So you want to learn to the basics of steelhead fly fishing and more about the flies to catch them with do you.

Steelhead fly fishing is something very special. To some its a seasonal event that brings them outdoors when they hear the river is full of silver fish. To others its a year round adventure that brings us ever so close to the life cycles that exist in the non perfect world of nature. We are lucky to operate out of an area rich with steelhead and trout. We learn from these fish by watching them and how they utilize the rivers and streams they call home. It seems you could benefit from hiding and watching the water you intend to fish for hours before ever wetting a line. If you had weeks to study the water even better. There is something great about sitting on the fall leaves under a Sycamore tree in the shade and watching the water for silver flashes. Or a minnow being pursued by an adult steelhead on the surface. By watching the water and making mental notes you have begun your personal steelhead fly fishing journey. You can map out mentally your first casts and how to present that fly perfectly into the zone you know fish hold and feed.

Understanding the life cycles of the your local bugs and minnow life cycles will be of great value to you on any water in the world. Why not start to apply this to not only steelhead and trout fly fishing but beyond into the exotic waters of the world. You will find great enjoyment in flipping rocks to unveil the the nymph and stonflies that will become flying insects when spring break hits. Steelhead like trout do feed on natural selection menus. The can actually compete for food sources so being a good trout fly fisherman puts you on a solid steelhead path. If you are just getting exited about this as a new sport, well be exited! You have searched out a rightous path sure to reward you through natures powerful glory. Just to be on the water is a great privilege and take that to heart.

Around here at Irideus we like to practice this one very important tactic. never put your feet in the water until you have fished the edges of the runs you intend to focus your efforts on. When left alone steelhead and trout will feed and venture into areas that may surprize you. Make note of these spots and try to find a good rock to stand on with an effective casting zone. Start out with short casts. As you fish more often and become more skilled you may also evolve into spey casting fly rods which is our true passion. Even with a spey rod the shallows are scoped out and patrolled with flies tight to the bank before the big casts start rolling out. We also enjoy fighting these fish with spey rods. The lower handle gives you an anchor to hold onto. If you catch a few steelhead you will soon learn the meaning of the two words hang on. Trying to describe the event is hard. Each fish is a whole new chapter in learning,adapting and embracing. it is a wonderful thing that deserves great respect. Catch and release is a given for us and nets are only used under certain circumstance's. You need to keep these fish in the water facing up stream. Wet your hands before ever touching any fish,

Now for the hard part. The wind will blow you off the water. Your biggest fish will become the one that got away. They will break your hard and make you cheer for joy in the same breath. This is life in the raw. Open up your self to the water in a new way. as you become one with your surroundings you will fly fish to be at one with what is truly going on right at that moment in front of you.

Your gear may need to be beefed up. Many people like fly fishing with 6wt fly rods for steelhead. We like to beef up to a 7wt or a 6/7 spey or switch fly rod. If we go to the coast or Alaska we will step up the an 8wt. The fresh coastal steelhead are gear breakers. They will teach you a thing or two about life. It seems landing or losing a fresh steelhead like that will bring as close to yourself as you may ever be, so enjoy it. Remember it and cherish it and that beautiful fish that came to your fly.
If you need to pick up some fly fishing equipment for your steelhead fly fishing give the Irideus line up a new home in your gear bag. Our fly fishing boxes made in Chico California from recycled material materials are one of a kind. Even after many years we are the only company we know of making this effort. Our fly fishing flies are a reflection of our own personal steelhead,trout and salmon fly fishing journey's. They really can not be compared to. Its a must to take a look through the fly menu. This will soon be updating on our website to put a personal touch on things. Our spey rods broke the ice for many great things in our sport. It was a complement to seee similar rods made by other companies in the fly fishing industry. We have exclusive Scandi and Skagit shooting head fly fishing line designs that are available only from Irideus. These shooting head fly fishing lines will balance many of the fly fishing rods on the market if you all ready have one. In any case the gear is here for you to enjoy when you go out to hit the rivers.

We have enjoyed sharing with our friends and customers and customers over the years. it seems through life's ups and downs we all ways have nature, family and friends. Its the little things in life that matter the most. Steelhead fly fishing is a little thing not to be missed. Yet, perfect it and master it. It is one of lifes true greatest rewards

Irideus Spring Steelhead flies are finding some little chrome fish on the local town runs.

As the cotton wood seeds begin to fall into the river the Irideus fly fishing flies for the Feather river turn into some of the best trout flies you will find. The steelhead are tuned into the natural selection and matching the hatch is very effective.

Irideus Rochette Custom Wired Leggy Stonefly fly fishing flies are a top choice trout and steelhead spring fly fishing fly pattern.

A Fat little Sacramento River rainbow trout that fought just as hard as any stelhead of the same size. These fish are picky and returning one back to the river is a true honor.

Irideus Timothy Horner Chico Upper park Orange Caddis serve as a multi bug offering. We will run these as a lead fly to a smaller nymph fly tied 18 inches behind this one. The flies are also run fro our Irideus Micro tippet Swivel rings sure to help you land more fish.

A close up mug shot of the face of the spring run steelhead we love. California spring run  steelhead may not tip the scales in size but will test your skills and fine tune your fly fishing game. Trout season is year round here but it opens in most of America this month. Build your collection of Irideus natural feeding steelhead flies for some very effective trout fly patterns. You will find a diverse selection of custom fly fishing flies that that are tested and true on the fly fishing waters in the Chico California area.

This nymph fly dropper rig is using the Irideus Micro Swivel Tippet ring to show a very effective way to fly fish nymph patterns for steelhead and trout.

