Fly Fishing Traditions



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Saturday, January 26, 2013

Patterns - Blue Wing Olives "Baetis"

I've always wanted to put it all together, the bugs, the flies and the techniques to fish them. The Fly Fishing Traditions blog is sort of my Masters Thesis in Fly Fishing. Kinda, Sorta! For me it's a quest of learning about the entomology, the fly patterns to match the hatch and the necessary techniques to play the game effectively. Done in a everyday workman's or tradesman's type way and along the way having fun with it.

This blog entry, "Patterns - Blue Wing Olives Baetis" is my attempt to cover the fly patterns portion of the equation. I am hoping to follow this up with future blog entries to cover the bugs as the season progresses, Skwalas, PMD's etc. But as always life gets in the way so we'll see how it goes.

So, this is the follow up to the blog post “Bugs – The Baetis - Blue Wing Olives” with a selection of patterns that will cover the hatch. This of course is by no means the only patterns that are available for the BWO, Baetis hatch, but will give me and hopefully others a good idea how to set up a fly box to match it. Read some John Gierach stories about him and A.K. Best fishing the BWO hatch, one of his favorite hatches and you'll get a good insight too.

I have researched and provided some patterns and recipes with brief comments on when and how to fish the patterns.

I hope that you will find these patterns useful and when you're on the river when a BWO hatch comes off, you'll be prepared. I know I’d like to find some time to tie some of these patterns up myself. Maybe soon!

I did most of my research on the internet and at http://www.westfly.com/ which is a great site. Check it out for specific tying techniques and steps for most of the patterns listed herein. A great tying instruction book is "Tying Dries" by Randall Kaufman. It's sort of my bible for tying.

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Hogan Brown's Patterns

When I look into my flyboxes and I think about what fly to reach for and which one's that I have the most confidence in, I often choose one of Hogan' Brown's patterns. Hogan learned and perfected his craft right here on the Lower Yuba River. So when trying to match a Baetis, BWO, why wouldn't I not go for one of his following patterns? I usually go there first and there is a reason that I have confidence in them. They work. I haven't been able to locate tying instructions for most of his patterns but his flies are distributed through "Iydlewilde Flies" and are available at Nevada City Anglers, The Fly Shop and most other resources on line.


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Hogan's S&M Nymph



Hook: TMC 3769 #16-18
Thread: Dark Brown 8/0
Weight: Copper Bead
Ribbing: Wapsi Olive Ultra Wire, SM
Abdomen: Olive Thread 8/0
Tail: Pheasant Tail Fibers
Wingcase: Dark Brown Goose Biot
Thorax: Dark Olive Antron
Legs: Olive Krystal Flash


Notes: I first started using the S&M Nymph when fishing the Lower Sacramento River and it has been a proven producer. When the Lower Sac goes into the small bug bite mode I usually have an S&M nymph or a Military May nymph rigged up. From what I have researched the S&M nymph is weighted by use of a Copper bead head but has additional sinking capabilities through the use of a thread body, streamline shape, and Ultra wire for the distinct segmentation. Hogan uses a Goose Biot for the wingcase which provides a distinct color contrast to the thorax which is typical with natural baetis nymphs having a darker hue on the top of the thorax. Krystal Flash is used for the legs which provides attraction and movement to the fly yet does not detract from it's sinkability. I've often used it as a dropper on the Lower Sac and Lower Yuba when I need to get the nymph down quickly. __________________________________


Hogan's Military May


Hogan's Military May has a more slender profile than the S&M nynph. It's a great idea to catch some baetis nymphs from your screen need when sampling, put them in a white jar lid and then stick your S&M nymph and Military May or Better Baetis nymph in and see which profile matches the natural best. You might be surprised.





Hogan's Better Baetis - I believe that this matches the smallest BWO the best.









Hogan's BWO Sipper


The Hogan's BWO Sipper has also been productive during the BWO hatches when the nymphs are emerging and when you have duns riding the surface.



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Proven Dry Fly Patterns for the BWO, "Baetis"

Parachute Baetis

HOOK: 900BL, sizes 16-20
THREAD: Olive
WING: Mallard flank, tied parachute style
TAIL: Two blue dun Micro Fibbets, split
BODY: Olive Haretron or Superfine
HACKLE: Natural or olive-dyed grizzly


When to Use - Use parachute style flies to ride low in the water and provide a realistic silhouette on runs and glides. Use this fly during hatches of blue-winged olive (Baetis) mayflies when you are matching the dun stage.

