By Jack Whitney      Normally this is called the elephant in the room, but since we are fishermen I thought we could relate to a fishing metaphor better by using a grown chinook salmon.  I may be off on that comparison.  Has anyone seen a 50-pound chinook caught in the northwest recently?      The 50-gallon fish tank represents all the conservation efforts to save fish, salmon, wildlife, polar bears, humans, etc.  The chinook (or elephant) is global warming. We are basically ignoring the long-term effects of global warming and are just giving lip service to it. I have read about studies on how to protect different species of trout and salmon from global warming, but underneath these studies, there is an assumption that at some point we will stop the heating of the planet.       The major contributor to greenhouse gases is power generation. In 2016. 66% [...]

WDFW Commission will review hatchery reform effort       The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will take public comments on its hatchery reform efforts during an upcoming meeting in Olym-pia.       The commission, a citizen panel appointed by the governor to set policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, will meet Feb. 8-9 in Room 172 of the Natural Re-sources Building in Olympia. The meeting will begin at 8 a.m. both days.       Agency staff will pro-vide an update on a review of the state’s hatchery and fishery reform policy, which is intended to improve hatchery effective-ness, ensure compatibility be-tween hatchery production and salmon recovery plans, and sup-port sustainable fisheries. Staff will discuss the process they will use to review the policy and the science behind it.       The public will have the opportunity to comment during the Friday meeting.       Gov. Jay Inslee’s [...]

New signs will soon go up at Rocky Ford Creek to inform fishers about the special regulations on one of the Wests premier spring creeks and pointers on releasing fish and a plea to “keep ‘em wet!”       The Wenatchee Valley Fly Fishers, the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club and the Washington Council of FFI are working with Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife managers on the design and message. The Washington Council and fly clubs will pay the cost of making the signs and WDFW will have final say on the wording and location.      The plan is to install three signs, one for each parking lot, says Jerry McBride, conservation chair for the Inland Empire Fly Fishing Club. The upper portion of the signs would spell out the WDFW special rules for Rocky Ford Creek and the lower part would give information on best practices [...]

Applications are now being accepted for the June 23-29, 2019 Academy.  Up to 20 lucky boys and girls may attend the 2019 Academy at Hicks Lake in Lacey, WA.   The applicant must submit an essay, explaining why “they” would like to attend The Academy and a letter of recommendation is to be submitted by their school counselor or science teacher.  Both items may be emailed to nwycffa@comcast.net.  Enrollment fee is $300, however; there are sponsorships available.  So no applicant will be turned away because of funding.  Again we are very fortunate to receive financial support from the fly fishing clubs, the TU chapters, individuals and corporate organizations.  The event is sponsored by the Washington Council of Trout Unlimited and supported by the Washington Council of Fly Fishers International, South Sound Fly Fishers, Puget Sound Fly Fishers and the Olympia TU Chapter.  Applications can be obtained at www.nwycffa.com. We have a [...]

See Gary’s Casting Friday May 3rd at the Fly Fishing Fair in Ellensburg              Gary Borger, author of several books on flying fishing, a pioneer in instructional fly fishing videos, a consultant to Hollywood directors, a regular speaker at na-tional events and one of the most frequently quoted casting instruc-tors of the past 20 years is also a pantomime artist.  Gary uses his index finger as often as a fly rod when he teach-es casting.  From his first videos of the 1980s, Gary began teaching by sweeping the hardware out of the picture to focus on the hand, wrist and arm movements that make a good cast. “The line is the prob-lem,” he said in a recent inter-view. Beginners and fishers with modest skill invest so much effort in getting a line airborne that they lose focus on the basic motion that makes a cast. [...]