Get access to everything Swing the Fly offers and become a subscriber.
Spey 101
Building a basic understanding of Spey casting, including techniques, equipment, terminology, and history. All Spey 101 content is free to view for non-members. Learn and Enjoy!
-
Spey 101: Perfecting Your Trout Spey Setup
Trout spey has been all the rage for the last handful of years, but there’s still arguably less information available than for more traditional two-handed… -
Spey 101: How Much Does The Fly Matter?
“They’ll eat your car keys." -
On Speed and Depth
From his book, 'Modern Spey Fishing' -
What Lies Beneath
The hydrology of moving water is a mystery to most. So is what our swinging fly is doing beneath.
Conservation
Brought to you by 
Passing on healthy rivers and fish populations to the next generation is a responsibility all swung fly anglers must be committed to. Keep tabs here on the latest news from our conservation partners and learn how you can help.
-
How The West Was Lost
The following was written in 2024, before the Trump administration's full assault on public lands. Before an abysmal winter with negligible snowfall, which plummeted the… -
Conservation Corner: Skagit Dams: Seattle City Light’s new federal hydropower license moves forward
After seven years of negotiations, Trout Unlimited is joining co-signers to support an agreement that improves hydropower operations and makes extensive restoration investments in the… -
Conservation Corner: Protecting Roadless Areas Protects Wild Steelhead
Rescinding the Roadless Rule would remove safeguards on cold, clean water and healthy, intact forests. -
Conservation Corner: A Silver Lining for Wild Fish?
Steelhead hatcheries across the West Coast are confronting an unprecedented funding crisis that threatens their continued operation, with California's Mad River Fish Hatchery becoming the…
Fly Tying
-
The Fire Tiger Spider
As in steelhead and salmon fishing, many of the flies we swing for trout are attractor patterns resembling nothing found in nature. These are ‘trigger… -
New Subscriber Discount Code for “Crafting The Swung Fly”
New Print & Digital subscribers (9/1/2025-now) get a discount code for $30 off "Crafting The Swung Fly." -
S.B.S. & B.T.S. : The Olive Fiery Brown
Step by step, and behind the scenes. The how to tie it, and the why: the Olive Fiery Brown. -
The Black General Practitioner a.k.a Lingren’s Indispensable
"I think if I had to limit myself to one fly for the rest of my days, the Black G. P. would be the fly."
Atlantic Salmon
-
Elegance, and A Grilse
Elegance on the Gaspe -
“So, You’re Saying I Shouldn’t Use a Skagit Line On The Skagit River?”
Photo: Joe Rossano. Yes, that’s exactly what I’m saying. At least insofar as we’re talking a standard Skagit head with a floating body and a… -
Luck Is Never Far Away
It's early October in eastern Canada. A misty drizzle gives the air a pregnant, mysterious quality. My guide and I carefully are driving along a… -
Icons: Simon Gawesworth
Icons, a web series from Swing the Fly, looks at the most influential figures in spey casting and swinging flies from North America and beyond…
Great Lakes
-
Streamer Spey
I’ll have it to myself. The water was just beginning to stain and rise, timing seemed perfect. -
An Interview With Keith Butler, The Mayfly Project
"What makes it (Spey Nation) such a good fit with The Mayfly Project is that the two-handed community is so generous. People really want to… -
On Speed and Depth
From his book, 'Modern Spey Fishing'
-
Rods and Rigs for the Great Lakes
"What is the best rod configuration for the Great Lakes region? " Great Lakes Editor Rick Kustich's answer: It depends!
International
Brought to you by: 
-
Lady Gray
The rise of a gray here is soft, smooth and tender, a kiss from the surface. -
The Huchenwaschl
Do you know what a "waschl“ is? I'll guess not, so you get a short crash course in Bavarian dialect. Actually, there are many variations… -
Icons – Thomas Woelfle
Get to know the Bavarian way of swinging flies with Thomas Woelfle, the renowned speymeister of Munich. -
Coming Out
Our favorite Italian contributor contemplates his single speyophile snobbery
Spey Casting
-
Off The Kuff With Kapitan Kruk: Using Your Rod As A Lever
https://youtube.com/shorts/Qiz8iLR_n6Y -
VIDEO: Final Rounds, Spey-O-Rama 2026
Watch the Men's, Women's, and Master's Finals of Spey-O-Rama 2026 at Golden Gate Angling And Casting Club. -
Spey Casting With Travis Johnson: The Anchor
https://youtu.be/odPNbc93lRI For more, be sure to subscribe to Travis Johnson’s Everything Spey channel on Instagram. You can book a day of fishing for Trout, Summer,… -
Off The Cuff With Kapitan Kruk: Setting Up Your Snake Roll
Bruce Kruk, Trail, British Columbia, shares a few of the most common mistakes he sees in folks Snake Rolls.
Trout Spey
-
The Fire Tiger Spider
As in steelhead and salmon fishing, many of the flies we swing for trout are attractor patterns resembling nothing found in nature. These are ‘trigger…
-
Our Shifting Baseline
The frog is swimming in a pot of water on a stove, still comfortable as the water approaches boiling: He gets used to it. Until… -
Partner Highlight: Big Sky Anglers
STF sits down with Big Sky Angler's Matt Klara to discuss the History, Culture, Community, Pursuits, and Place at the core of this West Yellowstone,… -
The Fall Orange Spider
"The swung fly is a tactic to tease out a predatory instinct in a fish that months earlier would refuse all but the most accurate…
West Coast
-
Our Shifting Baseline
The frog is swimming in a pot of water on a stove, still comfortable as the water approaches boiling: He gets used to it. Until…
-
The Big Storm
"The travelers sit in jangling silence tracking the yellow line, riding a hot grease and steel hound lined out for the bleeding storm. " -
Counting Steelhead With Shep
My family is unskilled at small talk; to compensate, we avoid social gatherings. Defying that legacy, I sat uncomfortably in a packed room of mostly… -
Icons – Kara Knight
Icons, a web series from Swing the Fly, looks at the most influential figures in spey casting and swinging flies from North America and beyond…
