Efficient Spey Casting: Part 11 - Single Spey Cast a Skagit Head?

The Single Spey cast isn't often used with Skagit heads. I've seen videos where the use of the two together was actively discouraged. The reality is, the Single Spey can be the most effective Skagit cast out there. Check out how this cast can be performed with a Skagit head and how it can be made while standing on the bank!

[@Dillon7777]

I wish I had watched the video again before I went fishing yesterday.Thank you

[@mattstout856]

Just wanted to drop a note and mention this series has really helped me improve my casting. The anchor videos really helped me out a ton! Thanks so much for passing on your knowledge!

[@laxberndt]

As instructive as always Peter

[@todmiller2254]

Thanks for the reassurance. It works good if you practice and gets you back fishing sooner. Helps to watch your D loop especially on this one.

[@garciariver1]

Gonna try this

[@johnlantz7278]

I practice dragging that short head low an slow .great way to combat wind an keep the d loop moving to a forward casting angle great day to cast an play on the river.single spay is a great fishing cast for high water an those bank hugging steelhead ,guys stop casting beyond the fish in high water conditions always a pleasure to watch your vids enjoy the holidays with a fish catch

[@hooked4lifeca]

This footage was taken from my videos on the Loomis PRO4x 12'6" 6/7 wt. In one of those videos the river was running higher than usual and I had two crushing takes on camera right along the bank. The Single is an excellent cast for those days when we can't get more than a few feet away from the bank without being washed downstream.

[@craigwheaton2506]

Great video Peter, the Belgium cast you mention is that something I can practice in the back yard with my Skagit head without a sink tip on it, im having a devils time getting anymore than 10 metres with any Spey cast I try ?

[@hooked4lifeca]

You'll need to add a tip of some sort to the front of the Skagit head otherwise it'll be ugly to cast. They're not designed to be used alone.

[@hansdk6246]

Hi Peter, what kind of cast would you use when fishing right river from the bank ? Cause here in Denmark we cant wade in our rivers their to deep and muddy so only option is to fish from a bank which very often has vegetation to annoy us as well...

[@hooked4lifeca]

In an upstream wind a left hand up Single and in a downstream wind, a Double Spey. The Double uses more room than the Single, but there are options with it to minimize the room it requires. We can leave the anchor far out in front to produce a small D-Loop, angle it downstream and so on. I will go to a Single in a downstream wind if it isn't really blowing, but I'll usually use a short line in those cases.

[@regularSenseAppeal]

@@hooked4lifeca Cool! Sinking Skagit heads with S5-S7 tips have been gaining a lot of traction here in Denmark the past few years for those very reasons. Salmon rivers here are small so long casts are mostly unnecessary. But all the rivers are 6-8ft deep right from the bank plus lots of vegetation as Hans stated. The salmon are huge though so it is not all bad ;-)

[@sakanatsuri]

Skagit cast is very similar to Oval cast. Rod tip comes in low, and circle back and cast. There's no pause at all. Real Skagit cast does not use D loop. Instead, use rod bend (power) to cast. It is possible to cast even without any backspace for D loop. During the forward cast, the line passes closer to your body than ordinary Spey cast. I love Skagit cast since I can cast without any space behind for D loop. (I don't have to go deep water to gain back sapce for D loop.)

[@sambrown2150]

Great instruction as usual! Are the oval cast and the underhand cast (per G.Andersson) quite similar? From your discussion here they seem to be? Keep the videos coming, Thanks

[@hooked4lifeca]

Actually the oval cast has more in common with a continuous motion Skagit cast.

[@sambrown2150]

@@hooked4lifeca OK, Thanks again

[@lesterma1608]

Something that I’ve been wondering about how much of the river does the down stream skagit cast cover vs a 45 degree drifting cast? Also even if the soak on the skagit cast gets the fly deep, doesn’t the fly rise off the bottom as soon as the line straightens out and even high off the bottom when retrieving? Thanks!

[@hooked4lifeca]

A dead drifting fly will most definitely rise once it comes under tension, especially if it's of the high drag variety. I cover a lot of this in a later video on Mending. That one will be out on Feb 16th.

[@lesterma1608]

@@hooked4lifeca what will I do until then, lol!

[@hooked4lifeca]

@@lesterma1608 Watch all my other videos! :)

[@boris9469]

Hi I am going to buy my first double handed rod I am looking for 8 weight What do you recommend? Thankfully!!

[@hooked4lifeca]

A few questions first: Big or small river? Mostly fishing floating lines or sinkers? Budget? If you don't mind spending some money, the NRX+ 8 wts. are the obvious choices as their performance is outstanding. Consider either the 11' switch or the 13'3" Spey depending on the size of the waterway.

[@boris9469]

@@hooked4lifeca Thank you ! I has been considering NRX+ but there are rumors that Loomis is overloaded with orders and will not prioritize Europe - in case of repair I will check it out !