I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold, dismal January day than walking around a convention hall filled with flannel-garbed anglers. But I know that there are some out there who can’t see the appeal. My perspective is that many who poo-poo fly fishing shows are doing it wrong. In today’s episode, …
Mole and Rat are most well known for their interactions with the capricious Mr. Toad. His automobile-related hijinks keep his rodent friends busy, and beset them with stresses and obligations of no fault of their own. Indeed, Mr. Toad is perhaps the most entertaining character in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. However, there …
There are a lot of ways that one can ring in the New Year. As a teenager, most of those significant midnight moments involved doing what was most significant to me. And that was fish. My best friend and I would drive up to Southcentral Pennsylvania from Northern Virginia and go to bed around 8:00pm, …
Ideally, we’d all be thoughtful and intentional fly shop patrons out of our own wisdom. Sometimes, we need tales of woe to correct us. And sometimes, we like to be entertained by the ridiculous goings-on that occur at fly shops. Once again, I’m turning back a few chapters in my life to when I spent …
Once again I’m spending the holidays in Virginia. I’m from the Midwest. I root for the Bears, love a good relish tray at family gatherings, and don’t think ketchup belongs on a hot dog. Illinois is where I’m from. But Virginia is home. It is where I spent my formative, teenage years. It is where …
A park like Shenandoah has everything going for it. …everything that could lull you into a state of lackadaisical passivity. Countless amenities with ample signage, easy highway access, and throngs of tourists make a popular east coast park seem overwhelmingly safe. Shenandoah National Park is a place where your grandparents picnic. It is a place …
Well, really it is your favorite fly fishing stuff on Casting Across in 2022. But I did want to talk about the articles and podcasts that got the most attention over this past year. I think that both of these segments reflect some good stuff in the fly fishing community, and hopefully what I bring …
Big picture, generally speaking: 2022 wasn’t that great. Look at the news, the economy, and the overall temperature of our culture. We’re in dire need of a fix. (I do have ideas about that, but such things are for a different forum.) From a much more narrow perspective, 2022 wasn’t half bad. I’ve utilized one …
Yes: Christmas was yesterday. But I don’t publish on Sundays. And Friday was a podcast day, so that wasn’t an appropriate day for greetings either. So here you have it. One day late: Merry Christmas from Casting Across. I do hope that your holiday was filled with all of the things that you desired and …
I am not an Euro Nymphing guru, and this is by no means a comprehensive treatment of the technique/gear/universe. So it is with trepidation that I wade into what is only meant to be a quick, initiatory overview of a topic that elicits very strong emotions. But you don’t need to have an emotional response …