Variations - Vary the size and body color to match whatever is hatching. Body colors will range from olive, to brown-olive, to brown. As always a good idea catch a sample to match color.

How to Fish - Dress the fly with floatant and use standard dry fly presentations.
Size counts. During a hatch, try to snag a natural insect, then pick a parachute pattern that is the same size. As Rick Hafele says it's the most important trigger.

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Sparkle Dun
Created by Craig Mathews and John Juracek

HOOK: TMC 100, sizes 16-20
THREAD: Yellow (Olive to match the BWO)
WING: Deer hair, dyed gray. When done tying, flare the wing so it forms an upright semi-circle over the fly.
TAIL: Tan Z-lon, not too thick, (Dun or Olive for the BWO)
BODY: Pale yellow Superfine ( Olive to match natural for the BWO)
Note: The photo below is to match a PMD, Match the colors of the BWO.

Uses - The sparkle dun imitates a hatching mayfly dun. Use this pattern during a hatch when the duns are on the water and trout are feeding on them. The Sparkle Dun is one of the most useful styles to learn to tie. It is not a difficult pattern to master, and it catches fish. Essentially, the fly is a Comparadun with a Z-lon tail that represents the shuck the dun has just emerged from. It's a clever and deadly variation. Craig Matthews should know!


Why does it work so well? Because a dun that has just emerged from the shuck has to dry its wings before it can fly off; thus, it will be on the water for the maximum amount of time. If you were a trout, which mayfly dun would you prefer: one that might fly away before you sip it down, or one that is guaranteed to still be there after you spend the energy to reach it?

Variations - A useful variation is the CDC Sparkle Dun, which uses CDC fibers for the wing. This latter variation is sometimes tied with a mallard flank wing in front of the CDC, but they say that the trout don’t care if the mallard flank is there or not.
This dressing imitates a hatching PMD. To imitate other mayfly duns, vary the size and color.

How to Fish - Dress the fly with floatant and use standard dry fly presentations.


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ComparadunCreated by Al Caucci and Bob Nastasi

HOOK: 900BL, size 12-16, (16 to 20 for BWO)
THREAD: Brown (Olive for the BWO)
WING: Mottled gray deer hair tied upright and flared
TAIL: Blue dun hackle fibers, split
BODY: Tan Superfine or to match dun color (Olive to match naturals for the BWO)

Uses - Comparaduns are useful, durable patterns that imitate the dun stage of mayflies. Use them during a hatch when duns are on the water and are being taken by trout. Comparaduns ride well and float without hackle, which is an advantage on slow, quiet stretches of water. The pattern is more durable than a No Hackle, but it's not as effective on spring creeks.


Variations - Other mayflies can be imitated by using hook sizes and body colors that match the natural insect.


How to Fish - Dress the fly with floatant and use standard dry fly presentations.


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Thorax, OliveCheck out Randal Kaufmann's "Dry Flies" for tying instructions.

HOOK: TMC 100, sizes 14-20
THREAD: Black
WING: White hackle tips
TAIL: Dun hackle or Betts' Tailing Fibers
BODY: Superfine to match natural insect
HACKLE: Light dun. Clip the bottom so it rides flush in the surface film.

Uses - Thorax-style dry flies provide a realistic silhouette and were designed to be used on spring creeks and other slow, clear water situations. Use this pattern during hatches of small mayflies when the duns are on the water.


Variations - Vary the color and hook size to match other mayflies.



How to Fish - Dress the fly with floatant and use standard dry fly presentations. The fly is intended for slow, smooth flows; it will not float well in rough water.

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CDC Baetis
Created by Dave Hill

HOOK: TMC 100, sizes 16-20
THREAD: Olive
TAIL: Betts' Tailing Fibers
BODY: Olive Dazl-Tron
WING: CDC, natural dun color

Uses - Use to imitate blue-winged olive (Baetis) duns when there is a hatch in progress and trout are taking duns from the surface. Because this fly has no hackle, it is particularly effective on slow water, spring creeks, and other situations where trout are acting in a persnickity manner.



Variations - Blue-winged olives come in body colors that range from olive to brown. Choose a color that matches the insects available to trout when and where you are fishing.

