My Fly Fishing Journey: 30 for 3

By nature, writing is introspective. It is nearly impossible to not insert yourself into what you write about. Words betray objectivity. Experience influences everything. And people, by and large, are nostalgic and sentimental critters. (Coincidentally, Trout don’t have that burden.)

A lot has transpired over the course of the past three years in and through my fly fishing journey. Maybe even more than in the previous 20 years.

If you have been reading Casting Across for any period of time, the following list of observations isn’t going to surprise you. That being said, I don’t blame you if you haven’t been waiting at your computer with baited breath every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for my latest bit of writing.  So I’ve compiled 30 things that have happened over the past 3 years.

Over the past three years…

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A Fly Fishing Party & You’re Invited

Today marks three years of  Casting Across!

For three years I’ve been writing about the quarry of fly fishing: fish, rivers, and personal achievements. I’ve been writing about  the culture of fly fishing: literature, podcasts, and gear. The people, places, and things  are as much a part of Casting Across as I am. It is fun to  tell stories and share knowledge and attempt to be funny all within the same theme, It is even more fun when it spills over the edges of a website and into real rivers and restaurants.

Through Casting Across, I’ve been able to form some great relationships. I appreciate comments, emails, and social media chirps – and I do my very best to respond right away. I’d probably still write if no one was reading… but having people read makes it that much better.

Also, I’ve had a chance to collaborate with some amazing people who represent the best of what is out there in the industry. Some of these companies have graciously offered up some of their gear for a giveaway. To celebrate three years of Casting Across, to say thank you for reading, and to spread my writing to a wider audience, I was able to  give away hundreds of dollars worth of flies, leaders, packs, and more to ten winners.

Here are the 10 packages I gave away, and who won:

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My Other Fly Fishing Writing

The astute reader may have noticed an anomaly this week on Casting Across. None of the content was original. Well, it was original in the sense that it was me. I wrote it. Unless you read all the way down to the postscript on the bottom of each article, you wouldn’t have known that both pieces were being re-purposed.

These two articles were timely excerpts from the catalog of posts that I have written for the Vedavoo  Workshop Journal. The Journal is the official blog of Vedavoo Gear, a company that I have referenced often and that you have seen countless times if you follow me on social media.

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Why You Never Go Fly Fishing Alone

You never go fly fishing alone.

Even though angling is a pursuit that many gravitate toward because of the frequent solitude, true isolation isn’t a reality for the vast majority of people. It might mean another car in the parking lot. It could sound like the droning of a jet just out of sight. It may even be the nagging knowledge that eventually you’ll have to reel in your line, take off your boots, and drive back into the real world.

And although fly fishing is an escape, we’re incapable of detaching completely. Our thoughts rightly meander from fly presentation to work, family, whats next. Our present fishing is profoundly linked to how we have fished – and who has fished with us in the past. And chances are the trails we are walking, the flies we are using, and the rod we are casting were made by someone else.

There is something to be said for that connection. While the fishing is about so much more than tackle and gear, it is still inseparably about the tackle and the gear. In a pre-industrial time, this was a truth that unfolded in everyday life and angling. You knew the person who made your things. At the very least, you bought your things from someone who knew the person who made the things.

For all the cost benefits and technological advancements of modern manufacturing, some of this connection has been lost. Impersonal entities might seem like another way to further cut yourself off from the outside world. But that isn’t the kind of alone we want. Trends demonstrate that people have been lamenting this loss. If you are going to be carrying a few items into the woods and into the water, there is comfort in knowing they were crafted by a kindred spirit.

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Fly Tying Community Together

It the short history of Vedavoo Vise Night, the monthly fly tying event at the Vedavoo workshop, we’ve seen the creation of some impressive flies. Seasoned tiers have produced microscopic midges, cutting-edge saltwater patterns, and intricately articulated streamers.

Plus, someone tied a fly that lights up.

And another guy wove mop material.

And a few people have tied their very first flies.

Behind the bobbins and scissors, people are getting to know each other. Plans are being made for fly fishing outings, angling conundrums are getting talked through, and tying materials are being shared.

