Whatever is comfortable. Don't overthink it.

 

I would place my hand far enough up the grip to balance the rod with the head out. You don't want it tip-heavy...casting a switch rod singlehanded is enough leverage on the shoulder.

 

I typically find placing my hand lower on the grip to achieve the balance herkileez mentioned with the rod and reel set ups that I have, but then I only single hand cast about 10% of the time with my rods.

 

For single hand casting grip the rod as if it were a single hander ie within 6 1/2 to 7 inches from the reel.

 

Thanks for replies. I might have been overthinking it a bit. I won’t be single handing much but in two outings I find myself starting off like that before I transfer to more roll casting or other Spey type casts.

I have to admit, while not a Spey enthusiast, this switch rod outfit is fun. Cast a good distance easily and the mending capabilities are awesome, IMO.
I wish I had tried this earlier.

 

Welcome to the spey journey. It always seems to start with a desire to get just a little more distance in places without any backcast room. It is incredibly enjoyable and as I age, permits me to fish more difficult water without having to aggressively wade and go swimming as often.

 

I started switching when I developed a serious shoulder issue. I can't get more distance than a SH but I can cast longer with less fatigue if I do it two-handed. Sometimes I will throw one-handed on the switch rod if I get frustrated with a heavy fly or need better accuracy. But I have to minimize that, because casting the switch rod (6w) one-handed is harder on my shoulder than an actual one-hand stick. A couple years later I got a proper spey rod (12'6") and found it was a better solution for heavy flies, using a skagit head.

 

I bought a TFO deer creek switch and cannot cast it for shit two handed. I can cast it like a good old one hander about a thousand feet though!

 

Sorry if I missed in search but didn't see anything. So I did the real Spey thing many moons ago. It wasn't for me. Older now, so I thought let's try switch rod. I think I'm gonna like it. But the question I have is when you want/do your single hand cast where is best to position your casting hand. The grip is 10-11" long. So treat it as a standard 7-7.5" FW grip or position your hand higher towards the top of grip. I have tried it both ways, but for a limited time. I think I almost like treating it as a standard FW grip and be down 3-4" inches, but not sure if that is best, and want to be more efficient and utilize the rods casting properties and not my arm/shoulder as much. Using a 7110 switch with an old school Lamson LS4. Any insights appreciated…Thanks.

For the type of casting and fishing strategy you are describing. You may be better off with something like an Echo OHS. You are literally talking about switching from spey and waterborne tactics to full overhead tactics. It can be done as I do a fair bit of it myself but it's far more comfortable with the OHS or other rods customised to that end. Typically a line that spey casts well doesn't overhead well. Exceptions are Airflo 40+, Beach, and variants of these. Also short triangle taper SWT lines by Wulff do well. Switch rods are really just short spey rods with function specific actions. The OHS is the closest I've used to a factory built "true switch" rod. Commando heads and scout heads are also a winner if you want to use a running line. What you're after is pretty specific and rare the way I read your wish list. It is out there though just highly specialised. This type of fishing is one I use allot for steelhead and salmon especially summer fish and early coho. If I can help prevent you from spending undue time and money let me know as I pursued lots of dead ends and not so perfect setups in an effort to achieve what you're looking for. In other words ask me questions about specific lines, rods, tactics ect. You may as well learn from my trial and error and save time and money.

 

I started switching when I developed a serious shoulder issue. I can't get more distance than a SH but I can cast longer with less fatigue if I do it two-handed. Sometimes I will throw one-handed on the switch rod if I get frustrated with a heavy fly or need better accuracy. But I have to minimize that, because casting the switch rod (6w) one-handed is harder on my shoulder than an actual one-hand stick. A couple years later I got a proper spey rod (12'6") and found it was a better solution for heavy flies, using a skagit head.

Bad shoulder here as well.. Underhand overhead two hands tactics might be if benefit to you as well.

 

Right when the "switch" craze was starting I built a 3wt 10' switch blank with a screw on rear handle. I put a 5wt Wulff line on it and use it with and without the handle. It overheads great and the Wulff line will spey cast when the bushes are too close. It's my main Searun Cutt rod for the Skagit and has even taken a few steelhead over in the desert.

 

Wow . . .this is a New One on Me . . . never heard of anyone before, WANTiNG to single hand spey cast a rod intended to be used with 2 hands. Even the 11 footers .

