11.03.10 Wanna ruin your fly casting...try a spey rod for a few days!

Ain't that the truth. So I fished a spey rod for the last three days....I think just casted more two-handed then true spey casting. So today I gave my reel a quick tune up and slapped it on my friends busted TFO 9wt and hit Deal around 8pm. SE wind, quick wave sets, not a car around. I started on the south side of Phillips. I attempted to cast this, what seemed, lighter than air rod and reel that had yarn on it. Already I, and whatever muscles I have, had become used to the weight and motion of the bigger spey rod. I couldn't cast to save my life, and the cross wind didn't help. I have welts on my back and on my legs where my weighted clouser stung my skin as I attempted my "side arm" cast, which doesn't work with a 9ft w/ intermediate line and a crosswind. So I gave up on that spot and moved to the jetty. I worked the north side, having the wind at my back. I made two casts and hooked up and had a great fight, and a long walk back to the beach to land and release the over 20 inch fish. I jumped back up on the jetty ready to call it a night when I saw a boil in the wash, out of casting range. I got off the jetty and inched my way into the
surf. A few casts later I was hooked up again and quickly this fish had me into my backing. I must have given him just a second of slack because he it spit the hook.
     The nice thing about jumping down off the jetty was that the tide was going out, and the jetty protected me from the SE wind. I had a ball, and the fish came in and out, with more boils than breaks in the surface. My most fun was between a long wave set, I saw a huge boil, made a good cast, and quickly had a beast on. I fought it hard for a long while, way back into the backing. Just as I started to see the fish break in the waves, it snapped off. I was so afraid of it spitting the hook that I kept a little too much pressure on it, and off it went. Best part is, got home by 1030- so I can still get out in the morning. Then I can take the next few snotty days off, till next week.