SPEY NATION RETURNS AUG. 7-10, 2025

Swing The Fly is honored to announce Spey Nation will return August 7-10, 2025, 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. 

Spey Nation: Spey School 2025 by Swing The Fly

Thursday, August 7th and Friday, August 8th, 2025 

The first-ever two-day 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 two days at DSR that is guaranteed to greatly improve skills and assist in becoming a more complete angler.

The 2025 Spey Nation Spey Nation School will be taught by some of our community’s top anglers and instructors including: 

• Tim Arsenault – Reigning Spey-O-Rama World Champion and owner of Bridge Outfitting,
• Rick Kustich – Swing THe Fly Great Lakes Editor, multi-time author 
• Jeff Liskay – legendary Great Lakes guide and instructor
• Nick Pionessa – renowned casting instructor, experienced regional guide 
• Daniel Ritz – Editor, Swing The Fly 

…and more. Stay tuned as we continue to update . 

We’re tailoring the Spey School’s curriculum to accommodate anglers of all skill levels and interest, in an effort to meet the needs of each individual participant. 

Summary of Spey Nation Spey School 2025 Curriculum 

• Equipment: In-depth discussions on rods/lines/reels/leaders, rigging and demystifying spey terminology
• Spey Casting
  • Waterborne Anchor Casting 
  • Touch and go casting
• Fishing Casts and Tactical Spey Fishing: Adjusting the cast to real fishing situations 
• Presenting the Fly: Controlling the fly speed, depth, angle with intent. 
• Species: Steelhead, Atlantic salmon, King salmon, resident trout, Smallmouth bass, other predator species and more
• Flies and Fly Tying: Discussion of flies for various species and conditions along with tying instruction
• Conservation & Becoming An Advocate: Basics of wild fish conservation, tips to becoming a wild fIsh advocate and the importance of anglers leading on fisheries resiliency. 

Evenings will be an opportunity to talk with the instructors in an informal setting.

Spey Nation Spey School 2025 Logistics 

• Arrival at the DSR lodges on 8/6. The listed price of the school includes lodging accommodations for the nights of Wednesday, 8/6, Thursday, 8/7 and Friday, 8/8. Spey School will be using the lodges on the south side of the river. Details on the exact lodge where each participant will be staying will be provided prior to arrival. 
• Full-day Spey School classes on 8/7 and 8/8 followed by less formal activities at the lodges in the evening like fly tying, etc. etc. 
• All classes will be on/near the water as needed. We will be utilizing the DSR facilities for all classes. All participants will receive passes to the DSR water for the two days as part of registration.
• Spey Nation will provide breakfast, lunch, and dinner on 8/7 and 8/8. (Drinks are included, but BYO – Alcohol) Upon arrival on Thursday, 8/6, all Spey School attendees are welcome to join for an informal gathering for a local meal with instructors and other attendees, but not mandatory.

Main Event – Saturday, August 9th 

• Free, Open to the public presentations at Pineville Boat Launch
• Presentations from 9am to approximately 2:30 PM. 
• Designated time at end for participants to cast rods and lines – instructors available to assist
• Free lunch 
• Appearances by other local/regional Swing The Fly contributors as well as recommended spey guides, recommended Spey shops and more. 

Individual Casting Classes – Sunday, August 10th

• Individual casting classes with the Spey Nation Spey School will be available on Sunday. These will be small groups, 3-4 anglers, with specific focuses. These classes will be available to the public, for folks looking for a tune-up or a casting lesson that may not have the time or ability to attend Spey School. 
• More to come on individual casting classes. 

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 

BE SURE TO JOIN OUR FREE SPEY NATION 2025 EMAIL LIST TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW WHEN MORE DETAILS ARE AVAILABLE AND REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Spey Nation 2025 is Sponsored By:

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