Wet FlyintermediatePacific Northwest
Boss
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Regional source directory
Pacific Fly Fishers
Matched on Pacific Northwest, wet flies, steelhead. Pacific Northwest shop with a large online catalog and steelhead/trout regional relevance.
Schultz Outfitters
Matched on wet flies, steelhead, steelhead. Michigan and Great Lakes shop lead for steelhead, trout, and smallmouth patterns.
Alaska Fly Fishing Goods
Matched on salmon, salmon. Alaska-specific fly shop with fly categories for trout, char, grayling, salmon, and steelhead.
Fulling Mill Flies
Matched on wet flies, salmon, broad catalog. Large pattern house with broad freshwater and saltwater fly categories.
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Virgil Sullivan created the Boss on the Umpqua River, and it has been bossing steelhead and salmon around ever since. The black chenille body absorbs light, creating a dark silhouette against the river bottom, while the fluorescent orange tail acts as a rear-mounted target that fish strike with precision. It is named the Boss because it catches fish with the authority of someone who does not need to raise their voice to be heard. The silver rib provides segmentation and flash, and the whole package swings through PNW rivers like it has done this a thousand times before. Because it has.
Quick Facts
Where to Fish It
North Umpqua River
OR · Freestone River
Rogue River
OR · Freestone River
Deschutes River
OR · Freestone River
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Related Reading
region guide
Pacific Northwest Steelhead: The Complete Guide
Steelhead are the fish of a thousand casts. In the Pacific Northwest's rainforest rivers, anglers swing intricately tied flies through emerald runs for the chance at one explosive take from a chrome-bright sea-run rainbow. This is the complete guide to the pursuit.
species science
The Great Migration: Pacific Salmon Life Cycles
Pacific salmon are born in gravel, grow in rivers, vanish into the ocean for years, then navigate thousands of miles back to the exact stream where they hatched — to spawn and die. Their lifecycle is the most dramatic story in freshwater biology, and understanding it makes you a better angler.
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