Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring Steelhead Tube Flies, WindCutter Spey Lines

December 08, 2002, Sunday, 1:00pm - 5:00pm FREE Program! Learn all about Tying Tube Flies for Winter Steelhead. The program starts with a short slide presentation featuring productive methods for fishing tube flies for steelhead. Then tying procedures for several local favorite
	patterns will be demonstrated. All of the latest tubes, tube fly tying vises and materials used in this demonstration will be available for sale. The program and instruction are free. So are the coffee and snacks. Bring snacks to share if you want to. Bring your own tools, and materials and tie along. Group Leader: Mark Bachmann

	WindCutter Spey Lines With Changeable Tips NEW! 2003 Color: Yellow head with Green high float running line.
	The RIO WindCutter with changeable tips is the most popular spey line system in the Pacific Northwest. It is easily the best choice for novice casters. It is just as well liked and widely used by the most experienced	WindCutter Specifications
		Buy WindCutter w/tips
		WindCutter Upgrade
		Replacement Sinking Tips
		WindCutter With Out Tips

Patty Barnes demonstrates that sometimes a sinking tip line will catch more fish.

anglers. Originally designed as a specialty line for windy conditions or casting large flies, many anglers find that it is a practical line for a very wide range of fishing conditions. The wide selection of changeable tips enables the angler to fish from the surface to very deep in the water.

NEW! 2003 slicker, more durable finish & smoother loops !!!
WindCutter® Interchangeable Tip Spey Line
This line is the same profile and taper as the one piece WindCutter spey line, but with two floating and five sinking tips for a multi-purpose, multi-application spey line. The complete design includes the shooting line and body with stiff, non-hinging loops, a 15 ft middle tip section with two loops (Tip 2), and a 15 ft front floating tip (Tip 1) for light fly presentation. The 15 ft tapered sinking tips included are a clear AquaLux Intermediate Tip (1.5 ips 3.7 cm/s), a Type 3 (3 ips 7.62 cm/s) Density Compensated Tip, a Type 6 (6 ips 15.2 cm/s) Density Compensated Tip and a Type 8
(8 ips 20.3 cm/s) Density Compensated Tip. Included this year is the new Sink Tip Compensator Tip, an Intermediate Tip 2. Simply replace the Floating Tip 2 with this new tip when fishing the 15 ft sink tips to get better depth control. The line also includes a shooting head wallet to store tips. Length: 115 ft – 130 ft

In the last ten years, the spey rod (or two-hand fly rod) has gone from being a curiosity amongst the angling elite to the most popular tool for fly fishing for steelhead on our larger rivers. Two-hand fly rods enable every angler to cover more water, more efficiently than with a smaller, shorter rod. Even small rivers can often be fished more easily with a long rod. Steelhead are very adaptable and can live in many different depths and current speeds. Your tackle and fishing methods

Mark Bachmann, field testing the NEW Rio WinCutter spey line 10/24/02.

Mark Bachmann, field testing the NEW Rio WinCutter spey line 11/15/02.

should be equally adaptable. An important factor in the popularity of the spey rod has been the development of changeable-tip fly lines.
By far the most popular of these has been Rio's WindCutter designed by Jim Vincent. It incorporates a moderately short, heavy head in a weight forward design. These lines fish best at ranges of 30' to 80'. One hundred foot long casts are doable. These are the most productive ranges for steelhead fishing. WindCutters are easy to cast and easy to fish. As soon as Rio announced that they were coming out with a new and improved version of the WindCutter, I ordered 3 sizes for field testing. There is no doubt the the new 2003 version of the WindCutter is a superior fly line. It is incredibly slick and friction free.

You will cast further and fish better with the NEW WindCutter Spey Line. The NEW loop to loop connections flow through the rod guides and are barely noticeable. The running line is comparatively tangle free. The addition of the density compensator mid-section and new 8 sinking tips will allow you to fish deeper. It sure is fun field testing new stuff. I have been lucky enough to catch at least one steelhead on each of the tips that are provided in the set. So far, this winter's weather conditions have produced river flows much lower than normal.

Mark Bachmann, field testing the NEW Rio WinCutter spey line 11/22/02.

The 15' clear intermediate tip has been a good choice for steelhead holding in soft currents.

