Gear list. Sage 8150-4 Graphite III(RP? era Generation III). Hardy Marquis, Salmon 2. English made, ribbed brass foot. SA Mastery Spey, long belly(75' head).
After spending considerable amount of time trying to dial in this setup.....or more accurately dial ME in, I can appreciate the skill level the fishermen needed to fish these long rod and line combos. The length and taper of this line requires good technique and timing. At my current skill level, I can get a decent cast(90 -100') off, but it is NOT easy. There is little forgiveness in this line. Casters better than me have been fishing these long....and longer lines for generations.
Funny thing about the rod. When I cast/flex it I can feel and almost hear a creak. Kinda like me when I get up in the mornings. Different than me, after it flexes, it recovers well. Not nearly as much bounce as I would expect from a rod this long. It definitely feels heavy in comparison to my other speys, but I like this rod. The original owner tells me it's been bent on more than a few steelhead. It has a cracked ferrule, so at some point it will go back to Bainbridge for a tuneup.
Also like the reel. It's dinged up, the original brass foot is too big for most modern rods, but the springs are stronger than it's younger, Korean sister. I imagine this reel has seen it's share of different waters through it's life. I plan to show it a few more.
I stayed late, and cast my 14' 8wt Meiser. I used the new, Gaelforce 63' line. This is a combo that even I can cast ok. Easier, and more forgiving to cast. I can cast it well with touch and go, or skagit casts. Best of all, it's fun.
New vs old. Tradition battles contemporary. Logical winner is new, but if we were "logical", would we be fly fishing?
briansII
