Don’t let your phone become a distraction. That is true for everyday life, and it is also true when you’re fly fishing. Of course, your phone can be an incredibly useful tool that can enrich your time outdoors. In this follow-up podcast, I share a handful of apps that I use when I’m outdoors and …
Sometimes a really good book doesn’t check all the boxes that you assume it should. For example: a book on birds might be what you, a fly fisher, needs. Or, a Rocky Mountain angler could benefit from a book about Pennsylvania fly fishers. Or, a book about buffalo may very well be the best book …
All fly fishers love fly shops. These stores stand as the brick and mortar embodiment of fly fishing culture. Fly shops are about more than buying gear. They are usually just off the banks of water productive enough to warrant a full-time angling retail option. The people employed are almost always passionate about the sport, …
You might prefer to find waters to fish that are far, far away from any and all civilization. But there are countless small towns and rural villages that abut some of the most prominent rivers in this nation. Up on the bank, there is a whole lot going on. Very little of it, for most …
Family vacation. There are lots and lots of choices of where to go. As long as everyone has a good time and stays in good spirits, where is just a backdrop. Amusement parks. Big cities. The ocean or the mountains. Or, somewhere you’ve spent time fly fishing. Even though I’ve often advocated for squeezing even …
“What is that screenshot all about?” you might ask. Well, this past weekend someone at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources tweeted it out of the park. Take it in again. That is funny. Especially for a part of the country that is notoriously sensitive to people’s feelings and whatnot, it is incredibly funny. …
Do you know how to behave around others while fishing? Chances are the answer is “yes.” Because even though common sense isn’t all that common these days, I have come to expect better of those who spend a good amount of time outdoors. There are plenty of resources that articulate the formal, classic fly fishing …
Over the years on Casting Across I’ve advocated that fly fishers diversify their outdoor experience. The singular focus of catching trout with a dry fly is a stereotype that serves as a punching bag within our little culture. But I’d argue that only fly fishing is less than one standard deviation away from that stuffy …
If you’re throwing fish back, you never catch a mess of fish. You can catch a lot or a bunch. You might even have a great day where they were hitting everything you were throwing at them. Great memories, beautiful pictures, and stories that will last a lifetime: but you can’t say that you caught …
Last fall I fell down a rabbit hole. More accurately: I fell down into a duck’s nest. After decades of watching guys wade into swamps, dressed like trees, carrying fake birds over their shoulders, I decided to do the same. And I loved it. But aside from some cobbled-together gear from my vast fly fishing …
