This week marks 9 years of Casting Across. Since October of 2015, three posts a week have been published on the people, places, and things that go into the pursuit of fish.
First and foremost, Casting Across is a creative outlet for me. It has been a way for me to flex muscles in a way that I don’t get to as much in my ministry. Second, it is a celebration of the wider sphere of fly fishing. That is where the “quarry and culture” tagline comes in. The stuff that some intense angling types might label distractions are, in my opinion, part of what makes fly fishing such a holistically wonderful activity. Third, I like doing what I can to help people catch a fish or two.
Today I’m distilling the ethos of Casting Across into 9 thoughts. As you’ll see, they aren’t about what weight rod you should pick or how to target spring creek browns. These thoughts are upstream from those items. These thoughts hit at something a little deeper, and inform who we are as people – people who happen to like fishing with long rods and little feathered hooks.
Thanks for reading and listening to Casting Across. Here’s nine quick thoughts for you from me:
- Don’t be too serious. Fly fishing is just fishing. Unless you’re starving fishing is just a hobby. Remember that, even if you are dropping thousands of dollars and amassing droves of online followers.
- Love the kind of fishing that makes you happy. Bluegills, tiny brookies, or stocked rainbows: enjoy what you enjoy and don’t covet the magazine covers.
- Nurture a relationship with home water. Don’t forsake quality for quantity. Even if you have the luxury of travel, make sure you foster an intimacy with a local stream.
- Have fun casting. A fly rod and fly line aren’t pragmatic tools. The experience of casting is enjoyable. Practice, cast for the heck of casting, and appreciate that it will make you a better angler.
- Read. Good books fill in the time between fishing trips, excite the angling imagination, and unite a very diverse community across space and time.
- Be alone, but also be together. The solitude fly fishing provides is unparalleled. One of the only things that eclipses it is the camaraderie that comes with inviting someone else in.
- Conservation needs caveats. If you think about it, an extreme conservationist wouldn’t fish. But the most impactful ones often do. Why? We understand that we were made to use and protect this world.
- Family is foundational. I am thankful for my wife of over 20 years and our five boys. (Number five is due in February, and we’re all very excited to meet him.) Love your people and remember that they matter more than fishing.
- Christ is King. The transcendent God of the universe took on flesh, taking the place and paying the price of His people. Trust in Him, receiving salvation by grace through faith.
Want to reach out – share your thoughts? I’d love to hear from you whether you’ve been reading for 9 minutes or for 9 years.