Rods on Rooftops: A Conversation with Riversmith

December 17, 2018

At riverside pull-offs, in fly shop parking lots, and online, we’ve all seen fly rod tubes affixed to vehicle roof racks. Guides use them out of necessity. Hardcore anglers have them for convenience. But are they something that the common, weekend warrior fly fisher needs?

Recently, I asked someone who knows a lot about them. Luke Winkler is the product manager for Riversmith. Based out of Boulder, Colorado, Riversmith is one of a handful of companies making rooftop rod holders. I asked Luke some legitimate questions I have had about products like this. Also, I played the devil’s advocate and raised some concerns I’ve heard thrown around by skeptical anglers.

***

Aren’t rooftop rod holders only for guides and trout bums in their 20’s?

Not at all. We see applications for all kinds of different fly fishers. For example, time is one of the most valuable things we all have. Using a rod holder lets us stop and hit a few more holes more without taking that extra time to tie on tippet, tie on flies, and rig it up all over again. You might think that a spot might not be worth stopping and re-rigging. But if your rods are ready to go, you might get into fish when you wouldn’t have stopped otherwise.

Is there an advantage to putting something on the roof of my car over how I’ve always done things?

Podcast Ep. 5: Why You Should Fish the Ozarks

December 14, 2018

Arkansas might not seem like a premier angling destination.

But if you’ve heard of the enormous browns, the beautiful rivers, and… the delicious Southern cooking, you know that the Ozarks is one of the most unique fly fishing spots in the USA.

I caught my first trout in Arkansas. That experience, and a whole lot more that followed, made rivers like the Little Red and the White an important part of my fly fishing history. The miles of river and the quantity of fish are truly mind boggling. Plus, you can probably fish however you want – nymphs, midges, or huge streamers.

In this episode, I give a brief overview of the major tailwaters and make a case for why you should fish the Ozarks.

Listen below, or in your favorites podcast app:

Heavy Metal for Fly Tying

December 12, 2018

“Running silent, running deep, we are your final prayer…”

That is a line from Iron Maiden’s Run Silent, Run Deep off of the 1990 release No Prayer for the Dying. Decent song, decent album. It is nothing near as good as 1988’s Seventh Son of a Seventh Son. But I digress. The song, and the lyric above, is about submarines, not fly tying. But the sentiment is basically equivalent.

Especially come winter time, your prayers for trout will only be answered if you get your flies running deep.

You’ve got two choices in the matter. You can fish harder or fish smarter. Fishing harder means calculating the best position from which to present your fly. It means learning new casts that plunge your fly deeper, quicker. It means fiddling with different lines, leaders, and boring. It means mending and mending and mending some more. It means working. Fun, right?

Fishing smarter means packing the weight on.

“But,” you say, “there are so many materials and methods for adding weight to flies! It is sooo confusing!” Yes, there are. And yes, it can be. That is why I’ve created a bit of a hierarchy for bulking up your buggers. Here’s a guide to what kind of weight to use in your tying if you want to get your fly down in front of fish:

The Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast

December 8, 2018

Today I’m introducing the Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast.

Fly fishing podcasts are something I’ve written about frequently. I have learned a lot from listening to them. More importantly, I enjoy them. Through the ten articles that have appeared thus far, I have sent hundreds and hundreds of Casting Across readers to the following podcasts.

Rob Snowhite’s Fly Fishing Consultant Podcast is what introduced me to the medium, and I appreciate how he can lecture and give angling play-by-play with ease. Steve Goetz and Dave Mathewson, the guys of 2 Guys and A River, explain the sport very well utilizing their friendly banter.

April Vokey holds amazing interviews with some remarkable people. Orvis and Tom Rosenbauer do Q&A and industry sit-downs better than anyone. The Drakecast, over too soon, told engaging and pertinent stories. And I’d also be remiss if I didn’t mention The Open Fly Podcast: long gone, but perhaps my favorite in the genre.

I’ll keep listening to those shows – and you should, too. With the Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast, I intend to do something different.

New Stream, Same Fish

December 7, 2018

Shiny and new, eh?

After three years, Casting Across has received a little makeover. I didn’t sink dozens of hours into focus groups and hundreds of dollars into design consulting. I knew the direction I wanted to go in, and with a few tweaks I got there relatively quickly. The new font is bolder, the new colors brighter, and the overall feel is cleaner.

