Podcast Ep. 37: Here’s a New Spot for You to Fish

July 26, 2019

When it comes to reading water, the fly fisher who is observant of details will be rewarded.

This way of angling doesn’t mean casting your fly to every square inch of the creek. It entails reading the water at a level that goes beyond riffle, run, pool. Slow down. Think and assess. Don’t just fish the holding water that usually has a trout or two.

There are plenty of fish that aren’t where you usually look. You just need to realize they are there.

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

Throwback Gear Review: Orvis T3

July 24, 2019

Fly fishing gear is a big part of Casting Across. I’ve always enjoyed the aesthetics, the marketing, and, most importantly, the function of fly fishing gear. Consequently, I’ll review new products on the site from time to time. But appreciating fly fishing gear shouldn’t only be about the latest model or newest technology. The things that you’ve fished with for years – for decades ought to be celebrated as well.

It is in that spirit that I put together this gear review. Although some products are old or even out of production, their value compounds with use, experience, and familiarity. We should enjoy what we use when we fly fish, especially if we’ve enjoyed it for a long time.

The trout were rising in front of me and as far as I could see upstream. I was on a low stone wall overlooking a deep, slow moving pool. Just downstream was an old low head dam. Any cast of distance that wasn’t plumb line straight would quickly drag because of the accelerating currents above the fall. The most consistent riser was about fifty feet out. And there were trees behind me.

Peeling off the right length of line and letting it fall through the guides, I slowly brought the rod tip behind me. In a quick motion I flicked the rod forward and sent the line shooting straight ahead. It was smooth, effortless, and a nearly perfect roll cast. That fish didn’t take, but others would on that afternoon.

I also knew I was going to buy my very own Orvis T3.

Gumption & Moxie & Fat Trout

July 22, 2019

He said he owned a stream. A stream with big trout in it. His plan was to charge a daily rod fee for the opportunity to fish in his stream with big trout in it. That was why he was in the fly shop. To see if we would advertise his stream and the trout. And the associated fee, of course.

I wasn’t authorized to make decisions on which other business ventures we endorsed in the shop. I was a college kid. I folded shirts, spooled up reels, and took people out to the parking lot to ooh and aah at their hero casts. What did and didn’t get pinned up on the bulletin board was above my pay grade.

What I could do, I told him, was show them to my manager when he was in. I’m sure that he had heard this before and saw it for the diversionary tactic that it was. So as I went into no-commitment mode he shifted into hard-sell mode. He asked me to come and check it out. I could fish any day I wanted to, and it would be on him. Then, he said, I could tell everyone about the big trout. Presumably, how the big trout would be worth the daily rod fee.

Promoting his business really wasn’t my decision. I wasn’t taking advantage of him. We were in an urban environment, so a half-hour drive for private fishing piqued my interest. Plus, my time wasn’t particularly valuable. And I wasn’t about turning down big trout. He didn’t seem too murdery, so I said yes.

Podcast Ep. 36: How to Know if You Know How to Fly Fish

July 19, 2019

If you can’t explain it, you don’t really get it.

What does this have to do with fly fishing? Think of it this way: Can you explain the basic mechanics of a cast? Could you give a quick overview of why the feeding behavior of fish changes with the weather? Why should I buy a medium-action fly rod over a fast one… or vice-versa?

You don’t need to be an expert to know how to fish or, more importantly, enjoy how to fish. But learning how to communicate fly fishing might be one of the best ways to learn how to fly fish better.

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

Furled Leaders for Still Water Trout: 4 Reasons

July 16, 2019

Fly fishing for trout in still water – lakes and ponds – is a different game than pursuing fish in moving water. Most of us have caught trout from a pond by just casting to rising fish or stripping a woolly bugger. That works. But there is much more to this type of fly fishing.

Aficionados of this style of angling have a whole set of tactics particular to lakes, a knowledge base that covers these ecosystems, and even a slightly different cache of gear. Going down that rabbit hole is something I’ve only dabbled in. For me, and many fly fishers, chasing trout in still water is about making slight modifications to what we already do in order to get into fish.

