The Spey Rod Rundown

This is a run down of two-handed fly rods that I either use or have used and the lines I have tried with them. I will mention whether I liked the rod or not and any info that I can think of.
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Rod: Burkheimer 7133-3: Maybe the best all around rod ever!

Fly Lines:
Rio Skagit 550 w/6'-10' T14

Airflo Compact Skagit 540 w/ 6'-10' T14

Airflo Scandi Head 8/9 500grn w/ 10' polyleaders

Windcutter 7/8/9

Note: This has become my just about evrything rod. I have fished it on tight coastal rivers in the spring, where a compact Skagit was the only fly line that might get it out there, to big open rivers like the Clearwater, using scandinavian heads. I have fished this rod on the Grande Ronde for small fish and coastal rivers & the clearwater where really big fish can happen. The largest fish I have caught on this is an 18lb Atlantic Salmon. It is how ever a little bigger than you need if you are on the grande ronde and the fish all seem to be around 4-6lbs, but it is not bad either. This is not a rod I would use long bellies, I like a faster rod for that.

 

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Rod: Burkheimer 8133-3: Very good rod

Fly Lines:

Airflo Scandi Head 10/11 600grn w/ 10' polyleaders

Rio 9/10/11 Windcutter

Delta 9/10

SA Skagit 600grn w/ 6'-10' T14

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Rod: Burkheimer "Salmon King" 13' 9/10/11: Not for me

Fly Lines:

Skagit 750grn w/ 10' T17

windcutter 9/10/11

Scandi 10/11 600grn w/ 15' polyleaders

Notes:

Very Fast rod and very strong. This is the perfect rod for fishing for B.C. and Alaska King Salmon with a sksgit line and big flies. It is also ideal for fishing scandinavian heads for really strong fish, like in Norway for Atlantic Salmon or on the Thompson in B.C. I jusy never really got into it.

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Rod: Burkheimer 15'3" 9/10/11: OK

Fly Lines:

Carron 85' 10/11

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Rod: G Loomis Grease Line 15' 7/8 : Awesome!

Fly Lines:

Airflo Delta 9/10 (680)

Airflo Delta Long 8/9 (640grn)

Hardy MachII 9wt (640grn)

NextCast 75' 8/9 (726grn) : *Best Floating
NextCast Winter Authority : *Best w/ tips

SA XLT 8wt (710 @ 80')

Rio GrandSpey (800grn @ 80') Heavy

Notes:

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Rod: Thomas & Thomas 15' 9wt 3pc : Great specialty rod

Fly Lines:

NextCast 95' 9/10 (880grn) : *Best Floating

NextCast Winter Authority 70 (850grn) : *Best w/ tips

Wulff Triangle Taper Spey 80' 10/11wt

Rio GrandSpey (800grn @ 80') good
Airflo Northwest Skagit 35' (650grn) w/ 8-15' tips

Rod: Thomas & Thomas 14' 9wt 5pc : Great travel rod for larger fish

Fly Lines:

NextCast 95' 9/10 (880grn) : *Best Floating

NextCast Winter Authority 70 (850grn) : *Best w/ tips

Wulff Triangle Taper Spey 80' 10/11wt

Rio GrandSpey (800grn @ 80') good w/ tips
Airflo Northwest Skagit 35' (650grn) w/ 8-15' tips

Rod: Sage 6126-3 (xp colors): Love it

Lines:

Rio Windcutters 6/7/8 or 9/10/11 w/out mid-section

Rio Scandinavian Head 6/7 with 5' or 10' polyleaders

Rio Skagit 450grn w/ 4-6' T14

Airflo Scandinavian Head

Airflo Compact Skagit 510 w/ 4-8' T14 (favorite)

Notes:

I love this rod so much I don't know where to start. It is great for fishing big flies, it is great for fighting small and big(within reason) fish.

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Rod: Sage 7141-4: Great rod

Lines:

Hardy MachII 8wt (570grns)

Nextcast 75 8/9 (726grns)

Rio Powerspey 7/8 (550grns)

Airflo Scandinavian Head 8/9 500grn w/ 10'-15' polyleaders

XLT 8

Notes:

This is a very fast rod. A lot of people refer to this rod as a true 8wt or maybe even a 9wt, but what I have found so far is that this rod can handle a truly wide range of line weights. So far I have only tried lighter lines on it, but it handles light lines very well and is great for fishing longer belly lines.

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Rod: Sage 6110-4: Great little stick, especially for travel

Lines:

Airflo Compact Scandi

Airflo Compact Skagit 510grn / 5-7' T14

Vision Ace 380 grn w/ 10' polyleaders

Rio Scandi 6/7 w/ 5' or 10' polyleaders

Rod: Sage 8110-4: Good rod

Lines:

Windcutter 6/7/8

Airflo Compact Skagit 510grn / 5-7' T14

Vision Ace 380 grn w/ 10' polyleaders

Rio Scandi 6/7 w/ 5' or 10' polyleaders

Notes:

This rod has it's apllications, I am thinking the small Coastal Rivers of Oregon where things can get really tight and the length of 11' is an asset to the closeness, the power of the 8wt is good for the fly size and fish size. Other than that I guess I would usually use the 6126-3 in most cases as it has a longer front handle, which I like, and it is more fun for smaller fish.

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Rod: Sage 9140-4 (old Brown): great

Lines:

Windcutter 9/10/11

Delta 9/10

SA 600grn Skagit Head

Rio Skagit 650grn cut back to 22.5' w/ 10' T14

Airflo Scandinavian Head

Notes:

I fished this rod for several year and caught quite a few fish on it. It is great for big fish. It is very soft, so not a good long belly rod but with the above lines. Good all around rod for bigger rivers i.e. Sandy, Skagit, Thompson, Clearwater

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Rod: Scott 15' 9wt Arc : good

Lines:

9/10 Midspey

9/10 Delta

9/10/11 Wincutter

650grn Northwest Skagit by Airflo w/ 10' T14

9/10 PowerSpey

9/10 Delta long

10/11 Carron 85'

8/9 Grandspey

Notes:

I have tried several lines with this rod. It is soft in the tip which makes it poor for super long belly casting, like the XLT's are not great on this rod. But this rod fishes a powerspey (65') line really awesome on big rivers, especially in calmer conditions, or a windcutter in tougher conditions. It is fun in a fight with even a smaller fish and the soft tip protects light tippets. I like this rod alot for rivers like the Clearwater, Thompson, and Snake.

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Rod: Winston LT 12' 7wt : Really soft tip, but fun.

Lines:

Rio Windcutter 6/7/8

Vision Ace 380grn with 5' poly leader

Notes:

This rod is listed as a 7wt, but it is more like a 5 or 6wt two handers by other manufacturers. I have caught many steelhead on this rod, several over ten pounds and it handled them fine. The tip is so soft that you end up fighting larger fish with the butt of the rod and the tip absords the slack. It would a fun rod for a river like the Grande Ronde or the Sheboygan.

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Rod: Winston LT 13' 8wt : Not the Best

Lines:

WindCutter 8/9/10

Airflo Scandi 8/9 500grn with 10' polyleader

Notes:

I caught my first steelhead on a two-handed rod on this rod. It worked great for me for a long time, but the design was not great, it was very soft and noodly. There are so many better 13' 8wt out there this would not be high on list of good rods. I gave this rod to a guide in Canada last summer and we tested it with the above airflo scandi and it cast really great. I heard he was able to put it some clients hands and they caught some nice Atlantics on it.