Redfish Born on the Bayou

15.27 in and, bags, bayou, Boat Plans, born, introduces, on, packs, redfish, sweep, the, umpqua, zero

Redfish Rock!

Redfish have been on the bucket list many years counting. One reason or another always interfered with the check off of this popular fishery. In December 2015 I finally got an opportunity to experience the bayou and the bull reds that inhabit it.

On the Flats with Gjuro Bruer

My trip started from Hopedale marine area and from there my guide Gjuro Bruer took me on a many mile boat ride on a cool December morning. While I’m no stranger to cold mornings this long ride had me questioning whether I dressed warm enough for this day. I kept telling myself just make it through the morning and the warm sunshine will take me through the rest of the day, and it did!

Gjuro pulled up on a point and readied my fly rod while verbally relaying some quick startup instruction. We both jumped up on our platforms and before we moved 20 feet I made my first cast on a point instantly hooked up. Oh yeah game on! My only concern after such quick success was is this going to be an outstanding day or downhill from here. Have you had any of those days were you hook up on first cast and never touch another fish the rest of the day. I’ve had more of those days than I care to count.

Soon after the release of that first fish my fear was set at ease with a second hookup than a third and so on. My fish seemingly continued to get larger and soon I was holding what had to be a 25 pounder.

Many other opportunities came along the way. We spotted a big black drum. Being farther out I had to really dig deep in the Scott Meridian 10 weight rod for some distance. It wasn’t even a challenge for this fine rod. It reached out and delivered to the target. I got the big black drum to eat but my hook set only stuck for a couple seconds before his explosive power set him free. Just feeling it in the line set off my adrenaline.

Check out the Spots

Next we came across an alligator Gar. Not real big says Gjuro but the alligator shaped snout was intimidating to say the least. I made a couple cast to him but he was not the least bit interested.

Up ahead was a big tailing red. That big tail was amazing sight. He was very aggressive and even though I didn’t get the hook up on first attempt he went crazy trying to hunt down that fly. I stayed patient and put it the fly back in front of him and like slow motion I watched him flare his gills inhaling my fly. Hook set and away he went very soon on the reel. The smooth Bauer CFX drag tamed the big red into submission while I held my breath as not to give him any opportunity to exploit any weakness. After a long battle Gjuro bought him to hand and finally I was able to breath.

I now understand the attraction to these wild big bull reds. They are willing but cautious, predator and territorial, big and beautiful. I hope to encounter them again!

My equipment list was pretty simple. Scott Meridian 9 foot 10 weight rods, a Bauer CFX #6 fly reel and a RIO Permit WF10F Fly Line. Most cast were pretty short and the Scott did a great job letting me feel it load and it had the power to reach out for long targets. The Bauer CFX reel performed flawlessly while I tested its smooth drag repeatedly this day. The RIO Permit line was a great balance of short loading capable while maintaining a long enough head to carry line for longer cast. I was a bit concerned about a tropical line in December but I never experienced line coil issues on this cool day. I had a cold water line spooled and ready to use but never needed it.

Big thanks goes out to guide Gjuro Buer. Gjuro does a great job of relaying the instructions with very few spoken words all while maintaining his patients, something I really appreciate in a guide. Even though I was the one with a fly rod in hand we hunted together for the next big red.

My high would continue throughout the weekend in New Orleans with family and friends. We drank, we ate, we laughed and we cheered and I while asleep I dreamed about Big Bull Reds born on the Bayou!

Contact Gjuro Bruer @ 850-637-2628

Greg Darling 

Gorge Fly Shop Internet Sales Manager | Product Specialist

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Columbia Gorge Fishing Report December 14th

21.59 in 14th, bayou, Boat Plans, born, columbia, december, fishing, gorge, on, redfish, report, the

Fishing Report 

This week should be amazing for local steelheaders!  Every river in the Northwest flirted with major flood stage and are all now slowly coming back into shape.  Fishing was very good before the floods, and should be fabulous as the water recedes and rivers become fishable.  

Steelhead fishing is going to be great this week.  We have already heard great reports from the few rivers that are in shape this weekend.  Guys reporting multiple fish mornings, hard takes and very powerful fish.  Keep an eye on the flows and hit the rivers as they are dropping into the high end of normal flows.  It takes a bit of practice and experience to figure out what those are for individual rivers, but trial and error is the best way to learn.  We have heard that there have been several mudslides reported on our area rivers, which likely makes them unfishable due to lack of visibility.  Nothing has been confirmed here except for a slide on the Nehalem River, which I saw on the evening news a few days ago.  We will keep our ears to the ground and post anything later that we hear about.