Acknowledging that, there are some minor gear tweaks that can help your lake and pond trout fishing. Longer rods help, as does tying/buying streamers with weight on the shank (as opposed to just a bead/cone behind the eye). Another small change that I have found helps my still water fishing is incorporating furled leaders.

Here are four reasons why:

I Bet You’re Good at Fly Fishing

July 15, 2019

What are you good at in fly fishing?

Any sampling of fly fishing media will inevitably yield a majority of articles, videos, and posts telling you “how to.” (Casting Across is certainly not above that, to be fair.) And it makes sense. We all want to get better. We want to cast better. We want to know how to pick the right fly. We want to go to the right spot. We want to catch more fish. There’s nothing wrong with that, so such media scratches a particular, valuable itch.

But when was the last time you focused on an area in which you are already good?

I suppose that there aren’t a lot of fly fishing articles praising your technique because that would be awfully hard to pull off. I can’t tell you how good you are at casting. I can’t tell you that you’re patient. I can’t write 500+ words about the way you tie that special little nymph rig that you use to catch all those trout.

But I bet there is something you’re good at doing in fly fishing.

Podcast Ep. 35: Pro Deals… What’s the Deal?

July 12, 2019

I’ll go on record as saying that I think “Pro Deals” and “Pro Staff” are totally fine.

But just like anything else in fly fishing (or in the rest of the world), abuse can ruin a good thing. Kirk Deeter’s recent Angling Trade piece articulated some of the real problems that exist with this system. It is clear why “Pro Staffers” give this legitimate marketing tactic a bad name, and it makes sense why some are agitated by the whole institution.

In this episode I talk about a few different perspectives, specifically mine: someone who writes about fly fishing for fun.

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

Tails, Fins, Gills, & Becoming a Better Fly Fisher

July 10, 2019

It feels like I was laying on that rock for hours. Like I got there in broad daylight and left as night approached. However long it really was, it was a long time. I wasn’t hurt. I wasn’t catching fish after fish. I wasn’t exactly having fun laying on the rock. I was trying to figure something out.

I saw fish. Probably a half dozen of them. Knowing the stream, they were most likely brook trout. The largest of the bunch could have been a brown. Regardless, they were in the pool right below me. They were right in the center of the pool, but they were deep. I guessed them to be about three feet down, with another two or three below them. A log, with bits of debris stacked in front of it, cut across the hole. That probably gave them a greater sense of security. It also did a great job of concealing me and what I was attempting to do.

Cast after cast, fly after fly, I couldn’t figure these trout out. I can remember using a prince nymph. I can remember using a hare’s ear nymph. I can remember the woolly bugger, the egg pattern, and the hornberg wet. I’d try to cast at different points at the head of the pool, seeing which currents would take my fly in front of the fish. A few inches difference at the point of entry translated into very divergent depths, trajectories, and speeds. It was hard, from a prone position, to cast with enough accuracy to effectively replicate any particular drift with precision.

Pirate Fly Fishing: The First Mate

July 8, 2019

I’ve been using the Pirate’s Fly Patch for over two years, and it has become an indispensable part of my fly fishing. It stays clipped to a panel in the back of my car, giving all my flies have a place to live. Whether it be drying out wet patterns or simply serving as a storage spot, the dense foam holds everything from midges to meaty salt streamers. The patch is still holding all these flies securely, and the bright brown trout pattern still looks good.

Even though that patch is still going strong, I recently got a hold of Pirate Fly Fishing’s latest offering – The First Mate.

The First Mate patch uses Velcro to affix to surfaces. A corresponding adhesive sheet can be placed on the back of a drift boat seat, the side of a cooler, or a surface near your tying desk. Also, anything that sticks to hook-side (scratchy) of Velcro works with the back of The First Mate – such as most car interiors and certain sling pack bodies.

The rigid plastic shell makes the patch virtually indestructible. More than that it gives The First Mate an advantage over traditional, foam only patches. If a fly patch is simply a sheet of foam, the corner(s) you use to remove and move the patch will bend with repeated use. The “handles” on the edge of The First Mate give you a place to grip and pull the patch, plus they’ll never wear out.