Ruth Sims

Ruth Sims was born and raised in Seattle, WA. With a father, grandfather and uncles who fish, the thrill of the chase runs through her veins. As soon as she could walk she remembers her and her sisters accompanying their father to fish the Puget Sound and other freshwater fisheries of the PNW. She remembers the blood rushing excitement of casting for and catching fish herself, so from an early age the fishing seed was planted. She went to undergrad at Seattle Pacific University graduating with a double major in Math and Electrical Engineering and minor in Physics. In 2010 she went to grad school at the University of Washington studying Electrical Engineering and it was here that she discovered fly-fishing. One night a group of students went to chill at a house after a night of partying. Ruth noticed a row of threads and asked about it because she also loves sewing. Thirty minutes later she had tied her first bug. With that fly she took it all the way to Montana in August of 2014 and caught her first fish on it which inevitable sealed the deal. When she returned to Washington she didn’t know a single person who fly-fished so she would watch YouTube videos while on the river trying to mimic techniques for casting. It was the physics of fly-fishing that engulfed her, the math behind the transfer of energy, the relationship with timing, velocity and force of a cast that kept her determined to learn this. After ten months of going almost every weekend alone and catching a total of three dinks a fly shop employee agreed to go with her. It was the first time she received feedback on her casting, mending, dead drift and presentation. From then on it was game over…she recently caught her personal best fish on fly: a 50 lb. Giant Trevally on a tiny island in the middle of the South Pacific. “Sometimes you catch a fish so memorable that you feel as though you never need to fish again-that was one.” She continues to peruse her passion for fly-fishing by researching new species, locations and the logistics it will take to make that next grab a reality. She also volunteers as a fly casting instructor and mentors foster children through fly-fishing. She figures the more people who discover a passion for the outdoors and fly-fishing, the merrier. Passion: fly-fishing Personality: Ruth would describe herself as easy to get along with, comical, brutally honest, optimistic and a good friend. Other Interests: fly-tying, hiking, sewing, writing, spending time with family and close friends. She also stays grounded by caring about land/water issues, epidemics, and inequalities within the native community and advocating when opportunities arise. She enjoys learning the language and culture of her Navajo roots.