High water conditions mean bigger, darker flies with heavier sink tips.  I would likely be fishing a Rio MOW Heavy 10’ T-14 sink tip with a Howell’s Signature Intruder in Black and Blue if I were fishing today, but I am in the shop writing the fishing report getting text messages from friends telling me how epic the fishing is today.  I will certainly be hitting it hard on my days off this week as I hope you do too!

Rainbow trout fishing on the Deschutes should be really good this week as higher water gets bugs and fished pushed around.  Trout and steelhead both get really riled up when they are forced to move.  My best fly after a big high water is a big san juan worm in wine or bright red.  Fish it deep under an indicator along with a zebra midge, BWO emerger or a #20 pheasant tail and you should be able to wreck some trout this week.

As always, we are happy to talk fishing any time.  Give us a call if you have any specific questions on local rivers, gear, and tactics, or if you just want some encouragement to get out of the office.  

Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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Monster Redfish In Louisiana

15.52 in airflo, Boat Plans, compact, g2, generation, in, louisiana, monster, redfish, skagit

Travis putting the brakes on a Bull Red

My dad sets the hook on a monster redfish, over thirty pounds. His Winston Boron III Plus tied in a knot as his Nautilus CCFX2 fly reel screams!

It all started three months prior while fishing tarpon in Florida. My guide Greg Dini talked about guiding big reds in Louisiana. "I really want to do that sometime" I told him. 

"When is the best time" I asked Greg. 

He said "from October to January, but the first of October to mid November is prime".
"when do you have any openings" I asked.
"January sometime" he responded.
"I will have to look at my calendar" I said.

A few nights later over dinner with the guys, Greg got a text from his wife. "My wife just text me that a guy canceled a redfish trip October 11th to 14th". A few of the guys said they might want those days but would have to wait until they got home to make sure. Knowing the dates would be gone by if any of us hesitated I grabbed them. I would make room on the calendar later, you just can not pass up prime dates like that with a guide like Greg.

It was a long three months waiting for these dates to finally come. Here we are in Louisiana home of the monster redfish. Just landed in New Orleans, heading to pickup the rental. After a hour delay at the rental car company we were on the road to Venice Louisiana. Venice is on the southern tip of Louisiana. Know for its world class sport fishing. It is also the first spot that the giant bull redfish stop on their migration into the Louisiana marsh for winter.

After a 75 mile drive we were at our destination, Venice Louisiana. It was now dark so we could see much. We made our way to our hotel, put our gear together for the next day and hit the sack. We were supposed to meet Greg at the marina at 8:15 AM.

Venice, Louisiana

We got up early and headed to the marina. Now that it was light we could see the town, it was small and spread out. Not much there so plan ahead. We arrived at the marina, found the restaurant that Greg suggested. We ordered our breakfast and a couple of sandwiches for lunch.

At 8:15 we met Greg at the dock after breakfast we walked down to the dock and met up with Greg. Greg grabbed our rods and quickly rigged them, then we were off. His flats boat was full throttle, we were flying through the canals and marsh near the mouth of the Mississippi River. After 15 minutes of running Greg throttled down the skiff, killed the motor and hopped on the poling platform. He told me “Grab your Winston with the big streamer I tied on”.


I jumped to the bow and got ready. I no longer got my line stripped off and Greg shouted “One o’clock, 50 feet, coming at you”. “Wait, let him get closer, Ok cast now”.

Inhaled the Fly

I made my cast right on the red fishs head, as soon as I started stripping the fly he inhaled the fly. Greg said “ Set the hook, set it hard”. I set the hook and the red turned away and started pulling hard. I could see that this was not one of the monster reds I had came here for, but it still surprised me how hard it was pulling. It felt like a chinook salmon, a chinook on a flat. After a few minutes I pulled the fish over to where Greg could grab the leader. My dad and Greg snapped a few quick pictures and the red went back in the water. “How big was that one” I asked. “Small about 12 lbs” he replied.

Greg said “Nice job, now lets go find a bigger one”. He did not pole the boat more than 100 feet and there was another red, bigger, much bigger. Greg asked “ Do you see him coming at you 10 o’clock?”

