Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring G. Loomis

When it comes to delivering long, accurate casts or dropping a fly on a dime, nobody in the world does it better than the G. Loomis Director of Research & Development, Steve Rajeff. Rajeff has dominated the world of competitive casting for over three decades. He has no less than 29 national and 13 world All Round Championships on his casting resume. Steve holds the current National single and two hand fly distance records at 238 feet and 295 feet respectively. Steve and his brother Tim were winning teammates in the recent Outdoor Life Network Flyfishing Masters Cham pionship. Steve gives G. Loomis a powerful

Steve Rajeff with a British Columbia steelhead.

advantage against the competition with a deep understanding of how fly rods work,

Bill Howland pilots his jet boat with his beegle, Rowdy.

because he can make them perform better than any one else in the world. Working closely with Steve are a whole team of gifted anglers such as "Mild Bill" Howland of Warm Springs, Oregon. You can find Bill testing G. Loomis fly rods below Mack's Canyon on the Deschutes River. Bill is a retired Marine Patrol Officer and worked the waters of Central Oregon for many years. This background gives Bill a unique perspective on the waters that he fishes. Now during the summer and fall months he lives, camping-out in the Deschutes Canyon. This life style give Bill a lot of experience. He is a tremendous fly caster catches lots of steelhead. Besides G. Loomis rods, Bill employs the service of his steelhead dog, Rowdy. This combination gives him a nearly unfair advantage over the fish. Bill is a dedicated G. Loomis user. He

and Steve Rajeff spend a lot of time fishing together. The exchange of information that happens on those trips is added into the mix of G. Loomis design knowledge...local on the water knowledge.

One of the newest additions to the G. Loomis Pro Staff is our good friend Steve Choate of Kalama, Washington. You might remember that Steve won the 2002 International Open Spey Casting Championship at Broadlands on the river Test in England with a cast of 50 yards. This cast was performed on moving water as a "fishing cast". Steve perfected the "Spiral-Single" spey cast and has been one of the major cornerstones of the Sandy River Spey Clave since its beginnings. Right now G. Loomis GLX two-handers will compete with anything in the world. We figure however that Steve Choate working with Steve Rajeff will produce

two-hand fly rods of unapproachable performance. Are we about to see something revolutionary? Rumors are starting to spread. The suspense is building. We can't wait!

Test Report: G. Loomis Trout Spey
Spey rods have become very popular for fishing salmon and steelhead fishing. Several makers have also introduced lightweight models for trout. Fishing with "very long rods" for trout is not new. There is evidence which suggests that rods of 10' to 14' were the most common lengths in the 1400's. These rod lengths were also most common in the 1600's and 1700's. It is only since the late 1800's that rods of 8' to 10' have become more popular. There are probably several reason's: A more mobile population wanting rods which would travel easy, the development of lightweight hooks which allowed dry fly fishing, and a change of casting style brought on by a science which concluded that the development of high line speed is always paramount to the best presentation. All of these factors are to some degree irrelevant when it comes to high stick nymph fishing for trout in a large, fast moving rivers. A long rod and a short line gives improved control over the dead drifted, bottom hugging nymph (or nymphs). Working upon the theory that a longer rod would improve my nymph fishing, I designed and built a 12' #5 in about 1984. It was a great advantage and was used until it wore out. We sold several of these rods to perceptive anglers. Unfortunately the company who made the blanks for us had problems. By 1986 these rods became unavailable. That left a bunch of unhappy people, including myself. We approached several other blank makers but never came up with the right deal.

The idea was set on the back burner and finally forgotten until Mike Perusse, our local G. Loomis rep introduced me to to the StreamDance Spey. It is an extremely lightweight 13'4" #5/6 weight, 3-piece rod. There is little doubt that this rod is going to single-handedly start a revolution in high stick nymph fishing. Longer is better for getting a perfectly dead drift with weighted nymphs. This time of year the highest percentage of anglers who are fishing for trout in moving water are doing it with dead drifted nymphs. It's academic. The longer the drift the more time the fly is in the strike zone. The longer the rod, the longer the reach.

The longer the reach the longer the "precisely controlled" drift. Trout become keenly aware of drag caused by the line and leader in the water. The more line that can be held off the water the more drag can be eliminated. The longer the rod the more line can be held off the water. This rod was used
on the Deschutes last week by myself and clients. The fishing was good and the long rod was an advantage. It is extremely lightweight for its length. Many fat Redsides were landed with it. The FR16056-3M is the nymph rod that I would have designed and built, if I had known how. MB

FR16056-3M				Length: 13' 4" Line: #5/6 Pieces: 3
Handle Style 150
The bushes are just behind you. The fish are 60 feet out. What do you do? Roll out a single or double spey cast and you cover the spot, then mend, extending your drift to the confluence of the next river system. You'll need to manage long leaders and nymph patterns in deep water spots, and push out large dries like stoneflies and hoppers, yet still enjoy catching 12-inch rainbows without breaking light tippet. Steelhead and salmon anglers have been using the long rod for years, eliminating false casts, keeping the fly in the water where it needs to be, not in the air. And the 13'4" #5/6 StreamDance Spey is so light, an 18-incher will feel like a 10lb summer run steelhead feels on your 8 weight. Isaac Walton would be jealous.
Item	Series	Line Wt	Power	Taper	Handle	Price	To Top
11411-01	Metolius Trout Spey	5/6 Spey	Med	Med	150	$445.00

Deschutes River, Oregon trout fisher with a nice Redside hooked up.

