Recently I’ve been thinking through backup and/or redundant fly fishing gear. What should I own? What should I bring with me? What should be on my person when I’m on the water? Ultimately, these are not the most important questions. I get that. Casting skill, the ability to read water, and presentation trump gadgets and …
Memorial Day represents something real, somber, and important. Consequently, it is much more than an unofficial start of summer. At the same time, there is something to be said for the fact that summers as we know them are intrinsically linked to the freedoms we enjoy. Public lands, economic enterprise, and even the flexibility of …
Rod. Reel. Line. Flies. Net. And… thermometer? Even though they are ubiquitous in fly fishing catalogs and on gadget racks in fly shops, it is a good assumption that not everyone knows what they’re for. That said, so much has been made of the conscientious step of being mindful of water temps in the summer …
Fly rods garner a lot of attention because of their function and price. Fly selection is the focal point of so much stream-side attention. But without good line and the right leader, nothing is going to catch any fish. Your cast and your presentation depends on fly line, leader, and tippet as much as rod …
There is only so much fly fishing practice you can get on your front lawn. And while the surface tension of your pool might help with improving your cast, your children won’t take kindly to being asked to pretend to be fish. Thankfully there are rivers filled with fish. And some of these fish are …
There are more storied pools, riffles, and confluences in New York’s Catskills region than many states can boast in total. Theodore Gordon, Joan Wulff, and the Dettes are just a few of the prominent names that are associated with the tight concentration of valleys. But countless other men and women have chased trout, tied flies, …
Remember Woodie Guthrie’s “This Land is Your Land?” Well you better lace up your cancelin’ shoes, because the title alone is caps lock OFFENSIVE. Why; you might reasonably and rationally ask? Isn’t that the most fork-mashed and digestible of all milquetoast protest songs? Wrong, you fascist. Obviously [sic] no one can own land. This is …
If it’s out there, there is a good chance that you can find it online. Google it has become synonymous with figure it out. With a few taps on your screen, you can get anything you want (and a lot you don’t). But there are still some things that can’t be found on the internet. …
How light of a fly rod should you use if you want to feel fish? What is the perfect dry fly rod? Will a broken rod make casting harder? (Yes, I’ve heard this a number of times.) I love questions. And I enjoy thinking through and talking about fly rod questions. In my years writing …
I mentioned going fishing this weekend. “No,” he quickly replied. “Next weekend is opening day.” He was right, from a certain point of view. Opening day for trout ponds is next weekend. But in this state the vast majority of water had been open since New Year’s Day, after a brief hiatus for the fall …
