Waking Flies

Waking flies for salmon and steelhead in-stock, no sales tax - $50 orders ship free in USA.

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POM, Skater	Steelhead Caddis	Grease Liner, Black
Grease Liner, Orange	Ska-Opper, Black	Ska-Opper, Brown
	Twitcher	About Waking Flies
Waking Flies for Steelhead & Salmon, best quality available at any price! These flies are designed to bring Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon to the surface.

Grease Liner, Black This fly evolved on the Salmon River, a small clear Sandy River tributary near our store. It was one of the early spring go-to flies in the 1980's. It is tied with very stiff moose body hair for the wing and tail. The forward sloping wing butts have been cemented and shaped into a scoop that will plow water and help rise the fly to the surface. The Black Grease Liner is a good choice when encountering fresh rested steelhead in clear water over 47 degrees. It is a proven at-dark fly and also a good choice for rivers that are in glacial run-off.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
20620-04	Grease Liner, Black	4	3 for $7.49
20620-06	Grease Liner, Black	6	3 for $7.49

Grease Liner, Orange It's hard to say who was the first fly fisher to tie the Greased Liner in fall caddis colors. The first I remember reading about was in an article by Mike Deeker where he discussed his "Bubble Head" series, which were modified Grease Liners. He cemented the wing buttes into an upward facing scoop that would naturally plow water and make his flies wake without being riffle hitched. Our's are tied with this scoop.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
21000-04	Grease Liner, Orange	4	3 for $7.49
21000-06	Grease Liner, Orange	6	3 for $7.49

POM Skater, October Caddis This may be on of the most adaptable waking flies ever devised. The main part of the body is constructed from sealed cell foam, which makes the fly virtually unsinkable un less weight is added. No riffle hitch needs to be added. I seems this fly wakes best when attached with a small non-tightening loop knot.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
ST0081	POM Skater, October Caddis	6	3 for $9.75

Kenny Morrish says about his POM Skater: "The number one reason that steelheaders don’t catch steelhead on dries is that they fail to tie them on in the first place. The second reason they fail is that when they do tie them on, they lack the needed confidence to fish them hard. Your typical angler will fish a tip for days without a pull but never question the act of fishing a wet fly and tip. That same angler might fish one or two fishless runs with a dry and switch back to a wet fly in hopes of being more effective. Then, by giving the tip and the wet fly more time in the water, they fulfill the prophecy and make fishing the wet fly seemingly more effective. The third reason is bound up in preconceptions about water temperatures. Some anglers draw the line at 50 degrees, others at 45 but all these lines are arbitrary, unfounded and misleading. Likewise, many anglers who fish in BC seem to think that come October 1^st that steelhead no longer eat dries! I laugh aloud at that one. Last season I fished the Sustut and Skeena in mid October through the heart of a brutal cold snap. Water temps were dropping hard but when we came to a legendary tailout on the Skeena, I couldn’t bear to see it fished through first with a tip. It just seemed wrong. So, being a gentleman, I volunteered to fish it through first with the dry. My companions were happy to oblige. The ice had just melted out of the guides minute before, and the water temp was 36 degrees. They watched me gently chug my go to Pom Skater across the greasy water for three casts and on the fourth we all saw the buck’s big nose gently rise and drop, barley leaving ring. And while those were far from the best dry fly conditions of the season, it proved to be my best fish of the season. The one thing I can say with some certainty is that if I hadn’t tied the dry on and fished it with confidence, I never would have caught the fish pictured on a dry!"

Steelhead Caddis Somewhere along the line Bill McMillan joined up with Bill Bakke and they fished waking for steelhead in Southwest Washington and Northern Oregon. McMillan's Caddis imitation took on a different form than Bakke's. It was influenced by several muddler minnow patters that also became popular "damp" flies in the 1960-70 era. When tied and fished well, both the fly and the presentation are delicate and lend themselves well to low-water rivers.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
21645-06	Steelhead Caddis	6	3 for $7.49

Twitcher This little fly was designed to be riffle-hitched, and is often twitched across the surface by raising and lowering the rod tip. On rivers such as the Deschutes this technique will often raise steelhead that ignore other flies and presentations.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
ST315	Twitcher	6	3 for $7.49
This buck steelhead fell for the Titcher

About Waking Flies

Surface fishing for steelhead is exciting and can be very productive during certain water conditions. These conditions happen on most rivers during the summer months when water temperatures and flows are moderate. Rivers, which contain a high percentage of wild steelhead from June through October, are the best bet. Wild steelheads seem more prone to rise to the surface than do hatchery fish.

In steelhead vernacular "Dry Flies" are fished up-stream and dead drifted, much like fishing for trout. Some steelhead have been taken by this method. However, flies, which are fished down-stream (under tension from the line and current), have proven more productive under most conditions. All of the flies listed above can be fished as true "dry flies".

A "Damp Fly" rides in the surface film. It is often cast slightly upstream and then led across the current under light tension down-stream of the angler. This method is called "Greased Line Fishing". Flies that are best suited for this approach incorporate semi-buoyant materials in their dressing. Greased Liners and Caddis lend themselves well to this presentation.

A "Waking Fly" is usually presented down stream so that it will make a V-shaped disturbance in the surface film. Waking flies are often "Riffle Hitched". A riffle hitch is a series of knots, which changes the attitude of the fly/leader connection so that the fly pulls at an angle to the current. In this way the fly will always seek the path of least resistance which is the surface. The most commonly used riffle hitch is made when the fly is tied on in the conventional manner and then two half hitches are added behind the eye of the hook. However, these half hitches can be placed behind the head of the fly or even behind the wing to change the angle. In this manner even very slender flies can be riffled…if you have fast smooth water and can cast a very straight line. Flies, which are constructed from buoyant materials and shaped to resist the flow of the water, are easiest to use where the surface is textured. These flies tend to ride higher. Often the entire fly is visible above the surface. All of the flies listed in this section are commonly riffle hitched. The shape of the fly will determine which is best suited for a particular water type. You should carry a complete selection.
Pay close attention to the "POM Skater" as it can be fished with or without a riffle hitch and will wake on many different current speeds. They are flies that fish a wide variety of conditions very well.

The Fly Fishing Shop, Welches, OR

1(800) 266-3971

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