I have recently been having a lot of conversations about switch rods and more specifically about switch rods being a good transition between a single handed rod and a double handed rod. A great deal of adverstising and marketing has gone into touting switch rods as a great way to get into spey casting. I have to disagree with these claims having put switch rods into a lot of new casters hands on guide days. This is not to say switch rods don't have an application but they certainly are not the easiest way to get into two-handed casting.
The most common issue I have seen with switch rods and new double handed casters is, new casters have a hard time feeling the rod load and thus struggle with the timing of the cast. Switch rods tend to be fairly stout sticks primarily because they are shorter, making it difficult to feel the pull of the D-Loop. In addition, because the rods are shorter the line will settle more quickly on the water if the forward stroke is not executed with fairly precise timing. The added stick on the water, particularly with floating lines, dampens the line speed which typically results in a pretty hideous cast. And as any spey caster knows, when you are learning to cast, it takes time to figure out the timing.
My suggestion for new casters is to invest in a spey rod in the 6 to 7 weight range with a length between 12 and 13.5 ft. Also make sure the rod bends deep into the cork so that you can feel the load of the line in the rod. The additional length will give you more room for error because the line will not settle as quickly on the water. There are some great inexpensive rods in this range that are perfect for the begining spey caster and quite frankly some of these rods could easily compete with many of the higher end rods. My favorite rods that won't cost you an arm and a leg are the Echo TR two-handers. They load deep into the cork and cast beautifully with both scandinavian shooting heads as well as skagit lines and will more than likely be a rod you keep in your arsenal for a long time.
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