Covering the Drift Volume 23 Issue 2 March 2019 Gary Borger on Universal Nymphs Prime Lies - Page 2 Conservation - Page 3 Young Tiers at Work - Page 6 Centennial for UW Fishery Sciences –Page 6 Calendar of Ellensburg Workshops –Pages 9-10 Washington State Chapter March 2019 Fly Fishers International Volume 23, Issue 2 Inside this issue Prime Lies Leaders Line ................................2 Conservation ..............................3 endeavor. Please come out and Borger’s Approach to Nymphing 4 Spring Ahead join the fun and learning. If you Borger’s Universal Nymphs ........5 are coming and have some free Borger’s Ellensburg Schedule .....4 It’s March and I have 3- time, consider volunteering for Academy Registration Open .......3 foot-high plowed banks of snow such things as making the coffee, Young Tiers at Work ...................6 on my driveway, a good excuse helping with the raffles, setting to not get my trailer out of the up the tables on Thursday, and a Ellensburg Schedule ...................9-10 garage to take it to Albany, Ore. thousand other things. Contact for the Northwest Fly Tyer and Carl Johnson or me if you can Special points of interest Fly Fishing Expo. I got a hotel help. room instead. High school soph- There will be a few • Registration is open for the omore Maxine McCormick, mul- Washington Fly Fishing Fair changes this year in the Fair with May 3-4 in Ellensburg. To regis- ti-time world fly casting champi- a Fly Tying Theater, tying les- ter online go to on, demonstrated casting at the sons and demonstrations by Gary www.wscffi.org/2019- Expo this year. I have seen her Borger. In addition, we will be registration cast before and she was remarka- holding a Continuing Education • Jack Whitney catalogs some of ble. I hope you made it to the the largest fish conservation (CE) program Saturday after- groups at work in the Pacific Albany Expo this year and I noon for all casting instructors, Northwest in his conversation hope you join Washington State whether they are FFI certified or column, page 3. Council’s Fly Fishing Fair in El- not. We just want to improve fly • Gary Borger will provide a vari- lensburg May 3rd and 4th. casting instruction for everyone ety of expert casting, fly tying Online registration is up and run- and we know there are lots of and fishing knowledge at the ning and we have collected a Ellensburg Fair. Stories on pag- people teaching fly casting es 3 and 4 preview some of great group of tyers and casters, through clubs and shops who what he will be speaking about. as well as our Celebrity Fly Fish- have been excluded from CE er, Gary Borger. By the way, I events in the past. All those peo- stole the title of my column, • On the cover a native coastal ple are now welcome to attend steelhead and the blue/green Prime Lies, from him. this Saturday afternoon program. Intruder that fooled him. Our volunteers have put a Everyone is better off if we can huge amount of work into this continued on page 8 Academy Open Conservation The deadline for The Business of Fighting the 2019 Northwest Youth Conservation and Fly Fish- for Threatened Salmon ing Academy is April 15. Boys and girls must be 12- By Jack Whitney www.wildsalmoncenter.org/ 16 years of age to apply. Wild Fish Conservancy Those that are accepted, During a recent TU – This organization use to be will be notified by the meeting I was having a con- called Washington Trout. middle of May. The versation with a recently re- Their emphasis is on science, Academy this year is June tired local WDFW fish biolo- education and advocacy. They 23-29, 2019 on Hicks Lake gist. He said to me “You have a staff of 16 professionals in Lacey, WA. Applicants know Jack, we have created of which a sizable number of must submit a written es- quite a large business fighting them have degrees in fish re- say explaining why “they” for Salmon.” Later I reflected lated science. Dr. Richard would like to attend and a on what he said and thought of Williams is on their board as letter of recommendation all the fish conservation organ- well as on the FFI board. Their from their school counse- izations in the NW and the current high-profile project is lor, science teacher or re- number of people connected the Columbia River Pound Net sponsible adult. Cost is with them. So, I started look- Project which is also referred $300 and there are spon- ing into the different salmon to as a fish trap. This project sorships available. No one and steelhead