Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring Marabou Flies

Free Fly Tying Party
January 15, 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm Saturday Afternoon.
"Tying Winter Steelhead Flies From Marabou"
Perhaps no other tying material has had influenced
winter steelhead fly design in our region as much as marabou.
This program is for new tiers and experienced tiers alike.
Agitators, Marabou Tube Flies & Alaskabous will be demonstrated.
Instructional demonstrations are with big-screen TV.
All tying materials & hooks are free.
A custom made fly tying room with perfect lighting
and special teaching aides are provided.
You get to keep all the flies you tie.
Please bring your own tools & tying thread if you have them.
If you don't have them, we will provide them.
Refreshments will be served. Bring snacks if you want to.

Everyone is welcome!

Large Turkey Marabou, Strung, dyed over white, 4", 1/4 oz.
Marabou is turkey underwear. When wrapped on a hook or a tube and submerged in flowing water, marabou has the ability to move and impart life like no other known material. Marabou comes in several configurations in each package. There is Marabou with short stiff stems and short, fluffy fibers. This kind of marabou works great for Leeches and Wooly Buggers or any application where the plumage doesn't need to be wrapped around a hook. There is also the kind that has long fibers and fine stems. This kind of marabou works best for Alaskabous, Marabou Speys and Marabou Tube Flies. Fine stemmed marabou can be wound on the tube or hook like a hackle. Most good plumes have a stem long enough for about 6-8 wraps on a hook or four wraps around a tube. In every case this is the finest marabou we have seen.

Item	Description	Color	Price	To Top
PP3-BW-01	Strung Marabou, Bleached White		$2.25
PP3-BD-18	Strung Marabou, Blue Dun		$2.25
PP3-BK-33	Strung Marabou, Black		$2.25
PP3-MN-26	Strung Marabou, Maroon		$2.25
PP3-HR-25	Strung Marabou, Hot Red		$2.25
PP3-FO-22	Strung Marabou, Fluo. Orange		$2.25
PP3-HO-23	Strung Marabou, Hot Orange		$2.25
PP3-LO-21	Strung Marabou, Light Orange		$2.25
PP3-SP-24	Strung Marabou, Light Pinkish Orange		$2.25
PP3-LY-04	Strung Marabou, Lemon Yellow		$2.25
PP3-FC-05	Strung Marabou, Fluo. Chartreuse		$2.25
PP3-IG-07	Strung Marabou, Insect Green		$2.25
PP3-OL-09	Strung Marabou, Olive		$2.25
PP3-FG-36	Strung Marabou, Forest Green		$2.25
PP3-DT-00	Strung Marabou, Dark Turquoise		$2.25
PP3-BB-14	Strung Marabou, Brilliant Blue		$2.25
PP3-RBL-16	Strung Marabou, Royal Blue		$2.25
PP3-PR-32	Strung Marabou, Purple		$2.25
PP3-DL-20	Strung Marabou, Dark Lilac		$2.25
PP3-FF-12	Strung Marabou, Fluo. Fuchsia		$2.25
PP3-FMP-11	Strung Marabou, Fluo. Medium Pink		$2.25
PP3-BGT-58	Strung Marabou, Burnt Golden Tan		$2.25
PP3-RB-34	Strung Marabou, Root Beer		$2.25
PP3-BOB-57	Strung Marabou, Burnt Orange Brown		$2.25

Don' miss the Sandy River Spey Clave. It's the largest spey rod event in North America. May 14-15, 2005 !!! At: Oxbow Park on the Sandy River.
	Out catalog offers 106 models of spey rods. You will notice that 56 models are carried in stock for fast delivery. They are grouped for your convenience so that you can compare one against another. Our staff at The Fly Fishing Shop has a great deal of experience fishing large rivers for steelhead with two-handed spey rods.

