Home Fly Tying WFS 369 – Jerry French on Intruder Flies, Spey, Steelhead – REPLAY...

WFS 369 – Jerry French on Intruder Flies, Spey, Steelhead – REPLAY from 2020

September 29, 2022

Jerry French, steelhead flies innovator, shares the story of how Intruder flies, Skagit Spey lines, and short Spey rods came to be. We find out how they changed the game big time for steelhead fly fishing.

Jerry tells us how they tried to keep their ideas secret and when they realized that it was time to share them with the community. We also talk about some of his signature flies like the Dirty Hoh, Sculpins, and Squid.

This is a replay episode from 2020 and also one of our most downloaded episodes so it’s great to listen to it again.

Click below and listen to the Podcast about Intruder Flies with Jerry French:

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(Read the Full Transcript at the bottom of this Blog Post)

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Intruder Flies Show Notes with Jerry French

06:30 – We had George Cook on the podcast in episode 131 where we dug into the history of the Northwest Spey.

11:15 – A 13-foot 6 wt rod was considered short back then

13:30 – Jerry tells the story of when they were on a road trip, fishing and guiding, sleeping in the car, and didn’t shower for days.

18:00 – Jerry talks about the evolution of Intruder flies

22:25 – They weren’t planning on sharing the Intruder secrets with anyone but some of their flies got stolen on one of their fishing trips

26:60 – Jerry talks about that time when they realized that it was time to share their secret with the community

32:00 – Jerry was an original founder of OPST and was all about getting Ed Ward paid for his contribution. The ultra-compact heads were a big part of what Jerry and Ed developed.

37:20 – Joseph Rossana was on the podcast in episode 136

42:00 – Jerry describes what a Dirty Hoh platform is and why it’s so special to him

intruder flies

46:30 – Listener question: Do you swing butt or broad side on the swing? Jerry says: Straight up, no questions – always broad side. He calls it “controlled” and explains in detail.

56:00 – Jerry shares why he had to part ways with OPST and build Aqua Flies with Doug Brutocao