conservation is being supported by NOAA, will be turned away be- players and thought that I Wildlife Departments of the cause of lack of money. would pass on some of what I three NW states, University of The support from learned. Washington, Wild Salmon the fly fishing community Wild Salmon Center – This Center and a host of other con- again this year is nothing organization scientifically servation groups and private short of spectacular. Ap- identifies and protects the business. They have initiated plications are coming from strongest rivers suitable for or been a part of various law all over the State. We will wild salmon. These areas of suits and have been listed as an need volunteers again this focus included Northern Cali- “extremist organization” by year as guides to take the fornia, Oregon, Washington the Costal Conservation Asso- kids fishing in the morn- (there are two river systems), ciation (CCA). They are locat- ings and evenings. We British Columbia, Alaska, ed in Duvall, and more can be will be fishing a local pond Russia and Japan. They work discovered about them at and the Deschutes River in with communities, agencies, www.wildfishconservancy.org/ Thurston County. The tribes, and local conservation The Conservation An- Academy has a Facebook groups providing them with gler – The Conservation An- page loaded with pictures scientific, political, legal, fund gler advocates for wild fisher- from past years and our raising and communication ies, which includes steelhead, website expertise. The Wild Salmon salmon, trout and char, www.nwycffa.com You Center’s home office is Port- throughout the Pacific Range. may download the applica- land and they have a staff of They see themselves as a tion off the website or call 20 paid employees of which 4 watch dog organization that Mike Clancy @253-278- are Phd’s, 8 have their MS and holds public agencies and na- 0061 or Jim Brosio @ 360 6 are BS/BA degreed. The av- tions accountable for protect- -943-9947. erage annual revenue over the ing wild fish, by use of admin- last five years is $5.8 million istrative, political and legal dollars a year. See Continued on page 8 3 and fly back to the surface. Because if In Ellensburg the fly line is on top of the water go- ing at X speed and the fly is on the Gary Borger Makes bottom going at one-half X, the line will pull the fly back to the top.” Nymph Fishing Visual “I put the split shot, 8 to 12 inches above the fly. The split shot anchors that fly at the bot- Everybody likes dry tom. Then I put an indicator fly fishing because its such a about 3 to 5 feet above the fly. If the anchor works on the bot- visual process. You see the fly. You see the fish take the fly. tom, the indicator will be go- It’s an exciting process. It’s ing one-half to two-thirds the possible to experience the same Gary’s speed of the water around it visual link nymph fishing if on the top,” says Borger. If you develop the right tech- Schedule the indicator is moving at the nique, says Gary Borger. Friday May 3 same speed as the surround- ing surface water, then he ad- “Whether you’re fishing 8:30—Nymphing at the surface, or at the bottom vises adding more weight un- you can make it a process that Top to Bottom til the indicator slows down. is totally visual to the angler,” 10:30-The Perfect “Another thing the he says. But the process works Cast shot does is help set the hook. The split shot continues to only if you understand where in 1:30-Tying Demon- the water column your fly is move after the fish picks up moving, he says. “If you’re not stration, Down and the hook, so the shot then on the bottom, you’re not doing Dirty Flies pulls the hook and helps what needs to be done and you make the set. The hook is set 3-Tying Demon- by the shot and then the indi- will not catch fish. Period.” stration, Unique The problem with get- cator goes under. If you pull ting flies to the bottom of a riv- Hackling Tech- every time the indicator stops, er is that the fastest current is niques you’re just pulling your fly off the bottom. But if you always on the top. A weighted fly can drop through that cur- wait for the indicator to go rent, but the faster current at the Saturday May 4 under there is a fish there.” top will always be creating drag 8:30-The Angler as Borger is indifferent on the line. Borger works to what indicator a fisher us- Predator workshop es. It can be a fly such as a around that by using split shot 10:30-Tying not weighted flies.