I first learned some Full Spey via my 12.5' spey rod back in 1999-2001 on the Skagit.
that rod was sold when the Skagit runs crashed (won't get into all that) and I was scheduled to transfer from NAS Whidbey (2002). Not much spey going on in Chicago, ha ! Anyway . . . I have done a substantial amount of "Single Hand Spey" with 9, 9.5 and 10 foot rods. I've found that The Longer the Rod gets, the "trickiness" of the Haul becomes, well, requiring more practice ! I can't imagine the ARM Fatigue you WILL experience . . . but I can say it was more prevalent at the end of each day of "Single Handing" For Me . . . the longer the rod ! Now I've experimented with one of my earlier 10 foot rods, a Sage VXP 7wt. ! It had a long enough Butt Extension (~1.5") that I could use IT with the left hand and "pretend" I was Klaus Frimor doing the "Scandi-thing" (YouTube it). oh, as a side note, there are many video tutorials on the subjects of Trout Spey and Single Hand Spey casting. I think that if you find someone who has "Free Teaching ability" (or pay out the nose at a clinic) you will come to LOVE the 2-Hand Swing Thing with your 11 footer . . . I HAVE ! I went to the HeadHunters Trout Spey thing in 2018 and learned a lot but not until I got on the water during both my 1/2 day guided trips did I get some Real Advice from him (Mike Mckune, one of the "MOW" crew). Now I have 2 Trout Spey rods -- a 3 and 4 wt . . . good stuff . . . can't wait to get back on the river IN my boat and cast from the boat . . . gonna be amazing . . .
Be sure to buy some ICY-HOTS and perhaps an arm sling . . . they may come in handy after a full day of single handing that switch rod . . . GOOD LUCK though .

 

Wow . . .this is a New One on Me . . . never heard of anyone before, WANTiNG to single hand spey cast a rod intended to be used with 2 hands. Even the 11 footers .

I first learned some Full Spey via my 12.5' spey rod back in 1999-2001 on the Skagit.
that rod was sold when the Skagit runs crashed (won't get into all that) and I was scheduled to transfer from NAS Whidbey (2002). Not much spey going on in Chicago, ha ! Anyway . . . I have done a substantial amount of "Single Hand Spey" with 9, 9.5 and 10 foot rods. I've found that The Longer the Rod gets, the "trickiness" of the Haul becomes, well, requiring more practice ! I can't imagine the ARM Fatigue you WILL experience . . . but I can say it was more prevalent at the end of each day of "Single Handing" For Me . . . the longer the rod ! Now I've experimented with one of my earlier 10 foot rods, a Sage VXP 7wt. ! It had a long enough Butt Extension (~1.5") that I could use IT with the left hand and "pretend" I was Klaus Frimor doing the "Scandi-thing" (YouTube it). oh, as a side note, there are many video tutorials on the subjects of Trout Spey and Single Hand Spey casting. I think that if you find someone who has "Free Teaching ability" (or pay out the nose at a clinic) you will come to LOVE the 2-Hand Swing Thing with your 11 footer . . . I HAVE ! I went to the HeadHunters Trout Spey thing in 2018 and learned a lot but not until I got on the water during both my 1/2 day guided trips did I get some Real Advice from him (Mike Mckune, one of the "MOW" crew). Now I have 2 Trout Spey rods -- a 3 and 4 wt . . . good stuff . . . can't wait to get back on the river IN my boat and cast from the boat . . . gonna be amazing . . .
Be sure to buy some ICY-HOTS and perhaps an arm sling . . . they may come in handy after a full day of single handing that switch rod . . . GOOD LUCK though .

Hmm. Who are you responding to? Did someone say single hand cast the whole day? The whole time?

 

Can’t cover everything in a thread title, It had nothing to do with spey casting single handed or casting a switch rod single handed full time. No need for icy hot or pain relievers. Not offended one bit, just didn’t understand your little diatribe about one handed spey casting and the pain and ache of doing it all day.

 

Can't cover everything in a thread title, It had nothing to do with spey casting single handed or casting a switch rod single handed full time. No need for icy hot or pain relievers. Not offended one bit, just didn't understand your little diatribe about one handed spey casting and the pain and ache of doing it all day.

