The Northern California Fly Fishing Board

My take on your problem is that the pile up at the end of your cast is the result of overloading the rod...if the rod was designed to be a single handed (overhead casting) rod for an 8wt line, the 30-35 feet of line combined with the tension/stick/anchoring of the line on the water when you load the rod for the spey cast may be creating so much of a load that the rod cannot deliver enough energy to deliver the cast in a straight line...kind of like putting a 7 wt line on a 5 wt rod for short line nymphing...8-10 feet of the 7 wt line loads the rod for but when you try to cast 30 feet to a specific target, the line dunps into a pile because the rod is overloaded and is unable to generate enough energy to carry the added weight.

Try the same spey casting technique with this rod when it's loaded with a lighter (5, 6, or 7 wt) line?

My 2 cents.

Paul