Of course, typefaces and colors don’t mean a can of split shot if the content is lacking. Casting Across has been, and will continue to be, about fly fishing writing. However, if you’ve read for any period of time you know that I appreciate the aesthetics of angling. Whether it be actual gear or even just the branding, there is something very pleasing about thoughtfully crafted imagery. It doesn’t make the fishing, but it can make it better.

Mobs, Moments, & Fly Fishing Photography

December 4, 2018

What a time to be alive and to fly fish: Some people take pictures so they can brag. Some people don’t take pictures of fish, and then brag about that. It’s a real topsy-turvy world of pride, prejudice, and virtue signaling. And a bunch of poor trout are caught in the middle.

Just to catch you up to speed, if you’ve suddenly walked back into civilization and logged onto this website, I’ll explain what’s going on. We don’t kill fish, but taking pictures is okay. Unless it isn’t. The circumstances which define the line which ought not be crossed are murky. It seems to be a collaborative effort between science and mob rule. And the latter seems to be steering the ship.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not advocating the abuse of fish. I’m not crazy. I’m also not “comment section on social media” crazy, AKA the moral compasses of all things angling. I, along with a lot of reasonable fly fishers out there, like to take a picture of a fish now and again. I keep it wet as much as I can, handle it minimally, and send it back once it’s regained its bearings. I do share some pictures online. Not to brag (seeing as I have little to brag about). Certainly not to show the gold standard of photography.

3 Ice-Free Fly Fishing Spots

December 3, 2018

You don’t have to fly fish in December, January, and February.

If you choose not to get out, you don’t loose your angler credentials. There might even be some benefits in taking a few months’ sabbatical. And let’s face it – it is cold and the fish aren’t terribly cooperative.

But if you want to get out, that is another thing. There is nothing saying you can’t fly fish in December, January, and February. As long as local regulations allow it, and you can ethically pursue fish, you aren’t limited to drilling a hole in lake ice if you want to get after some trout.

Here are three spots you can target if you want to optimize your cold-weather angling. They vary from amazing to, well, odorous. Irrespective of the scenery, all three of these spots attract fish and should attract fly fishers:

Rusty Flybox: On the Periphery of Fishing

November 30, 2018

If I had to only write about fly fishing I’d lose my mind.

I love trout and fly rods and debating the merits of synthetics vs. naturals in fly tying as much as anyone. However, there is only so much cast and catch writing in me. Thankfully, fly fishing is interwoven into a veritable tapestry of experiences. Some of them run parallel with angling. Some are just on the periphery of fishing.

Like any good story, the setting and the circumstances simply frame the themes. The themes – overcoming struggles, finding love, understanding self – are universal. People who don’t get cast and catch can still get these deeper truths.

Sometimes I’m writing about those themes within the frame of fly fishing. Sometimes I’m just writing about hats and barbecue. That’s my prerogative, I suppose.

Here are three posts that run just around the edge of fly fishing:

Trout, Where They Shouldn’t Be

November 26, 2018

We rounded the corner at the exact same time. The dense streamside foliage kept the other person obscured until we were only about ten feet apart. Happening upon someone relatively unexpectedly, deep in the woods, wasn’t the startling facet of our interaction. That was this:

“So, have you caught anything?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I replied, “a brown up top and three rainbows on streamers.”

“No,” he stated, matter-of-factly. “You didn’t catch any rainbows.”

His accusation took me aback. Not only did I indeed catch three rainbows, but they were fat, strong, and less than a quarter mile from where we stood. In a rare turn of events, I was speechless.

I think he realized that his gruff allegation was a bit off putting. “Well, I mean, I fish here every week and I haven’t caught a rainbow in this stretch of water. Maybe old what’s-his-face stocked some in the feeder creek that runs through his yard. Or, I mean, there is always the chance that the state dumped some in. But they haven’t done that in a while… I don’t know how you caught those.”

“Me either,” I offered. “But I guess I did.”

***

Fish pop up in unexpected places. With a handful of environmental thresholds as limiting factors, fish can live in and move throughout all manner of interconnected waterways. It isn’t uncommon to see a picture of a giant bass pulled out of a subdivision pond or a big tarpon caught from a canal. Fish are as resilient as they are opportunistic.

For some reason, we think that trout ought to be the exception to the rule. Rightly, we understand that trout have a relatively narrow window for survival. That doesn’t mean that salmonids are feeble and frail. They do some uncanny things and show up where they shouldn’t.