“Yes I do” I replied. “Ok cast now” Greg said. My first cast was a few feet right, I picked up and set the fly a few feet in front of the red. Just like the first he quickly inhaled the fly, I set the hook. The red took off, stripping my line off the reel quickly. My Winston BIII Plus 9’ 9 weight fly rod was absolutely tied in a knot. Once the fish stopped I applied about as much pressure as I thought the rod could handle. These reds are strong! Once I had the fish wore out, Greg tailed the fish. He handed the red to me, it was much heavier. “How big is it” I asked. “About 20 lbs.” Greg responded.

This was the size fish I came here for, huge shoulders, giant head and big enough mouth to swallow any 18 inch trout whole!

I got back up to the front as two big jacks shot in front of the boat. I asked Greg “were those jacks”. “Yes, about 20 to 25 lbs” he replied. We then explained to dad about how hard jacks fight, I don’t think he really realized how serious we were.

Greg got a call from a fellow guide friend, he reported that he was in one of the big flats covered with big reds crushing pogies (a favorite bait fish of reds). Greg said “ we have to get over there, the surface fishing should be excellent!” He fired up the 115 horse motor and off we went. After about five minutes we came to the flat. As far as you could see there were pogies jumping on the surface. Every once in awhile the surface would explode as a red would crush the pogies on the surface.

Greg pulled out a spin rod with a giant surface plug about 8 inches long. The plug did not have a hook on it. Greg explained he would use the plug to locate a redfish since the water was much murkier on this flat. It was now dad’s turn at the bowe. Greg had him grab the 9’ 10 weight G. Loomis GLX Crosscurrent that we had brought. He had previously rigged it with a huge popper, about 6 inches total length. Greg started casting the huge plug, jerking it violently across the surface. A big redfish exploded on the surface inhaling the plug. Greg jerked the plug away from the red, then told dad “cast to the red, right in the boil it left”

Dad made a cast, started popping the the popper across the surface. A massive wake appeared behind the popper as a redfish speed up behind the popper, then springing forward eating the popper. Dad jerked, the fly pulled right out of the reds mouth. Greg said “don’t trout set, you want to keep the rod tip in the water and strip to set the hook.” This is something every trout angler will struggle with. Nothing a trout angler does set the hook on trout, steelhead or salmon is right for setting the hooking in saltwater on a flats fish. It is easier to say than do, but you want to keep the tip in the water and just make a long hard strip with a fish eats a fly in salt. I can explain all the reasons why it works better, but it does.

A few minutes later dad got a chance to redeem himself as a red once again crushed Greg’s hookless plug. Dad cast to the boil, a big red inhales his popper. Dad tightens his line on the fish. The red instantly started burning off line taking about 50 yards of backing. Greg shouts “ this is a big one!” Dad battled this red for probably close to 10 minutes before Greg could get his hands on it. Once landed I could see this fish was considerably bigger. “Greg how big is this one” I asked. he replies “about 31 to 32 lbs.”

Albert wrestling a big red on the fly

Dad had a few more shots, then it was my turn back at the bow. Dad picked up a G. Loomis Escape 3 piece travel spin rod that I had brought. He cast that rigged with a big plug from the back of the boat while I cast the fly rod with popper from the front. For a few hours we hooked, landed and lost numerous big reds in the 20 lb to 30 lb. range. We had many doubles and even a few triples after I convinced Greg to cast a couple of times once dad and I were doubled up. It was a epic day, dad kept saying this was the best fishing trip he had been on. I had to remind him it was only the first day and we had 3 left.

That day came to an end as we returned to the dock at Venice Marina. Greg said “same time and place tomorrow morning”. Dad and I went up to the restaurant overlooking the marina. We had some great food and a few beers as we recalled our great day of fishing. While we were there multiple offshore boats came to the dock, unloading their days catch of mahi mahi, swordfish, yellowfin and blackfin tuna. It was time to go back to the hotel and get ready for the next day.

Landed!

The next morning we piled in Greg’s skiff and away we went. This time we headed Southeast to the other side of the Mississippi. After about a 30 minute run Greg powered down the boat as we slid into a shallow flat. The wind from the day before had turned the bottom, causing this flat to be a little more colored than the flats yesterday. Greg had me get on the bow with the Winston rigged with the streamer. Right away Greg spotted a red floating near the surface. “Travis do you see it about 70 feet, 12 o’clock coming at you”. Once the red was at about 40 feet I made my cast, it was perfect, the red ate the fly and I trout set. I blew it and missed the fish.

