How Young is Too Young to Fly Cast?

You’re never to young to begin fly fishing. You just need to learn how to cast first.

Learning how to feel the line load a rod, as well as what you’re supposed to do with your body in response, is a challenge for most new anglers. If an adult can struggle, a child can struggle too. Figuring out casting requires patience, fine motor skills, and the ability to turn verbal commands into actions. Age often helps in those areas, but it can also be a detriment. Sometimes kids are better listeners, quicker studies, and more receptive of instruction.

Taking a kid fishing is a lot of fun. It also pays off dividends when you want to share more of those moments later in life. But before any of that can happen, there needs to be some level of instruction. When do you start? Young children, even as young as four years old, can fly cast. It isn’t easy. It takes work. Most of all, it takes patience – on your part.

Here are five ways to think about teaching the child in your life how to cast a fly rod:

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Fly Fishing Podcasts Worth Listening To, part XI

Through conversations in the real world and online, I’ve come to the conclusion that podcasts appeal to a wider range of age demographics than any other medium. While not a hard and fast rule, written articles and videos seem to have audiences that fall on one end of the spectrum.

It might be the fact that any kind of device makes accessing podcasts relatively simple. It could also be that simply hearing someone talk is an easy point of contact, or that even passive listening still communicates information.

Ultimately, I believe there is a real oral tradition within fly fishing. Not to downplay literature or art, but the spoken word reflects the spur of the moment on-stream, campfire, or drive home discussions that makes fly fishing what it is. That is something anyone at any age can appreciate.

Here are five episodes from five fly fishing podcasts that I think are worth your time:

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Podcast Ep. 44: Reels – Not a Real Big Deal

Rod, reel, line.

I say no! It shall be rod, line, reel.

For most fly fishing scenarios, your reel is the least significant part of your terminal tackle equation. Of course there are some real, legitimate exceptions. But more often than not most trout fishing doesn’t necessitate a super-premium reel. You need something to hold line, and you need some basic fish fighting skills.

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

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The Sunfish Superiority

Sunfish are superior fish.

Sunfish fight better than any other fish, inch-for-inch.

Sunfish often introduce us to fishing.

Sunfish take poppers, ants, and dry flies.

Sunfish can be found everywhere.

Sunfish are forgiving.

Sunfish save us from skunks.

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4 Years and A Microphone (& 2 Fly Fishers)

Three years ago, I wrote this quick synopsis of the podcast 2 Guys and A River:

“Steve Mathewson and Dave Goetz  are the kind of guys that you want to fish with. There is a good mix of humor, practical advice, and anecdotal content in a podcast that is the prefect length for a short commute. I’d also highly recommend this to beginners, as they communicate very clearly some common sense facets of fly fishing and angling culture.”

This past month, Steve and Dave wrapped up their podcast. Four years of weekly episodes is no small feat. There is planning, recording, editing,  and the corresponding blog entries. Add in the requisite podcast-day lunches, and 2 Guys and A River was a labor of love for two very busy men.

The success of their podcast wasn’t simply tied to their consistency. The casual banter, clear format, and every-fly-fisher-man perspective was accessible. Steve and Dave never claimed to be angling experts. Although they never explicitly claimed it, they are certainly experts in enjoying fly fishing. Consequently, the podcast was never about perfecting the subtitles of any one facet of fly fishing. It was about enjoying your time on the water. Sometimes that comes after a few dozen trout. Sometimes it is the culmination of many other things: a favorite fly rod, a laugh with a friend, a hearty meal. These are important things that run alongside the narrow, focused act of actually fly fishing.

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Podcast Ep. 43: You Are Not a Trout Bum

I don’t want you to feel like you’re being attacked.

I am sure that you are really, really into fly fishing. If you were to tell me everything you know, share your angling expense report, and rattle off where you’ve been I bet I’d be impressed. Seriously. No sarcasm. There is a very good chance that you’re an angling enthusiast or  a fly fishing aficionado or a hardcore fisher-person.

You’re just not a trout bum.

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

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In Search of Big Small Trout

Everyone catches small fish. For some, they are the pesky by-catch that must be dealt with and endured. For others, they are a safe, dependable source of fishing, fun, and food. Most anglers start by catching small fish, and all big fish start off being small fish.

Under normal circumstances, an eight-inch fish isn’t anything worth writing home about. Sure, it is a fish. A small fish is better than no fish. A small fish is still technically a success. Moreover, maturity and perspective view such a fish as worthy of appreciation. But on a big, powerful river an eight-inch fish doesn’t represent the real target of an angler.

On a small mountain stream? That eight-inch fish could very well be a trophy. If most trout are six inches, the fish measuring in at eight inches is an unexpected surprise. It is the outlier; the literal big fish in the small pond.  It got that way because of wit, tenacity, and (most importantly) luck. On a small, gentle creek an eight-inch fish represents the real target of an angler.

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11 Reasons Why You Need a New Fly Rod

If your fly fishing world extends anywhere off the water, you’re constantly exposed to  more fly rods. You can’t shake a 5-weight without  hitting an advertisement, a review, or someone waxing lustfully over a rod. While some promotion is necessary (you can’t sell fly rods unless you sell them), much of it is superfluous at best and materialistic at worst. The technological jargon and nostalgic pandering turns many people off to the contemporary fly fishing industry as a whole. With fly rods being the central piece of the whole scene, the hyperbole and high cost associated with them draws the ire of plenty of anglers.

But the reality is that you might need a new fly rod.

Digging into your wallet and giving in to Big Fly Fishing might be  a tough pill to swallow. You have morals, you have standards, you have a budget. Still, the fish demand a few hundred dollars’ sacrifice. And they’re  the boss.

I’ve put together a (nice round) 11-point list of reasons why you should maybe definitely, absolutely probably replace your fly rod right away. Or as soon as a good deal comes along.

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Podcast Ep. 42: Scared of Fishing in the Rain?

What harm is a little rain?

For some reason, the myth exists that fishing isn’t any good in the rain. Maybe we should keep that fallacy going, because getting out on the river in the rain is a great way to get to spots and fish that would otherwise be hard to approach. Whether it is because the rain is keeping away crowds or creating angling opportunities, a few drops might be the catalyst to getting you on the water.

I share a few tips, some observations, and my unscientific opinion on why fly fishing in the rain isn’t scary at all.

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

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Fishing Barefoot, Like John-Boy

I’m man enough to admit that I watch The Waltons, from time to time. The wholesome life of the Depression-era mountain family is the TV version of a palate cleanser. People on The Waltons aren’t perfect, but love and community and family almost always win the day.

That, and they go fishing a lot.

The show is set In Virginia, on a fictitious mountain in a fictitious county. They’re close to Charlottesville, but otherwise the scenes are made up. An exception is the local river; the Rockfish River.

John-Boy Walton and his siblings would fish in the river for sport and for food. The Rockfish River flowed alongside mountain roads. Floods made it a force to be reckoned with. Like real mountain communities, the River was a constant yet impersonal entity that gave and took away. But more often than not, it gave.

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