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.
