Okay you Spey bumbs tell me what you think of these three lines one of them is very new to the market. I have a Lami 9/10.

First the Rio Windcu
tter

Second the SA XLT

and the newest line out there the Rio Grand Spey

Thanks in advance

Also any vidieos or books you might reccomend also?

Ryan

I'm in the learning phase of Spey Casting and have had no formal training, only the one-on-one help of some very accomplished casters.
Now that I have made my disclosure statement, I'll try to help where I can untill someone wiser comes to the rescue.

From the information I recieved while trying to select a line for my rods, if you are a novice caster, the Windcutter in the 10-11-12 would be the right choice. As for the Grand Spey, the line is geared towards more experianced casters, i.e. not me. I have heard some good reports on the XLT, but have personally only cast the Windcutter and Mid-Spey. I would suggest posting this same post on http://www.flyfishingforum.com/
Go to the link for Flytalk, and scroll down to the Spey Clave section. there you can read posts on lines as well as do a search for the info. If you don't see what you're after, then I would leave a post asking for the info. There's a world of info out there, just gotta' look!

Stay away from the lines you mentioned...

The Windcutter will allow you to develop some serious bad habits and the GrandSpey and the XLT are lines not designed for the begginer...especially for the beginer that will be fishing sinktips.

Look towards your Midspey lines...such as the Rio Midspey, Airflow LongDelta and SA Mastery Spey/Salmon...all these lines are excellent for a caster at any stage!

The two best videos are the RIO ISC Video (not the first one but the second one) and the Derek Brown Spey Masterclass...these two videos will provide you with some excellent instruction but no video or book will develop your casting stroke or expand your abilities like GOOD hands on instruction!

If you can make the time, talk to the nice folks at River Run Anglers (425-333-4446) in Carnation. They're open W-F 12PM TO 8PM / Sat 10AM TO 3PM. Maybe they would have some lines you can try before you buy. If you can hang on until the 25th of Jan. come to the Speyclave hosted by Speybum (RR Anglers)and maybe watch and learn some things.

AD

"Sparkie" knows where of he speaks. I've got 9 or 10 different spey rods and just about most of the lines in production (a few notable exceptions). The XLT and GrandSpey's are for folks who are way up the learning curve. Of the two the xlt is by far the better.

For a 'beginner' the WC is a good line, but as mentioned it will 'teach you bad things.' For a 'beginner line' it will get you going on the river, but I'd recommend the RIO Aclrtr. lines for the rod wt you've mentioned.

Will take a bit more time to get into your casting flow, but you'll be more than happy with an extra hours practice. The Mid-spey is a line that will work very well with your rod; but you'll need an 'instructor' to get this one down. Had/used the line for ages and it just was beyond me; then one day: POW!

To the point: if you can hook up with someone with several lines that will work with your rod spend a couple of hours (without a hook on the end of your leader) and you'll soon find out what works for you, and what doesn't.

Damn! 2 whole hours out of my life. Trust me: at $50-75 bucks a pop trying someone elses lines on your rod is a very cheap investment.

Second point is lean on Ryan, young fellow really (well most of the time) does know what he's talking about if the words 'Spey Rod' is in the question.
fae

I have been looking at you post and figured I would post the line that are available to use on your Lami 9/10.


SA XLT-9/10F 92' 1050 grains in weight

SA MASTERY SPEY/SALMON 10/11 70'799 grains

RIO GRANDSPEY 9/10 100' 1300 grains in weight

RIO MIDSPEY 9/10 65' 725 grains in weight

RIO WINDCUTTER 8/9/10 54'6" 585 grains in weight

RIO WINDCUTTER 9/10/ /11 54'6" 650 grains in weight

WINDCUTTER UPGRADE 8/9/10 69'6" 750 grains in weight

WINDCUTTER UPGRADE 9/10/11 69'6" 860 grains in weight

AIRFLO DELTA SPEY WF 9/10F 55' 630 grains in weight

AIRFLO LONG DELTA SPEY WF 9/10F 66' 690 grains in weight

These are most of the common lines that are available.
There are four that I would recommend these are those.

SA MASTERY SPEY/SALMON 10/11 70'799 grains
RIO MIDSPEY 9/10 65' 725 grains in weight
WINDCUTTER UPGRADE 8/9/10 69'6" 750 grains in weight
AIRFLO LONG DELTA SPEY WF 9/10F 66' 690 grains in weight

These lines are easy to cast and won't be to hard on the caster or the Speyrod.
It is hard to say which one will fit you casting style.
I recomend that you try before you buy.


Speybum

The windcutter will only teach you bad habits if you let it.. Also if you never fish any other lines then the windcutter wont teach you anything bad just there are things you can get away with with the windcutter that you can't with some other lines.

Hi Folks, this question is for sparkey and fred, when talking about the windcutter what bad habits are you talking about when useing this line?. I am not trying to start an argument but i am interested in your opinions on this line,thanks

The Windcutter allows you to do a couple things that you could never get away with a longer belly line or other stnadard shooting head type lines.

With the Windcutter allows you to get away with a poor setup and poor hand placement.

I can come around very low with my hands and throw an awful D-Loop with the Windcutter and yet I will have no problem firing 60 feet if I apply enough power on my forward stroke...if you come around really low and throw a shotty a D-Loop with a longer belly line, you will have a hard enough just throwing the belly, let alone shooting 10-30'.

Also with a Windcutter I can get away with the flying butt syndrome in which I bring my lower hand way out which in turn drops the tip to an almost 9 oclock position...I can still throw 50-60 while doing this with a Windcutter...I could never do this with a longer belly line or even some other standard shooting head type lines.

By learning on a longer belly line...you learn to come around much higher with your hands (what Derek Brown calls the shotgun lift) and throw an accelerated D-Loop with just the right amount of line stick.

I hope that makes some sense...

Well put Sparky.

Speybum

Thanks sparkey, that makes a lot of sense

I've tried some, but not all of the Spey lines that are available. Presently I'm partial to a regular double taper for floating line work and the SA Mastery, that Sparks mentioned, for sink tip fishing. I prefer to choose my own sink tips, rather than use what someone else assembles in a kit at a price I don't see any reason to pay, I wish I had begun with the SA Mastery, except none of these lines were on the market then.

The long belly was a little too much line for my rod, so after determining the longest roll cast I could make with it, I cut about 15' off in addition to the floating tip section. I made a loop at that point so I can attach any sink rate tip that suits my purpose. After 3 seasons, I'm more satisfied with this line than any of the alternatives I tried previously, which included some hideous shooting heads that shot like a bullet but had the casting grace of one also.

As a novice, I think you'll benefit by keeping it simple. I'm just a more experienced novice, and I still like the keep it simple philosophy for my fishing.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.