In early October, 2015, I grabbed up the domain name and social media handles for “Casting Across.” For that month I fumbled my way through website design, font choice, and how the internet really works. I polished up some rough drafts I had kicking around on my hard drive. I began to go through my digital photo library. By the end of the month, I had launched a little website where I planned to explore the quarry and culture of fly fishing.

This past weekend marked the 7th anniversary of Casting Across.

Casting Across was created for these main reasons:

• I wanted to share the minutiae of fly fishing: the small experiences, pieces of gear, and moments that we all appreciate but don’t get a lot of recognition.
• I wanted to write without inhibitions. Vocationally, as a pastor, I am joyfully constrained by my  subject matter. Fly fishing writing allows me to say whatever, however I want.
• I wanted to keep a foot in the fly fishing world. After working at a fly shop and running a camp for years, I missed being involved with a diverse group of great people.

Over the past seven years, I can say for certain that all of those goals have been accomplished. And I look forward to how they continue to be met in the future. Today, I want to share some of the most popular articles over the history of Casting Across. I also take a stab as to why they’ve been well-received by you.

Here are some highlights from over the past 7 years, and a few of my thoughts on each:

The most popular article of all time | The Perfect Small Stream Fly Rod?

This article’s popularity is a testament to the fact that “any short rod” won’t do. Even though the fish are smaller and usually more eager to play along, appropriate gear does matter on small streams.

The most popular article of this year | Redington Butter Stick: A Real Review

Since it’s inception, Redington’s Butter Stick has been a hit. The review above is for the 2nd generation. I assume the traffic had an uptick since they released their 3rd generation rod this year. Conveniently, this article also links to my review of that new rod.

The most popular podcast episode | The Brown Trout

I always have a lot of fun recording this type of podcast. Knowing the what of fly fishing is as important as knowing the how. Plus, everyone loves brown trout.

The article with the most feedback |  Trout & Feather: September ’22

People love sharing their favorite book. And I love hearing about them. This article (which actually appears on Trout & Feather) was a call for others who appreciate angling literature to voice their opinions.

The most popular story | The Scent of a River

Six years ago I wrote about how smells impacted my fly fishing. Apparently others resonated with the experience, as it continues to be the top performing “story” on Casting Across.

---

Thanks for reading and for being a part of Casting Across. If you haven’t yet, subscribe below for my Tuesday email with quick links to that week’s articles and podcast.