As the spawning steelhead are doing there thing we are finding pleasure working hard for fresh fish away from the spawners

Natural selectio Irideus fly fishing fly patterns are a tested and true option for the international fly fishing scene. Here Timothy's hand painted epoxy Alevins are beeing enjoyed by a fresh chrome Sacramento River steelhead landed 3/16/2014 or two days ago. Tuning into the eco system is a must for success this time of year. It can be frustrating for some fly anglers using #14 caddis flies to hook steelhead. It may take a small fly offering sometimes and you need to perfect your presentation. Now the hard part is keeping the steelhead you have hooked on that tiny fly. Its a game of thinking and perfect casts. The rewards are seen above. The late arrivals on the gravel bar are backing burning silver bullets. We laugh every time the 10 lb steelhead turns out to be a 4 pound muscle burger. These late season fish are very special and cherished by our company. We take pleasure in matching the hatch when it comes to steelhead fly fishing.

The Irideus Rise Flip Page Waterproof fly fishing box on the Sacramento River California. This is a look inside the fly box that contains some wonderful flies for natural selection feeding steelhead. Post spawn steelhead will also fatten up on Caddis flies, Baetisand minnows  before returning to the sea.

Click Here To View Flies

One true sign of spring is the California Poppy that lets a fly angler know its time to tune into things. The Irideus Zen reel post tune up from a Sacramento river silver bullet steelhead.

Feather River Wild Spring Chrome Steelhead that eat  #12 Irideus Czech Nymph. If you can hook and land a fresh Feather River wild steelhead you have done well. These steelhead have a bag of tricks to toss your fly or break your line. As the years go by you add the tricks they play into your brain and when the strike comes you try to match the game they play. Most will be lost and many strikes will be missed. If your in the mood to get humbled or pay a guide to be humbled...........here is your fish. Now add a bunch of Kayak's and drift boat guides to the picture. Yes these fish are tuned into the traffic and that will make your challenge of hooking a fish that much greater. Our love for this drainage keeps us strong. Or we must like to be punished often. Stay positive and never be to good to for a challenge.

Cast like a pro in 2013 with Irideus steelhead Trout Salmon & Saltwater distance casting fly fishing lines

Irideus distance casting steelhead trout and salmon pro   floating fly fishing line

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One way to be sure you get the most from your switch, spey and single hand fly rods is to have a good fly line. Irideus brings the fly fishing community some of the best quality distance casting fly lines on the market for 2013. You will find shooting head fly line systems and fly lines to match the sea of sticks from the best on the market.  We have developed our own shooting head design in the Zen Shooting head line series. These amazing exclusive shooting head designs not only bring the best out in our 2013 spey rod line up but have brought balance to many of the other people searching for the perfect shooting head. These fly lines have all been pro tested and are at the top of the industry. The proof is in the pudding................gin clear water pudding that is!

Irideus Zen Shooting heads come in 256 grain,356 grain,456 grain,556 grain and 606 grain. We have down sized these for trout offering single hand fly rod casters 4 wt,5 wt,6 wt,7 wt,8 wt and 9 wt. If you have never fly fished a shooting head on a single hand fly rod you are in for one long casting treat. Some days and water systems require these lines. Many fly fishers fish them exclusively all year long for steelhead,trout and salmon.

Going sub surface means one thing the new Steelhead,trout,salmon and saltwater Irideus Clear Element distance casting fly fishing lines for 2013. Saltwater fly anglers now have a very special new option on a line that will cast the in coming salty sea in the morning and chrome steelhead up river in the afternoon. One more all waters fly line product for Irideus that puts state of the art fly line technology in your hands!

Measure your fly fishing equipment by the size of the scale. One could say we have tipped the scale early in 2013. Thank you all the fine people around the world who call Irideus fly fishing products your one and only.  We take pride in dealing with each customers needs in a personal way. Outfitters and fly shops we have a message for you. Bring our products to our customers in your neck of the woods. The Rise Fly Box will be a fly shop and retail outfitter option for spring. For the good people who own a fly  shop or outfitting service we will offer a special discount for those who contact us before the end of April. The Irideus Rise fly box will stand tall and out sell the best options on the market. It seems as we let the industry recover from a sea of squares we are now coming to the shops with a product that will be one of the top sellers for 2013 fly box designs. If you reach out to us now we will show some discounted respect for that new relationship. Be ready to hear the phone ring at your shop we have waited a few years for this. We would like to try to gives some sales buffer to shops close together. If this is your situation we hope to hear from your fly shop first.
One of the best selling fly boxes with a patent exclusive in the USA. We will now let the products and sales bring us mainstream with the industry we hold close to our heart. Passing on what we love now goes public. See you at the shows.

Time on fly fishing water builds great gear and forms life long bonds

Take time to say hello and share with others when you are out fly fishing. There is a bigger picture working that is up to you to see.
http://irideusinternationallflyfishingforum.blogspot.com/2012/09/drifting-rivers-of-world-finding.html#!/2012/09/drifting-rivers-of-world-finding.html

Walking down river to snap a catch and release picture for a fellow angler can be a life's moment that last forever. This wild Hen Steelhead and her smiling admirer about to return her to the river.

Time on the water and the earnings of it! Timothy Horner with a giant Caifornia King Salmon caught in the Chico area. Go to work but fish first!

The Irideus Spey Rod Combo standing tall in a sea of snakes! The original 11.6 6/7 wt 356 Grain, 13.0 7/8 wt 556 Grain, 13.6 606 8/9 wt spey rods. What are you holding?