Detailed Spey and Switch Class on the Yuba

Spey and Switch Rods on the Yuba
With Ryan Miller, Kieth Kaneko, and Adrian Psuty

This class will be held on the Yuba River and will be dedicated to exploring the world of spey casting and utilizing spey techniques. Learn everything from how to hold the rod to properly working a run. We will show you how to select rods, reels, lines, tips, flies, spey casts and water. We will dive into Skagit, Scandinavian and long belly line applications. This is the most complete spey class out there. If you have a qestion, we will have an answer.

If you do not own a two-handed rod, no problem, we will have multiple outfits available for you to use.

These techniques will also add another dimension to your single handed casting so feel free to bring along a single handed rod.


The class will feature local guide, travel agent and my good friend Keith Kaneko of Angling On The Fly and local guide and casting instructor Adrian Psuty of Anchor Point Fly Fishing. We will spill the beans about one of our passions and put all the pieces together about the spey game.

Date:
November 22: 10 anglers max, cost is $75 per person

Students will be taken on a first come, first serve basis and ability does not matter.

The class will start at 10am and end at 5pm.

Contact Ryan Miller at rhmiller@gmail.com, Phone: 530-913-8312 with questions or to sign up.

A Week With The Folks

Even before they arrived my folks had requested a fly fishing lesson. So it was no surprise that when they touched down it was still high on their list of things to do.

We headed up to Big M Fishery in Lincoln. The guys at Big M took excellent care of us by providing shuttle service to and from the fishing area and even unloading our gear from the golf cart.

We spent the first hour or so going over casting instruction, as neither had ever fly fished. They both picked it up very rapidly and were soon out at the 30-40 ft range. Time for fishing with flies! A quick lesson on retrieving the fly and line control and they were off. Armed with their new casting skills and some buggers we started to probe the depths in search of some hungry fish.

Within minutes my Mom's line began to swim away and her voice cracked with excitement when she she yelled "Adrian, Adrian, what do I do?" Unfortunately not enough pressure was applied and the pull on the end of the line ceased. Another small explanation about fighting fish with barbless hooks and we were back to it. The first strip of the second cast resulted in another fish pulling on the end of the line. This time, determined to keep good tension during the fight, the fish arrived at the bank. This was my mother's first fish ever! Although not a monster by most measurements it was definitely huge for for the two of us and will be one that will not be forgotten. The look in her eyes as she touched its fins and then said 'thanks' as it swam away will stick with me forever.
As fatherhood aproaches me, I have spent even more time reflecting upon my past and things I would like to change for the future. I have a great appreciation for the sacrafices my parrents made, which have allowed me many great opportunities. Thanks for everthing Mom and Dad and for a great day out on the water. Looking forward to our next outing.

Also a special thanks to Shawn Pittard for his help throughout the day and for capturing some great pix.

The tug is the drug
Adrian

Dry Fly Time On The Yuba

The Sky



The Result

A Day With Michael Mauri

Jason Hartwick and I had the opportunity to fish with Michale Mauri on Monday. Michale had been here in the states for the past few weeks participating in the some of the Fly Fishing Shows giving casting and fly tying demos.

We spent the day on the American River. Although we were unable to bring any fish to hand Michael did get one grab and we had an enjoyable time covering the water, exchanging ideas, and casting different rod/line combos. The heavy rains by mid morning brought with them a large amount of debris and the water turned slightly dirty. I will blame the weather conditions for the lack of fish activity as it was certainly not for casting ability.
Michael is one of the most consistent casters I have ever fished with. He spent part of the day with a 10 foot single-hander with a sinking shooting head. The head was more like a Scandinavian than our typical Teeny heads. To see him make his spey style change of direction casts and then over head cast this setup was something of a site. 100' bombs were well with in his reach and seemed to be made with grace and ease.

We also cast a full level sinking head designed for a two hander. Michael explained that this type of head is very common for his home waters of Europe while chasing the sea run trout and Atlantic Salmon. Casting this setup is slightly more difficult than our traditional heads with only sink tips. The timing of your setup is even more critical as the entire head sinks and it is very easy to get too much line stick which kills the forward cast. If you thought that Michale's single handed casting was impressive his two handed casts were unbelievable. Even with 20 mph gusts of wind he could present this setup at will.

You should check out Michale's site at www.mauri-flyfishing.de.
I will be looking forward to seeing Michael next year when he returns.

The tug it the drug.
Adrian