly fishing should be stealthy. Aerial casts are the way to go.
Drifting dries on a long line of 80 feet or more is a blast when one learns how to manage line correctly, however setting the hook at these distances can be a pain at times. At these lengths, even when all slack is out of the equation and you are tight to the fly, lifting the rod to set the hook will take the fly line a fraction of a second longer to straighten and tighten than in shorter distances.
That fraction of time can result in missed opportunities. There is no magic solution to avoid this. Every fish is different and will respond differently. You'll have to trust your instincts, hoping a fish will comeback and give you another opportunity to adapt and adjust if a strike is missed!
This chewed up, rusty hooked, ugly bomber acounted for many fish. It was repaired and had hackles replaced multiple times. It made salmon mad!I finally lost it to a good fish. A fitting end.
Conclusion
Dry flyfishing with the two-handed rod is an enjoyable experience. Combining the joy of casting with the incredible visuals of salmon taking dries never gets old. I hope this blog can get people out to try it for themselves and to help shorten the learning curve in anyway possible. KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE FLY!
Here are a couple of videos showing some casting and dry fly fishing situations. I hope these visuals will help explain some of the ideas written in this blog....
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