How to Fish - Do NOT dress the fly with floatant! CDC flies should be fished au natural. When a fly no longer floats well, put it in a small container of powdered descicant, such as Dry Shake, and shake it up. This removes the moisture, and you're ready to cast again. Use standard dry fly presentations.

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Proven Nymph Patterns


Pale Baetis NymphCreated by Jeff Morgan

HOOK: Dai Riki 310, size 20-22
THREAD: 8/0 rusty dun
TAIL: Three short widgeon flank feathers
ABDOMEN: Tying thread, perhaps counter-ribbed with iron gray 8/0 thread
THORAX: One or two wraps of pale olive dubbing
WINGCASE: Mottled oak Thinskin
LEGS: Pale olive Antron fibers, sparse

Uses -Imitates nymphs of blue-winged olives.

How to Fish - In rivers, the fly can be presented near the surface, but it is usually most productive when fished near the bottom on a dead drift with the indicator or tight line presentations. To achieve the right depth, you may need to put weight on the leader or use the fly on a dropper with a heavier fly on the point. While the fly works well as a searching nymph, it can also be productive during a hatch (more trout than you might suspect are taking nymphs off the bottom rather than duns off the top).

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Hot Spot Pheasant Tail

HOOK: Mustad 9671, sizes 8-20
THREAD: Brown
TAIL: Four pheasant tail fibers
RIB: Fine copper wire
BODY: Pheasant tail fibers wrapped on hook
THORAX: Orange or chartreuse Haretron or sparkle dubbing
WINGCASE: Pheasant tail fibers pulled over the thorax


Uses - The bright thorax may help fish focus on this variation of the traditional Pheasant Tail Nymph. "Hot spots" such as this bright thorax may not be as unnatural as they might appear.





Variations - Can be tied with or without a beadhead. Vary the size to match different insect species.

How to Fish - In rivers, the fly can be presented near the surface, but it is usually most productive when fished near the bottom on a dead drift with the indicator or tight line presentations.

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Proven Emerger and Cripple Patterns

Baetis Cripple
Created by Bob Quigley

HOOK: 1X Fine wire, Standard shank, Turned-Down eye; e.g., TMC 100 or equivalent; sizes 16-20
THREAD: Brown
TAIL: Pheasant tail fibers
ABDOMEN: Wrapped pheasant tail fibers
THORAX: Olive or brown Superfine dubbing
WING: Tan deer hair
HACKLE: Olive grizzly


Uses - "Cripple" patterns represent mayflies that are either just emerging or that got stuck in the shuck while emerging. In either case, the insect isn't going anywhere soon. Trout recognize this vulnerable condition and feed eagerly on cripples when they see them. When you're confronted with a blizzard hatch, where your fly is one small speck among hundreds or thousands of natural insects, a cripple pattern is a great way to induce trout to take your fake.
This dressing is in the "Quigley" style and represents a crippled blue-winged olive (Baetis) mayfly.



Variations -Blue-winged olives come in body colors that range from olive to brown. Choose a color that matches the insects available to trout when and where you are fishing.

How to Fish -Dress the front half of the fly (only) with floatant and use standard dry fly presentations

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Baetis Marabou Cripple

Created by Bob Quigley

Materials:
Hook: TMC 2302, #8-10
Thread: Olive 6/0
Tail: 3 Olive Emu Fibers
Wing: Yellow Dyed Deer Hair
Abdomen: Olive Marabou
Ribbing: Single Strand of Dark Green Floss
Thorax: Deer Hair
Hackle: Light Grey Hackle


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Barrs Emerger


John Barr created this pattern in 1975 while fishing upon the Nelson's Spring Creek in Montana. Noticing that he was getting little interest in a PMD hatch with his dry patterns, he used a nymph and finally caught a trout. Upon pumping the stomach, John noticed that partially hatched nymphs with the shuck still attached were present on the back of the trout's tongue. John developed his emerger pattern based upon the appearance of these partially developed nymphs and created his "Barr's Emerger".


