Photo: Jessie Lu throws down with some seriously advanced casting tech. Photo by Fred Sears

With the summer season kicking into gear and a winter of spey flailing, powder turns and a bonefish jaunt behind us, the FFJ crew enlisted local shop (The Confluence) proprietors, guides and casting sensei’s Ed Megill and Scot Willison to give all a little primer. With FFJ Photo Editor Copi Vojta and Editor Steve Duda in town to do a little edit planning, figured this was the best time to get our group huck on.

FF demo brought to you by Ranier Beer and the fine folk at Ball Park Franks. Photo by Fred Sears

For anyone who thinks they have it dialed and don’t need any instruction or feedback, you’re wrong. No matter your ability level: master to flailer, casting is a lifework and taking the time to occassionally break down fundamentals and fine tune with only a BBQ, some beers, friends and an open field of grass to distract, will reap solid rewards.

With The Confluence‘s recent opening and a return of flyfish retail to the North Puget Sound area, we were stoked to get together down by the harbor, fire up some brats, crack open some Vitamin R‘s and compare tailing loops. With FFJ staffers, contributors and friends including the above plus Creative Director Jessie Lu, Art Director Jessie Carlson, Interactive Designer Sebastian (SeaBass) Garber, Marketing Assoc. Jennica Lowell, Edit Director Colin Wiseman, Marketing Director Matt Wibby, FFJ bookeeper extradonaire (and local CCA chapter president) Meghan Hallam, FFJ contributing photog Fred Sears, and fellow FFLLC staffers Sakeus Bankson and John Laing, along with friends and local fishers all gathered on this fine afternoon and listened to Ed’s classic axioms: “Answer the phone, hammer the nail!; 60% backcast, 40% fwd cast!”

Now with the smallies crushing crawdad patters and the local streams just starting to back down, everyone is armed with mad skill and ready for action. Relatively speaking.