Muddlers and Buddlers

Muddlers and Buddlers
By: Josh Linn

For the most part, I only carry a few flies in my box while wading, with little to get in my way. My wading gear is streamlined and my huge assortment of patterns stays in my Simms Boat Bag in the boat.  In this vast collection every fly has a purpose; dull colored flies, bright flies, dark flies, big flies, small flies and patterns for slick or choppy water, and several kinds of wakers for fishing on top.  Muddlers and Buddlers in purple and black are favorites. They are some of the most versatile flies for fall steelhead. In the riffley water they pop in and out of the

surface film and make it possible to attract fish that won't come to a wet fly. Or you can put a riffle hitch on one and slide tit across a glassy tail-out. I’ve guided people who fished skating and waking flies, and they have been pretty successful, though never having connected with a waking fly myself.   I figured it was because I hadn't put in enough time...hadn't paid my dues.  Last week I fished with my girl Marcy on the Deschutes for a couple of days. I have an advantage over most of the other guides. Normally I camp down in the canyon so I don’t have far to drive to put the boat in the water, which allows me to be first at the boat ramp in the morning. The first angler through the water when the fish are fresh and grabby has a huge advantage.
We where the first boat to Cedar Island and got to watch all of the other boats float by. Later we stuck four and landed two. As the day went on we continued to get hook-ups most everywhere we stopped the boat.  We pulled into our evening water early in the afternoon. Staking out our territory early allowed us to nap and rest-up for the evening hunt.  Making a few casts above the boat while waiting for the sun to go off the water seemed like a good idea. Three casts later a fish was hooked and beached. Enough fish had been hooked that it seemed like a good idea to skate a fly across the top. Digging through my box and knowing exactly what fly to use, a BUDDLER revealed itself to be the perfect type of fly for this water. A riffle hitch was put in place to keep the fly on top thus creating a wake. While working the head of the fly line out, the angle of presentation was tested and tuned. Casting down and across and putting a small mend into the line, the tilt of the rod lead the fly from the center of the river, then into the bank.  It looked so good...the only thing in sight was the little black head of the Buddler and the small subtle wake it left behind...with me holding a long shock loop loosely so a fish would have time to turn with the fly and hook itself. Fishing steelhead like this is very methodical as you get into a rhythm and block everything else out to fully focus on the fly and the swing speed.  A fish exploded on it like a cat pouncing on a ball, it missed it the first time and just kept coming back until it finally got it! A couple of head shakes later it was gone!  Guess it went home mad because it wouldn’t come back. Marcy sat up in the dry grass, awakened by the commotion. Still jazzed up by the fish on the surface, I told her about all of the excitement that happened while she was sleeping. Twenty minutes later she was into a fish,

and I was the photographer. A little later, my waking Buddler was again in the choppy water. The fly waked right between two submerged boulders and a gaping hole opened up as the fly was sucked under in a whirl pool. The steelhead flashed brightly and took the loop from my fingers and became impaled by the hook!!!! Running and jumping down river it didn't appear to be too happy. Ten minutes later it was resting on its side in the shallow water. My first steelhead on a waking fly. Marcy went on to land another fish and then it was dark.

Summer Steelhead/Salmon Run Predictions and Up-dates, by River!

The Fly Fishing Shop has one of the most divers and extensive collections 
of steelhead flies to be found anywhere!

Burkheimer Still Rules

There is no doubt that Kerry Burkheimer has had a tremendous influence on spey rod design in North America over the last 20 years.  I hear guys say, "When is Kerry going to come out with a new spey rod series? Some of his designs are 10-years old!"  After you spend a day fishing a big winter river with the 9143-3 you bought 10 years ago, you are satisfied, knowing you are still using the best tool that has been made for that task, and that no other designer has been able to produce a better one. Don Clay at left borrowed my 8139-3 and is displaying the results.  He was able to reach water that was previously unavailable to him.  Kerry's designs don't change very often because they are so well thought out in the first place.  Regardless of all the hype on new materials from other manufacturers, Burkheimers are about as lightweight as any

Spey rods available.  And they are fishy because of their exceptional balance.  Burkheimers fish as well as any brand.  Things like extra long ferrules that rarely loosen up while casting, takes that problem off your mind giving you more neurons to use for fishing.  After fishing a Burkheimer, every other spey rod handle feels like a stick. In his factory every step in the production of each rod is performed by a dedicated craftsman and is personally supervised by master rod maker Kerry Burkheimer himself. Each C.F. Bukheimer rod gets two coats of finish whereas most manufacturers apply only one. The results speak for themselves.
Try a Burkheimer!  They're hard to beat.

Length: 13' 3"    Line: # 7    Pieces: 3

Length: 13' 9"    Line: #8     Pieces: 3

Length: 14' 1"    Line: #8    Pieces: 4

Length: 14' 3"    Line: #9    Pieces: 3

One of the reasons that fly fishing for Redband Steelhead is so popular, is that they actively rise to the surface for flies.  There is probably no other fresh water fly fishing experience that is more exciting than watching a large steelhead coming to the surface of a river for a waking fly.  In the past, all waking flies were tied on standard hooks.  Either a special knot was applied to the fly or the fly was dressed in a special way so that it would skate across the surface.  Now flies are tied on special plastic tubes which have a hole in the underside to feed the leader through.  This will make the fly seek the surface as long as it is under tension against the current.  Often a waking tube fly is used in conjunction with a wet fly trailer.  An easy way to accomplish this is to feed both the tippet and the dropper through the hole in the bottom of the tube fly waking fly.  Tie the hook on the dropper and pull it up into the waking fly.  Tie the wet fly on the tippet.  A space of 24" to 32" between the flies is most popular.