Well, I won't climb out on YOUR limb to defend against your INSULTING me with the "diatribe b.s." -- how dare you. YOU have NO sense of humor apparently. You READ my comment with some sort of chip on your shoulder, apparently. I would never deliberately INSULT ANYONE, especially HERE not knowing who or what anyone truly believes or what their Moral Compass may be. MOST of my "writing style," if you will, comes with good old fashioned Humorous sarcasm (as apposed to rude sarcasm) and YOU apparently did not see that?. The "icy hot `& pain relievers" was mocking ME in a sense as the Suggestion came from MY own personal experience - as I noted in my, what I thought was a humorous & thoughtful way. You should try reading it again with a Smile on your face and "pretend" it's a Comedy skit your reviewing for SNL ! Of course, or maybe not, that was some "dry wit" ! But of course if you're not into that sort of thing . . . ??? Might I suggest You "IGNORE" ME - BLOCK from seeing my posts it they upset you so much !?. I've only been a member a few short weeks, sure hope it gets "better". I joined at the suggestion of a few friends over in Oregon who are active on the Caddis Fly Shop's Fly fishing Blog. Now THEY would get a kick out of all this crap, I'm sure . . . perhaps they're tuning in . . . probably having a good laugh . . . I should call . . . hope your feeling better by tomorrow, ps, pleas feel free to "IGNORE" me .

 

Oh no, no ignore list for you from me, No harm no foul. … Just did not get your kinda humor I guess. No icy hot will ever be required tho, pretty easy to double haul an 11 footer a few time per day on the river. …..keep the casting elbow in and low below the nipple line, very little stress on the shoulder., cast out 70-80 feet easily then resume to two handed casting techniques. All I was asking was for hand position on the cork when single hand casting…..up or lower on the handle.
Any thoughts on that?

 

Oh no, no ignore list for you from me, No harm no foul. … Just did not get your kinda humor I guess. No icy hot will ever be required tho, pretty easy to double haul an 11 footer a few time per day on the river. …..keep the casting elbow in and low below the nipple line, very little stress on the shoulder., cast out 70-80 feet easily then resume to two handed casting techniques. All I was asking was for hand position on the cork when single hand casting…..up or lower on the handle.
Any thoughts on that?

Interesting change of attitude . . . however considering Your chosen words, Have Meaning, "ho harm no foul" is a bit strange to try and understand, Coming from You?!. Understand MY perspective here? Hmmm, where are these emoji's found? They may have been useful to me in thwarting off any "Defensive Linemen" !
. . . "All I was asking . . . ," don't most folks feel like adding a "little extra spice" to the sauce once in awhile ? I do, I'm addicted to the "pun" and enjoy writing (one of my Navy schools was the Journalist School, though a (was) Sonar Tech. by trade. < See, I did it again, adding a little "tidbit" to the comment.
Your restating Your Original "Q" of hand position is a thoughtful one. Beginners /Novices would find it helpful . . . but not knowing you, may I presume you're more Intermediate/advanced (such as I) in the FLY GAME. For Me, having an abundance of innate common sense and strong desire to always ask "that next question" most pass over, Hand Position is ALWAYS "An experiment in Progress"! Meaning there is no One Correct answer - we each have different dynamics, different skills, different body types, different equipment. Whew, that was a mouthful . . . hope you saw some humor in it all ! I DO TEND TO DIGRESS . . . part of my gnome, can't help it.
Looks like, from reading further on about the OHS rods (6>8), that may be one of your considerations ? . . . Back to Hand Position, no getting around it, Ya Gotta EXPERIMENT . . . that's what Practice Time is for! Hit up a river for an hour or two a few times WITHOUT the intent to "FISH" -- NO HOOK, or at least No Hook with the BEND - I pick a few flies old ones I rarely if ever use and destroy them by clipping off the bend - just a strait shaft remains. More realistic practicing this way vs. some fuzz or ???. A few times while practicing I've had fish grab the fly for a second or two - fun stuff.
IF anyone wants my take on the Echo OHS . . . well I have some, almost bought the 6wt OHS till I had a conversation with the folks at Caddis Fly AND the folks at Gorge Fly Shop (both happen to be in Oregon . . . no I'm not originally from their).
Well, seems I've Done It Again, wrote a 1000 word essay, haha . . . . . . hey look I FOUND the Smiley Emoji's . . . .

 

This thread is timely - at least for my "research". I'm planning a trip to Alaska next year - my friend and I are thinking "silvers". A local tells me "Buzzy, unless you want to be severely handicapped up there, you need a switch rod, an 8 weight for silvers" (something to do with river bank alders, limited to no back cast room and the importance of avoiding tangles in those alders because of what lurks back there....).

