Sunday night: the little boys went to bed around 7:30 pm. The bigger two, six and eight, stayed up until halftime of the AFC Championship game. When you’re that age 8:30 is a treat because it’s late. (I’d gladly take it, but for other reasons.) As we were heading upstairs I pointed over to the …
“Of course it would be on my last cast.” He muttered this primarily to himself. He was also aware that he was muttering those and other, more colorful, sentiments to any startled woodland creatures in the immediate vicinity. That is if they all hadn’t vacated the entire valley from the noise he had quickly stirred …
I usually make a habit of walking the banks of rivers, even when they’re closed for the season. There is a lot you can glean from water when you’re not fishing. There is a lot you can learn when you can’t be fishing. While a fall-spawning fish might not be in that same location come …
You care about your flies. More than that, you care about the organization of your flies. You spend time, energy, and effort to tie or buy your flies, so it only stands to reason that you should be concerned about where they go. Of course, you can put flies in anything. An old Altoid tin …
This is not a joke. To be fair: I have contemplated creating a satirical article advocating casting across the ice into a small, drilled hole. This is not that article. This is an article that legitimately discusses fly fishing when there is ice present. It is brief, but it is an overview of what you …
My mother told me that my grandma would read Casting Across now and then. She wasn’t a fly fisher. She just liked reading about what her grandson was doing. She passed away last week at the age of 89. Some of my earliest memories involve my grandma and grandpa. They were remarkable people. They …
This year, 2020. This weird, awful, ridiculous year. But looking at these nine little thumbnail images is a reminder that there was a lot of good. A lot of good. In fact, these “top nine” pictures represent a mere fraction of the blessings that came in 2020. For one, they’re all only related to fly …
Merry (early) Christmas from Casting Across! I’ve got something fun for you to unwrap today. Three things, to be precise. Whether you’ve been naughty (bobbers?) or nice (strike indicators!), feel free to crack into them a couple days before the main event. The first item is a new spin on an old holiday classic. Instead …
The first fish was a fat palomino. They’re bright anyway. Too bright. Unnaturally bright. Genetically modified bright, in fact. This one came out from underneath a tangled mess of roots against the bank to nail a small white streamer. Palominos get picked on. This fish had apparently had enough and it took it out on …
Gift-giving season is upon us. When done right, it is a very special opportunity. Strip away the stress and the commercialism and the price tags. What are you left with? A chance to find something that will make somebody smile. If that person is a fly fisher, flies may very well do the trick. Flies …