“What did you do! You trout set, don’t trout set”. Greg said in disappointment. That was the biggest fish we had seen and the trout angler in me blew it. That morning was a lot of that for me, I had many shots landing a few and missing most due to trout setting. It is easy to tell myself not to trout set, but sometimes it is just natural reaction.

Later that morning I huge read was cruising my way. Greg told me “ it is at 30 feet cast”. I made the cast and trout set once again. The fly pulled out of the reds mouth, the red circled looking for the fly, I cast again. She ate it once again, I trout set once again. I made another cast, trout set again missing the fish. “Travis what are you doing” Greg asked. The red was at 50 feet going away. I bombed a quick last chance cast, she ate it, I kept the rod tip in the water and strip set. She was on!

“That is a big red” Greg yelled!

I fought the fish then slid her in towards the boat so Greg could tail her. Greg lifted the pig out of the water. “look at her” he said as he handed the monster to me. It was all I could do to hold here for all the photos. These big reds are so heavy in the shoulders and head. Greg released the big red as she pushed away from the boat. I asked Greg “how big was she?”
“37 lbs or 38 lbs” he replied. That was a big red!

The rest of this second day was excellent. The 3rd day started off a little slow. The wind was coming from a different direction than the weather report said it should. This made fishing a little more difficult than normal. After a few hours Greg found some fish.

These Reds were happy and cruising the surface. Greg said “Grab the popper rod”.

So I quickly grabbed the popper rod, jumped to the bow. Greg stepped in behind me with his camera ready to shoot the popper eat. Here comes a nice big red, I lead the fish a few feet, start chuggint the big popper across the surface. The big red turns, follows the fly then explodes on it! The fight was on.

“Greg did you get that eat on film” I asked. It was amazing. “Yes I did” he replied.

Nautilus CCF-x2

This great popper fishing continued for about another hour, big red after big red. Then the monster came cruising at us! It was a huge red, high thirties or possibly forty plus. I made my cast, she turned like the rest followed and inhaled the popper. I set the hook, the monster raced towards deep water. As the line cleared the deck it flew up wrapping around my hand. As I was able to clear the line from my hand the loop tangled around my reel handle. It was to late, the red pulled the line tight about ripping the handle off. The 40 lb. shock leader snapped like it was 6x tippet. The power of that fish was pure amazing!

The fourth and last day came fast, fishing was once again amazing. Greg put us on a few huge schools of migrating reds, one school was near a thousand fish. We doubled up several times.

Many Doubles

As that day came to an end it was hard to believe this trip was all ready over. Dad and I had a blast, boated piles of reds, got to see some new country, marked another trip off the bucket list. But it won’t stop there I re-booked for next year, same dates, same place. Sorry Dad, Lyndsey (my wife) said that I have to take here next time. I also booked a Tarpon trip in Florida with Greg for the upcoming spring!

Greg is one of those guides that there is not enough of.  He not only is a great angler, but a great teacher.  His knowledge of the fishery and how to approach it is as good as it gets. He is also a great photographer as you can see in the many great photos. You can contact Greg Dini at his website http://www.louisianaflyfishing.com or call 504-909-0941

Travis Duddles
Owner and CEO | Gorge Fly Shop
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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What are we fishing Winter Steelhead Gear

20.33 in are, Boat Plans, fishing, gear, in, louisiana, monster, redfish, steelhead, we, what, winter

John fighting a Chrome winter Steelhead while the snow falls

We get asked a lot what gear we are personally using here in the shop. Well, it is winter steelhead season here, our favorite time of year to fish, and all of us at the shop are polishing up our rods and reels, collecting lines and sink tips, and tying flies like madmen. John, Ryan and I fish as much as anyone else out there and this is the gear that we are rocking for the winter.

John:

G. Loomis NRX 13’ 7/8
Galvan Torque T-10

G. Loomis NRX

The G. Loomis NRX 13’0” 7/8wt is one of the sweetest rods out there. It is light in hand, and the grain window is huge, but it fishes best with lighter lines than most 7 weight rods, and likely all 8wt rods. Most 7 weights fish well with a 500-550 grain Skagit head, but this rod is dialed in with a 475 grain Skagit, yet it still has plenty of backbone to land those big winter hogs that John gets into.

