Wulff Ambush Neutralizer Fly Line - Intermediate Sinking Head

February 6, 2015

Ultimate Streamer Line for Switch Rods?

Low and slow.  That is the swing you want for trout spey in cool water.  This might be the best yet most overlooked product on the market for guys using their switch rods to exclusively swing streamers.  I personally love spey fishing for trout with lightweight switch or spey rods.  The aggressive grab and hearty fight of a river trout taking a swung fly in heavy current is incredibly addictive.  So much so that I want more of it! And then MORE of it. To get more of it, I am now fishing a Wulff Ambush Neutralizer Fly Line on my lightweight switch rods for my streamer fishing.  If you are exclusively swinging wet flies in current for Salmon, Steelhead, or Trout (my favorite) then this is your line.  It is perfect for a Switch Rods and very friendly for casters of all skill levels.  The only negative is that if you are a distance freak..... a true shooting head attached to a monofiliment running line will give you more distance with less effort.  For most applications however, the Ambush Neutralizer will cast fine.  I put it on a Redington Prospector Switch Rod chambered in the 5 weight cartridge and was easily casting 60'. That is plenty of range for a light switch/spey outfit.  I really like the Prospector and if you want to get a complete outfit with the Wulff Ambush Neutralizer Fly Line just put in the order comments upon checkout that you want to substitute the Neutralizer for the traditional Ambush.  


Over the last couple of years my eyes have really opened up to the advantages of intermediate sinking heads.  I have been fishing them more and more.  I didn't really like them at first because I felt as though I couldn't track my swing very effectively and see where and what my sink tip and fly were up to.  You'll get over that squeamish feeling eventually learn to love the intermediate sinking heads.

I wanted to get the same effect while targeting trout so I decided to rope up the Wulff Ambush Neutralizer and really liked it. I have been fishing the ol' school Wulff Ambush line for years.  I discovered this line because I wanted a really good line for single hand spey fishing and eventually found that it is dynamite on switch rods.  

The Wulff Ambush Neutralizer is built on the same chassis and taper of the famous Ambush line but the head sinks.  The head length varies a bit from 20-24' depending on the line weight.  It is comparable length to a Skagit head which makes it easy to cast. Its one contiguous length with no loop-to-loop connections, other than the sink tip, make it a trout fisherman's dream line.

What Weight Goes on What Rod?

First off, to make this easy we'll pair the right line on the right rod if you buy any one of our assorted switch rod and reel packages.  You won't have to make any choices and if you want the Wulff Ambush Neutralizer spooled up on it just let us know in the order comments.  There is no extra charge for this line.  

On switch rods you are going to bump up 2-3 line weights.  For instance, on a 6 weight rod you will buy an 8 weight line.  For extremely fast action rods you can go 3 line weights. I personally like a 2 line bump myself.  I did cast an 8 weight Wulff Ambush Neutralizer on a 5 weight Redington Prospector today and it was great.  These are forgiving lines so don't lose any sleep over this.  

RIO Light MOW Sink Tip or Poly Leader?



I like Polyleaders or "spey versileaders" a lot.  They are cheap, easy to rig up, and are a smart purchase because they cast well and fly through the wind quite nice.  You can also use a Light MOW Tip on switch rods 6-8 weight and it is going to turn over bigger flies better and be more durable.  Plus it has loops on both ends.  Regardless of which tip you use, be sure to buy several sink weights.  This is one area that customers cheap out on and it makes me want to hurl.  You spend way too much money on a car, rod, gas, and beer to go cheap on leaders.  Finish the job and get a variety.  You don't need to use different sink tips or leaders on intermediate sinking heads.  Same tips you already have will likely work.  My most common setup is a 5.6 ips leader.

This Line is Labled - NO STICKER REQUIRED ON YOUR REEL!

Another thing I really liked about this line was that the weight is marked on the head. Maybe this isn't a big deal for those that just have a line or two, but when you have a couple of rods it is really nice to be able to read the label and see what weight it is.


Why an Intermediate Sinking Head?

The text below is a cut-out from a past article, but it is applicable here and also suggests some intermediate heads that when combined with a running line could be made to fish like a Wulff Ambush Neutralizer  If you already have a running line and appropriate reel you can get an intermediate shooting head accomplish the same thing for about $30 less money.

Skagit Intermediate - Shooting Head

Fish Taco Steelhead Fly - Black
*Skagit Intermediate heads can help keep large unweighted flies fishing deep throughout the swing. 

This line is my "go to" now on rivers with a lot of surface current.  It is almost all I fish if I am using sink tips. This line gets em.  One thing to know about rivers, especially with quick currents is that the surface currents are the fastest.  A portion of the head sinks which gets your line under the fastest surface currents and slows the fly presentation down immensely.  It is all about presentation and the Skagit Intermediate really swings slow and level. It anchors the line down and your line doesn't get pushed out of the run by the fast surface currents.  Floating heads get pushed out of the run way too fast when there are swift surface currents.



  1. For the new Echo Glass Switch #3:Grain window is up to 210 grain. What RW Ambush will be recommended by you? Br RG
  2. Ralph, either the 4 or the 5 should work well on that rod. My gut instinct without taking both lines out on the water would be the 4 weight. I can't imagine the #3 throwing more than 195 grains.
  3. Which ambush neutralizer has a grain weight around 500 grains? I know the ambush floater 12weight line is 500 grains Thank you
  4. hi just testing my new 10,10 #6 echo sr, and i wonder if i should buy 8 or 9 ambush floating line.thanks for tips mats
  5. Hi Guys, I just bought a 6wt Echo SR package with Nymphing priority from your shop. I have decided that I'm going to do as suggested and just buy another Echo Ion reel with Wolf Ambush setup for swing. Being a newbie to the SR game, I don't know what to order online from you as far as what size reel, backing size, running line size and which running line is recommended. I understand I will order the 8wt Wolf ambush. I will decide on my polyleaders or Mow tips and have a grasp on that as I've used versileaders before. Last question is, Do I need a floating poly leader or can I just use the tip of the ambush line to mono leader if I just want a pure floating line for a given application? I'm sure you folks would spool this up for me etc. if asked, but I would like to do this for myself as part of my learning. Thank You

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