The Perfect Cast I

The Perfect Cast I (ISBN # 978-0-9854280-2-0) is the latest book in the Fly Fishing Series by Gary A. Borger.

Fly casting is built on one simple rule: what the rod tip does, the line does. From this underlying principle, Gary builds an amazingly clear and thorough understanding of fly casting, and introduces concepts that help you achieve mastery over this essential angling skill. His easily grasped discussions of line momentum, and loop formation and control, for example, are both important and revealing. With the easily-understood techniques that he sets forth in this book, you will quickly acquire the essential elements of fly casting by using the time-proven pantomime-practice technique. Your abilities will grow quickly as technique flows seamlessly into technique, and precise casting tactics become integral components of your fly fishing.

In this delightfully informative book, he leads you through a thorough understanding of casting development and skill acquisition–from the nine different ways you can grip the rod, to highly detailed and easily understood descriptions of the three methods of fly casting. He details the essential understanding of Acceleration, Loop Formation, and Energy Transfer (A.L.E.), and presents the best practice tools and methods for developing good casting quickly. Gary reveals the secret of High Speed High Line (HS/HL) that he uses to make high, fast backcasts with tight line loops, and the way to shoot a long line. He shows you how to utilize a wide variety of casting styles, including the Elliptical Stroke, Casting in the Wind, Sidearm Casting, Tournament Style Accuracy, the Galway cast, Across the Head Casting, accuracy in casting, and concepts of mending. In addition he skillfully covers the Bow and Arrow Cast, Extended Bow and Arrow, Roll Cast, Sidearm Roll Cast, Switch Cast (Forward Spay), Sidearm Switch, and more, for your successful use in all fishing conditions. He introduces on-the water and in-the air mending with the Reach Mend and the Curve Mend. These many, highly useful techniques are backed by their use in his lifetime of fly fishing, worldwide. Illustrated with photos and the line art of Jason Borger.

The book is available at:

The Angling Bookstore www.theanglingbookstore.com.
217 Kubler St.
Crested Butte, CO 81224
Mailing address: The Angling Bookstore

P.O. Box 2986
Crested Butte, CO 81224
Dealers may contact their book suppliers to get this text in stock

Fisherman’s Knot

Many years ago, when gut was the leader material. anglers could connect one piece to another with a simple Fisherman’s Knot. It was simply an overhand knot in each end, and they were slid together. In todays’ world, that knot is too weak for monofilament, and cannot be used to tie two very different materials together. However, a modified version of the the knot is highly useful in connecting very dissimilar materials–such as monofilament to Dacron or gelspun backing. There are other uses, too, like connecting two pieces of mono together. Like the original Fisherman’s Knot, the ends of the two pieces are pointed in opposite directions and parallel to one another. Then, a Nailless Nail Knot is tied in each end around the other piece of material (Figure 1). Once the knots are tight, the two ends are puled tightly against each other (Figure 2) It’s a very strong knot, and as noted can have many applications in fly fishing.

Figure 1. Tie a nailless nail knot, in the end of each segment, around the other segment.

Figure 2. Pull the knots tight against each other. Voila, the knot is complete. Very strong and highly useful.

ZOOM to the Fly Fishing Shows

Virtual Fly Fishing with the Experts

Spring is here. It’s time to refresh and renew our understanding of fly fishing. The COVID-19 pandemic has closed the Fly Fishing Show venues until 2022, but there’s still plenty of time and opportunity to avail yourself of the great teachings that the Shows offer. Management is providing the opportunity to attend presentations and casting and fly tying demonstrations specifically designed for Zoom meetings to give you a broad choice of topics from which to choose.

ZOOM to Fly Casting with Gary Borger

Casting is the physical skill of fly fishing. In this 2-hour program, Gary Borger presents new and highly effective methods to refine, improve, and develop casting skills to a highly polished level, allow the fly fisher to effectively and efficiently present the imitation under a host of angling conditions. There is detailed information in Grip and Stance, Two Rules of Fly Casting, Control, Swinging Curve, Differences between Method and Style, Wrist Casting, Forearm Casting, Whole Arm Casting, A.L.E., Easily Made Backcast, Lift and Flip, The Pause, The Forward Stroke, Tailing Loops, Loop Control, False Casting, Pantomiming, Hook Curve, Casting Across the Head, Elliptical Stroke, Casting in the wind, “C” Pickup, Roll Cast, Switch Cast, Drag, Reach Mend, Puddle Mend, Curve Mend, Shooting Line, Mend and Shoot, Long Cast, and more. Don’t miss this fun and extremely informative program.

Head online to https://flyfishingshow.com/virtual-show-info/

Silvercreek’s Crystal Coat UV cured head cement.

Silvercreek offers two really great head cements that are UV cured. I love ‘em and use both. They dry quickly and are hard and absolutely tack free, and both are flexible. I use the thin Crystal Coat for the heads on most of my flies. I love the thick Crystal Coat to give my streamers and bucktails a very smooth, highly polished head. One coat is all that’s needed.

Silvercreek’s Crystal Hard UV Coat is hard with some flex and Silvercreek’s Crystal Flex UV Coat is hard with more flex. Silvercreek’s Crystal Flex UV Coat is a hard clear UV cured coating for flies with additional properties. It is a clear pliable coating that can be used to apply eyes to a fly, to repair waders, leaky tent seams, coating leader knots, coating and sealing foam flies, and to repair cracks that occur in iPod/iPad/iPhone charger wires, ear buds, etc. It is also an excellent all around fly tying resin. I recommend the Crystal Flex for those ordering just one resin to try.

Both UV Coats comes in a 15 cc bottle with an applicator brush. They are $15.00 each. They contain 50% more resin than the 10cc syringe of Clear Cure Goo and the bottle/brush is a better system than a syringe with the applicator tips that cost extra. It is also better than a squeeze bottle or a squeeze tube that others use. The brush system has no waste, and the brush allows you to apply a thick or thin coat of the resin. You can apply a single thin or medium coat or multiply coats to get a single thick coat. I also apply Crystal Coat with my bodkin for small flies or to place it very specifically on the fly (as in attaching eyes).

To get yours, contact: picaboo@charter.net, put silver coat in the subject line

Shark, Shark

Yes, you can catch sharks on a fly rod. I’m not sure anyone would want to hook the likes of “Jaws,” but Sand sharks all the way to Mako are great on the fly rod. My long time friend, Chuck Furimsky, has had some great days off the coast of southern New Jersey with these toothy denizens of the deep. Recently he took a friend, Bob Evans out for a day of shark chasing, and they had great fun. They hook many, landed 6, and were able to unhook all those landed.

Chuck used a bunker head teaser and brought the sharks close. He then pulled the teaser away and toss the shark his “Chunk Head ” fly. They pounced on it.

Oh, and Bod painful learned to keep his fingers out of the way off the reel handle while palming to increase drag. Sharks can be real freight trains when they run.

Bob quickly learned to keep his fingers out of the way of the reel handle.

The Chunk Head. Looks “reel” enough to me!

Sharks are very powerful fighters and can tear off great hanks of line with ease.

Yes they do have real shark’s teeth, and they can nip off a finger with great ease. Use a tool when unhooking these beasts.