Ruth Sims - The Profile of a Fly Fisherman

Name: Ruth Sims Born: Seattle, Washington Occupation: Electrical Engineer Country of residence: USA Instagram: @navajoflyfisher

How did you get started fly fishing and when?

About two and a half years ago while in grad school I met a trio of native students through the small native community on my school’s campus. They were from Montana. They were the kind of natives who listened to country music, frequented rodeos, hunted and fished. Having grown up in the heart of Seattle this lifestyle was all too fascinating to me.

Once, while a group of us were hanging out I noticed a row of threads on a shelf next to a variety of tiny tools. I thought to myself, ‘hmmm… he must sew, how interesting.’ Being an avid quilter and dressmaker,

mainly as a pastime hobby, I was allured by this set up of his. I asked, “Hey Cody, do you sew or something?” He told me, “No, I tie flies.” Intrigued, I asked “What do you mean flies?” With eyes a little more alert he began to bring out boxes and boxes of flies, explaining their every purpose and ideal environment. I asked if I could try making one and he proceeded to explain how difficult they were to tie. With one eyebrow slightly raised and a ‘try me’ look on my face he was reluctant but allowed me to use his tools and materials to tie my first fly. When I was done he took it from me, glanced at it from all angles and said “wow, I can’t believe that’s your first fly. That’s incredible.”

You see, I’m the kind of person that looks at something and knows whether or not I am up for the challenge. Through my years of sewing and level of comfort using thread I knew I could do it and that I would enjoy it. Before ever casting a rod or really even understanding what fly fishing was I had already tied a half box worth of flies- some from existing patterns but many of my own creation from things I had found around the house. That August I went to Montana and ended up fly fishing for the first time with Cody and his dad on a small river near the Flathead Indian Reservation. I ended up catching my first fish on the fly using the first fly I had tied. At that moment the fishing gene that was passed down from my grandfather to my father to me had been summoned and I was instantly and absolutely in love with fly fishing.

What is it that intrigues you about fly fishing?

As an engineer I see the world in numbers. I see fly fishing as a physics problem with endless parameters and variables and most importantly an infinite amount of solutions, solutions that I have become addicted to solving.

I am intrigued by the challenge of solving the puzzle. Just last weekend while fishing the Deschutes in Central Oregon there was a rainbow trout that kept on rising in the same spot. @thewinterfly and I threw at least 5 different flies at it. Changed the length, diameter and material of the leader two different times and and on the 6th fly change using 6X crouching as high back in riverside grass as we could we finally got it to eat and landed it. When something like that happens you just want to scream into the air, “Mystery solved! Case closed!” while high-fiving everyone in sight.

What goes through your head when you’re out fly fishing?

Well I’ll tell you what doesn’t go through my head while fly fishing. Work, family issues, things I need to get done etc. Fishing is a time for me to reflect on where I am in life and what my next step should be. It’s a time for me to practice patience, appreciate and be attentive to all around me. Fly fishing has become my escape from life, from worries and problems and given me praise and confidence which inevitably are healing necessities. It gives me something to look forward to, something that can completely take me away in thought when I need life to let me breathe and reground again.

When someone is just as excited for you landing a fish as you are for them, you know you have found a good fishing friend. And these are the kinds of friendships that will last a lifetime. The people that come across my path, the new like-minded friendships that develop –these are some of the most rewarding moments.

Does fly fishing help you become a better person? I’m not sure. I think it depends on the person to begin with. For me it helps me to become a more balanced person. I am a strong believer in “work hard/play hard” for an all-around healthy lifestyle. For me fly fishing is my “play” and keeps me overjoyed and content with life.

What’s it like being a female in a male-dominated sport?

Well even though I’ve only been fishing for less than three years, since undergrad as an engineering student it was the same situation, male-dominated so really it wasn’t that much of a change being surrounded by men. However I will say that it takes a certain kind of female to withstand both the positive and negative attention that you get from male anglers, and I think that the most important first step is the way in which you present yourself. I see myself as truly having a passion in fly fishing and as someone who is eager to learn more and more and I think the image portrayed by social media correctly delivers that. So I guess to answer your question what is it like? Its just fine, I’m just a fly fisherwoman who is eager to learn but is also confident enough to handle the attention both positive and negative. Overall on a scale from 1 to 10 on how fun it is to be a woman in the fly world id give it an 11. 10 because I absolutely find so so much joy in it. And a

bonus 1 is for the praise and support I get not only from family and friends but even those I don’t know for getting after what I love. The positivity overrides and uncomfortable or negative situations I may encounter by 110%, and I’d rather give and focus my energy on that.

What is your favorite species to target on a fly rod and why?

Anything with a dorsal, caudal, pectoral, pelvic, anal, and/or adipose fin. Haha I love them all! Seriously there is nothing I love more than fishing a new species with a new habitat and environment. I love learning all that I can about different techniques and tactics of fly fishing. My Instagram account @navajoflyfisher has helped me to network with people from all over the world and because of this many of the places I fish are completely different kinds of water. Through traveling and fishing various waters I’ve become knowledgeable of the vast variety of gear needed to effectively fish and attain results with a given set of conditions.

So I guess you could say I don’t have a favorite species because I enjoy each and every one of them. Again, I enjoy the puzzle of figuring out how to catch different fish. But if it was the end of the world and I HAD to choose I guess the first thing that comes to mind is once I got a spotted puffer fish, he/she was probably the most interesting fish I landed on a fly. Definitely the cutest.

What are your fly fishing ambitions for the future?

One thing that I find myself doing quite frequently is going on lots of little trips around the states fishing with friends who live there and new people who are down to meet up and fish. That being said there are two areas I really want to focus on in the next year. One is committing more time to exploring waters in my home state so that I can save for longer trips abroad. I really would like to spend some time exploring the salt. I have a feeling that a week long salt trip will be in the next year or so as well as a trip to south America-Amazonian waters to be exact. I would absolutely love to spend some time down there and put my high school Spanish to work!!

Any exciting new projects coming up?

In the beginning of May, I spent a week in Iceland, which was my first successful flyfishing trip abroad. While there I fished with several other fly fishermen all from Norway and from there in Iceland.

A couple of them filmed quite a bit with the hopes of creating a film documenting the trip. I am excited to see how it turns out as one of the biggest fish I have ever caught was caught completely on film. It was such an honor to be able to fish with some of the most talented fishermen I have ever met. I would go back to Iceland in a heartbeat and do that trip all over again 100 times, what a beautiful country and culture of people. Also locally I have been working with a few companies in or near the Pacific Northwest @blackstrap_inc, @decade_reels, @heidi_michelle_designs, @rising3474 to name a couple and I’m looking forward to seeing where this all goes!

If you could be anywhere in the world right now fly fishing, where would you be - and why?

I would be in Hawaii at an indisclosed location. I went there 2 weeks ago fished 3 days for bonefish and I did not get one. I had many chances however either I just did not present the fly in time, the presentation was off, or they just were not interested. I fished my heart out for 3 days and did not even get a bonefish nibble. There is no greater motivation to get back out there and keep trying like being skunked. Although I will say that I wasn’t exactly skunked because I caught one of the most beautiful fish I have ever seen as “bycatch” it was a barred trevally, maybe only 3-4 lbs but he fought just as hard as a steelhead and took my breath away when I finally saw him/her up close.