Welcome Jason Borger

[Eagle Crest]

Jason,

I'm particularly interested in the initial line speed at loop launch. Zebra strips are probably how I'll start, but I have educated two engineers in my offspring, one a Civil PE and the other a mechanical doing avionics for composite aircraft. I'm going to press them into service and get high tech.

Do you ever make it over to the Bend area on occasion?

Steve

[Jason Borger]

Jason,

I'm particularly interested in the initial line speed at loop launch. Zebra strips are probably how I'll start, but I have educated two engineers in my offspring, one a Civil PE and the other a mechanical doing avionics for composite aircraft. I'm going to press them into service and get high tech.

Do you ever make it over to the Bend area on occasion?

Steve

I can get you info on that. Actually, you can get you info on that. Just grab "The Rod & The Cast" article here on SL. It has line speed numbers in it.

I do make it over to Bend, yes. Love the Bend/Sisters area.

[Flyfishfairwx]

Jason, You have just completed the Western Canada Fly Fishing Expo in Calgary Canada. I would imagine you have heard about the great flood of 2013, and now the recovery of some of the waters around the western Canada and US area.

Now the question, have you seen in your travels and fishing experience a decline in the number of "trophy" fish, or an increase in the number of braggable fish in moderate size?

In some of the flood affected waters there has been a large shake up of fish sizes and numbers. This has held true with fish stories I have heard all along the western area above and below the border.

Question Part Doux - Has this had an effect on the way fly fishers pursue fish in some of the Famous rivers of the west, Big Hole, Yellowstone, MO, in terms of casting, gear, flies, Time of day/

[Eagle Crest]

I can get you info on that. Actually, you can get you info on that. Just grab "The Rod & The Cast" article here on SL. It has line speed numbers in it.

Great article! Some good stuff in it. The links to the 4 videos aren't valid now, but they aren't really what I'm interested in.

I do make it over to Bend, yes. Love the Bend/Sisters area.

That's home for me. Tough duty but someone's got to do it.

Thanks,

Steve

[Bernd Ziesche]

Hi Jason,
welcome to the board!
How many hours (or days?) have you spent fly casting (fluff at the end of your line) and how many fly fishing (fly on trying to get a hook up)?
Thanks
Bernd

If you mean overall since the beginning, I have no idea. If you mean lately, it's been basically all casting the last few weeks. Although i still have to shoot the D-loop images for the book (has to be on water, of course), so I'll be gearing up and fishing once I get the needed pix each day.

Overall, I cast more than I fish, which isn't saying much since I can walk across the street to a private park and cast all day long if I really get the itch. I don't have fish *quite* that close.

Hi Jason,
thanks for your answer. I indeed was after the overall number. A question I was pretty often asked myself.
A bit surprising you can live in a place not next the water? Ok, then the park easily may become a huge addiction. Would be the same for me. I am happy to spent significant more time fishing than casting. Even though I love both. And there aren't many days, in which I am not having some casts just for the sake of casting.
Cheers
Bernd

[Jason Borger]

Jason, You have just completed the Western Canada Fly Fishing Expo in Calgary Canada. I would imagine you have heard about the great flood of 2013, and now the recovery of some of the waters around the western Canada and US area.

Now the question, have you seen in your travels and fishing experience a decline in the number of "trophy" fish, or an increase in the number of braggable fish in moderate size?

In some of the flood affected waters there has been a large shake up of fish sizes and numbers. This has held true with fish stories I have heard all along the western area above and below the border.

Question Part Doux - Has this had an effect on the way fly fishers pursue fish in some of the Famous rivers of the west, Big Hole, Yellowstone, MO, in terms of casting, gear, flies, Time of day/

I believe that you're thinking of my father, Gary (re: the Expo). But...I watched footage from the floods as they were happening, and it was rather incredible to see that much water in places I not only recognized, but had fished.

I've seen all sorts of things in terms of fishery impact from floods, depending on timing of the flood, intensity/duration of flooding, stream gradient and channel, riverbed composition (before and after), impoundments along the way, and so on. I've seen age class loss, as well as re-distribution of fish in the river. I've also fished places that, a year or two later, seemed like they were pre-flood. Some places, though, I don't think have recovered to pre-flood levels (even looking back to floods a decade or more in the past). River restoration, or lack thereof, also plays into this (see what happened in Colorado to certain streams that got channelized due to road projects post-flood).

I think one of the most obvious issues at play in an altered river is the physical shift of holding and feeding lies, and how the fish adapt to those shifts. Shifts in insect life, food fishes, and so forth will also occur, which move fish around, as well. Then toss in a drought year after the floods and watch fish concentrations shift dramatically.

