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Fly fishing reels and rods

FLY FISHING
TACKLE

Fly Tackle & Tips

Upcoming Events

Fly Equipment Tips

The wide range of fisheries we have here require a wide range of tackle.

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We can provide equipment for your use or you are welcome to use your own.

Rods

We recommend 9-10 foot rods between 4-9 weight for our trout, Steelhead, and salmon fishing.  They will cover most of the techniques used during the summer and fall, along with nymphing for winter Steelhead.  

I usually use large arbor reels on most of my single-handed rods to improve line pick-up speed. I recommend going up one line size on your trout reels to increase the backing capacity and give my clients a better chance to land the summer Steelhead that occasionally find a Cutthroat fly irresistible.  

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Lamson reels are a good choice for both quality and value.

Reels

Sage Access fly rod
Fishing guide Larry Ford with angler and fish in net on river

We use floating lines on our trout rods.  For the salmon we use sink tips or full sinking shooting heads.

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Lines

Leaders

For summer conditions, go a little longer on your leaders to help keep your fly line off of the fish.  For salmon fishing, use flourocarbon so you can use heavier tippet as you will typically be stripping your fly and it will give you a better chance of not breaking the fish off on the strike.

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Considering the wide range of fly fishing opportunities here, everything from sea run Cutts to Chinook Salmon, there are a large number of flies that work.  

 

Caddis and Sculpin patterns will take Cutthroat trout and summer Steelhead.  Summer runs are also fond of Silver Hilton and leech patterns. Coho will hammer a stripped egg sucking leech, and Chinook will eat a well-presented Intruder.

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To keep our flies safe and dry we use Plan D fly boxes.

Flies

Black purple and pink fishing fly on boulder
Fishing fly boxes fly fishing rod and reel

Bring comfortable waders AND boots without studs or spikes as we will be fishing from a drift boat or raft.

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We recommend SIMMS for both waders and rain gear.

Waders & Rain Gear

Contact

Knotless bags are required on your landing nets on our OP rivers.  I love my PNW Landing Net! Its craftsmanship and beauty are unsurpassed and it is big enough to handle our large, wild winter Steelhead. 

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Landing Nets

Angler in river with large fish in net
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