Targus- Under
Construction
Gary Borger
has been a friend of the Little Lehigh Fly Shop since it opened in
1993.
Angling Biography of Gary Borger
Gary Borger is one of the world’s foremost fly
fishing educators. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of
Wisconsin-Madison and is Professor Emeritus at the
University
of Wisconsin Campus in Wausau. His achievements
have been recognized in The Millennium Edition of Strathmore’s Who’s
Who,” “Who’s Who in the Midwest,” “Who’s Who in Science and
Engineering,” “Men of Achievement,” the “Dictionary of International
Biography,” a multiple year honoree in “Who’s Who Among America’s
Teacher’s,” “Outstanding People of the 20th Century,” and “Outstanding
People of the Millennium.” He has been a fly fisher since 1955, and
since 1972 has taught classes and lectured internationally on all
aspects of fly fishing for trout and salmon. A free-lance writer and
photographer and an active member of the Outdoor Writer’s Association of
America, Gary is also a Contributing Editor for Fly Fisherman Magazine,
Editor at Large for the Virtual Fly Shop, and Fly Fishing Columnist for
North American Fisherman. He has written five best-selling books on fly
fishing: “Nymphing,” “Naturals,” “The Borger Color System,” “Designing
Trout Flies,” and “Presentation.”
Gary
pioneered fly fishing video instruction with his release of “Nymphing”
in 1982. Since then he has appeared in four videos for the 3M Company;
and in cooperation with the Federation of Fly Fishers, produced the
environmental video “Where The Trout Are.” His video production company
has produced an additional 17, internationally acclaimed videos in the
“Skills of Fly Fishing Series.” This production work has earned him a
listing in “Who’s Who in Entertainment.” Gary was also a consultant
on Robert Redford’s movie “A River Runs Through It.” With his
award-winning CD/cassette tape, “My Madison,” he pioneered fly fishing,
nature-music audios. In addition, Gary is a the designer of the
Weinbrenner Ultimate Wading Shoe, the Gary Borger Fly Vest, the Gary
Borger Signature fly rods and reels, and many other innovative angling
products and unique fly designs. He is a founding board member of the
River Alliance of Wisconsin, a founding member of the Board of Governors
of the Federation of Fly Fisher’s fly casting instructor certification
program, a member of The Order of the Jungle Cock, Trout Unlimited,
United Fly Tyers, the Federation of Fly Fishers, the American Museum of
Fly Fishing, the Catskill Fly Fishing Center, and other conservation
organizations. He is a recipient of the Ross Allen Merigold Complete
Angler Memorial Award, the Charles K. Fox Rising Trout Award, the Joan
and Lee Wullf Conservation award, and is internationally recognized for
his conservation efforts; in recognition of this work he received the
first Lew Jewett Memorial Life Membership in the Federation of Fly
Fishers in 1979.
We suggest
you keep up with Gary's Blog. A
sample of his wisdom appears below.
The Blood Knot is an excellent way to connect two pieces of
monofilament. It’s thin in diameter and very clean (no protruding
bits to catch weeds or other obstructions). Back in the days of gut
leaders it was the knot of choice. When nylon appeared, the Blood
Knot hung on, but with the same restriction that it had in the days
of gut: it is not good for connecting pieces of mono that are more
than .002″ different in diameter. This meant that an angler building
a leader down from .020″ to 3X would have to connect .020″ to .018″
to .016″ to .014″ to .012″ to .010″ to .008. Whew, that a lot of
knots. I can personally testify to the difficulty of following a
leader formula that had 7 pieces, some of which were only 6″ long.
Ugh! As I experimented with nylon, I realized that its properties
were as different from gut as day is from night. They are simply not
the same in any way except that one can get them in a variety of
diameters.
In the olde dayes, if one reduced the diameter of the gut
sections by more than .002″, hinging would occur. That is, the
thinner section would collapse back onto the thicker section. Not so
with nylon. One can reduce the diameter of each subsequent section
of nylon in a leader by 35% and not get hinging. That means you can
connect .020″ mono directly to .013″ mono and not have a hinging
problem. Now a leader can go from .020″ to .013″ to .010″ to .008.
Fast and efficient. Oops, the standard Blood Knot can’t make the
jumps.
Here’s the problem. When the material only varies by .002″ the
five coils of mono on each side of the knot pull up smoothly and
evenly. When one exceeds this .002″ rule, the thin material pulls up
faster than the heavier material, and the knot can’t come completely
tight on the heavier material side. As I experimented with the
knot, I discovered that as the diameter difference increased beyond
the allowable .002″ more turns were required with the thinner
material in order to make a strong knot. In fact, for each .002″
beyond the allowable, initial .002″, one more turn was required by
the thinner material. Thus, when connecting .020″ to .014″ (a
difference of .006″) the knot is perfectly balanced using 7 turns
with the lighter material and 5 with the heavier material; thus, the
5/7 Blood Knot.
The reason, it turns out, is that the 7 turns of the lighter
material takes the same amount of time to turn over and pull up as
does 5 turns of the heavier material. Furthermore, once the 5/7 knot
is tight, the distance from the center of the knot to each end of
the knot is the same–the knot is balanced in the way it tightens and
in its size from the center to each end.
5/7 Blood Knot--5 turns with the
heavier material and 7 with the lighter material. Lubricate the
knot before pulling tight. Artwork by Jason Borger
We expect Dr
Borger to to a seminar at the shop in autumn. We would like your input
as to dates and content. Please contact the shop with your thoughts.
For spiritual enlightenment check out
Jacob's
Well.
Gary Borger
LightTouch
Targus,Gary Borger Light Touch outfits are superb. Most folks that cast
them buy them.
The only thing that exceeds their appearance is their fishability. A
flick and the fly is on the other side of the Little Lehigh.
LightTouch Reels
|
REEL |
Size |
Price |
Weight |
Line |
|
LightTouch™ Reel 3 |
3 |
$310 |
3.5 oz. |
3 |
|
LightTouch™ Reel 4 |
4 |
$318 |
4.0 oz. |
4 |
|
LightTouch™ Reel 5 |
5 |
$326 |
4.4 oz. |
5 |
|
|
FREE SHIPPING!
All
LightTouch™ rods are four piece with an extra tip and come.in a
beautiful tube. Come to the shop and fish one. Please note, I
said FISH on
stream. Not in a parking lot show room or lawn.
