Grass Hopper Flies, Rigging Spey Lines, Rio VeriLeaders, Spey Leaders

Grass Hopper Flies Hoppertunity knocks: for the right flies!!!
Hoppinator, Brown/Yellow	Hopper, Dave's	Parachute Hopper, Olive
Hoppinator, Pale Green	Hopper, Joe's	Parachute Hopper, Tan
Hopper Popper	Hopper/Stone	Whit's Hopper
	Mohawk Hopper

Following a prediction by the Department of Agriculture that there would be an unusually strong grass hopper population in eastern Oregon & Southern Idaho this summer, our crew found it to be so. The grass hopper hatch is unusually dense and trout in many areas of the region are keyed on these active jumping critters. Big trout like hoppers and often they are not very subtle about it. Rises can be every thing from gentle sips to crushing explosions. Hoppers are adapted to feeding on grass and there are many places where the grass grows right to the edge of the water. Hoppers emerge from the ground in early spring when the ground is damp and grass is dispersed over the whole landscape. During this period grass hopper populations are also dispersed. In many areas as the land dries during the heat of summer, the grass dies off except for the moist margins of rivers and lakes. In late summer grass hoppers can reach highly condensed populations right at the waters edge. As the population density increases there is a lot of hopping around to establish new personal territories. Many hoppers find that they have hopped the wrong way and have to kick their way across the water back to the bank Trout often station up right under the overhanging grass and wait in ambush. Dave Whitlock termed this situation Hoppertunity! Other game fish such as bass and bluegills are also aware of hoppers. Hoppers are decent swimmers but heavy, low floaters. The hind, jumping legs are a prominent key. Hoppers hit the water hard and so should your offering.
This big Brown Trout crushed this rubber-leg hopper fly.........................................................................................!

Hoppinator, Brown/Yellow A first sight this is a very impressionistic hopper imitation. But when you consider that a great amount of hopper fishing is done from a moving drift boat, this design makes sense. A hopper with built in floatation doesn't take false casting to dry out. Most of the trout that eat hoppers live very close to the bank. You float down the middle of the river and cast tight to the banks. (Continued below).
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
00106-06	Hoppinator, Brown/Yellow	6	3 for $5.85	-->SALE ENDED

Hoppinator, Pale Green Trout often listen for the splat of a hopper hitting the surface as their first detection of prey. The reaction is usually pretty quick. The best approach is to cast often, letting the fly drift only 3-6 feet before picking it up and casting again. Twitch it once every foot of drift
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
00107-08	Hoppinator, Pale Green	8	3 for $5.85	-->SALE ENDED

Hopper Popper Half hopper, half popper. Won't sink. Great for fishing along the banks on your favorite trout or smallmouth bass stream. Hits the water hard like a hopper. The rubber legs kick like a hopper.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
06324-08	Hopper Popper	8	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED

Hopper, Dave's This Dave Whitlock pattern is probably the most popular grass hopper fly in the Pacific Northwest. It rides the water much like a grass hopper. The flat face on the head of this fly accentuates the commotion of the fly when it is twitched (swam) across the surface of the water.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
16930	Hopper, Dave's	6	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
16931	Hopper, Dave's	8	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
16932	Hopper, Dave's	10	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
16933	Hopper, Dave's	12	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED

Mohawk Hopper The Mohawk Hopper is made completely from synthetic materials. It is durable, lifelike and unsinkable. It is easy to fish because it almost always lands right side up. This pattern is easy for anglers and fish to see. Be sure to buy plenty of Mohawks. After other anglers see how many fish you are catching, you can double the price on the water. Mohawks are are great investments.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
07502-08	Mohawk Hopper	8	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED

Another Hog-brown that fell for Troy Bachmann's Mohawk Hopper!

