Skagit River

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Skagit River
Skagit Intruder
Echo Tim Rajeff Series
Airflo Skagit Compacts
All pictures are Mouse-over.

Skagit River Adventure
Just got back from a couple of days fishing on the Skagit River with Mike Kinney. The weather was harsh. The fishing was tough. This year's steelhead run has been less than spectacular most everywhere on the west coast. In spite of the conditions we had a great time, and even hooked a couple of steelhead. Mike had a great fishing strategy figured out. We fished with no competition. I learned some new tricks. Mike is crafty. He has many years of experience fishing the Skagit. He was a gear guide before he was a fly fishing guide. That gives him a unique understanding of the bottom contour of the river, and where fish station up. I will hire him again. He is worth the money.

The Skagit River, which is roughly 150-miles long heads in British Columbia, flows southwest and empties into the north end of Puget in Washington state. It is the third largest river joining the Pacific Ocean on the U.S. coast line. Only the Columbia and Sacramento Rivers are larger. The Skagit provides spawning habitat for salmon. It is the only large river system in Washington that contains healthy populations of all five native salmon species and two species of trout. Runs include Chinook, Coho Chum, Pink, Sockeye, and Steelhead and Cutthroat trout. While runs are vibrant enough to be of interest to the hardiest fly fishers, most of these runs are far below historic levels. The Skagit also has a viable population of Bull Trout which evidently lives off of byproducts of the salmon runs and provides a unique fishery. The Skagit has a fabled past filled with larger than life characters with names like Lemire, Ward, Farrar, Hogan, Howell and Kinney, who brought to our sport terms like, "Skagit Casting", "Skagit Rods", "Skagit Lines", and "Intruders". The Skagit has figured heavily into all of Trey Combs books about steelhead.

Skagit steelhead caught with Pink Intruder

Mike informed me that Washington has a new rule which states that no fish may be taken from the water during the catch and release season. During the capture, picture taking and release, the fish's gills were submerged 100% of the time. We were in good terrain to allow this to happen. The fish was led into shallow water where it was tailed. I believe that we conformed to the new catch and release rule. Anything that promotes the "knowledge-of", "enjoyment-of" and/or the "survival-of" wild steelhead is something that we at The Fly Fishing Shop will adhere to and promote. I feel that this steelhead was full of vigor when it was released. We always like to have photographic records of our fishing trips. Getting detailed pictures of fish for our records will be to some degree more difficult with the fish submerged. We will work around it. By and large the spirit of the law is good. Wild steelhead deserve maximum respect and protection.

The resting place of a tube worm that died millions of years ago...

At left in fossil-form is the final resting place of a tube worm that lived and died millions of year ago. Now the ancient sea floor that gave it life has now turned to limestone. This piece had broken loose from solid rock, tumbled slowly toward the sea, getting ever smaller, now often creates a break in the flow for the survival of modern fishes and their prey. The Lord does not subtract from man's allotted span for the days spent fishing, for they are only marking time. Enjoy your days upon the water. Help ensure that others are able to do the same.

If you go to fish the Skagit, dress for comfort in the cold. The Skagit River is next to the northern border of our country. It can be gnarly cold. At times during this trip the snow line was barely above us. Exposed skin became wet and cold. Layers of Gore-tex and fleece kept us toasty most of the time. No doubt, boot foot waders would have been more comfortable. If you float the Skagit, take plenty of hot drinks and chemical hand hand warmers with you in the boat. Have extra clothing in a water proof bag.

Long casts with heavy flies are part of the Skagit game. The Skagit is a big river. We spent lots of time probing around in the slower edge water with light gear. For whatever reason, if fish were there, they weren't cooperating. Strikes came with heavy sinking tips and lead eye flies in the deeper, faster water. The winning combination was a 12-weight type-8 sinking tip with a heavily weighted 4-inch Intruder on the end of a short heavy leader. My 14-foot G. Loomis was good match for the job. The strikes were authoritative.

