Mark your calendars for August 1998 and start planning to attend a truly wonderful event scheduled to take place as part of the Federation of Fly Fishers 33rd Annual International Fly Fishing Show and Conclave in Idaho Falls, Idaho. For the first time as an integral part of the Conclave, an Atlantic Salmon Fly Symposium is scheduled to be held. The Conclave is set for August 3rd through the 8th, with the symposium scheduled for Wednesday August 5th. The purpose of the symposium is to compliment the show and bring together some of the best fly dressers in the world to share their skills and techniques in dressing the venerable Atlantic Salmon Fly. The tentative date and location is set as to not conflict with other events scheduled for the conclave.

Current plans for the format and content of the symposium are for a series of mini-workshops on the various aspects of dressing salmon flies, along with displays of framed flies. The symposium would consist of either two or three 2 1/2 hour sessions during the day with each session being comprised of up to five mini-workshops with each one being different. The basic premise of the different mini-workshops is to cover a wide variety of topics to interest as many dressers with varying skill levels as possible. In addition, each workshop would be presented by a different contributor such that the contributors would also have an opportunity to participate in the other sessions. This should prevent any one contributor from having to be locked into conducting a workshop for the duration of the symposium and missing everything else that is being offered. Essentially, they would only have to be a teacher for one session and a student the remainder of the time.

The mini-workshops would be limited to topics and techniques that could be covered in the period. So dressing a complete fly is not the purpose, but demonstrating or discussing a part of a fly or materials are. As for example, our retiring newsletter editor, Michael Radencich has offered to conduct a workshop on underbodies, and Ken Sylvia has offered to conduct a workshop on mounting and framing flies. Our treasurer Marvin Nolte has also offered to conduct a workshop and, along with Gary Grant are the symposium organizers. Ideas for other workshops would include substitute materials, hooks, built and mixed wings, Spey and Dee patterns, etc. At this point the symposium organizers are looking for contributors willing to share their expertise and conduct a mini-workshop on any topic of their choice. The success of the symposium can only be measured by those willing to contribute no matter how large or small.

Given the caliber of the fly dressers that could contribute, the symposium could definitely be a world-class event that one should not miss, even if you never dressed an Atlantic Salmon fly or have dressed hundreds. Your contributions to the symposium would be most appreciated. If you are willing to contribute by conducting a mini-workshop please drop myself or Marvin a line letting us know your topic so we can finalize the symposium content. Updates on how plans are progressing for the symposium will appear in future issues of the Salmon Flyer.