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[Davo]

 I've just seen this rod in a catalogue-very strange indeed. What does everyone else think of it?

http://www.looptackle.com/website1/sd_page/549/1/index.php

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[woldedge]

[Davo]

[woldedge]

Here is that report on the Zpey from another forum.

I have two Zpey rods in my possession and have cast and fished with them quite extensively this season. They are not owned by me, rather Zpey themselves have gave them to me to use in the Forum Rod Pool once I get it up and running. I have however loaned them to many people I know and teach so they have been fairly well tested.

I have mainly focused on the 14'3" rated 10/11.

It is a 5 piece rod finished in deep brown with the revolutionary Zpey handle.

The blank itself is a nice Middle-Tip action with fairly fast recovery, it dampens well and you can throw tight loops with ease provided that you know what you need to do. (same applies to any rod)

Zpey's marketing slogan is 'get used to it' and I think this is very accurate. I first tried the rod with a Carron 75', my casting style is fairly compact and economical to start with but I found the whole thing very strange to say the least. Because of the cranked handle your hands work in different planes lots of the time and it is very unforgiving of this, snake rolls were a nightmare and almost impossible to control because of the twisting of the rod in your hands, it felt like it was alive and trying to move. What I found was that before making a cast I had to think about what was going to happen and concentrate on keeping the rod in a plane where both top and bottom hands were in line, this way the casts went well but I didn't enjoy thinking about doing something that is normally second nature.

I persevered and caught a few fish with it and playing them was little different to a conventional rod, the blank was forgiving enough to absorb the sudden movements of the fish but powerful enough to subdue a powerful fish in fast water, my biggest was a 14lb bar of silver which gave a good account of itself.

Being a Scandinavian rod and not really designed for such long belly lines I then used a Drury 62' and also my Guideline Power Tapers. The shorter the head lengths got the more the rod liked it and the easier it was to control what was happening. You need to really employ a true underhand technique to get the best out of the rod. This involves keeping the top hand tight to the body, elbow tucked in and using body rotation in conjunction with pushing out and up with the bottom hand to create the d-loop, once done you have a good position to start the forward delivery and because of the cranked handle your bottom hand isn't stretching to far away from you yet your tip path is greater than that of a normal rod (tip path is the distance the tip travels between the back and forward stop positions also known as stroke length) With a fairly static top hand working as the fulcrum you can then pull down with your bottom hand to your hip, this generates lots of line speed and the rod loads really well, the loops are tight and the casts are long with minimal effort.

This rod demands that you use 'Its' technique, Traditional or even Modern speycasting styles will not get the best from the rod. This is a true 'Underhand' rod IMHO and as such is very good.

Would I buy one or recommend one to a client? Yes I would but you have to accept what it is designed for and use it within these parameters. You will need to adapt to suit the rod and understand how to get the best from it. For a beginner it will help them to keep things tight and correct. I gave the rod to a Forum member last season who is used to fishing a Loomis GLX with shooting heads, within 5 mins he was casting tighter loops with the Zpey and with minimal effort. He said he liked the rod because it made him think about his technique.

There is no doubt that the Scandinavian Shooting Head System is the most efficient and economical style of speycasting and when done correctly causes the least amount of stress to the back and shoulders. This is due to the short head lengths, short casting strokes and minimal head weights relative to line ratings. If for medical or economical reasons you want to get the most from a cast with the minimum effort then the Zpey System will let you achieve this but you will have to be prepared to accept change.

As said earlier I think these rods are hard work with long bellied lines as thats not their specialised area but if you like fishing short heads and if you can adapt you will be onto a winner IMO.

[Davo]

Cheers Woldedge-good report. Double handers are hard to use as it is, so no point spending money to make it even harder-for me anyway.

[woldedge]

[bucko]

Shakespeare fly rods are vastly under-rated in my opinion Kate.

I use a Shakespeare 'LL' #5-7 for my sea trouting and love it. My mate has even offered to swap his Thomas & Thomas for it, but its perfect for medium sized rivers>

I spotted this bargain on the Mullarkeys site as well:

http://www.mullarkeys.co.uk/fishing/fly-fishing-lines-and-backing/fly-lines/0/masterline/6269/

[Davo]

The odessey certainly looks a bargain for that price and its 4 piece too. The 12 and 13 footers should be spot on for smaller rivers.

Now here's a question for you Kate, when fishing the double hander, do use a sinking line when required, or a sinking poly leader? I ask because i got told to use a poly leader and also i feel its easier to use one than a sinking line-but are they just effective? Cheers.

[woldedge]

Dave
I used a floating line with a 5ft fast sinking poly leader, that was in Autumn time. With having a floating line it is easier to pull off the water. So that is where the poly leader comes in, it does the sinking whilst the line is still in the surface. I did have a 5ft tip which is also sinking. So, really no need for a sinking line. Make sure that you do get a good line to match your rod though, as it makes all the difference in the cast.

[Davo]

Thanks Kate, i was hoping you would say- use a poly leader. I started using the double hander (13ft) last season, but wasn't sure if i was cutting myself short using one, rather than a sinking line.  Like you say, floaters are easier to use, and yes, i bought a cheap line which certainly hinders casting, so i'll be shopping for a new line and possibly for a 15 footer soon.
Dave

[rupert]

My two penny worth!

Loop Zpey - Not convinced! Ive seen one in the flesh at John Norris's shop last year. It definitely looks different, but without using it, can't say whether it's wacky handle offers any great casting advantage (for me anyway).  It certainly adds significantly to the weight of the rod, almost doubling it's weight compared to similar length rods. 

In my experience with salmon fly rods, casting is far more down to technique than tackle.  I started with some pretty basic gear in my early speycasting years and struggled and convinced myself that the tackle was at fault not me. I then passed the rod across to the ghillie on the beat we were fishing and he made the same outfit fly and me look pretty daft! 

On the question of flylines, I purchased a multi tip spey line about 4 years ago and this has probably had the biggest impact on helping improve my spey casting. I now consider the flyline itself to be one of the key elements of tackle. If you're new to Spey casting, go for a shorter head length and go up a line weight - for example I bought a 11/12 line to go on my 15' 10/11 rod.

[Davo]

At the moment Rupert i use a simple over the head cast. This is because i haven't really practiced the Spey cast enough, and also because i fish a 13.5 footer for a #9, which maybe is a wee bit too short. The few times i have tried to Spey cast, i nearly lashed myself to the nearest tree.

[woldedge]

So what set up (sizes of) does everyone who fishes the fly on the Esk use?
Rod
Line
Poly leader
Tippet
Fly
Etc

[bucko]

So what set up (sizes of) does everyone who fishes the fly on the Esk use?

Rod- 9'6 Shakespeare 'LL' #5-7
Line- Mill end floater (have wrecked too many top end lines on gravels and rocks over the years)
Poly leader- 3ft home made fast sinker
Tippet- Maxima Crystal- good in peaty water
Fly- Now you are asking- Stoats tail, Dunkeld, Allies, Invicta- In various sizes. Very keen on doubles.