I don't know anything about two handed/one handed (isn't this part of the definition of a switch rod?) rods. My spey skills are lacking - while not neophyte, severely out of practice.

 

This thread is timely - at least for my "research". I'm planning a trip to Alaska next year - my friend and I are thinking "silvers". A local tells me "Buzzy, unless you want to be severely handicapped up there, you need a switch rod, an 8 weight for silvers" (something to do with river bank alders, limited to no back cast room and the importance of avoiding tangles in those alders because of what lurks back there....).

I don't know anything about two handed/one handed (isn't this part of the definition of a switch rod?) rods. My spey skills are lacking - while not neophyte, severely out of practice.

Buzzy - might be worth checking out the Echo OHS thread. @dustinchromers shared some pretty good info.

 

So my research concluded that there is a lot of information out there, lots of gear, lots of different line combos, lots of self discovering to do. For example right off the the bat some might use a 360 grain head and others might use a 510 head and then there all those in between and this is for the same rod. But it is fun.

Where about a are you going in AK?

so much info. Hopefully your local fly shop will have some demo lines to test out. I went with airflo compact rage 360 and poly sink tip for a 7 weight 11'. Probably should have done a 390 or 420 after having more time with rod on water now. If ever in Seattle area and you want to try out my set up, take it out on some water or on a trip give me a PM.

https://www.alaskaflyfishinggoods.com/how-to/switch-gear-a-casting/switch-rods-why-you-need-one/

https://www.ginkandgasoline.com/fly...om/fly-fishing-gear/choosing-a-line-for-your-switch-rod-part-2-choosing-a-line/

 

Single hand casting both spey and overhead s easy on lighter switch rods up to about a 5wt. Maybe even easier as ypu dont overpower the blank.

 

my 2 cents is that casting a switch rod one handed hurts all my old guy parts. I view them as small double handers, if you want to cast single handed do yourself a favor and use the tool that's appropriate. One handing an 11 footer sucks no matter where you hold the cork.

 

Actually it is not that bad at all. I'm talking about just a few single handed casts per session. 97.5% is done two handed. Definitely something I would not want to do all the time. I was just curious for those of you who do… where is your casting hand placement on the cork. That was all…

 

I've seen silvers swim up to my feet and plow up on the beach waiting to be released or killed. It's like they are giving themselves to the OHS. All I had to do was show it to them.

Chromers et al -
While you're arguments and description (man, the above is classic Chromers!) on the OHS is something I'm saving and keeping in mind, a buddy of mine is suggesting the Echo SR 81010. I watched the Rajeff videos that go with both the OHS an SR. One consistent theme: choices!

 

I own both rods above. They are very very different. The SR is a short spey and not an overhead rod really unless lined East coast surf style. The OHS is the lighter versatile performer. The SR is a very nice rod. I use mine allot but it is a much heavier stick for heavier work.

 

Sorry if I missed in search but didn't see anything. So I did the real Spey thing many moons ago. It wasn't for me. Older now, so I thought let's try switch rod. I think I'm gonna like it. But the question I have is when you want/do your single hand cast where is best to position your casting hand. The grip is 10-11" long. So treat it as a standard 7-7.5" FW grip or position your hand higher towards the top of grip. I have tried it both ways, but for a limited time. I think I almost like treating it as a standard FW grip and be down 3-4" inches, but not sure if that is best, and want to be more efficient and utilize the rods casting properties and not my arm/shoulder as much. Using a 7110 switch with an old school Lamson LS4. Any insights appreciated…Thanks.

I have an old Cabelas 6 wt 11' switch. It's actually pretty sweet. Right after I got it (used, kind of an impulse, from here) I took it to AK to catch many many silvers and it worked great. Man I should do that again. Anyway, when I single hand overhead cast it I find my hand down lower but, I have to ask, it hasn't been mentioned I don't think, have you 2-hand overhead cast it at all? Just put that lower hand on there and things balance a bit more, pull down slowly and boom.

 

Chiming in late here. Been casting my 4114 burkie a bit as of late with a Rio 8 weight single hand spey (300 grain) FHI. Find my hand in the middle of the cork when single handing it, both spey an overhead. I really like the smoothness of the line, not clunky like a Skagit or a rage, but will throw a decent size fly.