Local woman teaches art of fly fishing

Imagine if "A River Runs Through It" had been written about women. It might have starred Camp Sherman's Laurie Adams and her onetime teacher Joan Wulff.

Wulff is a well-known author in fly fishing circles, and the owner of a school that teaches teachers who teach fly fishing. Wulff is also the developer of the Fly-O used by new fly fishermen to learn the art of casting.

Adams' other teacher was her father. He took her on wilderness treks as a child - she was no wimp in the woods. Father taught her about wild edibles and for at least a meal on all their fishing trips they had to find their own food. Luckily for Adams, she could fish, and that was usually her meal.

Adams also teaches - and not only the skill of fly casting, but also the art and entomology (study of insects) of fishing.

"I teach people to understand the importance of a healthy river," Adams said. "More than that, to be able to identify what makes a river healthy and the way to enter and exit the river. If you trample on plants you could destroy the rivers ecology. It is also important not to transfer non-native species or diseases from one body of water to another."

She cites as an example what happened in 1992 at Diamond Lake. Trout fishing was obliterated by a non-native species and has only recently begun to be restored.

"Knowledge changes your whole presentation in fishing," she said. "By casting a fly you are imitating versus irritating. You are imitating what's going on in the water. Fish will attack what's shiny."

Her class is divided into four key components: learning the gear and why the gear is used; safety of the gear; and safety of the fish, for example using a soft net and learning good catch and release. Lastly she teaches four knots that can be used in fly fishing. But that's not all she teaches.

Adams explains the entomology of fishing, the flies that attract the fish: Golden Stone, Pale Morning Dun, Blue Wing Olive, October Caddis, Grey Sedge, all different hatches and all different fly patterns. She explains how and when each fly is used.

She also knows a lot about her home river.

"The Metolius is unique because of the constancy of the water," she said. "Other streams change throughout the day. Morning and evening are cooler, so fish are active. Fish start eating on the Metolius at 10 a.m. You don't even have to be an early riser to fly fish the Metolius. The river has a constant temperature created by a stream 42 to 45 degrees. Trout like a 52 to 56 degree river, so they have adapted."

Adams is a volunteer for Becoming an Outdoor Woman, BOW, which is part of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. She also volunteers for Women in the Outdoors, which is sponsored by the National Wild Turkey Association.

Women, she feels, are often more open to the experience of fishing, rather than focusing on the result.

Adams teaches fly fishing for both men and women at COCC. She is teaching an "Intro to Fly Fishing" at the Camp Sherman Community Hall Tuesday and Thursday, July 15 and 17, the week before the Metolius River Fly Fishing & Bamboo Rod Fair.

The classes will take up two full six-hour days. For more information contact Adams at 595-2707.