Your Flies Won’t Work, Unless…

One of the smallest fly fishing accessories might make the difference between catching and not catching.

Think about the times you’ve missed fish. Was it because you were too slow? Was it because there was slack in the line? Was it because the fish was just slashing at the fly and not trying to eat it? All of those reasons/excuses might be true. Or, it could because the very thing that you’re depending upon to catch said fish is dull.

What do I mean? Well, consider your flies. So much energy is spent figuring out the right pattern. The fur and feathers and thread get top billing, but none of that matters unless there is a hook underneath. And if you want that fly to do anything more than impress your followers on social media, it better be sharp. After you’ve tied or bought that fly, what happens to it? Maybe  it is ready to fish. Maybe the hook is made of fine metal, but it wasn’t sharpened enough in the factory. Perhaps you’ve fished with the fly already and  caught some good fish. Or, you’ve fished with the fly already and nicked every rock on the stream bottom. You might have even caught dozens of fish, potentially with hard mouths, on that very fly.

The fly might look good, but the most essential element is not ready for the most important moment of fly fishing: the hook.

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Podcast Ep. 49: Steelhead Primer

I’m surprised at how many devoted fly fishers haven’t tried catching Great Lakes steelhead. Big fish, manageable rivers, and easy access seem like a perfect combination.

Sure, fishing for these lake-run trout isn’t the same experience as going to the Pacific Northwest. But being a half-day’s drive from a unique seasonal fishery is something that anglers from Chicago to Boston ought to consider.

In this podcast I present a quick survey on what goes into  giving steelhead fishing a shot: a little gear, a little technique, and some excellent tips on when to go to maximize your chances.

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

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IFTD 2019: Fly Fishing’s Secret Menu

The International Fly Tackle Dealer Show has returned to beautiful Colorado! For three days, fly fishing companies will be showing off their latest and greatest to others in the industry. While the purpose of the event is to cultivate relationships and broker deals, many fly fishers keep an eye on the goings-on. What gets unveiled at IFTD is next year’s next big thing.

Understandably not everyone can be in Denver this weekend. However, I’ve reached out to some of my industry contacts. Risking life, limb, and press pass, they’ve peeked in crates and snuck behind booth displays. Although there is a lot of secrecy surrounding the big announcements, I’ve secured some pretty juicy tidbits.

Today, on Casting Across, I’m sharing seven brand new products that aren’t even going to be shown off at IFTD!

Keep reading for an exclusive look at the next bigger things that  are going to take fly fishing by storm:

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Fly Fishing, Pre-Internet

Remember the fledgling days of the internet? Everything was AOL, chat rooms, and dial up. Slow, slow dial up.

In the  past few years, have you considered how techno-deficient life was  in 1997? You weren’t going to be buying anything online, that is for sure. Watching movies? There were no VHS slots in computers… even really fancy Gateways. Between the speed of the internet and the meager dot-com offerings available, you’d be better off getting your news and weather from AM radio.

Surprisingly enough, fly fishing wasn’t on the bleeding edge of the world wide web’s progress. There were message boards and listings on eBay, but the information just wasn’t there. If you wanted to know stream conditions you had to call a fly shop. If you wanted to buy a fishing license you had to go to a Wal-Mart. If you wanted general information about the streams in a particular region you had to go the library and check out a book.

Or, if you were like me, you owned the “Trout Fishing Sourcebook.”

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Podcast Ep. 48: Beauty & Chaos in Fly Boxes

By the time Fall rolls around, most fly fishers’ fly boxes are looking pretty rough.

Truth be told, many new anglers also have chaotic and bizarre collections of fly patterns.

Although it might not be for everyone, I have a concept that I’ve tried to implement in how I fill and maintain fly boxes. In this episode of the podcast, I talk about one of my methods for fly storage/usage. I also go above my pay grade and discuss tying and fishing cress bug patterns.