It is really easy to cast, even though it is a fast rod. Most fast rods are difficult to stay dialed in with. Once an angler starts to get tired after a few hours, their casting stroke falls apart. With faster rods, casts can get ugly quicker than with slow rods, but with the NRX, the balance between the flex in the tip and the stiffness in the butt end gives this rod some room for error and recovery when casting. There is also tremendous power behind this rod even with how light it is and how light the grain window is.
The thing that really drives John to love this rod is that it is comfortable in hand. The cork is high end, thin and very easy to hang onto and fish all day.

John likes this reel for several reasons. The price is right, it looks cool and has a sweet sound. Those are the superficial reasons, which often seem to be more important to consumers than the solid construction, the easily adjustable drag and smooth overall function. This reel is light in hand, but balances the lightweight NRX perfectly. Galvan makes “spey weights” for adding weight to a reel in order to counterbalance heavier spey rods, but this is unnecessary with the NRX. Another reason that John likes the Torque is that in all of the years that we have been selling reels, Galvans rarely, if ever, come in for repair work, less than any other reel per unit sold. We’re not saying that they are maintenance-free, but they are definitely very reliable and low-maintenance.

The RIO Skagit Max lines are smooth and easy to cast. Rods shorter than 12’6” are best served with a Skagit Max Short, while rods between 12’6” and 14’0” take the Skagit Max perfectly. Long rods over 14’0” will take the new RIO Skagit Max Long. We have had a few guys tell us how they tried the Max Long on a shorter rod and didn’t like it all that much.

John likes the Rio Skagit Max because of the bright orange back end and the subtle blue color that still shows up well in low light. It casts well too, but mostly John likes it because when matched with 50# RIO Slickshooter and chartreuse backing, it creates a nice Seahawks colored theme on his reel.

Ryan and I couldn’t choose one set-up each. We both take two rods/reels to the river, so you get to hear about both of them.

Ryans Winter Setups

Ryan:

Sage ONE 7116 Switch
Tibor Signature 9/10

Winston Boron III TH 7133-4
Tibor Riptide

Ryan has been a big Winston fan (like me) for years now. The new Boron III – TH 7133-4 is another beautiful, powerful, smooth rod from Winston, and it is the star of the Winston Spey lineup. The 13’3” 7wt is the go-to year-round steelhead rod for the Northwest. It has a deep load and a smooth, powerful release. Coupled with a great finish, good grip and excellent components, Ryan loves this rod for all of the reasons mentioned above, but there is one thing that drives him to. Winstons are smooth and it’s hard to describe until you have cast one, but there is no “smoother” rod out there.

Another reason that Ryan is high on Winston is that the boron in the butt holds a
“reserve” of power for when you need to turn a fish or push that cast a few more feet. It is what they call the “Boron Advantage”.

The Winston is loaded up with the new Airflo Skagit Compact G2 540 grain head, and it matches perfectly. The 540 grain is a great match that allows an angler to throw larger flies, and as a Midwestern Muskie fisherman, Ryan sure likes his big flies. The G2 Skagit Compact line is just about perfect. Ryan likes it because the two tone color scheme is pleasing on the eyes and the length is just right for 12’6” – 14’0” rods. He knows that it does everything that you could ask of a Skagit Head.

Ryan also picked up a Sage ONE 7116-4 earlier this year. Switch rods are not the go-to rods around here, but having one in the arsenal is a must if you are a steelhead junkie which Ryan has become (especially because of the lack of muskie). He picked this rod up because it is very lightweight, and easy to cast. The Sage ONE is fast, but not too fast and it is the easiest switch rod to learn on. Matched up with a RIO Skagit Max Short 475, this 7116-4 will huck big flies and heavy sink tips, yet it will maintain tight loops at long distances. He picked this up primarily to fish Rock Creek in Stevenson where he lives, but switch rods are the preferred method to fish big boulder gardens on large rivers, and to rule the small coastal rivers like the Wilson and the Trask.

Now Ryan loves his Tibor Reels. I have never seen him fishing anything else. He loves them because they are rock solid in fresh or saltwater, but the biggest reason he loves them is reliability. Much like why John loves his Galvan. After years of abuse, dropping, kicking, and scratching these reels all up and down, he has never had a problem with any of his Tibor reels. In fact, he just ordered the new Signature 9/10 to put on his switch rod. He does like to remind me that there have been more world record fish caught on Tibors than any other reel.

