Spey Nation 2026
SPEY NATION RETURNS AUG. 7-9, 2026
Swing The Fly is honored to announce Spey Nation will return August 7th-9th, 2026, to the storied banks of the Salmon River in beautiful Oswego County New York.
This year, we aim to honor the event’s decades-long traditions AND offer a few new and exciting updates.
The presentation schedule for Spey Nation 2026 is still taking shape and will be announced sooner than later, but, as always, the presentations and presentations will be carefully curated to provide a wide range of useful information for attendees to become better casters and better anglers.
2026 Spey Nation Presenters
- Special Guest Bruce Kruk from Trail, British Columbia
- Rick Kustich
- Jeff Liskay
- Nick Pionessa
- Daniel Ritz
- Steve Szeliga
- Craig Buckbee
- more to come!
Sign Up Now: Small Group Casting Classes
Classes for three and six students (no more than three students per instructor) are available for $200 (four-hour classes) on Friday, August 7th, and Sunday, August 9th.
Friday, August 7th
- 8:30 AM-12:30 PM Touch & Go Casting with Bruce Kruk & Daniel Ritz – 6 Students
- 8:30 AM- 12:30 PM: Trout Spey with Rick Kustich – 3 Students
- 1-5 PM: Introduction to Spey Casting with Rick Kustich & Daniel Ritz– 6 Students
- 1-5 PM: ABC’s Of Spey Casting with Bruce Kruk – 3 Students.
- 1-5 PM: One Handed Spey with Craig Buckbee– more to come – 3 Students
Sunday, August 9th
- 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Introduction to Spey Castingwith Rick Kustich & Jeff Liskay – 6 Students
- 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Touch and Go Casts with Nick Pionessa & Steve Szeliga – 6 students
- 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM: ABC’s of Spey Casting with Bruce Kruk and Daniel Ritz – 6 students
Spey Nation: Spey School 2026 by Swing The Fly
Friday, August 7th, 2026
The first-ever Spey Nation Spey School event brought to you by Swing The Fly in partnership with Douglaston Salmon Run (DSR) is designed to be a comprehensive learning opportunity for anglers to develop and/or refine sound fundamental spey casting techniques as well as every necessary aspect to successfully spey cast and fish the swung fly. Participants can expect a fun, fulfilling and informative day at DSR that is guaranteed to greatly improve skills and assist in becoming a more complete angler.
The 2026 Spey Nation Spey Nation School will be taught by some of our community’s top anglers and instructors including:
- Jeff Liskay – legendary Great Lakes guide and instructor.
- Nick Pionessa – renowned casting instructor, experienced regional guide.
- Steve Szeliga – Local fishing guide, Swing The Fly fly tying contributor.
Summary of Spey Nation Spey School 2026 Curriculum
- Beginning at 8:00am, there will be a detailed and personalized equipment breakdown before a dynamic casting session in the morning. The objective of the morning session is to focus on the fundamentals of casting and tailor the instruction to your individual needs. We’ll break for lunch (included in price) with an afternoon session beginning at 1:00 pm. In the afternoon, the focus will be on practical application, including rigging, presentation strategies and tips, and making the proper cast for a given fishing situation.
Spey Nation Spey School 2026 Logistics
Main Event – Saturday, August 8th
- Free, Open to the public presentations at Pineville Boat Launch
- Presentations from approx. 9am to approximately noon.
- Expanded gear demo time with more brands and options than ever before.
If you have any questions about Spey Nation Spey School, contact Rick Kustich, Great Lakes Editor, Swing The Fly at RKustich@hotmail.com- or Daniel Ritz, Editor, Swing The Fly, at DanielR@SwingTheFly.com
Free lunch will again be offered on Saturday, May 8th, after the morning presentations. Photo: Daniel Ritz