Materials:
Hook: TMC 106TC #16-24
Thread: Olive 8/0
Abdomen: Brown/Olive Dubbing with Antron mixed
Tail: Brown Hackle Fibers
Thorax: PMD Superfine
Wingcase: Dun Hackle Fibers




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CDC Bubble Emerger

HOOK: Dai Riki 135, sizes 18-22
TAIL: Pheasant tail fibers
RIBBING (OPTIONAL): Fine brass
ABDOMEN: Pheasant Tail fibers wrapped on hook
WING: Bubble of CDC. Use white for tricos or PMDs, dun for others
OVERWING: 1-3 strands of pearl Krystalflash
THORAX: Dubbing to match natural


Uses - Many blue-winged olive (Baetis) spinners dive or crawl underwater to lay their eggs. This fly imitates those spinners, and fishes well when you see lots of adults flying around but you can't get trout to take your dun imitations. A beautiful pattern, you'll these just for the pleasure of it. But don't forget to cast them!


Variations - Blue-winged olives vary slightly in color from olive to brown, depending on species, location, and time of year. Try to match the size and color of the natural insects, but remember that size is more important than color. If you want, you can add a pearl bead in the thorax.


How to Fish - Use indicator or tight line nymphing tactics.

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Diving Baetis Spinner


HOOK: Dai Riki 310 or 305, size 16-22
TAILS: Dun Microfibetts
EGG SAC: Bright yellow dubbing
BODY: Olive-brown turkey biot or olive-brown dubbing
WING: Z-wing or tan Raffia, tied back and clipped to shape
HACKLE: One-and-half wraps of starling


Uses -Many blue-winged olive (Baetis) spinners dive or crawl underwater to lay their eggs. This fly imitates those spinners, and fishes well when you see lots of adults flying around but you can't get trout to take your dun imitations.A beautiful pattern, you'll these just for the pleasure of it. But don't forget to cast them!


Variations -Blue-winged olives vary slightly in color from olive to brown, depending on species, location, and time of year. Try to match the size and color of the natural insects, but remember that size is more important than color. If you want, you can add a pearl bead in the thorax.


How to Fish - Use indicator or tight line nymphing tactics.

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Proven Spinner Pattern


CDC Biot Spinner

HOOK: 1X Fine wire, Standard shank, Turned-Down eye; e.g., TMC 100 or equivalent; sizes 16-20
THREAD: Olive
UNDERWING: Light blue dun CDC, tied spread-eagled (spinner style)
OVERWING: Light blue dun Z-lon
TAIL: Light blue dun Betts' Tailing Fibers. Use 2-4 and split them.
ABDOMEN: Olive turkey biot
THORAX: Medium olive or olive-brown Superfine


Uses -Use to imitate mayfly spinners when the natural spinners are on the water and trout are taking them from the surface.


Variations -This dressing is for a blue-winged olive mayfly spinner. Other mayflies can be imitated by using hook sizes and body colors that match the natural insect.








How to Fish - Do NOT dress the fly with floatant! CDC flies should be fished au natural. When a fly no longer floats well, put it in a small container of powdered descicant, such as Dry Shake, and shake it up. This removes the moisture, and you're ready to cast again. Use standard dry fly presentations.

Hen Spinner, Blue QuillCreated by Mike Lawsen

HOOK: TMC 100, sizes 12-18
THREAD: Gray
WING: Light blue dun hen hackle tips, tied spread-eagled
TAIL: Blue dun hackle fibers, split
BODY: Blue-dyed hackle feather stem
HACKLE: Blue dun, clipped top and bottom

Uses - When trout are sipping the spinner stage of mayflies, this can be an effective pattern. Tied in the right sizes, this dressing imitates the spinner stage of many blue-winged olives and most blue duns. The wings should lie flat on the water. Check out additional photos of this fly pattern at http://www.westfly.com/



Variations - The Rusty Spinner, which imitates the spinner stage of many blue-winged olive mayflies, is tied on size 14-18 hooks with a dubbed body of rust-brown Superfine. Vary the size and colors to match other mayfly spinners.

How to Fish - Dress the fly with floatant (be careful of the wings) and use standard dry fly presentations.


Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Bugs - The Baetis "Blue Wing Olive"


The last few times that I've fished the Lower Yuba River I have run into a fairly strong hatch of Blue Wing Olives or BWO's as we affectionatly call them, most of the time I call them "those darned BWO's". I've seen them coming off, but can I catch one of the fish that are eating them. Forget-about-it. I'm usually rigged up with my 6 weight and nymphs, shot and all when I run into a hatch. So I'm not really set up right to start casting dries, emergers, cripples, or soft hackles like I should be. I usually just stand on the banks and give my buddies a hard time about not being able to hook something. A single person peanut gallery so to speak.