Andrew:

Burkheimer 7134-4
Lamson ARX 3.5+

Echo Glass 7110-4
Hardy Salmon Marquis #1

I love my Burk! If you follow the blog, you may have noticed. I can go on for days about the quality of the rod from the cork to the guides to the finish, but in the end, it is very easy to hold all day, it casts like a dream and I love the way it handles fish. I have a more complete write-up in Why I Love my Burkheimer. This rod loves the Airflo Skagit Compact G2 540 grain head, but I have been fishing the S/A Third Coast Skagit 520 grain head on it recently.

The new Scientific Anglers Third Coast Skagit a very good, very overlooked line in the spey world. Scientific Anglers, in general, does not get much love in the spey world, but this new line casts just as well as any RIO or Airflo head. The Third Coast has a good color scheme, and it turns over big flies and tips with ease. I have been very impressed with it so far and would recommend it to anyone that is looking for a Skagit line.

Echo Glass 7129 Rod Review

I recently picked up the Glass Switch 11’0” 7wt and I am in love! This rod is converting me into a switch rod believer. I was already a believer in the slower action of fiberglass due to the incredible power behind it. I no longer own any spey rods that I would consider to be fast action. Glass is great for guys that get lazy with their cast after a few hours. A lazy cast on a glass rod still goes the distance with ease, while many faster rods get frustrating about five hours into a long day of fishing.

Echo Glass

I matched the Echo Glass Switch 7110-4 up with an OPST Commando 350 grain head and it is an absolute joy to fish. There will be a full article on OPST heads shortly, but just know that the OPST heads run at 75-100 grains lighter than their Airflo Skagit Switch and RIO Skagit Max Short counterparts. We’ll get into why in that other article, but if one were to fish the Airflo Skagit Switch or Rio Max Short in a 420-450 range on this rod, they would be very happy. The OPST head is amazing in the fact that my casting time and stroke is shorter, so I am spending less time in between casts and more time with my fly in the water.

Now I am a Lamson guy, much like Ryan is a Tibor guy. I have a ton of Lamson reels and the reason is that I bought a couple of them when I first started fishing and I liked them enough that I bought another, and another, and here we are. In the thirteen years of owning Lamson Reels, I have had zero problems with any of them that I did not cause myself. (I bent a spool when I sat on it, and I failed to rinse one out after fishing in saltwater and the bearing rusted).

I love the ARX (Lamson ARX 4+ Spey Reel review) for a couple of reasons. The first reason is the Heavy Duty caged frame. Monofilament running lines (like the OPST Lazar Line) tend to sneak through the gap between the frame and spool, but the Heavy Duty frame makes that impossible. The HD frame also adds integrity, making it more difficult to bend the spool or frame. There is still plenty of surface area to palm the reel, and the drag is just as smooth as any other Lamson reel. It balances well with the Burkie and it looks cool too.

I will soon be getting a Hardy Salmon Marquis #1 to put on this new Echo Glass Switch 7110-4. Right now, I am fishing an older Lamson Velocity 3.5. The Echo Glass has a classic look with classic, old-school materials. I want to match it with a reel that has that same classic look and feel to it. The Hardy Salmon Marquis #1 is a good fit. It has a click-pawl drag system, the same system that has been used for over 100 years for good reason. It is the AK-47 of drag systems. It is nearly foolproof and will work no matter what you do to it. There isn’t much stopping power to a click-pawl reel, but it does have the most classic sound that has ever been produced by a reel. It also has a heavy-duty frame to prevent mono from slipping, extra reinforcement for accidents, and the #1 a good size for the Glass Switch, plus the price is right.

You may have noticed a trend here. We love reels that are reliable, especially reels that tend to have a long history of solid performance across the industry, as well as with us personally. Each of us likes a reel that is cool looking, but for the most part, we look for a reel that is unlikely to fail.

We prefer rods that are easy to hold onto for a day of fishing, as well as rods that are forgiving and easy to cast. We all have different casting styles with different tempos, but for all three of us, the most important thing is a comfortable grip that is fun to cast all day.

As far as lines go: Winter time is Skagit time. If you are fishing a spey or switch rod, but not fishing a Skagit head, then you are missing out on fish and making things harder than they need to be. RIO, Scientific Anglers and Airflo all make equally impressive lines, and any angler should be happy with any of them, but the most important thing is to match the right length and grain weight to the rod. The OPST head is a bit different, but amazing in its own way. Again, we’ll get to that later.

Well, that is what we are fishing here at the shop this winter. Now it’s just a matter of putting these fine products on the water and getting into a fish or two.

Andrew Perrault
Gorge Fly Shop | Product Specialist
541.386.6977

"Fly Fish the World with Us"

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