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

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Mario, Tetris, & a Trout 14 Feet Down

Even in the 21st century, fly fishing and technology have a loose relationship. These days deep sea fishing and high energy bass angling rely upon the latest and greatest in electronics. These devices can do amazing things, and they carry staggering costs. Their use has become so seamlessly integrated into those styles of angling.

Fly fishing feels so far from that – so analog. The only digital intrusion comes from the ubiquitous camera/cell phone. Even that is optional. It is nice to have, but not necessary.

Do you know what else can be placed squarely in the “not necessary” category? The Game Boy Pocket Sonar.

Yes: Game Boy. Yes: Pocket Sonar. Yes: A fish finder that you threw out into a pond and plugged into your portable Nintendo; which you would be wearing around your neck in a waterproof pouch.

Watch the full review here:

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Come Meet Mr. Chestney

It probably isn’t normal for a teenage fly fisher to consider streams two hours away as his home waters. Yet living in Northern Virginia, I grew up fishing and dreaming of fishing on the cold, trout-filled waters of South Central Pennsylvania. The Yellow Breeches, Big Spring, and The Letort were where I fished. There were plenty of opportunities to catch fish close by. But by my estimation: why settle for second best?

The fishing was good, but part of the allure was the legacy of the region. My local library had a number of volumes written by Pennsylvania authors such as Vince Marinaro, Charlie Fox, and Ed Koch. I was learning fly fishing, and I was learning fly fishing history. Specifically, I was soaking up the history of the Cumberland Valley.  I’d check out, read, and reread everything about the spring creeks around Carlisle cover to cover. Wondrous battles with trout of mythic size and intellect were digested and meditated upon. Photographs from the ’50s were analyzed to try and ascertain locations.

What quickly became my favorite book is titled Limestone Legends. Collecting the papers of the Fly Fishers’ Club of Harrisburg, the stocky paperback was a treasure trove. It was the angling history of my home waters, in the words of the men who fished it in its heyday. The library didn’t have it, but the local bookstore did. I’d sit in the aisle and read selection after selection. Eventually I wanted it for my own bookshelf. I received it for Christmas.

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Podcast Ep. 47: 3 Fly Fishing Things I Wish I Knew Then

Contrary to popular Hollywood tropes, you can’t go back in time.

However, others can learn from your mistakes. And hindsight can also help you make better decisions going forward.

All of that is true in the big, important parts of life. It is also true in fly fishing. In this episode I talk about three things about fly fishing that I wish I knew when I was younger. More accurately: these are things I knew about when I was younger, but I should have actually done them.

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

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Can You Get Away From Everything

Many people head into nature, be it for fly fishing or some other pursuit, to get away from everything. Everything, of course, is relative. You’re not getting away from the woods. You’re not getting away from fishing. And you’re certainly not getting away from yourself.

And no one is wrong for using that turn of phrase. Everything is normalcy. Everything is the suburbs. Everything is Monday to Friday and commuting and email notifications and go go go. All that is the everything you’re getting away from.

Getting away is good. We were made to rest. We were made to rest daily through sleep. We were also made to take an extended rest on a weekly basis. Whether your worldview is built upon divine revelation or materialism, scripture and science agree that your mind and body need rest. Rest isn’t just laying down with our eyes closed. Rest means stopping our normal, routine, everything and doing something different and rejuvenating.

You could say that when you get away from everything you’re purposefully getting into something.

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Don’t Fly Fish with More than You Need

Most fly fishers might be surprised by how little gear they actually need on the water.  Regardless if you’re targeting mountain trout, farm pond bass, or cruising flats fish, there are truly only a handful of things you’ll reach for on a recurring basis.

Personally, combining trail running with fly fishing has caused me to pare down what I carry and what I consider essential. It has caused me to assess what I use and why I use it. I’ve found that I don’t choose gear based upon weight or size. What I carry is what I absolutely need. Usually, that ends up being small enough and light enough to allow me to move quickly.

Here is one of my go-to fly fishing checklists. It is what I gather together if I’m going to be running/fishing.  But it is also all that I end up using on most of my fishing trips, regardless of  where I am. Here is the what and the why of my minimalist approach to fly fishing:

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