** Item	Size	Description	Price	To Top
21340	6/7/8	RIO WindCutter with tips fly line 6-7-8	$150	-->SALE ENDED
21341	7/8/9	RIO WindCutter with tips fly line 7-8-9	$150	-->SALE ENDED
21342	8/9/10	RIO WindCutter with tips fly line 8-9-10	$150	-->SALE ENDED
21343	9/10/11	RIO WindCutter with tips fly line 9-10-11	$150	-->SALE ENDED
21344	10/11/12	RIO WindCutter with tips fly line 10-11-12	$150	-->SALE ENDED

Mike Girard with a bright Sandy River steelhead that fell for a Sandy Blue tube fly.

Winter steelhead have a reputation for being difficult for the fly angler. The winter weather and water conditions, as well as sexually developed fish, create some of the most demanding conditions that the angler will encounter all year. Winter steelhead are most often bottom hugging denizens of cold, often rain swollen rivers. Sometimes it is very difficult to present the fly at the depth where the fish are holding. A sinking tip fly line is most often used to present the fly at the right depth. Often large expanses of water must be

covered. Flies that are easy to cast are essential in this game. Flies that cast small, but fish large are ideal. My favorite winter steelhead flies are made from soft flowing material that collapses when pulled from the water and puffs up when submerged. Marabou and rabbit strip are two key components on my fly tying bench. These material breath with life when submerged. Marabou drains out almost instantly when it leaves the water. Even very large flies constructed from marabou are easy to cast. When the water is cold, large flies will often move fish that small flies won't.
Because of their mating instincts, winter steelhead, especially the males, can be territorial and will attack a fly to drive it from their hold. Large flies dressed in steelhead spawning colors can bring jolting strikes. Fresh steelhead have an acute search image of the marine organisms that nurtured them. Flies dressed in the form of squid or krill can trigger a feeding response. In any case the fly must be presented deep and slow.

Sandy Candy This fly evolved on the Sandy River during the winter of 1979-80. It is made from the fluffy base of two differing colors of Schlappen Hackle palmered together. Gold flash is added. I comes off as a pulsating glowing pinkish-orange living thing. I like to present it with a sinking tip line, broadside dead drift. In very cold water, it will often move fish when nothing else will.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
21410-02	Sandy Candy	2	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED

Agitator Pink & Orange This is a favorite early winter fly everywhere in the Pacific Northwest. It seems to be most productive when the water is very cold. Of course this is the condition that drives steelhead into deep water where a heavily weighted fly is most useful.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
20225-02	Agitator Pink & Orange	2	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED

Big Black This is a have to have fly when fishing for steelhead any time of year. It is especially productive on late winter, spring and early summer steelhead. The Big Black is constructed from rabbit strip palmered on the hook. It fishes large, but is easy to cast.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
20250-04	Big Black	2	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED

Sandy River Marmot Dam Counts furnished by ODFW:
Specie	Time Period	Count
Summer Steelhead, Wild	06/05/02-11/19/02	435
Summer Steelhead, Hatchery	06/12/02-11/19/02	492
Winter Steelhead, Wild	01/01/02-06/30/02	1,018
Winter Steelhead, Hatchery	01/01/02-06/30/02	1,516
Spring Chinook, Wild	06/04/02-10/13/02	1,287
Spring Chinook, Hatchery	06/12/02-10/04/02	3,039

Sandy Candy	Sandy Blue	Big Black
Red Rocket	Agitator	Big Red

Red Rocket Tube Fly The Red Rocket is proven in all conditions, but is best when the water is low and clear. It can often be the most productive choice when the sun is bright. When wet these flies are usually about 2.5" long and 1" in diameter. They present a large target..
Item	Description	Price	To Top
TUBEFLRRL	Red Rocket Steelhead Tube Fly tied on lightweight soft plastic tubes	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED
TUBEFLRRM	Red Rocket Steelhead Tube Fly tied on lightweight unlined brass tubes	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED
TUBEFLRRH	Red Rocket Steelhead Tube Fly tied on heavy weight unlined brass tubes	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED

Sandy Blue Tube Fly The Sandy Blue is very reliable during most flows and temperatures from Southern Oregon to Northern British Columbia. It fishes best during cloud cover days.
Item	Description	Price	To Top
TUBEFLSBL	Sandy Blue Steelhead Tube Fly tied on lightweight soft plastic tubes	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED
TUBEFLSBM	Sandy Blue Steelhead Tube Fly tied on lightweight unlined brass tubes	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED
TUBEFLSBH	Sandy Blue Steelhead Tube Fly tied on heavy weight unlined brass tubes	3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED

Big Red This is a go to fly when the sun is bright or any time when the water is very clear.
Item	Description	Size	Price	To Top
20260-02	Big Red		3 for $5.95	-->SALE ENDED

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