The "shooting" potential of this setup for shooting line with sinking leaders is unreal!!!! See this video on how you can shoot line and fish "down and across".
Gary Sandstrom, designer of Ambush Lines, talks about why he created them:
Originally
designed on the Deschutes River in Oregon for fishing in areas with
very little back cast room. I wanted a line that would load the rod with
only 10-20 feet of line out, turn over large bead head flies with an
indicator and shoot 30 feet with one roll cast. The first lines sizes,
4-6 (195-235 grains) were primarily for the trout guys. As switch rods
became more popular as a tool for trout and light steelhead fishing,
requests for larger sizes were answered with Ambush lines being made in
sizes 7- 10 (266-400 grains). The tricky part in trying to line switch
rods is some manufactures rate these rods as a true single hand, while
others rate them as spey rods, both with the same line designation.
Typically a good starting point for switch rods is an Ambush 8 weight
(290 grains) will load a 5 weight switch rod, Ambush 9 for a 6wt switch
and a Ambush 10 for a 7wt switch (rated for spey application). If the
rod is a true single hand, then just match the same Ambush line weight
to the rod line weight. Of course, the best thing to do is visit your
local fly shop and see if they have some sample lines to cast or attend a
spey event with your rod and cast the lines on the water. The next
production of Ambush lines, the 11-14 weights (450-600 grains) are for
the double handed casters that wanted a line with a very short head for
fishing in really tight areas. They require a very short casting stroke
and work best with the shorter 11-12 ½ foot rods typically used in
fishing smaller rivers or big rivers with little or no room for a
D-loop. These lines have a slightly longer head to accommodate the extra
length in the rod. What I really like about the Ambush lines is that
you can attach either a long mono leader, a poly leader of any density
or a heavy chunk of T-14 and the line will still cast well. Another nice
feature of Ambush lines is the integrated shooting line to head (no
loops to hang up when casting short or when landing a fish ) and the
cool two tone color, designed specifically for easy detection of the
head/shooting line junction in low light conditions.
Regards,
Garry Sandstrom
Notes on usage:
Ambush General Description:
A
short heavy head line based on the proven triangle taper. Available
with a contrasting integrated shooting line in weights 4-14 or head only
in lineweights 8-14. Front welded loop included for convenient changing
of leaders and tips.
Conventional Use:
Fishing in
tight quarters with very limited back cast room. The short heavy head
facilitates quick loading and efficient turn over when using weighted
flies, split shot and strike indicators. The short rear taper makes roll
casting and shooting line easy and lends itself to the various single
hand spey casts. The heavy head "digs" in the water surface, slowing the
line speed, in the typical down and across presentation, making it
ideal for swinging soft hackles or stripping streamers.
Switch use:
The
short head on the Ambush line makes it the ideal fly line for switch
rods. Rule of thumb when selecting a line, is to use 3 line weight sizes
above the rod weight. For example, a 5wt switch rod would take an 8wt
Ambush line or head. A 7wt switch rod would load well with the 10wt
Ambush. If you are going to primarily overhead cast with a switch rod,
then go just 2 line sizes above the rod weight(7wt Ambush on a 5wt
switch rod).
Scandi use:
If you choose to use the
Scandi or underhand style of casting, select an Ambush line 3 sizes
above your rod weight. Poly leaders (all densities) work exceptionally
well on Ambush lines. Total length of your poly leader should be 1 to
1.5 times the length of your rod (including tippet). Poly leaders,
because of their similar taper to the Ambush line, tend to increase the
overall head length of the Ambush, promoting longer turnover time and
increase casting distance.
Skagit use:
Skagit style
lines are made to cast large flies and heavy sink tips. The Ambush line
is similar to other Skagit lines in length but have a more pronounced
taper (a short Triangle Taper) which softens the way they turnover (less
clunky). When selecting an Ambush line for throwing big flies and
sinking tips, go 4 line sizes heavier than the rod weight. For example,
for a 8wt spey rod choose an 12wt line or head. A great shooting line to
use behind the Ambush head is Wulff’s Tracer shooting line, which comes
with an 8 inch loop for easy head changing and has a 2 foot bright
orange color at the loop end, to help detect where the shooting line and
head meet.