You are waist deep in the riffle, the shadows and reflections of the basalt ramparts above turn the water golden brown. The fly rides in the surface film under light tension, the long rod balances lightly in your hand. Your eyes wander to the Great Blue Heron stoically perched in an alder tree across the river. You are

content in this soft fluid world. The line tightens in a slow but deliberate pull and the heavy fish twists and turns trying to dislodge your hook. Your rod arches with his power and the line melts from your screaming reel. An incredible distance away the huge silver and gunmetal fish bolts through the surface and you are caught in the frenzy of your first Deschutes Steelhead
and time stands still....
The Deschutes River heads in South Central Oregon and flows nearly 300 miles due north to enter the Columbia River near The Dalles. It drains all of the east side of the Cascade Mountain Range. Although this drainage is located in the arid rain shadow of the Cascades, the large area encompassed produces a river with average annual flows of over 4,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the mouth. One hundred miles upstream from the mouth, Pelton Dam creates 400 foot deep Lake Billy Chinook. Agreements with the Power Company keep water fluctuations to a minimum. This tail-water effectively turns the next 60 miles of the Deschutes into an enormous spring creek.

The Deschutes River canyon is an oasis in the sagebrush covered desert. Bird life is concentrated here, attracted by the hatches that also feed the fish. Game animals come to water. The sun shines an average of three hundred days a year. The air is very pure and clear.

In winter the Deschutes often has warm mid-day sun which triggers hatches of tiny may flies and great dry fly fishing. Early spring is a time of March Browns or Gray wing Olives. Late spring and early summer brings on the world famous Salmon Fly hatch. The warm weather of mid-summer through October brings hatches of caddis, midges, mayflies and small stone flies.

Steelhead are available nearly year round, but mid-July through November is prime time when mint bright summer Steelhead enter the river. These aggressive fish come readily to the surface and create one of the premier floating line steelhead fisheries in the world.

Fly fishing is about a lot of things. Being outdoors, experiencing the environment, reading the water, entomology- the list goes on and on. I built my own wooden boat, sold it, and now I will be building another. Bigger and better as they say (I hope!) . Nothing is like fishing out of your own craft. But when I think about fishing, it is the casting that projects itself onto the little screen in my mind. The reasons for fly fishing is an endless well of variables and reasons for many, many people. But the basic appeal for most (if not all) of us is the casting. After all of these years of fly fishing, I find that it is still the casting that attracts me the most. I love to catch fish, let there be no doubt about that, but I find

that if the catching part gets to be real s-l-o-w, I put on a dry fly. Regardless of what nymph should be working when there is nary a rise. Why? Because if I cannot catch fish at some point the day, I might as well not catch them while enjoying myself. I got over the shock (as do most of us) of the really expensive fly rod a long time ago. I started out fly fishing with a vest full of desire and a mind riddled with perceptions, a fly fishing outfit, and absolutely no skills that could be recognized as fishing by most anyone in the western hemisphere. With the help of a friend or two, I made enough progress along the learning curve to convince myself that I needed a “better” rod. I went to my favorite shop, not the closest, but the shop that had been more than willing to help a rank beginner. To start with, I spent a lot more time than money at that shop (now I spend more time working there than fishing- but, that’s a different story), but the day came when it was time to let them get even. While there is certainly more to the story than simply walking in a grabbing a nice rod, I will save it for another time. The good folks there did not sell me a nice rod, they helped me to pick out my own rod. I think that at that time there can be no doubt that the rod was better suited to casting than I was. It is a strange thing, but I have always thought that the quality of that first really good rod elevated my level of casting skill (such as it is). After getting familiar with it, to the point that It started to feel good in my hand, I felt more motivated to put in more time learning to cast better. You eventually get to a point that you can cast at least passably well, no matter what rod is in your hand. Now I can cast a “discount store” rod of just about any type and find at least one distance or type of cast that is at least OK. Beyond that, there are a number of mid level rods that cast well in most situations on any river you might find yourself. I still use a couple of them from time to time. But there is nothing that equals the feel of my really top level rods. I have had a few expensive rods that I can spend a day on the river with, and think to my self “this is a really nice casting rod- wish it didn’t cost so much.” Now, my best rods are a different story. I can spend all day with one and the only thing that comes to mind is- “what a nice rod!” The rod IS the basic tool in fly fishing. I usually end up trying to get the best tool that I can get. Never have I felt guilty about owning nice things (not that I have many nice things, quite the contrary), things that some might consider “above my level of expertise”. My “level of expertise” is really something that exists inside of myself, and I am the only one that knows what that is for me, and knows what it feels like. The best tool that I can get feels good to me. And that good feeling that I have when I get out fishing is worth a lot more than I will ever pay for any rod. It is a small investment for something that makes you feel good every time that you use it. It’s not about the money, it’s about the life. One of those little things my Dad was always trying to tell me.

	*	Search	Catalog	Trips & Schools	Bargains
	Our Waters		Order Info		Events

StreamDance Freshwater Series	Salmon & Steelhead Rods
CrossCurrent Saltwater Series	Two-Hand Rods


Built in the Pacific Northwest for conditions anywhere in the world.

The lower one hundred miles of the Deschutes is one of the most prolific trout streams in the western United States. Seventy miles are open to angling year round. In this unique river, wild endemic desert rainbow trout rise to myriad hatches in riffles and back eddies mirroring green alders and brown basalt cliffs. These
distinctive fish are affectionately called Redsides and are linked to the desert Red Band Trout group. Rocky Mountain Whitefish add to the spectacular nymph fishing. An occasional native Bull Trout adds variety to your catch.