I know that in my own experience of fishing relatively fresh post-flood waters, that I concentrate on areas that have cover remaining and/or that took less of a scouring. I'm also looking for the new holding and feeding lies that came about by the bottom getting pushed around. A river that has gone from lots of cover to little cover is one that I might focus on in early morning and evening. In terms of specific rivers, it comes down to how they were affected. I pursue fish depending on what's presented to me in terms of the river and the date post-flood. I may sling streamers if things are really moved around, or I may end up matching the hatch if a flood event didn't scour the bottom strongly. Rivers that have similar morphologies I would likely approach in similar ways post-flood, so I'd keep that in mind when looking at any of the streams affected n 2013.

[Jason Borger]

Hi Jason,
thanks for your answer. I indeed was after the overall number. A question I was pretty often asked myself.
A bit surprising you can live in a place not next the water? Ok, then the park easily may become a huge addiction. Would be the same for me. I am happy to spent significant more time fishing than casting. Even though I love both. And there aren't many days, in which I am not having some casts just for the sake of casting.
Cheers
Bernd

Can't give you an overall number. I started fishing before I can even remember it, so I've had a few days on the water. Also spend weeks and weeks of springs and summers in my father's fly fishing schools, so I got a *lot* of casting in early, too. Ratio? A lot to a lot.

I live about a mile from one of the largest rivers in the U.S., so at least I have serious water (and lots of salmon and steelhead) close by (just not outside my front door).

[Flyfishfairwx]

Jason, You have just completed the Western Canada Fly Fishing Expo in Calgary Canada. I would imagine you have heard about the great flood of 2013, and now the recovery of some of the waters around the western Canada and US area.

Now the question, have you seen in your travels and fishing experience a decline in the number of "trophy" fish, or an increase in the number of braggable fish in moderate size?

In some of the flood affected waters there has been a large shake up of fish sizes and numbers. This has held true with fish stories I have heard all along the western area above and below the border.

Question Part Doux - Has this had an effect on the way fly fishers pursue fish in some of the Famous rivers of the west, Big Hole, Yellowstone, MO, in terms of casting, gear, flies, Time of day/

I believe that you're thinking of my father, Gary (re: the Expo). But...I watched footage from the floods as they were happening, and it was rather incredible to see that much water in places I not only recognized, but had fished.

I've seen all sorts of things in terms of fishery impact from floods, depending on timing of the flood, intensity/duration of flooding, stream gradient and channel, riverbed composition (before and after), impoundments along the way, and so on. I've seen age class loss, as well as re-distribution of fish in the river. I've also fished places that, a year or two later, seemed like they were pre-flood. Some places, though, I don't think have recovered to pre-flood levels (even looking back to floods a decade or more in the past). River restoration, or lack thereof, also plays into this (see what happened in Colorado to certain streams that got channelized due to road projects post-flood).

I think one of the most obvious issues at play in an altered river is the physical shift of holding and feeding lies, and how the fish adapt to those shifts. Shifts in insect life, food fishes, and so forth will also occur, which move fish around, as well. Then toss in a drought year after the floods and watch fish concentrations shift dramatically.

I know that in my own experience of fishing relatively fresh post-flood waters, that I concentrate on areas that have cover remaining and/or that took less of a scouring. I'm also looking for the new holding and feeding lies that came about by the bottom getting pushed around. A river that has gone from lots of cover to little cover is one that I might focus on in early morning and evening. In terms of specific rivers, it comes down to how they were affected. I pursue fish depending on what's presented to me in terms of the river and the date post-flood. I may sling streamers if things are really moved around, or I may end up matching the hatch if a flood event didn't scour the bottom strongly. Rivers that have similar morphologies I would likely approach in similar ways post-flood, so I'd keep that in mind when looking at any of the streams affected n 2013.

Ahh crap just rechecked and yes it was your dad, great presenter..he is..

Yes just as I thought , the environment changed the fish adapted to the change, so the same old same old does not work anymore, so casting and presentation has to change, what was once a streamer run is now a dry fly run, so casting style must adapt.

If you had to pick one fly rod speed to handle every type of casting situation a fly fisher could find him or herself in what would it be, from small streams - ocean, zero wind to open flats head wind, small fish - to bill fish..

slow, med, slow-med, med-fast, fast.

I travel around the western states and western Canada , and carry only 3 fly rods, a 3wt, a 5wt and a 6wt, sometimes an 8wt for saltwater, pike and BIG Bulls.

Thanks for the great answer.

[John Finn]

Hey Jason, Just a quick one. What was your most memorable fish of last season and why?.................John

[Flyfishfairwx]

I have been thinking of switching over to all DT Fly lines for this coming season, do you find that your casting (stroke/Speed/stop/drift/pickup etc) has to be adjusted for the difference between WF and DT lines on the same rod?