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Upcoming Events – October

October 1, 2019 by adminewa Leave a Comment

Fall is officially on our plate and so are exciting events, the impending holiday season, winter steelhead and some of the finest fall fly fishing opportunities WA has to offer. Klickitat, Yakima and the Sound are all on fire and we offer professional experiences to all three so book today and we look forward to seeing you at one or all of the events below.

Bug’s + Brew’s — Women’s Fly Tying Sessions — $25 Each — Follow our women’s Instagram page @ewa_women for updates on other upcoming events.

November 12th: Reverse Spider
December 3rd: Marbou Popsicle (Intermediate)
December 17th: Skagit Mist (Advanced)
January 7th: Skwala Stones
January 21st: Blue Wing Olives

October 22, 2019 — Destination Spotlight — Africa — @ EWA Fly Shop — 7pm — FREE
Our very good friends Rob Scott and Keith Clover from Tourette/African Waters will be in town to present and answer questions about all things fly fishing in Africa. This includes Sudan for GT’s, Tanzania for Tigerfish, Gabon for giant Tarpon and Cameroon for huge Nile Perch. Please join us for an exceptionally informative and entertaining evening!

October 24, 2019 — Get to Know Your NGO — @ EWA Fly Shop — 7pm – FREE
There is a lot going on in our region for the sake of fish, water, land and how they are managed. Come meet each of the NGO’s we work closely with and gain a better idea of who represents what is most important to you and your values. Excited to have TU, Wild Steelhead Coalition, Long Live the Kings, Native Fish Society and Puget SoundKeeper Alliance

Spey School – Learn from our well versed professional staff of guides/instructors the fine craft of spey casting and swinging for steelhead as this is ALL we do! 3 anglers max per school, call to reserve!

Nov. 11, 2019
Dec. 12, 2019
Jan. 17, 2020

Intro to Fly Tying

Nov. 19, 2019

January 24, 2020 — F3T West Seattle — Admiral Theater — $16
This is the season opener to get hyped about this sport and all it encompasses. Filmmakers travel to all corners of the globe to pursue exotic fish like GT’s, Arapaima, Payara, Taimen and even Rainbow Trout! Always a great time tickets available online or at the store.

February 2, 2020 — EWA Spey Day — Snoqualmie River under Fall City Bridge — 9am – 3pm — FREE
The premier spey event in western WA, come cast the latest and greatest in two handed rods and lines with our staff, sales reps and special guests. This is the perfect opportunity to hone your skills, get some one on one instruction or figure out the optimal match of line and rod for the winter season.

February 15 & 16, 2020 — The Fly Fishing Show — Lynwood — $16
We will be attending the show again this year. Great opportunity to hear Dave McCoy talk on Puget Sound and fly fishing around Washington. See his all new photos and insights on how, when, where and with what on some of our most dynamic fisheries.

May 30, 2020 — EWA Fly Fest — @ Location TBD – 9am – 3pm — FREE
Our annual kick off of summer event will be better than ever with more classes including spey casting, more guest speakers and more reps from the industry and of course the guide cook off.

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Events Tagged With: Africa, African Waters, fly casting instruction, fly fishing events, fly fishing guides, fly fishing schools, Fly Fishing Seattle, fly fishing travel, Klickitat River, Puget sound fly fishing, Sea Run Cutthroat, Seattle Fly Shop, spey casting, steelhead fishing, Tacoma, Tourette Fishing, Women's casting, women's fly fishing, Yakima River

G-Loomis Pro 4X Spey Rod Review

July 28, 2016 by adminewa 1 Comment

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The G-Loomis Pro 4x spey rods are not only some of the nicest two handers on our rod wall, but also an incredible value at $525. All G-Loomis rods are hand built in Washington.

 

G-Loomis Pro 4X 7/8wt Spey Rod Review

This writing is intended to be be review/recap of my experience with Gloomis’ 13′ 7/8wt Pro 4X Spey rod. What I say in this writing is solely my opinion on the recommended line system(s) based on casting efficiency to winter Steelhead in the Pacific North West.

*All casts were performed with a 10′ Airflo flo-tip of t-10, appx 30” of 15lb Maxima Ultragreen and a slightly weighted marabou tubefly to stay in sync with sinktip sink rate.