Listed as Clark's Skagit River Resort, but often referred to as the Bunny Farm, this is a good place to stay if you are fishing the Skagit River by boat or by car. The cabins are roomy, affordable and very clean. There is a resturaunt on the premises. Shuttles can be arranged here and the whole situation is warm and friendly. We stayed three nights. It was quiet and cozy. We ate dinner there two evenings and the food was good. We'll stay here again when we are in the neighborhood. Skagit River Resort

Skagit Intruder

Scott Howell says, "My years fishing in BC made me a strong believer in the color pink. I had too many fish pulled out behind me by friends fishing the notorious pink worm to not be an advocate of pink. As a result, there was a time when a pink Guide Intruder was about all I fished in BC unless colored water forced me to go darker. As I look back at the photo albums from my time spent up North, it is no coincidence that just about every fish has a pink mop hanging from its jaws. I have since found pink to be productive on most steelhead rivers up and down the coast."


Don't forget that Spring Chinooks like to munch things that are pink and this year's run is just starting. This run will peak May/June just in time for the annual Spey Clave Chinook Contest.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
STO79PK	Guide Intruder, Pink	1/0	3 for $8.25	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
ST078PO	Signature Intruder, Pink and Orange	2	3 for $8.25	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

Tim Rajeff Signature Rods by Echo
12' - 5/6	13' - 7/8	14' - 9/10
12.5' - 6/7	13.5' - 8/9	15' - 10/11

We went to Echo Corporate Headquarters 03/16, and spent an afternoon trying out different rods on the company casting pool. Tim Rajeff, the company president designed his own custom casting pool. The design offers a wide variety of casting angles and distances. It is completely surrounded with a wide concrete sidewalk, but the encompassing terrain offers back cast problems of varying degrees of difficulty. I didn't measure the longest expanse of water, but it is enough distance to challenge the most skilled distance casters. The pond is part of Tim's laboratory for designing and testing some of the world's highest performance fly rods. Many of these marketed under his brand name Echo.
Tim Rajeff likes to throw things like pine cones, rocks, golf balls and especially fly lines. He throws things with incredible speed and accuracy. He is always calculating how to make human powered projectiles travel faster.
Tim is a student of fly casting. His mind is continually quantifying how different parts of a cast influence total line speed. How does the rod/human connection influence fly line dynamics? How can rods be designed to produce even more line speed? There are several new rod series in the Echo line. Each is designed for a specific function. You will see all of them in the our newsletters as they are added to our web site.
It appears that the Tim Rajeff Series of 2-hand rods is designed to fit a wide variety of casting styles. This plan also produces rods that fit a wide range of applications in the field. Depending on the line choice, each rod might convey several different actions. These rods are designed to be easy to cast, yet be powerful and authoritative. The cosmetics of TR (Tim Rajeff) Series are startling at first. There is no glitter. This series was designed for stealth and durability. The basic wear points on the handles are made from rubberized cork, which resists abrasion far better than natural cork, and thus remains easier on your hands. The color and finish on the blank is made to be totally non-reflective. The handle and fittings are very well made. The handle configuration is comfortable.
Echo also makes the popular Dec Hogan Series of rods. The Tim Rajeff Series action is more authoritative than Dec's rods. Both series of rods are big boy stuff. Each design has validity and both designs will have their lasting fan clubs.

Echo TR rods feature:

Four piece travel design
Alignment dots for quick assembly
Premium grade cork handles with composite pressure zones
Handle lengths vary with each model
Black anodized reel seat
Matte army green blank
Black stripper and snake guides
Green Cordura case

ECHO TR 5120			Length: 12' Sections: 4 Line Weight 5

Grains: 360-480 This is a crossover rod that is a good choice for large trout and smaller steelhead. Tim's top picks in Airflo Lines that bring out the best performance with this Echo TR rod model are: Scandi Compact 390-grain, 40+ WF8 and Skagit Compact 420-grain.
Item	Series	Line Wt.	Action	Handle	Price	To Top
ECHO-TR5120	TR	5	medium fast	Standard	$349.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

ECHO TR 6126			Length: 12' 6" Sections: 4 Line Weight 6

Grains: 420-540 This is a slightly larger crossover rod that is a good choice for large trout and medium steelhead where delicacy of presentation figures in to your strategy. Tim's top picks in Airflo Lines that bring out the best performance with this Echo TR rod model are: Scandi Compact 450-grain, Delta 6/7 and Skagit Compact 480-grain.
Item	Series	Line Wt.	Action	Handle	Price	To Top
ECHO-TR6126	TR	6	medium fast	Standard	$349.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

