Looking for some advise on a 2 hand rod. Since both of my elbows really bark at me after a day of casting I thought that moving to a 2 hander would make life easier and keep me off the Tylenol & Advil. I don't spend much time swinging flies in the rivers, mostly cast and strip off the salt water beaches for salmon. I was thinking something with a stiffer mid section to really push the line out into the breeze. It seems that most Spey rods don't make good overhead rods. I was looking at a TFO 12'-6" 6 wt as it seemed to have a fair amount of starch in its mid section. Any and all comments or recommendations would be most appreciated.

Every Saturday Aaron at River Run Anglers in Carnation has a mini clave (about two to three hours)

Go there and try out rods; lines to sample it will take you 4 or 5 visits to use them all

There will be some great guys there to help you out

I'm really not able to advise you about rods or lines; however, I will encourage you to investigate further. I've just started using a double-hander off the beach, and the distance you can cast and the ease with which you can cast (quite a ways further than with a singlehander) is significant.

You'll undoubtedly be pleased; at least I was.

Keith

There two words that has help me alot in Spey Casting

"SLOW DOWN"

Just remember those words

"Slow" is easy for me as I grew up in the 50's & 60's casting fiberglass & bamboo. My dad always preached to let the line load the rod and do the work. Thanks for the advise guys. I'll get out to Carnation this weekend and stop in at River Run.

Have the exact rod you mentioned above and it's one of my fav. summer run steelhead rods on the upper Rogue.

But given the (as I understand it) intended use (overhand casting into 'the salt') I suspect this would not be a very good match. Most 'salt' guys I know prefer a 15 or even a 16 foot rod as you need distance. And that's what a longer rod gives you ... distance, regardless of the water your working.

If you have the rod, give it a try, but I'd also suggest you do the same with a 15'footer. I think you'll prefer the later to the former.

Fred

A bunch of the fellas I fish with in BC do that very thing ... too old & stubborn to try to change, but relaize the advantages of casting / mending with a super long rod. Actually some of them fish overhand in the truest sense, a couple of others cast more with their hands low but without a spey cast of any type.

I have a hybrid 11.5 footer that I love to fish up there. can be fished either way, but I usually fish it as a single-hander.

Slow is the key from the experience with my rod and watching the old farts with their "spey rods".

when it comes to fishing the salt around here, anything longer then 12'6" is too long and I feel 11-12' to be the optimum length. a shorter two-handed rods allows you to efficiently make long casts of the beach but at the same time does not inhibit your ability to strip the fly right to your feet. plus the shorter rod allows you to get the head outside your rod so much quicker with less effort so you can shoot a mile of line in a lot less time. in turn your fly is in the water so much longer (and the more your fly is in the water, the more fish you are going to catch).

plus all these longer two-handed overhead rods, say 15' and 16', are complete and utter overkill for our fish around here because they are equivalent to and #10 and #11's. your quarry is going to be cutts and small coho...hell even a large strong chum would be hard pressed to put a bend in one of those rods. the rods that fred are talking about are popular for fishing the surf in austrailia where massive casts with massive flys for massive fish is the name of the game.

favored two-handed rods for fishin' the beaches around here:
11' #7 Winston BIIX (not overkill for cutts)
*new* GLoomis Native Run GLX 11' #7
CND Oceana 11' 9/10 (was the Atlantis)
Sage 6126
Sage 8126
GLoomis Stinger GLX 12'6" 7/8, 8/9 ir 9/10

...just the match the aforementioned rods with the appropriate Rio Outbound and you are set.

p.s. your exact applications for the rod will
determine what rod is best for you.

" ... hell even a large strong chum would be hard pressed to put a bend in one of those rods. " Sparky, I can tell you haven't been up on the Vedder/Harrison 'chasing chums' for a bit.

And I have photo's to prove it.
:>)

That said, fellow asked about 2-handed over head casting. I'd (imho) consider a 11' foot rod to just be a tad long for a single hander (add a bit more butt section).
Fred