Why Switch Rod

Here is nice video I found on YouTube explaining the whats and the whys of Switch rod. There are a lot of confusion out there as to what is a Switch rod and to make matters worst, people are are often mixing it up with the switch cast (a technique in Spey casting).

Lets get it out of the way. - the Switch rod has nothing to do with the switch cast. You can "switch cast" with any fly rod whether it is single hand or double hand rod. Switch cast is just a Spey casting technique. A switch cast is essentially a roll cast done with a dynamic D-loop. You can refer to my earlier post ( http://www.yuenmah.blogspot.com/search/label/Switch%20cast ) to understand the difference between the roll cast and the switch cast. The switch cast is also sometimes referred to as the jump roll.

Now back to the Switch rod; the Switch rod is essentially a double hand rod that is between 10 ft to 11+ ft long. You may think of it as a baby Spey rod. The concept of Switch rod is relatively new in the Spey casting scene and evolved out of the need to fish both single handed and double handed  at the same time. The video will explain in better detail. Enjoy!

Spey Casting Basics: Climbing Curve

Here are three good instructional videos I found in YouTube showing a casting stroke that is very fundamental to all Spey cast. These three videos should be viewed in succession in order to appreciate the principles behind the stroke.

When I started helping friends with their Spey casting, I noticed that most of them encountered problem performing this transitional stroke to the forward cast. I call this transition stroke the upward spiral (rod tip path) whereas it is referred to as climbing curve in this video. People  sometimes also talk about circle-up / rounding up to form the D-loop.

Whatever name you call it, it is undeniably the most important move to master in Spey casting. Many who pick up Spey casting find this move difficult to master initially. Some of the most common problem encountered by new Speyers are:

1) Unable to round-up or spiral-up smoothly
2) Dipping the rod tip too low behind while performing the round-up
3) Paused too long behind before powering forward

FP does a great job here with these three instructional videos emphasizing on the top hand being the pivot, powering with the underhand and how to correctly angle your rod to prevent rod tip dipping behind. Learn this move well and you will be well on your way to better Spey casting.