Hopper, Joe's Yeah, this old pattern still catches fish and is a favorite of many older experienced anglers for fishing meadow streams.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
16850	Joes Hopper	8	3 for $5.85	-->SALE ENDED
16851	Joes Hopper	10	3 for $5.85	-->SALE ENDED
16852	Joes Hopper	12	3 for $5.85	-->SALE ENDED

Parachute Hopper, Olive This fly is easy to see and is a favorite where game fish are feeding on greenish grass hoppers. It is designed to be at its best in fast water where less buoyant patterns tend to be pulled under to quickly.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
8053-10	Parachute Hopper, Olive	10	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
8053-12	Parachute Hopper, Olive	12	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED

Parachute Hopper, Tan Most of the hoppers where we live are this color in these sizes. This is a great pattern for searching the fast water at the edge of the grass in August.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
99275-10	Parachute Hopper, Tan	10	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED

Whit's Hopper The artistic genius of Dave Whitlock is evident in this killer pattern. This may be the most realistic grass hopper fly available. It not only looks like a grass hopper, it floats low in the water like a real grass hopper.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
17000	Whit's Hopper	6	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
17001	Whit's Hopper	8	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
17002	Whit's Hopper	10	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
17003	Whit's Hopper	12	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED

Hopper/Stone This fly depending on the size can be a male golden stone, a female little yellow stone or a grass hopper. The Hopper/Stone is easy to cast and easy to see.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
99270-10	Hopper/Stone	10	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED
99270-12	Hopper/Stone	12	3 for $6.75	-->SALE ENDED

The Hopper/Stone is a great mid-summer searching pattern for brush-lined streams!

Rigging Spey Lines

Our experience counts.......................................................................................................................................................!

The Fly Fishing Shop in Welches Oregon has the most comprehensive selection of Spey Lines offered anywhere in the world. We fish for Steelhead and salmon year around and know the best Spey Line Configuration for every fishing situation. We know how to rig your line to get both maximum performance and maximum strength. When you get your Spey Outfit from us, you can be assured that it will be the most finely tuned that it can be. It will be a casting and fishing machine. It will make you look good, and allow you to perform at your best. Most of the time there is no extra charge for this labor and expertise.

The Fly Fishing Shop is world wide headquarters for everything concerning fly fishing for salmon & Steelhead. This section deals with the most popular lines for two-hand fly rods. Phone consultation is always available.	About Spey Casting
	Spey Casting Classes
	About Hybrid Spey Lines

Airflo	Replacement Tips	Fly Line Dressing
Cortland	M.OW. Tips	PolyLeaders
Rio	Shooting Lines	Spey Leaders
Royal Wulff	T-8, &-11 & T-14	Spey Casting Books
Scientific Anglers	Shooting Head Wallets	Spey Casting Videos
We just have more parts to work with!

Spey Shooting Heads Defined
By: Josh Linn

Working in the fly shop you get asked a lot of different questions about Spey lines. What is a Skagit line? What is a Scandi line or a Scandinavian shooting head? Well the Skagit floats does that mean I can't use it in the winter time? These are all good questions and unless you work in the fly fishing industry, the answers may not be apparent.

When I first started spey casting the Windcutter Spey line from Rio was pretty new and very popular. This line had a 55' head and was a complete departure from previous traditional spey lines that had heads measuring approximately 100' long. This new line with the shorter head had revolutionized spey casting. Now you could operate in more confined locations and more easily cast sinking tips and bigger flies. Since then the heads on Spey lines have been getting even shorter and in some cases flies keep getting bigger. The biggest advancement in spey fishing has definitely been with shooting head type lines. When I first started fishing with a two-hander, normal rods were 14' or 15' long in 9 or 10 weight sizes, the reason we needed those big rods were to cast the lines that were being used back then. Recently in the Pacific Northwest we have had another big jump in line development. The head portion of Spey lines have been shortened again. A great majority of the people are fishing lines with heads between 30' and 40'...enter the modern Spey shooting head. With these lines there are basically two approaches to casting. You can use line speed to load your rod or you can use the weight of the line to load the rod. Here is where the Skagit and Scandinavian lines differ.

