When Carl Johnson of Monroe became president of the Washington state chapter of the Federation of Fly Fishers, he noticed that only people running for office would show up at the group’s annual meeting.
He wanted to encourage regular members to attend, so he started bringing in some the state
‘s accomplished fly tiers to the annual event in Ellensburg.
“People love watching tiers,” he said.
Thanks to a number of volunteers, Johnson’s efforts to gather people in Ellensburg have evolved into a premier event for the sport, offering a host of fishing, tying and casting demonstrations and contests over a two-day Fly Fishing Fair.
For many years, the state has had other, commercially sponsored fly fishing shows with the focus on selling products and some fishing seminars thrown in for good measure.
The FFF fair at the Kittitas Valley Event Center near Central Washington University in Ellensburg, (Exit 106 off I-90) does it the other way around. There are a few commercial exibitors thrown in, but the fair is mostly about how to fish, cast and tie flies.
There are more than 70 accomplished tiers from Oregon, California, Canada, Idaho and Washington signed up. Among them: Harry Lemire of Mill Creek, Steve Brocco of Seattle and Bob Bates of Spokane, all members of the state’s Fly Tying Hall of Fame. Henry Hoffman of Oregon, who for decades bred the best chickens for fly tying, will also attend.
There are great tiers with lesser known names like Dareld Thompson of Marysville, who spent a couple hours at an earlier fishing fair showing me some tricks in tying classic Atlantic Salmon fly patterns.
For people who like to tie flies or who think they might, the fair is a great opportunity to sit across the table from some tiers, watch what they do, and ask questions. If you ask real nicely, they might give you a fly.
There are also two days of seminars on fishing a variety of the region’s rivers like the Washington’s Yakima, Grande Ronde, Klickitat and Methow, Montana’s Clark Fork, Oregon’s Crooked, and Alaska’s Alagnak; finding well-priced fishing trips; using spey and switch rods; and learning about bugs.
There are also a host of casting demonstrations, a nine-hole casting course to test your skill using different types of casts, and the chance for a quick free lesson with a certified casting instructor if you have a question or a problem.
And while you’re in Ellensburg, you might consider fishing the nearby Yakima River (It should be the beginning of the Mother’s Day Caddis hatch) or driving a half hour or so to Lake Lenice, a quality lake that’s been putting out some nice fish so far this year.
For more information or to register, Click here
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