As such, it’s fair to say that the flies and fishing gear we carried played a role beyond “sport.”  We caught fish to eat. I am grateful to Brian Schmidt and Umpqua Feather Merchants for hooking me up with a full arsenal of flies that helped feed us well. The dorado loved big black, purple, orange, and red streamers, with large eyes. These fish attacked baits head-first, so the eyes were key. As for the other gear I carried, I used an 8-weight Orvis Helios Tip-Flex rod and/or a Scott S3S 8-weight, a Hatch Outdoors disc-drag reel, a Scientific Anglers WF8F Sharkskin line, 20-pound Maxima, and American Fishing Wire Co. 25-pound wire tippets.