Anyway, this brings me to thinking about what I should be attempting to do when the BWO's start coming off and start catching some fish instead of laughing at my buddies.


The Blue Wing Olives


Blue wing olive mayflies look like tiny, greenish-gray sailboats on the water to us, but they look like lunch to the fish in the Yuba River. These bugs often have greenish bodies and wings that are light gray to almost black. The photo below is a BWO "Baetis" Dun.





The Blue wing olive hatch progresses with the bugs swimming to the surface of the river, they then split their nymphal shells and emerge as winged insects. These newly hatched winged insects are called duns.

I really believe that the Blue wing olives are a prime trout food from fall through spring and we should prepare for this hatch. This gives us anglers a good chance to catch rising fish during this period. The baetis nymphs can be from size 18 to as small as size 24. I always seem to do better with soft hackles, emergers and cripples although this is what I tend to have the most confidence in.


If it's cold and wet and cloudy, and you see fish rising, there's a good chance that the trout are up and feeding on blue wing olive duns - usually during the warmest time of the day. My last few trips to the river have confirmed this. I have also noticed a BWO "Baetis" spinner fall. See photo of a BWO spinner below.



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Entomology

Blue Wing Olive Mayfly

Scientific Names: Family Baetidae, genera Baetis, Diphetor, Acentrella, Plauditus; Family Ephemerellidae, genus Attenella

Common Names: Blue-winged olive, tiny olive, BWO, pseudo

Nymph Size - 4 to 12 mm (3/16" to 1/2")

Nymph Color - Dark Brown, Olive Brown, Olive

Dun Size - 4 to 10 mm (3/16" to 3/8")

Dun Color - Wing Smokey, abdomen Olive to Olive Brown

Spinner Size - 4 to 12 mm (3/16" to 1/2")

Spinner Color - Wing Clear. Abdomen Olive Brown to Reddish Brown

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Fishing Blue Wing Olive Dry Flies

For fishing the Lower Yuba River or any river that has hatches of BWO's the experts say we should carry dry flies that range from size 16 all the way down to a tiny size 24.

Size 24, you've got to be kidding! I am kidding, I don't think I can see a 24 let alone tie one on. We may not be able tie them this small, but they are there and the sharp-eyed, picky trout can easily find them.

I've read that fishing the wrong size fly will often find us watching in frustration as feeding fish ignore our offerings. So we must learn how and attempt to fish smaller patterns.

A good tip is to use two flies when you find it necessary to fish and match tiny dry flies. Take your time and wade as closely as possible to the rising fish and then tie a size 18 fly and then add a dropper using a smaller fly, a 22 or even a 24. It's easy to spot the big - size 18 blue wing olive fly and then spot the smaller size 22 fly.

Good dry flies for blue wing olive dun hatches are: Sparkle Duns, Comparaduns and Hair-wing duns. A light tippet - 5X for larger flies and 6X for flies size 18 and smaller - brings more fish to the fly. Learn to use and tie good knots with flurocarbon.

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Dry Flies for the BWO

Parachute Baetis - 18, 20, 22









Baetis Compradun - 18, 20, 22










CDC Baetis - 18, 20, 23



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Fishing Nymphs and Emergers

Trout will start eating nymphs a hour or more before the duns hatch. Try to pay attention to the timing of the hatch when the duns are coming off. Time your nymphing to the pre-emergence.

The BWO bugs, which swim like tiny fish, rise toward the surface and then sink back down.

When fishing a BWO nymph fly in shallow riffles or runs prior to the hatch, use nymphs, such as Pheasant Tails, Hare's Ears and Copper Johns in sizes matching the naturals. If you are specifically targeting the BWO's rigg with a small strike indicator - a small dry fly or stick-on piece of foam on the leader. This will help detect when the fish have taken the fly.

Once the hatch gets going, some emerging bugs will get stuck while climbing out of the nymphal skin at the surface. An emerger fly - such as an RS2 or a CDC Emerger - hook fish that are locked into eating cripples. Trout often lock onto cripples during the hatch and ignore the upright-winged duns.

It's a good idea to change to an emerger if duns are on the water and the trout aren't rising to a dry fly. Watch the rise forms or bring a small pair of binoculars to determine of the fish are taking the emergers or duns on the surface.

