My 3 Biggest Catches

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 find the three biggest trophies of online content I’ve landed? released? stocked? in the 10 years of Casting Across. One nearly broke the website from the traffic it generated. The other two are apparently search engine darlings that funnel people to my writing consistently, year after year.

More than all that quantitative  whatnot, these three articles represent a great cross-section of Casting Across content. Get a glimpse of each, along with a touch of commentary, below. Then click on the image to read the whole piece.

read more

Podcast Ep. 364: Ten Years

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 decade has meant. There has been some work, some fishing, and a lot of great memories made.

Hopefully, it will encourage you: encourage you with fly fishing, with this crazy niche culture we have, and with any ambitions for creativity you might be considering.

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

read more

VIDEO: Streams of Legacy

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 the stream that ran through it.

Just under ten years after Casting Across launched, The Letort: A Limestone Legacy was published. The land was eventually acquired. And now one of the branches of the Letort’s headwaters are protected  for the first time in over a century.

This book is more than fundraising, though. It is a quick and comprehensive history of a little spring creek that contributed a lot to American angling.

Watch what else I have to say about the book and find out where you can start a search for your own copy  below:

read more

10 Years of Casting Across

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 program something clicked. Perhaps it was the content. Maybe it was this new expectation on concise quality over quantitative drudgery. It could also be that, at this time, I was beginning to write about fly fishing as well.

Living in Pennsylvania and serving as a director of a Trout Unlimited youth camp, I was asked to write about our program. Local newspapers, regional fly fishing outlets, and TU national asked for articles and blurbs about what we were doing. Putting this passion of mine into digital words was fun. Yes, there was a simple thrill in seeing my name on the printed page. More than that there was the joy that came through sharing something that I worked on, thought over, and cared about.

The requests slowed down significantly when I moved away from PA and the angling circles in which I was embedded. Full time ministry and a growing family made plugging into similar communities less of a priority. I was still writing, but it wasn’t about fly fishing. It was not as if there was something missing. More accurately, there was an itch I couldn’t ignore. And, as usual, there was my wife pointing out the obvious. “Why don’t you just write?”

read more

Podcast Ep. 363: Can Confidence Catch Fish?

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 pay attention to how we’re fishing our confidence flies.

So while  the topic might seem a bit philosophical or abstract, there is truly something to explore for a few minutes. After all, would you rather fish with confidence or with apprehension?

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

read more

VIDEO: America’s Fly Fishing Fountainhead

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 on each of the prominent rivers individually. It is an older volume (the first edition came out in  1983) but it holds up as a great introduction to the significance of this special part of the country.

For the student of fly fishing history, this is a must-have addition to your library.

Watch what else I have to say about the book and find out where you can buy your own copy  below:

read more

The Fly Fishing Show: 2026

One of my 2025 presentations.

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 three months. If you find yourself anywhere near the nation-wide locations on the appropriate dates, it is worth planning a day or two at the show. And since we’re less than three months out, there is no better time to put it on your calendar than right now.

I’ve been an attendee, worked booths, and been a presenter. And I have no hesitation in saying I’m a fan.  Over the years  I’ve written extensively on my experiences at these events (there’s a link below). Keep reading to see five quick reasons why I think you should make plans to head to a stop of The Fly Fishing Show, along with a list of the locations and dates:

read more

Podcast Ep. 362: Midge Miscellany

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 makes them impossible to ignore. Even the biggest fish will gorge themselves on bugs that match a size 28 fly pattern. Getting comfortable with fishing these flies goes a long way. And today I discuss some of the tying, fishing, and storage tips that have helped me over the decades.

Whether you’re a believer in midges or not, listen and get excited about angling with the smallest flies out there.

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

read more

VIDEO: The Streamer Authority

It is undeniable that fishing streamers is the most direct route to  big fish. And 2015’s Strip-Set is the authoritative title on all things modern streamer fishing.

In this important, informative, and interesting work, George Daniel equips you to throw streamers from size 12 to 2/0. He covers everything from reading the water, feeding behavior, and casting. And, of course, there are pages and pages of flies with accompanying recipes for tyers.

While Strip-Set did come out at the peak of the “chucking meat” era, it is a timeless resource that any and all fly anglers will benefit from reading and re-reading.

Watch what else I have to say about the book and find out where you can buy your own copy  below:

read more

Conservation Smarter, Not Harder

AP News

Hop online and you’ll see some folks that put the mental in environmentalist. Some of the best/worst are:

  • A pulled-over motorist, chucking a tortoise into a pond to “help the turtle.”
  • A brilliant tourist shoving a baby bison into his SUV because it was cold out.
  • A child taking care of a bluegill by drying it off with a towel before tossing it back into the lake.

The last one is excusable and cute. The first two ought to have you rolling your eyes. But none of them cost you money.  That doesn’t mean that there haven’t been some earth-saving measures that haven’t touched your wallet in one way or another. Or $1.6 billion.

But before interacting with that number and the contradictory ecological integers that go into its sum, it is worth talking about what conservation is and what it isn’t.

read more