G.Loomis Spey Rods

Topics 
G. Loomis Spey Rods
Relaxed Grip
Winter Steelhead Flies
Strike Indicators
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G. Loomis Spey Rods
Introducing The New Roaring River Two-Hand Series

Ever wish you had the perfect spey rod? How about having access to all the best casting instructors? Assets like these could make your time on the water more productive.  Maybe I've been there... I got to spend Tuesday on the Sandy with Steve Rajef, Steve Choate, Ed Ward, Brian Silvey, Mike Perusse and about 50 new Loomis Roaring River two-handers.  This was nearly a double set of Loomis' 24 new models. We loaded all the people and gear into two boats and spent all day fishing and testing 

Subject: The Selection Of A Winter Steelhead Fly For Open Water
As discussed in the 12/12/04 "Insider".
If the store adjoins your workplace, you might visit multiple times in the same day.  By the time you get home and the food is right in front of your chair, you are going to eat.  At this point eating becomes the most interesting thing in your surrounding environment.  The closer the food gets to your mouth the more you will eat.  Fish probably aren't much different.  
I believe that is what has made sight-fishing anglers like Jim Teeny so productive; he is able to put his fly very close to his quarry...repeatedly if necessary...at the right speed.  Jim's fly pattern, the famous Teeny Nymph is " designed" to be presented at very close range to a fish.  Teen Nymphs are often dull colored and fairly small.  These kinds of flies work best on small streams and especially for sight fishing.  On big water it's nearly impossible to see fish and much more difficult to put your fly that close to the fish very often.  For rivers where casts of over 70-feet are normal, large flies can attract fish from longer distances.  At this point your fly rather than your eyes is doing the searching.  My searching fly is often a marabou spider tied on a tube.

Selecting The Fly:
Under most circumstances large flies are visible at longer distances than smaller flies.  Larger flies can attract fish from further away.  Size does matter.  You can look at a fish's mouth and get an idea what size prey it was designed to eat.  Rainbow trout that are the same specie without the Ocean life history can give us some clues.  Stomach contents from several 15" Redsides from the Deschutes River revealed that they eat organisms from tiny midge pupae to giant salmon flies.  Most prominent in their diets are organisms from .33" to 1.2".  If you double the length of the fish to the size of a 10-pound steelhead and the length of the prey doubled proportionally, the the average steelhead fly might be .66" to 2.4" long.  Not surprisingly when I took a ruler to a selection of much used fly boxes, the majority of my flies measured about .75" to 2 1/2".  Accordingly, the range of fly sizes most attractive to 40" steelhead would be 1.75" to 3.25".   This does pretty much correlate to the most popular fly sizes used were larger steelhead are expected.  One might also want to remember that a 40" steelhead could eat a squid over 12" in length.  The trend is that while most steelhead are currently caught on flies from 1"-2.5" long, the upper limits of fly size is getting larger.  The success of anglers such as Ed Ward with his Intruder Series has definitely extended the boundaries of fly size and design.  Four-inch flies are now fairly common on some rivers.
Weight Matters:
If steelhead took flies consistently near the surface of the river, flies could all weigh the same.  Some steelhead will take flies near the surface and in some watersheds and under certain water conditions presenting the fly near the surface can be the most productive approach.  In nearly every steelhead population there are also many fish that will not rise to the fly, but will take a fly if it is presented nearer to their level.  Remember the Convenience Factor. The closer the food gets to your mouth the more you will eat.  Steelhead will usually move less distance to catch your fly as water temperatures go down.
Where Matters:
Steelhead can be found holding and moving in many depths and speeds of currents.  Water conditions have a huge effect on how steelhead move within a river.  Steelhead seek specific hydraulic conditions in which they are most comfortable.  The sweet spots change locations with water level changes.  Steelhead are most easily caught with flies from steady flowing water that is less than 8-feet deep.  Fly fishing becomes the dominant method in water less than 4-feet deep.  Steelhead will often hold in water less than 3-feet deep if the conditions give them enough cover.  In nearly all conditions, steelhead usually stay within 18-inches of the bottom. Most are within 6-inches of the bottom.  They follow the contours of the river bed as they migrate.  This is because the water at the bottom of the river is moving much slower than at the surface of the river.  Steelhead are masters at conserving energy and leave the "easy-living-lanes" only for very brief periods.  How much a fly weighs will determine how deep it will fish.  Lead eyes, heavy tubes and cone heads can pull the tip of the sinking tip down much faster than it would normally sink.  Weighted and unweighted flies can fine tune your presentation.  I usually prefer a fly that is a little too light to one that is a little too heavy.  In many circumstances it is more advantageous to have the line pull the fly down rather than visa-versa.  Less time wasted with the fly being broken off or being repaired.  Change flies as fishing conditions change.   Keep your fly in the zone.  Follow the contour of the river bed with your fly a foot off the bottom.
Color Matters: This is where theory gets dicey. Some experienced steelheaders will claim that the color doesn't matter.  Some will even claim that the fly pattern doesn't matter. Success is all determined with how the fly is presented or that there are only biter and non-biter fish.  However, every steelhead angler that I have ever met is always interested in which fly caught the last fish.  We are always looking for the magic bullet.  The two flies pictured above are my most successful patters for the past few seasons.  They are very lightweight, are about 2 1/4" long, are soft and squishy and convey a lot of movement.  
The water where a steelhead is expected to be encountered will play a large part in how much the fly should weigh in order to perform in the strike zone most efficiently.  Your fly should be the right color, size and shape to fit the fish and the right weight to fit the water.  During low cold flows fish might be laying deep for cover under the main current and during high water they can be in the edge-water among  the submerged willows.  Each of these circumstances will require a completely different fly design.  The width, depth and speed of the water you expect to cover will have a paramount effect on your fly selection.  Keep looking for the magic bullet....and

Fish long & prosper !!!

Strike indicators help you determine if  and when you are getting strikes.  In moving water they also allow you to gauge the speed and placement of your drifting fly. In still water a fly may be suspended from a strike indicator to depths of nearly 30-feet.  In flowing water flies may be fished 10-feet deep, but fishing in water from 1 1/2-feet to 4-feet deep is most common.  As with most components of fly fishing tackle there is a wide variety of different strike indicator designs available.  The selection below was built 

on customer demand.  Strike indicators are used extensively by trout fishermen.  There are some deadly steelhead fishermen who use strike indicators.  Some of these guys use big yarn indicators and lead eye flies out in the big riffle water.  The flies are dead-drifted for very long drifts.  If done skillfully it is very productive at all times of the year for steelhead.

• 30% lighter than other foam indicators
• Float high and are easy to see and cast
• Aerodynamically shaped on both ends, which reduces wind resistance when casting
• Easy to apply and remove, and are reusable
• Each tube package contains 6 Fish Pimp® strike indicators
• Remember: "Every Nymph Needs A Pimp!"®