Montana Trout Spey Clave: 2016 Recap
The inaugural Montana Trout Spey Clave on the Missouri River is almost here and we couldn’t be more excited. We’ve drawn together a group of fishy characters and industry leading brands. Our cast includes premier guides, fly rod engineers, line designers and sales reps from G Loomis, Winston, Beulah, Echo, Loop, OPST, Simms, Costa, and our own North 40 Fly Shop staff. We will be showcasing the best tackle currently available for the activity we like to call *Trout Spey.
The Montana Trout Spey Clave is a FREE event and will be held at the Mid Canon FAS (Fishing Access Site). Access is from I-15 via Exit 240.
Friday April 15, from 3-5 pm, we will provide a free Spey casting clinic. This is a great chance to tune up your Spey casting with a true professional or get introduced to Spey casting techniques for the first time. We are asking interested participants to sign up for the Spey casting clinic at the Great Falls Fly Shop. You can visit the fly shop, call us at the store, or email your request to join. Space is somewhat limited, but we will try to accommodate as many as we can.
Saturday April 16th is our main event. We will be running mini clinics on a variety of topics designed to help you understand the concept of "Trout Spey." Presentations will roll from 9 am to 5 pm and will showcase casting, fly selection and angling techniques with the rods and fly lines associated. You won’t want to miss out. Even if you’ve never considered the Spey side of fly fishing for trout, you might learn some valuable crossover techniques and information. In the middle of the day, we will be firing up our Traeger Grills and hosting lunch by the river.
Spey Clave Presenter Schedule - Saturday April 16th
9:00 - Fred Telleen
9:40 - Calvin Fuller
10:20 - Brian Silvey
11:00 - Tom Larimer
11:40 - Bruce Berry
12:20 - Lunch
1:20 - Michael White
2:00 - Klaus Frimor
2:40 - Trevor Covich
3:20 - Brian Silvey
4:00 - Tom Larimer
4:40 - Bruce Berry
*What is Trout Spey?
Spey casting was born on the River Spey in Scotland. It was traditionally performed with long two-handed rods of eighteen or more feet to target Atlantic salmon.
Spey casts are water based. There is no aerial back cast. Line tension between the water contact point (anchor) and the rod tip, along with the mass of the fly line between, form sufficient load for the cast. Hence, an angler can cast a long line with limited space behind them. Ten feet or less is often sufficient. Spey casts are very dynamic and energetic.
A good Spey caster can launch casts exceeding 100 ft. Tackle has rapidly evolved and we currently have many rod and line pairings to aid in the art of Spey. There are a variety of Spey casts that a trout angler can use with either single or two-handed "trout sized" rods.
When we use Spey casting techniques and tackle for trout fishing, we call it Trout Spey. It is not nearly as complicated as it all sounds, but if you are still confused, you definitely need to join us.