Heat, cold, and high water make fly fishing tricky. Wind makes fly fishing downright difficult. The physics of a fly cast and windy conditions are at odds with one another, impacting our particular kind of angling in a very specific manner. Without denying the challenge of fishing in the wind, I want to share three …
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. But come on… a glassy spring creek flowing through a picturesque meadow? You can’t say that isn’t a stunning sight. Especially if you are a fly fisher who likes challenging trout and year-round opportunities to catch them. Mike Lawson’s Spring Creeks came out in 2003. There were …
This article is the 1,571st post on Casting Across. I’m not sure how high that stack of 1s and 0s is, but I know that if you make the font big enough it would reach to the moon and back. I’m not going to give a big, fancy introduction to this particular post. Below you’ll …
Well, I’m still here. Ten years after putting a little orange and grey website about fly fishing together I continue to do my darndest with three posts a week on the people, places, and things that go into the pursuit of fish. On this week’s “very special episode” I share some reflections on what this …
Just over ten years ago I was asked to contribute to a project that sought to raise funds for the purchase of a plot of land in south central Pennsylvania. Michael Klimkos was putting together a book for the Central Pennsylvania Conservancy. The group was looking to capitalize on the history of the land, specifically …
I realized that I enjoyed writing in 3rd grade. I can distinctly remember the classroom in suburban Chicago where I learned about narrative and persuasion, introductions and conclusions. Like many people, my zeal was somewhat diminished as the scale of assigned words increased exponentially in high school and undergrad. But sometime in my first seminary …
What are confidence flies? Of course, it is a thing people say. But is it a real thing? I maintain that it is. And these flies don’t only give you a leg up when you’re fishing them: I think that we can learn a lot about how to fish any and every fly if we …
One of America’s original vacation destinations is also the birthplace of American fly fishing. New York’s Catskill Region is thick with rivers, fish, and angling history. In Steve Francis’ Catskill Rivers, the reader is introduced to what makes this area so special and historically significant. He first explores the region in general, and then touches …
In just under three months, the calendar turns over and 2026 will be upon us. For many anglers, one implication is that the season for fly fishing expo shows is upon us. While there are a number of small and even large fly fishing expos coming up, The Fly Fishing Show has six events spanning …
After perusing a handful of books about tying and fishing midges, and in anticipation of turning to these tiny flies for much of my winter angling, I thought I’d share a potpourri of midge information today. While even tying them on might seem like a chore, the part that midges play in most trout diets …