First we should talk about the differences between the lines themselves, and what they are used for. If you look at the diagram you will notice that both of the lines are almost the same length, but the profiles (the shape of the line) are completely different. The Skagit line is a heavier line with little to no taper made for turning over large flies and big heavy sink tips. Skagit lines are made to have sink tips attached to the fronts of them. They do not have any front taper so the power is not dissipated by the taper of the line. The attached sinking tip provides the taper.

Josh Linn with a steelhead caught with a Skagit Line. Photo: Marcy Stone.

Scandinavian lines have a long front taper and are made to turn over longer leaders and smaller to mid sized flies. They are not made to cast heavy sink tips and bigger flies. They are more suited for summer fishing, ie floating line work with long leaders where a delicate presentation is required. Scandinavian lines when cast are made to have just the leader anchored to the water. When casting these short shooting heads you should try to use a short casting stroke pulling with your bottom hand to attain higher line speeds and maintaining your anchor.

The Scandinavian Head weight should be 15%- 20% lighter than a Skagit head for the same rod. If you are fishing a 400 gr Skagit head you would want to use a Scandinavian line around 340gr. This is just a general rule and there are plenty of exceptions.

For fishing around our local waters I have multiple heads for all of my rods. Both short and long Skagit heads are commonly used. Shorter heads, such as Airflo's Skagit Compact are best when fishing under and around obstacles. Longer heads like the Airflo Northwest Skagit will ultimately enable you to throw longer casts. Rio's Skagit Shooting Heads are a good compromise in length between the two Airflo designs.

Also you will want to get a Floating Scandinavian Shooting Head such as Rio's AFS or Airflo's new shorter Compact Scandi for fishing rivers like the Deschutes when you are fishing smaller flies and long leaders. Here again, Airflo gives you two choices in head length with Rio fitting between them. Airflo Scandinavian Shooting Heads are longer and slimmer than either the Rio AFS or the newest Airflo Compact Scandi. If you fish a reel with a running line that has a loop in it you will be fishing the most versatile system available. Acquire a set of sink tips in different densities and lengths for the Skagit lines and an assortment of Polyleaders for the Scandinavian line and you are in the game. Did I mention that buying 2 heads is the same price as buying one line? This system can also be the most cost effective.

Rio Spey VersiLeaders Our camp thermometer registered 108-degrees in the bottom of the Deschutes Canyon. The water warmed accordingly and the Steelhead went into the doldrums. My resourceful guest, Bruce Hampton added a 15' sinking VersiLeader to the end of his floating spey line and managed to turn the tables on a couple of steelies who hadn't the energy to rise all the way to the surface for the same fly (his new improved version of the Fly du Jour). Determination and little tricks like this can often add to your catch. Mark Bachmann photo.

10 ft (3 m) and 15 ft (4.6 m) leaders with a high tenacity nylon core coated with a super low modulus polymer mixture. VersiLeaders feature an ultra smooth welded loop in the butt end making it easy to connect to the fly line. The floating Spey VersiLeader is perfect for forming the anchor when spey casting Scandinavian style. These leaders are ideal additions to all Spey lines and in particular RIO's new AFS heads and AFS OutBound lines. They come in a full range of sink rates to customize your presentations. Densities: Floating, 1.5 ips (3.7 cm/s), 2.6 ips (6.6cm/s), 3.9 ips (9.9cm/s), 5.6 ips (14.2cm/s), 7.0 ips (17.8cm/s) Strength: 24lb
		Rio Spey VersiLeader Full Set All six densities are organize in individual zip-locks in a beautiful Cordura pouch. That way you can easily carry the full selection and always have what you need. These VersiLeaders are adaptable to all kinds of fly lines above size-6. They are most comfortable with lines 7-8-9 sizes. They will work well with all spey lines & saltwater lines.
Item	Description	Sink Rate	Price	To Top
24224	Rio 10' Spey VersiLeader	Full Set	$65.95	-->SALE ENDED
24225	Rio 10' Spey VersiLeader Floating Leader	Floating	$9.95	-->SALE ENDED
24226	Rio 10' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	1.5 ips	$9.95	-->SALE ENDED
24227	Rio 10' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	2.6 ips	$9.95	-->SALE ENDED
24228	Rio 10' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	3.9 ips	$9.95	-->SALE ENDED
24229	Rio 10' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	5.6 ips	$9.95	-->SALE ENDED
24230	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	7.0 ips	$9.95	-->SALE ENDED
24237	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	Full Set	$85.95	-->SALE ENDED
24231	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	Floating	$14.95	-->SALE ENDED
24232	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	1.5 ips	$14.95	-->SALE ENDED
24233	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	2.6 ips	$14.95	-->SALE ENDED
24234	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	3.9 ips	$14.95	-->SALE ENDED
24235	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	5.6 ips	$14.95	-->SALE ENDED
24236	Rio 15' Spey VersiLeader Sinking Leader	7.0 ips	$14.95	-->SALE ENDED

Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Leaders We have the freshest leaders for you.
6'	9'	12'	15'
Fresh is good......................................................................................................................................................................!
Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon are similar in habits and the live in similar habitats. Many anglers pursue both species using similar fishing techniques. These fish are larger than trout and often live in fast moving water. They require leaders that are abrasion resistant. Steelhead flies are often much larger than trout flies. The leaders used to deliver these flies must be tapered to retain a lot of casting energy. It helps if your leaders are designed to turn-over long cast and deliver flies with pin point accuracy. Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Leaders are made from hard, abrasion resistant nylon favored for all anadromous salmonid species. Our selection features the most popular and practical sizes to fish from the surface to down deep into the currents. Leaders can deteriorate from heat, moisture or UV rays. Fresh leaders land fish. Old ones often don't.

6' Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders These leaders are designed for use with sinking tip lines of all kinds. By the time you nail-knot a six-foot leader to the end of your line & tie on a fly you will have a leader of about 5' long. This allows a couple of fly changes before the leader shortens to 4'. Each leader is made from hard, abrasion resistant nylon favored for anadromous species. Great turnover and presentation for all sizes of flies commonly fished for Rio Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
24062	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	6' - 10 lb. .012"	$4.75	-->SALE ENDED
24063	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	6' - 12 lb. .014"	$4.75	-->SALE ENDED
24064	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	6' - 16 lb .015".	$4.75	-->SALE ENDED

9' Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders This is the most popular length for Rio Steelhead and Atlantic salmon fishing with floating or intermediate lines. This length works well with both single hand and shorter Spey rods. Each leader is made from hard, abrasion resistant nylon favored for anadromous species. Great turnover and presentation for all sizes of flies commonly fished for Rio Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
24071	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	9' - 8 lb. .011"	$4.75	-->SALE ENDED
24072	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	9' - 10 lb. .012"	$4.75	-->SALE ENDED
24073	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	9' - 12 lb. .014"	$4.75	-->SALE ENDED

12' Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders Twelve foot long leaders are very popular for use with spey rods of average length. These leaders are also handy when fishing over Rio Steelhead and salmon that have become line-shy. Each leader is made from hard, abrasion resistant nylon favored for anadromous species. Great turnover and presentation for all sizes of flies commonly fished for Rio Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
24097	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	12' - 8 lb. .011"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED
24098	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	12' - 10 lb. .012"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED
24099	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	12' - 12 lb. .014"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED
24100	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	12' - 16 lb. .015"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED

15' Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders These leaders lend themselves well to longer rods and larger river, but are also popular for Scandinavian style Spey casting. Each leader is made from hard, abrasion resistant nylon favored for anadromous species. Great turnover and presentation for all sizes of flies commonly fished for Rio Steelhead and Atlantic Salmon.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
24091	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	15' - 8 lb. .011"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED
24092	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	15' - 10 lb. .012"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED
24093	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	15' - 12 lb. .014"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED
24094	Rio Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon Knotless Tapered Leaders	15' - 16 lb. .015"	$5.25	-->SALE ENDED

The Fly Fishing Shop, Welches, OR

1(800) 266-3971

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www.flyfishUSA.com

Fish long & prosper,
Mark & Patty

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