I started to cast this rod going off of G Loomis’ line recommendation for a skagit head. Which in this case was 520g. The first shooting head casted was a 510g Airflo Skagit compact G2 and I liked it! I Loved it actually! I started with some simple switch casts and single speys (not shooting line) just to cop a feel. Everything felt pretty good for a total grain window of appx 585g including shooting head, sink tip and fly. I peeled off 10-12′ of shooting line and started with some single speys. At this distance, it shot dart-like loops with ease! (It should be noted that I was expecting, like most rods in this price range, to give me negative feed back on the recovery stroke, via “line wobble” and it never happened!) With the same amount of line pulled off, I went through a medley of all the sustained anchor casts to get a feel for the profile of the rod and how it loaded up. What I found is that contrary to what people have said the rod to be to soft, was the opposite. The rod is NOT soft! in fact, it,s quite crisp with a snappy, clean recovery. I would venture out to say anyone who says this rod to be soft may have overloaded the grain window and sacrificed performance for load control which is quite common for those who don’t quite understand grain windows related to rod performance. With the same Airflo G2 head I continued to extend my casts to around 90-95′ and not much changed in loop stability if any. I then switched shooting heads to my personal favorite. The Airflo Skagit Switch at 510g. BOOYAH, perfect match! This rod absolutely loves this head! (like most crisp recovering rods do!) I was able to do everything I did with the G2 shooting head, except with more ease and efficiency. The “Stiff-ish” tip section with smooth mid-rod load performs flawless with a shortened sweep and tight, compact forward stroke. Its important to remember that although most of the time anglers are not booming 100′ casts in the PNW to winter fish, to always find a distance thresh-hold of any given rod to understand what distance you can effectively swing flies.

The bottom line- This rod is in my starting line-up no problem. And especially at around $525.00 retail! The blank color is a natural mossy-green with yellowish-green wraps and appears very subtle. I own a plethora of rods in this length and weight that cost much more. I would not hesitate to grab this rod and fish it all day on med-med/large rivers say in the OP or Nor-Cal Coast line. This rod has a very smooth power delivery not found in any other rods at this price range. With the right line system you will be able to load this rod and cast it all day without a sore shoulder. This rods ability to recover with stability will have your buddys’ and on-lookers complimenting the lazer-like loops you throw without a doubt

Skagit head recommendation for novice casters- A 540g Airflo Skagit Switch. Although its heavier than the Loomis weight recommendation, I casted it with not much, if any negative feedback in recovery speed. It was slightly chunkier but not enough for a novice caster to feel and not so heavy that it would allow bad mechanical habits to form. I find it unnecessary for anyone to use T-17 for sink but if so, would not recommend the use even though this rod and a 540g Switch head could easily turn it over. On the flip side, feel free to throw on T-14 (always ask yourself, “do I really need T-14?”) or anything else that has a slower sink rate than that. Its important to remember to calculate grains with sink-tips and heavy flys into your total grain window to have an understanding of what your rod is capable of and where it will start to suffer performance loss.

Skagit head recommendation for intermediate casters- A 510g Airflo Skagit Switch. At this weight with this shooting head you will get ultimate performance and high line speed and the ability to turn over some meaty tips and half chicken size flys. Go let it rip. You wont be disappointed!

*I did cast the 480g Airflo Skagit Switch with 8′ of T-10. For an advanced caster , this weight is the ultimate in light weight, line speed and change of direction casts. Loading the rod would be difficult for any novice caster and could become frustrating, but for the seasoned vet, its a high speed lazer show*

It is important to keep in mind that each individual caster is unique to his/her own bio mechanics. Some folks have an opened up stroke and some are closed in and compact. Some folks have a powerful stroke and some are more finesse. There is no “one size fits all” casting style. There is a baseline of sustained anchor casting fundamentals that must be understood no matter the person. Once this is achieved your cast will take on its own personality.
Whether you’re experienced or a green-horn, the growth and evolution of your casting will largely be dependent on your possession of motor skills, kinesthetic awareness to perform the cast and also your guide/instructors competence to teach the cast. Regardless of where you fall, there is no substitute for experience so go out and cast cast cast. There aren’t many things cooler in life than casting a spey rod and all things good in life must be worked for.

Cheers and tight loops
Thomas Mahan
Senior Steelhead Guide Emerald Water Anglers
www.emeraldwateranglers.com

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Reports Tagged With: Emerald Water Anglers, fly rod, fly shop, G-Loomis fly rod review, Olympia, Pro 4x, rod review, Seattle, single hand rods, spey rods, Tacoma

Upcoming Events – August

July 16, 2016 by adminewa Leave a Comment

McCoy_DMONG0112aWith guide season in full wing around here for the summer, we unfortunately have to back off some of our favorite events around the store.  That said, we are constantly doing other educational and informative classes.  Here is a quick look at what is on the calendar so far for the rest of July and August.

