IFTD 2019: Umpqua
Updated: Oct 31, 2021
(words and images courtesy of Umpqua/Russel Miller)
Many would argue that presentation is the most important aspect of catching tough fish.
So, for 2020, Umpqua has assembled a completely new and technically advanced offering of leader and tippet to help you match the right leader/tippet to the right fly and situation. Our quest for the ultimate and all-inclusive offering of leader and tippet has resulted in five new materials, each with unique properties designed to solve specific fishing challenges.
How are these new materials different? We start with a foundational core and move outward from there with special coatings to achieve desired characteristics (i.e. like sunglasses have coatings for decreased glare and increased scratch resistance). As an example, our new Phantom X Ultra Fluorocarbon starts with a low-stretch, sensitive fluorocarbon core (for strike detection) with coatings applied to maximize invisibility/ low reflection, abrasion resistance, low memory, and improved knot strength. This “layering” technology has allowed us to fine-tune all of our materials to maximize desired performance.
Featured on all of the spools of tippet are a unique to Umpqua version of the guide created and tested Pro Bands made out of silicone. These bands cover the material from edge to edge offering the best in UV protection and tippet tender performance.
PERFORM X NYLON HOLY GRAIL COMBINATION OF STRENGTH & SUPPLENESS
Perform X delivers the Holy Grail in tippet performance – brute strength and suppleness. The right suppleness allows a perfectly dead-drifted fly to entice the wariest trout, while a secret blend of nylon results in the strength to bring the fish to net. Exceptional knot strength and abrasion resistance round out this perfectly balanced material.
DECEIVER X FLUOROCARBON LEGENDARY DECEIVER STRENGTH AND INVISIBILITY
With Best-In-Class knot-strength, abrasion resistance and ultra-low visibility, Deceiver X is the premium standard in fluorocarbon material. Deceiver X pays tribute to the original first fluorocarbon tippet brought to fly-fishing 20 years ago, Umpqua Deceiver. Now on a 50-yard spool, Deceiver X also offers the best value in premium FC material.
PHANTOM X ULTRA FLUOROCARBON NEVER SEEN BEFORE, STRENGTH, SENSITIVITY, & INVISIBILITY
Simply put, Umpqua’s Phantom X is the strongest and most invisible fluorocarbon tippet on the market. And with very little stretch, Phantom X allows you to detect the most subtle takes. A unique chemical process of combining FC monomers into polymer chains results in abrasion resistance, sensitivity, density, invisibility and strength never seen before in FC tippet.
PERFORM X HD SALTWATER PERFORM X HD WARMWATER PERFORM X HD SALMON & STEELHEAD HEAVY DUTY (HD) PERFORMANCE
Umpqua’s Perform X HD Tippet is a clear, medium hard, moderately stiff “tippet” made from the strongest and most abrasion-resistant nylon. Whether stripping small bonefish flies over coral bottoms or casting large 4/0 deceivers, this is the perfect leader material for the rigors of saltwater conditions.
DECEIVER HD BIG GAME FLUOROCARBON BIG FISH REQUIRE HEAVY DUTY (HD) DECEPTION
Big, wary fish require a special type of line and Umpqua’s Deceiver HD is it! Deceiver HD provides the best abrasion resistance and knot strength any fluorocarbon has to offer and yet remains nearly invisible to fish. Stiffer than Deceiver X, Deceiver HD provides greater mass for turning over larger flies and is your best choice when big fish, big flies, coral heads or boulder-strewn torrents are the challenges of the day.
FLIES
“In my opinion, to be truly new and unique, a fly pattern has to offer something more than what was previously available. It has to float better, or sink better, or skate better, or swim better, or cast better, or suspend better, or be more imitative or durable or visible or ... it has to go beyond what we all already have in existing patterns.“ / Signature Tyer Charlie Craven on new fly innovation with Umpqua Feather Merchants.
With 57 new to world patterns from our family of Signature Tyers we deliver true fly innovation, problem solving patterns with proven success, all of which are tyed to specific tyer specs, it is hard to select just a couple to highlight.
The two patterns below are representative of the commitment Umpqua makes to working with the world’s best tyers to bring you problem solving flies
SWIM COACH
“The Swim Coach developed over several years in my never-ending quest for a fly that would present a large profile without being bulky and overweight. Working from an Intruder concept, the Swim Coach features a brass bead “spreader” to help create the added silhouette without contributing volume to the fly. Mixed Colors of Ripple Ice Fiber are layered with the mallard flank and possum fur body and to add a flashy glint and this, paired with the articulated body create a glimmering, undulating piece of perfection.” / Words and fly by Signature Tyer Charlie Craven
STRONG ARM MERKIN
“What happens when Dave Skok is given unlimited space to let his bobbin roam free by a recovering drug addict fly shop owner that’s fishing with one of the sharpest guiding minds in the keys? Dave Skok’s Strong Arm Merkin. Through constant tweaking of the design over 10 years - the claw migrated up the bend of the hook, inverting it to ride point up even when using ultra-light weight lead eyes. The result is that anglers are now able to throw much lighter flies than they had previously, which is a key component to the new school of permit fishing in the lower Florida Keys. Proving itself in both the March Merkin and the Del Brown tournaments with either first or second place finishes in 9 of the last 11 tournaments.” / Fly by Signature Tyer Dave Skok / Words by Nathaniel Linville of The Angling Company
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