An Independent Spey Rod Survey
Many makers don't list the weights of their two-hand fly rods. Who knows all the reasons. Most list the weights of their single hand rods. One day Jeff Runner and I had too much time on our hands. We had listened to John Jones outline his ideas for a light line trout rod "shoot-out" where he would get a group of guys together to analyze trout rods from several makers. We thought about how much could be learned by comparing models of two-handers from competing manufacturers. We picked the most popular size of winter steelhead rod, the one George Cook calls the 30-06 spey rod, the venerable 14' #9. Upon consulting our inventory, I found that we carry 14-models in stock. That seems like a broad enough cross section for a comprehensive study. One rod of 14-foot 4-inches was included because it seems to fit the category. We weighed each rod on an electronic postage scale. We also measured each rod for total length when assembled. These kinds of projects are always a labor of love. You can't get a better job than trying great tackle on great water with your best friends.... Anyway, Jeff and I weighed each rod because we had a sneaking hunch that how much energy a rod can store is highly dependent on its mass/weight/length in comparison to its rivals. Each rod in this list has been tested with the same fly line, an 8/9/10 Rio WindCutter w/tips. Further testing is needed in many areas and will continue. So far we have found that the heavier rods do have more lift and usually build line speed with a shorter casting stroke. We also have found that being lightweight and "fishing light" aren't always the same. Fast action rods usually have more graphite material in the butt of the rod and less weight near the tip in comparison to slower action rods. The lighter the tip is in comparison to the butt, the lighter in overall weight the rod will feel like when you are fishing with it. A rod with a heavy reel seat will often make a rod "balance" lighter even though the total weight of the rod is heavier. The weight of the reel you choose to put on your rod will change the balance of your outfit. Like wise a rod with a reel seat positioned to place the reel closest to the butt of the rod will help the rod tip feel lighter in weight. Testing will continue. We will keep you posted.

Rod Model	Length		Weight
Rod Model	Advertised	Actual	Advertised	Actual
T&T DH1409-3	14' 0"	14' 0"	N/A	11.4 oz.
T&T DH1409-5	14' 0"	14' 0.5"	N/A	12.1 oz.
Sage 9140-4 TCR	14' 0"	14' 0"	10.125 oz.	10.8 oz
Sage 9141-4 European	14' 1"	14' 0.375"	10.25 oz.	10.2 oz.
Sage 9140-4 Traditional	14' 0"	14 0"	9.75 oz.	10.2 oz.
Sage 9140-4 VPS	14' 0"	13' 11"	10 oz.	8.5 oz.
G. Loomis Greased Line GLX	14' 0"	14' 0.375"	N/A	10.0 oz.
G. Loomis Greased Line Deveron	14' 0"	14' 0.625"	N/A	10.7 oz.
G. Loomis Dredger GLX	14' 0"	14' 0.5"	N/A	9.6 oz.
CND Steelhead Specialist	14' 4"	14' 4.25"	N/A	10.2 oz.
CND Custom	14' 0"	14' 0.125"	10.4 oz.	10.7 oz.
CND Expert	14' 0"	14' 0.25"	N/A	10.5 oz.
Loop Blackline	14' 0"	14' 0.25"	N/A	9.2 oz.
Temple Fork Outfitter TFO09144P	14' 0"	13' 10.5"	9.5 oz.	9.4 oz.

At present far more steelhead are raised in hatcheries than are produced naturally in the wild. In recent years wild steelhead stocks are in decline throughout their entire range. This is apparently true of sea run hatchery steelhead as well. Probable cause is depletion of the Ocean food chain brought about by the over harvest of shrimp, krill & squid. Man made changes in native spawning streams and competition and genetic intervention from hatchery programs are also held responsible for declines in wild steelhead. Over harvest by both commercial and sport fisheries have had negative effects. In recent years harvest by all factions has been heavily curtailed. Rebounds in returns of wild fish numbers to the Columbia River Basin lends optimism that long term catch and release management does work.
If you would like to know more about fly fishing for steelhead, check out

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Thomas & Thomas	G. Loomis Spey Rods	Winston Spey Rods
Sage Spey Rods	Redington Spey Rods	St. Croix Spey Rods
CND Spey Rods	Loop Spey Rods	TFO Spey Rods
About Spey Rod Fishing	Spey Lines	Spey Casting Classes

Marabou Flies

In our region Spey Rods are fished year round.