Double Handed Fly Rods - Feeling Grumpy!

Mike Barrio · 18/08/2025 at 13:36

Another morning of numerous emails, I try really hard to do my best to help, but the fly rod brands are simply making life difficult for their customers.

Writing an #8 on the blank of a double handed casting fly rod just does not cut it nowadays.

Instead of spending so many hours trying to help, my advice should really be - Please don't buy a double handed fly rod from any brand that does not provide a casting grain or gram weight window for their rod in the product description on their website!

You can incorporate all the best technology and materials in the world, but this is totally wasted if you cannot tell your customers how to use it .......

James Laraway · 18/08/2025 at 14:56

i might be wrong but i thought that the system did work back in the day when there were only AFTM ratings.

If you bought a double hander with #10 on the rod then you bought a #10 spey line to go with it ( not a #10 single hander line)

Then someone thought it was a great marketing wheeze to introduce grains and grams instead, probably to convince you that you needed a new rod and new line to go with it

what we have ended up with is chaos with AFTM ratings, plus grains, plus grams

of course i stand to be corrected as i may have just re-written history

dont even get me started on 'trout spey'

Mike Barrio · 18/08/2025 at 16:38

I can't disagree with that James.

Sorry, I was just letting off a bit of steam, which is really not like me.

The industry is well aware that customers are confused by this and they have been for some time.

A simple explanation by brands in their product description, telling us what the fly line rating that they have given their rod actually means and how to use it, would certainly help to eliminate a lot of the confusion.

Dave Robb · 18/08/2025 at 18:32

Snowbee now do a line they reckon covers rods in the range of #2-5 and #5-7 depending on which one you go for.

To add to the confusion.

I would have thought there's a fair difference between #2 and #5.

David Thursz · 19/08/2025 at 17:16

Looking at this from the customer perspective, I have been the beneficiary of Mike's strong desire to help his customers match a line to their rod: I bought a CTS double hander - nominally a 7 weight and the grain window initially supplied by the manufacturer was an impossibly wide 420 - 600 grains. After a lot of testing and more importantly an exchange of several emails with Mike with invaluable advice and undoubted patience, an appropriate line was chosen and indeed supplied.

I also have several admittedly older sage double handers that I hate to think how much money I have wasted buying Lines and still never had them working properly. This was recently fixed by a session with Jim Fearne who recently spent at least an hour at the Edinburgh Anglers casting pond trying several different lines and succeeding well beyond my expectations.

And to go back to Mike's original point, I got so fed up and disappointed, in the interim, I ended up buying 2 Zpey Rods solely based on their ethos that they should be used with their recommended matching lines and indeed reels and from the off it was apparent that my casting wasn't as bad as I thought as I watched the fly travel in a way and ease I had seldom seen before. Funnily enough if you put a 37g line on a 37g rated rod, the package simply works!

Mike Barrio · 19/08/2025 at 18:40

Thanks for your kind comments David.

I had a quick look round the Zpey website, they seem to be making the casting weights for each of their current rods nice and clear (eg: 12.0´ - #8 - 27 gram - 4pcs) (eg: 10.0´ - #7 - 16-18 gram - 4pcs).

Mike Barrio · 20/08/2025 at 11:45

I had an email from a customer today asking which rod from a selection of his choices would I choose.

That's always a difficult question, as these things can be very much down to personal preferences ..... and I haven't cast every rod on the market of course.

One of the rods was a Cadence, a brand that Ian Gordon is involved with, and a quick look at their website was part of my research to come up with a useful reply.

Now Ian knows his stuff, spends time on the water with salmon anglers, and his experience shines through in their product descriptions and charts!

James Laraway · 20/08/2025 at 14:28

Micro Spey

James Laraway · 20/08/2025 at 14:30

Quote from: David Thursz on 19/08/2025 at 17:16And to go back to Mike's original point, I got so fed up and disappointed, in the interim, I ended up buying 2 Zpey Rods solely based on their ethos that they should be used with their recommended matching lines and indeed reels and from the off it was apparent that my casting wasn't as bad as I thought as I watched the fly travel in a way and ease I had seldom seen before. Funnily enough if you put a 37g line on a 37g rated rod, the package simply works!

I have one of the original Zpey 'Reel Steel' #6 switch rods. Sadly i broke it on orkney but managed to fix it so i can still use it. It has THE BEST removable handle EVER