Nymphs

Pale Baetis Nymph - 18, 20, 22









Hot Spot Pheasant Tail - 18, 20, 22




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Emergers & Cripples

Baetis Cripple - 18, 20, 22











Quigley's Marabou Cripple 18, 20, 22










Barr's Emerger - 18, 20, 22









CDC Bubble Emerger - 18, 20, 22











Diving Baetis - 18, 20, 22







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Blue Wing Olive Spinners

I've also read about the "Blue Wing Olive Spinner Secret". Most anglers miss the secret part of the blue wing olive hatch. The adult blue wing olives that survive the trout fly off to streamside brush and molt into the sexually mature insect, which is called a spinner. Spinners have bright, clear wings and big eyes.

Within 24 hours, the spinners mate and fly to the river's surface to lay eggs and die.

On many days, the spinners land on the water's surface at the same time the immature nymphs hatch into duns. Anglers see the upright wings of the duns - and tie on a dry fly with an upright wing.

Few anglers see the spinners - with clear, almost invisible wings - sprawled flat on the surface at the same time.

But the trout - especially the bigger, warier fish - see them just fine, and they lock onto the safer, easier prey.

Tie on a spinner - such as a Hackle Spinner - and watch tough trout get much easier!

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BWO Spinner Pattern


CDC Biot Spinner - 18, 20















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Well I think after that I'll be a little more prepared for those pesky BWO's the next time I encounter them. Good Luck and have some fun out there!



Clay

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

The Airflo Skagit Switch Line Review



Whoever came up with the idea of Switch Rods was had his head on straight. Someone came up with the idea to build a rod that can do everything from Spey casting to overhead casting. It would be the perfect rod for small and medium sized rivers. For those of us that have purchased one we've had a heck of a time figuring out what to line them with. I've about tried them all. The rod builders sold the rods but didn't really have the lines to match them with. How many of you have been throwing a Rio Indicator line two or threes line weights over. Get the picture. I checked out Larimer Outfitters' website and got the story as to how the Airflo Skagit Switch line came about.

The Airflow Skagit Switch Story ( from http://www.larimeroutfitters.com )

Tom Larimer, who is on the Airflo design team, approached Tim Rajeff, (the US distributor for Airflo fly lines) with the problem we were all having with other switch lines on the market. Switch rods are designed more like a traditional single hand rod taper, meaning that they are fast in the butt section and flex progressively through the tip giving the caster the ability to overhead cast them. However, a Spey rod taper is typically slower in the butt section and faster through the tip section. This allows the caster to form the D-Loop and change the direction of the cast without the rod wanting to unload too quickly. The load is sustained through the whole casting cycle until the cast goes outbound. It’s the reason why Spey casting feels so good!

Because switch rods want to unload so quickly, Airflo wanted to find a way to slow them down giving the caster the same sensation they get from their traditional Spey rod. Until now, there hasn't been a fly line that sustained the load on the faster tapers of most switch rods. This is why it’s been difficult (and not fun) to perform double Speys and snap-T casts with the lines currently on the market. For those of you that have tried switch rods with what's been available, you’ve probably noticed “touch and go casts” like single Speys and snake rolls work all right. However, if you want to jack a snap-T with a big sink-tip and a heavy fly it isn't very fun.

The Result the Airflo Skagit Switch Line

After a lot of thought and a couple of prototypes, Airflo came up with the solution to the switch rod  lining problem.

  • The new Airflo Skagit Switch line has a huge rear diameter and two-foot rear taper. This helps sustain the load on the rod giving the caster that sweet feeling of Spey casting we all have been waiting for. 
  • The front taper is a big 7’ wedge that turns over your biggest tips and heaviest flies. 
  • This line was built to make switch rods not only fun to cast, but to make them legitimate fishing tools.
  • The heads go from 540 grains down to 360 grains in 30 grain increments. 
  • Although Airflo built this line for anglers chasing steelhead and salmon, the smaller sizes are perfect for trout and smallmouth anglers looking to swing streamers on switch rods. 
  • All of the heads are marked on the loop sleeve telling you what the line is and the grain weight. 
  • As a general rule of thumb, go 30 grains lighter than what you normally fish in a Skagit Compact. 
According to Tom Larimer "If you’re a fan of the Airflo Skagit Compact, you will love this line!"