In the gentle art of fly fishing, fly fishers are all too frequently are confronted by their chief adversary, Mister Wind. It used to be when Mister Wind began to blow, Mr. and Ms. Fly Fisher were the first to be blown off the water. No longer is this necessarily a "fait accompli." Two important weapons have been added to the fly fisher’s arsenal in combating all but gale force winds. If wind is a problem in your little area of the world, consider WindMaster by Scientific Anglers and Rio’s WindCutter. Both are credits to creative thinking and hi-tech manufacturing in answering the fly fishers’ wish.

WindMaster. Scientific Anglers (SA) designed the Mastery Series WindMaster in both floating and intermediate tapers for fresh or saltwater. Both versions feature heads 45-feet in length with short, powerful front tapers and long rear tapers. Only the saltwater version has a belly, and it, too, is short with a larger than usual diameter. The core is braided nylon covered with either the supple Mastery freshwater coating or the tough saltwater coating I prefer in the Texas heat. Naturally, the floating versions are AST converts. SA suggests the powerful head literally "kicks over" the fly into the wind. It does! SA doesn’t make fantastic claims for WindMaster suggesting 50-feet is about it, but you and I both know that 40 to 50-feet in a breeze of 15+ mph is a long long way.

I’ve fished the Mastery Salt WindMaster 8-weight floater. It performed very well and, for my casting stroke, certainly exceeded 50-feet. Admittedly the winds were variable 8 - 10 mph) during the session but sufficient to say that casts of 70-feet are more than possible in something less than the upper range of a fresh breeze. I started with a little Sage 9-foot Discovery Traveler-8, later switching to a Loomis IMX 9_-foot, 4-piece 8-weight -- two totally different rods. Initially, WindMaster was rigged to a SA heavy butt 9-ft., 10-lb. leader using loop-to-loop connections. This series of Mastery saltwater leaders features a butt diameter of .026". In this case, I did not like the hinge and, therefore, the transition of power between the line and leader. Remember, however, the WindMaster has a radical taper. Here is what I did -- I looped in a 10" piece of .032" mono between the leader butt and line. That I liked! I liked it even better when the leader was shortened to 7_ feet. For me, that proved optimum on both rods. In my view, long leaders serve little purpose when the wind is up. A long leader hinders your cast. Had the wind been higher the day of the tests, I would have shortened the leader to 5 or 6-feet. Sure, the fly kicks over quickly and may "splash" the water, but the fish care not. Wind means waves, and waves mean the fish cannot see.

You will be delighted with WindMaster. In a moderate to fresh breeze, defined by the Beaufort scale as winds from 13 to 24 mph, I strongly suggest going with the WindMaster intermediate version. Whichever your choice, remember the importance of the "hinge" or connection between leader and line. The transition of power is critical to your cast. For "Windy" work, SA's heavy-butt leaders are a good place to start. And while it may be hard to believe that adding a meager 10" of heavier material can make a difference -- there are times when it is the difference between success and failure. It’s your choice! Never fail to experiment with the hinge between leader and line. As you follow my writings, you will hear more about the importance of the size of the leader butt. It’s impossible for the manufacturer to build a leader or leader butt that’s perfect for each fly fisher. Fine tuning is left to you!

The Mastery series WindMaster is available in line weights WF4 - 10 in the freshwater floating version, and WF7 through 13 in both the saltwater floater and intermediate.

WindCutter. The WindCutter, in my view, is an example of what happens when good thinking marries up with technology. Jim Vincent of Rio designed a winner with the WindCutter series. Not only is WindCutter a winner against the wind, it is a proven distance champion, wind or no wind.

What’s the secret? Good question! The secret is in the tapers. Even though it’s early-on in my writing, you might recall that I have already mentioned dropping down a line weight or two when facing the wind, promising more discussion is to come. Wind fighting is something I’ve argued with many experienced fly fishers. The fact is, the dynamics of the fly cast include any number of variables, too many to account for in some simplistic mathematical equation. Here is a partial list:

• The Fly Caster. Mr. or Ms. Fly Fisher is a variable no one can account for.
• The Casting Stroke. Some are fast, some are slow; some are good, some are terrible; some generate high line speeds, some do not.
• The Line & Line Speed. Any rifleman knows that a slim pointed boattail bullet cuts the air far more effectively than one with a big blunt nose. Any wonder that an intermediate easily generates more line speed than a "thick" floater? The Leader and Fly. Psychologically, wind-casting requires you adopt a different approach -- the wind is the primary adversary, not the fish.
• The Rod. What are the limits of your rod’s capabilities? Do you know its true capacities and power?
• The Wind. When you transition from the back to the forward cast against the wind, your poor rod fights the increased resistance from both the strength of the wind as well as the weight of the line dragging behind. Think of your rod sort of like your car: both are going places and carrying things. Which car functions more efficiently while incurring less wear and tear? (a) A car going 60 mph with no wind; (b) A car going 60 mph directly into a 30 mph wind; or (c) All of the above.

The WindCutter is available in WF-4F through WF-12F and features a long 15-foot tapered tip, a long 20-foot heavy belly, and an 8-foot back-taper. In the lighter lines, WF4 - 7, the tip is one line size smaller than the line rating and the belly one size larger. Said another way, the WF-5F carries a WF-4F tip and a WF-6F belly. However, the weight of the first 30-feet weighs a nominal 140 grains, the AFTMA standard for a 5-weight line. In the heavier lines, WF8 -12, WindCutter’s tip is two sizes smaller than the line’s rating and the belly two sizes larger. Thus, a WF-9 carries the tip of a 7-weight and the belly of an 11-weight. Again, the weight of the first 30-feet remain within the AFTMA standards. Note that in either case, the head - the combination of tip, taper, belly, and back taper - go well beyond the 30-feet. WindCutter is available in both a cool and warm water coating and ranges in length from 100 to 120 feet.

Now comes an intermediate version of WindCutter. It features 80-feet of floating running line integrated to an intermediate head of 38 - 40 foot. My guess is this combination will prove to be an extraordinary line.

It’s the unique distribution of weight and taper that makes WindCutter a winner. Simply stated, the fly caster is able to aerialize more line without overloading the rod. All things being equal, more line in the air coupled with an excellent running line and a good casting technique results in greater distance. Obviously, if Rio was wrong, these 1997 achievements could not have occurred.

• ISE (International Sportsmen’s Competition), San Mateo, CA: Distance casting championship for men and women, 97’4" and 84’5" respectively.
• ISE, Seattle, WA: Distance casting championship, women, 72’1"; men’s division, second and third place, 93’5" and 92’1" respectively.
• ISE, Denver, CO: ISE record set by Mike Bostwick, 105’1"; third place, Steve Rajeff, 104’10". Well folks, that’s it for this the product update. When it comes to windy conditions, either WindMaster or WindCutter may prove the answer to your prayers. For more information, contact:

RIO Products, P.O. Box 684, Blackfoot, ID 83221. Telephone: 1-(800) 553-0838.

© Copyright: Douglas G. Macnair, 1997-2001.

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