ECHO TR 7130			Length: 13' Sections: 4 Line Weight 7

Grains: 510-620 This is a very popular size for summer steelhead and smaller salmon. This will prove to be a great rod for Deschutes "A" Run steelhead. So far this model has attracted the most attention of any rod in this series. Tim's top picks in Airflo Lines that bring out the best performance with this Echo TR rod model are: Scandi Compact 540-grain, Delta 7/8 and Skagit Compact 570-grain.
Item	Series	Line Wt.	Action	Handle	Price	To Top
ECHO-TR7130	TR	7	medium fast	Standard	$349.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

ECHO TR 8136			Length: 13' 6" Sections: 4 Line Weight 8

Grains: 570-620 Maybe the ultimate size if you only (Heaven forbid) had one steelhead rod for winter and summer. This will prove to be a great rod for chucking wooly bugger size flies with sinking tip lines. Tim's top picks in Airflo Lines that bring out the best performance with this Echo TR rod model are: Scandi Regular 600-grain, Delta 8/9 and Skagit Compact 630-grain.
Item	Series	Line Wt.	Action	Handle	Price	To Top
ECHO-TR8136	TR	8	medium fast	Standard	$349.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

ECHO TR 9140			Length: 14' Sections: 4 Line Weight 9

Grains: 630-750 Big water, big fish rod. This will prove to be a great rod for both winter steelhead and spring Chinooks. Has the backbone for throwing big flies with maximum sinking tip lines. Tim's top picks in Airflo Lines that bring out the best performance with this Echo TR rod model are: Delta 9/10 and Skagit Compact 660-grain.
Item	Series	Line Wt.	Action	Handle	Price	To Top
ECHO-TR9140	TR	9	medium fast	Standard	$349.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

ECHO TR 10150			Length: 15' Sections: 4 Line Weight 10

Grains: 700-800 Big powerfull rod with which to take command of big water and huge fish. A popular size of rod for parts of British Isle, British Columbia and Alaska. Has the backbone for throwing big flies with maximum sinking tip lines. Tim's top picks in Airflo Lines that bring out the best performance with this Echo TR rod model are: Delta 10/11.
Item	Series	Line Wt.	Action	Handle	Price	To Top
ECHO-TR10150	TR	10	medium fast	Standard	$349.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

Airflo Skagit Compact Heads NEW! Complete Skagit Compact Head Kit
Airflo lines are very smooth!		Spey casting is more easily learned with instruction.
New for 2008, the Skagit Compact heads were designed to make fishing in tough places with heavy level sections of sink tip easier than you thought possible. The heads were developed with the help of serious line nerds and Skagit guides like Dec Hogan, who made their living being able to get the fly down to the fish with limited room to make a "D" loop. These lines increment every 30 grains from 360 to 720, ensuring you will never need to cut and splice a line ever again. The heads range from 22 to 27 feet, come with the toughest loop design in the industry, and are color coded so you will never need to confuse one line from another."
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
SKC360MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Gray	4/5 360-grain 22-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC390MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Brown	5/6 390-grain 22-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC420MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - White	5/6 420-grain 23-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC450MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Tan	6/7 450-grain 23-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC480MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Yellow	7/8 480-grain 24-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC510MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Pink	7/8 510-grain 24-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC540MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Orange	8/9 540-grain 25-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC570MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Light Green	8/9 570-grain 25-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC600MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Dark Green	9/10 600-grain 27-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC630MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Light Blue	9/10 630-grain 27-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC660MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Dark Blue	9/10 660-grain 27-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED
SKC720MG	Airflo Skagit Compact Head, Loop Color - Purple	10/11 720-grain 27-feet	$48.95	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

Airflo Skagit Compact Kit
This is the kit for the serious fly fisher who owns a set of spey rods and likes to fine tune their tackle for exacting presentations. This kit contains a set of Airflo Skagit compact heads: 420, 450, 480, 510, 540, 570, 600, 630, 660 and 720 grain, and both 20lb. and 30lb. Ridge Shooting lines. Everything is organized in a sassy Airflo Line & Reel Case. There is plenty of extra room for a couple of Spey reels and an extra spool or two. There are pockets for extra shooting lines, leaders and tips. Everything is enclosed in a compact padded case. When you show up at the lodge with this outfit, everyone will know you are serious.

Item	Description	Price	To Top
SKCKIT	Airflo Skagit Compact Kit	$450.00	Sale Over -->SALE ENDED

The Fly Fishing Shop, Welches, OR

1(800) 266-3971

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www.flyfishUSA.com

Fish long & prosper,
Mark & Patty