Spey Nation is coming back to New York’s Salmon River, slated to run August 7 – 9. Spey Nation is put on by Swing the Fly, and it’s a three-day event dedicated to all things two-handed fishing.
This three-day gathering includes a Spey School, casting classes, and a main event open to the public aimed at education and a sense of community for Spey casters and Spey anglers of all experience levels.
This is the first time Spey School has been offered at Spey Nation, and it promises to be a big draw for folks looking to get into two=handed fly fishing.
Spey School 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,” per event organizers. “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.”
Some of the presenters at Spey Nation include Rick Kustich, Bruce Kruk, Jeff Liskay, Nick Pionessa, Daniel Ritz, and Steve Szeliga.
Plenty of classes are also planned, which aim to introduce folks to Spey casting, as well as help to refine skills for those who are looking to clean things up. Those classes are offered on both the 8th and 9th of August.
The main Spey Nation event occurs on Saturday August 8th, 2026 at the Pineville Boat Launch on the Salmon River starting around 8:30am and includes on-water presentations, Spey rods and lines to test and cast from numerous manufacturers, opportunity to meet with experts in the Spey industry and receive casting tips to improve, tables from other local businesses, a free lunch and raffles to benefit The Mayfly Project.
Since Spey Nation occurs a few weeks before the first runs of migratory fish, attendees to Spey Nation can find other activities on the days surrounding the main event. Attendees of the Saturday event may consider registering for the Spey School or a class on Friday August 7th or Sunday August 9th.
The current schedule is as follows:
Friday, August 7
- 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 – 3 Students
- 1-5 PM: ABC’s Of Spey Casting with Bruce Kruk & Daniel Ritz – 6 Students
- 1-5 PM: One Handed Spey with Craig Buckbee– more to come – 3 Students
Saturday, August 8
- 9 a.m. – Spey Nation opens and Pineville boat ramp.
Presentations from approx. 9 a.m. to approximately noon. - 9:30 – Jeff Liskay- “Skagit Casting Roadmap to Success: Controlling Anchor Position, Slack, and Tension”
- 10:00- Steve Szeliga – “Editing the Water Based on Your Setup and Conditions”
- 10:30- Rick Kustich – “Casting Tips for Spey Fishing”
- 11:00 – Danny Ritz – “Fine, Far, Quiet, and Slow”
- 11:30 – Bruce Kruk – “ABC’s of Speycasting”
Sunday, August 9
- 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM: Introduction to Spey Casting with Rick Kustich/Jeff Liskay – 6 Students
- 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM: ABC’s of Spey Casting with Bruce Kruk and Daniel Ritz – 6 students
You can register and learn more about the event here.