What You Can Get Out of Fly Tying

I don’t consider myself a fly tyer. But I tie flies.

I tie flies because it is economical. I tie flies because I don’t fish dozens of patterns, and I’ve learned to tie what I like to use. I tie flies because it is fun. It is a challenge, but it is fun.

If I’m honest, I tie flies mainly because it is a highlight of angling fellowship.

Fly tying get-togethers are the fly fishing version of the knitting circle. There is usually more flannel, craft beer, and feathers, but otherwise the two gatherings are virtually identical. The object  matters, but the subjects matter just as much. The flies are what people are looking at, but they are all looking at them together.

Whether you are an expert or a novice fly tyer, group tying events are worth your time. Here are 5 reasons why you should seek one out in your area:

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Fly Fishing Sideways

The first time we fished this creek, it was magical. The fish weren’t especially large, but they were plentiful. They attacked flies with vigor. They fought with ferocity. Above that, finding and accessing the creek was an adventure. That made the fishing better. Generally speaking, our experience was delightfully repetitive. Lots of fish. Fish willing to play ball. Above average fly fishing. Having a nearby option like this was great.

It became the go-to. It became familiar. It became our creek. But it almost didn’t.

***

For years I fished with neoprene waders. This was a vast improvement over my first attempts to keep my feet dry. That involved trash bags stuck inside of winter boots. Needless to say, neoprene chest waders felt luxurious. After a few seasons the luxury lost its luster. The rubbery overalls  became offensive on warmer days. I didn’t like them much, either. A month of saving from my part time job yielded what I needed for some entry-level breathable waders. We headed to the fly shop.

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Podcast Ep. 53: 3 Fly Fishing Things I’m Glad I Knew Then

Your first months and years of fly fishing will  probably produce some of your most treasured moments. You won’t have all of the knowledge, experience, or gear, but every cast will yield something new and wonderful.

This week I look back at three things that made my first few years of fly fishing matter. I’ve caught a lot of fish in a lot of places since then, but I can honestly say that the three things I mention played an enormous role in shaping me as an angler.

If you’re a new angler or you’ve been doing it for decades, I’m sure you’ll hear something of value.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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Tie Today, Float Tomorrow: 3 Quick Tying Tips

It is easy to judge your skill as a fly tyer by how a fly looks. While pretty flies are indeed fun to look at, the real goal ought to be flies that fish well. (It can’t be ignored that often the flies that fish well do look good.)

So what are you doing to improve how your flies fish? Are you cutting down the wind resistance of your streamers? Are you making sure your nymphs sink at a  uniform rate from fly to fly? Are your dry flies staying dry without much fuss?

This last question is an important one. Pretty dry flies can be a real difficult task for new fly tyers. Moreover, the ideal dry fly aesthetic is tightly linked with precision proportions that lead to the proper presentation. Basically, they need to look good to fish good. While improving your skills is important, there are some easier things you can do to help keep your flies up while you learn.

Here are three things you can do at the vise to keep your dry flies floating:

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Rock Bass & RC Cola

Can we fish in your creek?

“Sure. Um… what’s in there?”

I don’t know. But there has to be something.

***

We had passed by the creek countless times. It was always just scenery. It was never the destination. If anything, as a small tributary, it was an afterthought. The Potomac is a big river. It is intimidatingly big. There are bass and musky and who knows what in that waving grass and off those rock ledges. But there are a lot of those spots and a lot of water. That is why we usually just drove over the Potomac. That  is why we usually drove past the creek.

To be fair, we didn’t know about the creek for a few years. The mouth of the little creek is obscured by dense foliage. You can’t see it from the highway. It was a wrong turn that took us west and over the little culvert-bridge. Even then we didn’t have any desire to fish there. The NO TRESPASSING signs were the first deterrent. The real reason is more embarrassing now. The creek didn’t have a name or a reputation. Why fish there?

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Podcast Ep. 52: 3 Areas of Angling Confidence

Fly fishing is ninety percent mental, the other half is physical… or something like that.

Truly, having the right mindset when approaching the stream and presenting your fly matters. You have got to be reasonable in what you’re doing and how you’re doing it, but having confidence counts for a whole lot.

I quickly cover three things you can have confidence in as a fly fisher, and how this can be helpful as you fish for the second time or the thousandth time. But I also talk about how confidence can be a bad thing that keeps you away from fish.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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The Trout that Should Not Be

There are no brown trout here.

Fish aren’t going to rise unless bugs are hatching.

Nothing in this pond is over a few pounds.

You can’t use flies – they’ll only take bait.

Oh yeah?

For an unpredictable pursuit like fly fishing, those statements sound awfully concrete. Add in a little bit of competitiveness and a dash of skepticism and you’re basically issuing a challenge. How can anyone really know those things? Is it that those statements are empirical facts, or are the majority of people content with the boring bulk of the bell curve?

Could a little bit of exploration and effort (and some remarkable happenstance) yield some interesting results?

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NEW: Fly Fishing Conversations & Reviews

I do a fair amount or research for work. Most of the information I search for is still found in physical books. One of the most frustrating things is when a book doesn’t have an index. I know the information is in there somewhere; I’ll just have to work to find it.

Obviously, Casting Across isn’t a book. It isn’t purely a fly fishing resource, either. However there are plenty of gear reviews and fly fishing interviews interspersed within the hundreds of articles.  Up until now, unless you knew what you were looking for you would have had to work to find it.

Starting today, you can access a revamped “People, Places, & Things” page on Casting Across. All you have to do is scroll down and you’ll see dozens and dozens of articles from four years of content. Things are divided into four categories:

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Podcast Ep. 51: You Make Fly Fishing What It Is

This week marks four years of Casting Across; four years’ worth of articles about the people, places, and things that go into the pursuit of fish.

What have I learned? Even though the fly fishing community includes an incredibly diverse array of experiences, there are two common denominators that make  fly fishing what it is.

And “fish” is only one of them.

Twenty minutes doesn’t do four years justice, but in this episode I talk about some things I’ve gleaned through countless hours behind the keyboard… and a few on the water.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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Thank You for Fly Fishing Things

Four years ago I set out to write about fly fishing. I did want to write about fish. You can’t really write about fly fishing without giving your two cents  on how to hook a trout every now and again. It establishes credibility. It is also pretty simple. Even more than the fish themselves, I wanted to write about the culture of fly fishing. It was more interesting, and maybe more of a challenge, to try to explain how the whole of the fly fishing experience is absolutely greater than the sum of its parts.

When I started, the focal point of the culture was things. Rods, reels, and flies – the tangible stuff that any fly fisher can relate to.   As I sought to do real research and get unique information for my articles, I discovered that the real story was people.

Because even though a fly rod might resonate with you, a person is literally relatable.

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