Spey or switch from a yak?

Anyone try using spey casts with a spey or switch rod from their yak? Just wondering if being lower to the water limits the technique ...

Great Question!  Looking forward to opinions as well!

My drift boat buddy uses a two hander, and he prefers to get out of the boat and cast from the bank or wade. When anchored, he can cast while standing in the boat, and that is sometimes necessary in order to access some good looking water. However, with another fisher along, he prefers to park the boat, and both fishers spread out along the gravel bar or bank to cast.
A Spey rod is a lot of stick to be waving around from a skinny paddle craft.

what's the benefit to fishing an 11-14' rod from a seated position in a kayak?

while there is undoubtedly some distance gains to be made with a longer rod i don't think the awkwardness of trying to land fish make up for it.  one of the benefits of a kayak is the fact that with a low profile you can get closer to fish than from a higher boat.  modern shooting head fly lines make casting for distance with a single hander easy with some practice.

as for making change of direction spey casts from a boat, you would have to be anchored and imo with the limited space in a kayak would be a pain in the ass dealing with the running line.

as for the technique being limited being close to the water... no more than wading to your waist in a river.  the bow and stern of a kayak would likely impact where you could place your anchor (casting term not a lead weight).

i remember back in the late 90's i was out at neah bay flyfishing for rockfish out of a powerboat.  there was another boat with fly fishers using spey rods to fly fish for the rockfish.  watching them it was obvious the limitations of such long rods when fishing out of a boat vs. from shore.  there was a huge advantage to be fishing a shorter fly rod.

chris

I love my switch and Spey rods, but from the kayak?  I don't think there is any advantage. I'm with Chris on this one.

I should give this a try the next time I go out.  I think my camera mount is going to be in the way of my casting though.

If its anything like flyrodding for lake species dont go over 9 feet. Real pita.
Bears Den Fly Fishing sells Sea Level flyrods designed for kayak and boat use that are a bit expensive but should be just what you want.
Sorry cant supply link right now. Look up the company, check menu on left for rods then slide down to Sea Level.

I don't see any advantage using a two hander from the kayak. It would also be very difficult to land a fish with that long of rod.

If you want to do spey casts/roll casts use the Royal Wulff Ambush line on a 9' rod with 10' Airflo polyleaders.

Guys, I had not considering the very serious problem of landing a fish on the longer rod. Excellent point. I may try casting the new switch outfit from the Raptor just to say I've done it, though ...

If its anything like flyrodding for lake species dont go over 9 feet. Real pita.

gotta disagree a bit.  i fish a 10' 8 wt a bunch and do not find it a pain.  i wouldn't go longer but having the height helps in keeping the backcasts up when not waterloading sinking heads.  in a kayak we are right at water level and the shorter rods (like the company you mentioned) are great for stand up boat fishing but i think an extra foot or two is nice to have along with the ability to move the rod tip around the bow of the kayak much easier.

Sure, i can see your point. Well actually both of them. Have to find that happy middle that works with a one hander from a sitting position 6 inches into the waters surface.

Still, we have to adapt our tools sometimes to the conditions at hand. For instance, i'd use the shorter rods i mentioned earlier for non tradional fly angling such as we'd talked about in the lings on a fly thread. but then, thats just me.

Fishboy, this is still a great question to ask. there's a lot to learn here on this subject, Hope more will chime in. 

I don't think a switch or spey rod, either is likely to be a minimum of 12 feet, is going to be an advantage over a single-handed rod unless you are able stand up in the yak. Two-handed casting really requires water tension to make a good cast and sitting down in still water makes that really tough. And, since a primary use of either of these rods is to cast long distances with little back cast opportunities, I am not sure what your goal would be using them in a kayak. However, doing things that may not make sense for the simple pleasure of doing them often leads to new and interesting developments so I would obviously try it. In, fact I just built a 12-foot 7-weight spey that I am eager to try on my yak just to see what happens. I was just in BC fly fishing for wild steelhead from a boat using a 14 foot spey rod with a skagit head and it was a little tricky but once I got the hang of it I was able to throw the line a long way and fish water I could not possibly fish effectively with a single-handed rod. However that was moving water and I was standing up. Keep us posted.

Turns out to be a moot point for me. I just took my 11-foot Sage switch rod out on the Rogue for my first lesson yesterday and was completely defeated by the single spey and snap T casts. I managed flimsy double spey, but barely. Seems you actually need to have coordination and reflexes to spey cast, which kinda lets me out ...

I have had good success with switch on my boat, takes a bit of work to get the casts going in the right direction and with some power. But a good Poke cast really a gets it out there. The access it gives me to some of the deeper holes where I otherwise would be struggling with water up to my chest are now easier to fish. And a swung fly really initiates the hard strike that I am all about. I usually have to choose the higher seat position which has taken some getting used to with moving water but really makes the cast and swing much easier. The Klic is going to be a blast this season.