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Rusty Flybox: PA Road Trip

At the time of writing, I have no plans to fish in Pennsylvania in June. However, I’ll be in and around some of my favorite trout water for a handful of days. And, as the second leg of my road trip does include fishing, I’ll have a few fly rods in my car. So you …

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5 Pieces of Panfish Trivia

My kids get excited about southern panfish. They talk about the brook trout and the largemouth bass, but it is the sunfish, bluegill, and pumpkinseed that they look forward to when we get close to our annual summer trip to Virginia. We have plenty of panfish in New England. They are as willing to eat …

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Gaining Intangible Fly Fishing Expertise

No one has ever seen a body builder and thought, “I bet he’d make an excellent angler.” Similarly, there is no inherent association between the physique of marathon runners and fly casting ability. Why is that? Because while there is absolutely nothing wrong with being in  shape, athletic prowess and fly fishing success only share …

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VIDEO: Fly Fishing Source Material

Once more, we are turning to a title that finds its origin in Pennsylvania’s Cumberland Valley. While not his seminal fly fishing work, Rising Trout by Charles Fox is a fantastic addition to any angler’s library. This is also an interesting example of where a reprint is of different value than a first edition. The …

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The Big Fly Fishing Lie

Recently I released a podcast episode entitled “3 Lies that Keep People from Fly Fishing.” (You can listen to it here, or wherever you listen to podcasts.) The first lie that I addressed was one of the most inaccurate assumptions people hold about fly fishing. It is an unnecessary perspective that unfortunately keeps people from …

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Fly Fishing Questions You’re Asking Robots

I am not anti-AI. I also grew up with the Terminator series and, therefore, have a healthy fear of giving robots too much autonomy. One of my favorite ways to interact with large language models is to ask them what other people are asking them. Or, I see what kinds of questions are on people’s …

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A Bunch of Trout Behind the WalMart

The text came in late Saturday. “They put a bunch of trout in behind the WalMart.” Now, I can appreciate how this string of words may trigger a good number of fly fishers reading this article. And I could certainly up my word count by marking each and every syntactical landmine. But for those with …

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Bait & Switch

Angling ethics are subjective.  Yes, there are laws on the books. But those statutes are applied based upon a consensus. At times, appeals to empirical data might even enter the picture. All of that to say, fishing regulations aren’t  natural law. But  common sense does factor in when making moral judgments. For example: I’ve walked …

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Rusty Flybox: Pretentious

Recently I released  a podcast episode in which I comment on the new breed of fly fishing elitists. Spoiler alert: they don’t wear tweed or try to dazzle you with Latin terms. If you give it a listen (which you can do from here or anywhere you listen to podcasts), hopefully it doesn’t come across …

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Dark Skies Fly Fishing: April/May 2026

This magazine just keeps on growing! If you have yet to check out Dark Skies Fly Fishing, this latest issue is a good place to start. In the April/May edition of the publication, I have two articles; one being a book review. The other is essentially a comprehensive “here are your best options” guide for …

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