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Blue collar spey

Spey 
6K views 55 replies 25 participants last post by  fisshman26 
#1 ·
It is always interesting to me the number of high profile rods that fail to live up to the advertising and hyperbole, and how many wonderful sticks seem to fall through the cracks. I like to refer to a lot of them as "blue collar" rods since they tend to be lower price point rods, or labeled as "entry level" (whatever that means.)

Far and away the most seriously underrated rod I've come across is my St. Croix Imperial 9140. A friend gave me this rod about a year ago claiming he had no use for something this long and heavy, and he didn't feel it was worth his time to try and sell. When I took a few lines down to the river to try on it I was absolutely blown away. Not only at it's power and performance, but by how smooth and easy it was. This rod is fairly fast and very powerful, with a reasonably heavy tip progressing into a stiff butt section. Despite being a powerhouse, it is extremely user friendly and will accommodate a wide range of line types and casting styles. I've been fishing it with a 10/11 Delta Spey, and it's proved to be an unparallelled combination for drilling holes in the wind with bigger flies. It is reasonably light in the hand and comfortable to fish all day. It has also handled the biggest fish the Clearwater has to offer with ease. About the only thing I don't like is the overly short bottom grip which feels very odd to me. Scandi and Skagit casters however will likely feel right at home. If you're looking for an affordable cannon, don't overlook these rods on the used market. They are hard to beat.

So how many folks out there have a great performing stick or two that has been underrated or over looked by the spey casting community at large?
 
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#38 ·
I enjoy scoring big dollar rods on ebay...now that's a budget option!
I've recently scored a LeCie and a Greaseliner, combined price of either at retail.
Best deal of all IMHO... a Meiser standard build. Yeh, will sting when you pay but like butter when you play.
 
#40 ·
Think we should have tournaments based on rod length. 12 footer, 13 footers, 14 footers and 15 footers. Now that would be fun and really quite informative. I'll enter the 12 & 13 footer games and use low buck rods (so I can make a fool of myself) ...only commercially available lines allowed, pick your line and go. How about it speycasters?
 
#47 ·
I guess its a matter of perspective. I don't think of distance when I fish long lines. I think of ease of use and the fact im not stripping. Mostly I think how happy I am that I'm not having to use a short head for those reasons. In fact I don't think of distance at all because I'm fishing. Why do you cast/fish for distance?
 
#51 ·
My experience is similar to Panhandle's. I rarely fish a rod longer than 13' on the wet side, but once I'm on the Clearwater or Snake in the fall my preferences are for the 15'+ rods.

Why? Water coverage, not having to strip in line, and the additional length aids in casting when wading out to my tits. A few more fish are probably covered in a few runs as well. No need for t14 here - a sinking poly is about as far as I'll go in October or November.

Long rods and long lines are, for me, more functional on this type of water. Plus it's the only time of year I fish with one so I look forward to it for that reason as well. :) As always, YMMV.

Cheers,

Brian
 
#53 ·
There are plenty of good casting blue collar rods out there. To each his own...I don't think rods designed for tournament casting are used much for fishing because they are almost all longer than the average steelhead fisherman wants or needs...but there are situations where distance is useful.
 
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