Events at EWA
August 15th @ 7pm — Mountain Streams for Summer Fly Fishing – FREE
Sam Lincoln will spend some time laying out how, why, when, with what and even some where for ending the summer in the mountains for native trout.  A great excuse for picking  up a new rod for yourself!
August 27th @9am – 4pm — 2nd Annual West Seattle Gear Grab – FREE
End of season blowout sale! 20-60% off Apparel, Rods, Reels, Packs, Waders, Boots, and More! Emerald Water Anglers will be teaming up with our neighbors at West Seattle Cyclery and Mountain to Sound Outfitters to offer a 1 day parking lot sale. All three outfitters will be closing out gear at 20-80% off. Fly Fish, Apparel, Cycle, Ski, Paddle, etc…gear for all outdoor enthusiasts and closeout prices! Located in the parking lot at the corner of 42nd and Oregon, across from Emerald Water Anglers.
August 29th @ 7pm — Fall Sea Run Cutthroat – FREE
Alex Collier will help you prepare for the fall season in our local saltwater by discussing tactics, equipment set up, addressing tides and fly selection so you can hit the beach with more confidence once the kids are all back in school!

September 8th @7pm – Getting Into Spey Casting – FREE
Join EWA Manager Reid Curry for an in store seminar on the basics of spey casting and how to take your first steps into the world of two-handed casting and fishing. If you have been toying around with the idea of getting into spey casting but don’t know where to start, this is the seminar for you!
September 22nd @7pm – Fall Fishing in Washington and Beyond – FREE
EWA Guide Staff will be talking about some of our favorite local and regional fishing opportunities for the fall season and how to take advantage of them. Fall is one of the most exciting times of the year to be an angler in the Northwest. Our guides will share info on seasonal opportunities for trout, sea run cutthroat, steelhead, and more!

October TBD — Sage Happy Hour – FREE
Come hang out with some of the gang from Sage, cast some sticks and enjoy some beverages and snacks.  Small raffle and other incentives will likely take place, as we get closer more details will be available.  RSVP at the store via email, phone or Facebook.
November 17th @ 7pm — Cuba, Now Open for Americans! – FREE
Jon Covich of Fly Water Travel will be on hand to share some great images and discuss all the viable options currently available for eager fly anglers to travel and experience in Cuba.  In the past 12 months a ton has changed and Jon is on top of it.  Please also RSVP at the store via phone, email or Facebook.
January 14th & 15th, 2017 — Spey Casting with Dec Hogan — 9am – 3pm — $280 per person — 6 Max per day
Come spend a day with a legend, Dec Hogan as he helps you fine tune your spey casting and shares stories of his colorful guiding adventures here in the PNW.  Dec is a long time friend and one of the true Ambassadors of our sport.  2 different sessions with meet and greet, book signing and beverages at the the store on the evening of the 13th.  This will fill quickly so please reserve your space now, lunch and equipment provided if desired.
January 20th, 2017 — 2nd Annual EWA 5 Minutes or Less Fly Film Fest — $5 per person, goes to Wild Steelhead Coalition
Last year we showed 18 terrific short films from some of our industries most talented filmmakers and this year will only prove to be larger and in charger…hopefully that makes sense.  Please reserve your space now as we will cap attendance at 80 people.  Beverages by Georgetown Brewing and food from Blueacre Seafood.  Woop woop, see everyone there!

$10 Casting at Lincoln Park – Limited to 5 casters, all levels welcome, equipment provided.  RSVP at via phone or email with the store.
September 10th @ 9am
September 24th @ 9am

Intro to Spey Casting @ Greenlake – Limited to 3 caster per class, all rods and reels provided.  Please bring waders and boots as we are in the water for this class. $95
September 1st @ 10am
September 8th @ 10am
September 15th @ 10am
September 22nd @ 10am

1 Day Immersion Schools – Limited to 3 anglers, equipment provided – $195 per person
August 6th – Intro to Flyfishing School
August 28th – Intro to Flyfishing School
September 2nd – Intro to Flyfishing School
September 16th – Intro to Flyfishing School
September 25th – Intro to Flyfishing School

Rowing School – Limited to 2 boats – $225 per boat
August 18th – 1 space open

Filed Under: Emerald Water Anglers, Events Tagged With: boat rowing school, casting classes, cuba, Emerald Water Anglers, Intro to flyfishing, mountain creeks, Puget Sound, Sage, Sea Run Cutthroat, Seattle, Tacoma

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