Pacific Fly Fishers' Fly Fishing and Fly Tying Blog

Umpqua Power Taper Leaders


Umpqua Power Taper leaders are quickly becoming my favorite leader to fish. Whether you are fishing skinny water in Puget Sound or hopper fishing a big River, a little extra help goes along way. We as anglers tend to think of fly line tapers for assistance when casting large or heavy flies. This is true, there are tapers for every fishing situation out there, but the leader is often overlooked.

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RIO InTouch Big Nasty Review

 

Since my last blog post on the RIO Coastal Quickshooter I have received many comments regarding a floating line option for Puget Sound sea run cutthroat fishing. No, there is not a floating version of the Quickshooter in the works at RIO that I know of. The floating line choice for many anglers who use neutrally buoyant or top water flies in Puget Sound has been a shooting head line such as an OutBound for its ease of casting and a forceful punch though the wind. However, as with all shooting heads, the lack of back taper decreases line control.

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Invention of the RIO Coastal QuickShooter

RIO Coastal QuickShooter Fly Line

RIO's new Coastal Quickshooter fly line has been an instant hit with Puget Sound cutthroat anglers.  Read about the ideas and process of developing the line from Pacific Fly Fishers' Capt. Ben Zander, who created the idea and helped RIO to make the line to his specifications.  The RIO Coastal Quickshooter is an intermediate sinking line with a clear head and chartreuse running line.  It shoots like a laser beam into stiff beach winds and keeps the fly in the fish's zone.

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Lingcod

I’m sure you all heard me talking about going Lingcod fishing over the past week and a half. Now it’s time to put my money where my mouth is. Joe and I literally spent hundreds of dollars on rods, lines and tying material in anticipation of catching these honey badgers of the sea. Armed with his video camera, Peter was there to document the whole escapade. Let me first tell you that we really had no idea what fly or even what kind of water to fish. The interwebs do not have a lot of info for a fly guy, but we read everything we could. I spent a week annoying my wife and tying big flies, some of the largest flies I have ever tied. Fast forward to May 6th and, with enough gas to get us to Japan, we launched the Boston Whaler. Off we went.

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Saltwater and Seaplanes

I think maybe it’s time to get some saltwater reports up here. Here is a little peek inside a guide trip with Sound Fly Fishing and Kenmore Air. We took off from Kenmore Air Harbor after a slight fog delay. We almost had to shoot the Narrows Bridge due to fog but Larry the pilot is fantastic at finding holes in the clouds. Hit the first beach and found a few smaller cutts about 50 feet off the shore. All fish taken were on a Imitator Oil Slick pattern. Off to the next beech keeping our heads up and all we found was wind. Back in the plane and up in the air again.

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