At its core, Vedavoo Vise is about building community.

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Rusty Flybox: Farewell, My Subaru

We lost him.

After 18 years and a quarter-million miles, he gave up the ghost. The list of issues he’s overcome is long, but this last setback was one bump in the road too many.

Technically, my Subaru Forester still runs. I wouldn’t call it “efficient” or “safe” or “smart” to drive, though.

I’m on the hunt for a new car that will get me from point A to point B. And, of course, one that will adequately get me to point F[ishing]. So along with age and miles and fuel efficiency I’m thinking about ground clearance and trunk width and if I can sleep in it.

I’ll properly eulogize the Subaru soon enough. It deserves it. But for now, I want to share some remembrances by pulling some posts from the Casting Across vault. Click the title or the photo for the whole article.  Enjoy, and keep your chin up. After all, it is what my car would want.

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Redington Butter Stick: A Kind of Review

Redington: “Meet the New Butter Stick – Your New Fall Favorite”

This isn’t a review of the updated Redington Butter Stick. Because I’ve never held the rod.*

But I received an email from Redington that made me want to pick one up. I get a lot of fly fishing industry emails, and I delete nearly all of them after reading the subject line. This one  made me pause:  “Meet the New Butter Stick – Your New Fall Favorite.” And then I opened it. And then read it. To be honest, it made me want to buy one sight unseen. Why? Well, at least for me the marketing for the Butter Stick checked every single box.

Marketing doesn’t sell a product. But it gets consumers to stop and peek into the window. In the fly fishing industry, marketing, branding, and perception plays an enormous role in what anglers buy and do. I don’t need another fly rod, but I haven’t needed a new fly rod for the last dozen. This email shoved me down that familiar rabbit hole.

Although this rod is an updated model, the Butter Stick fiberglass line has been around for a while. The name is great for some of the imagery that it evokes – smooth casting, warm-hued trout  bellies, etc. Maybe it is a little cutesy, but it isn’t like you have to proclaim the make or the model of your rod when as you cast. “Butter Stick” also stands alone in an industry of three letter acronyms and intense  sounding names. It is a fly rod, not an engine on a jet.

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Not All Stocked Trout are the Same

A lot has been written regarding native vs. wild vs. stocked trout. For some reason, people (and even state entities) struggle understanding the differences. Being informed and using the proper words is important. More significant than semantics is appreciating and supporting the science behind the terms.

The native/wild distinction is an invaluable one to make when it comes to conservation. The terms mark the difference between historically present species and those which have been introduced and established. For example, brook trout in an untouched Maine pond are native; brown trout descending from fish that were stocked in Maine 50 years ago are wild.

There are other distinctions to make when speaking of trout populations. Some aren’t as noteworthy when talking about conservation. But they do factor when it comes to the fishing experience.

Not all stocked trout are the same.

“Stocked trout” is treated like a pejorative phrase in many fly fishing circles. Images of hundreds of pounds of fish spilling from a game department truck are borderline pornographic. They are perceived as a distantly second-class fish, and the anglers who target them don’t fare much better.

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Last Cast of the Week, 10/12/2018

Every now and then, Fridays on Casting Across are  devoted to other people’s contributions in the fly fishing community. Articles, pictures, social media accounts, videos, podcasts, products, and more are featured on The Last Cast of the Week.

Today, I’m sharing items from:

  • Risen Fly – Facebook
  • Maine  Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife –  Trout & Charr Conservation
  • The New Fly Fisher – Knot Videos

If you’d like to be featured in the Last Cast of the Week, or have seen something that others might be interested in, use my  contact form  or shoot me an email (matthew[at]castingacross[dot]com). Also, be sure to  subscribe to Casting Across to never miss a post.

Check out the links, along with my thoughts, below: read more

Break Time? Fly Fishing!

How do you spend those little breaks that you get throughout the day? Power naps? Social media? Coffee coffee coffee? Reading fly fishing blogs?

I know that there are people that go 8+ hours strong without any easing up, but most folks have five minutes here or there in between meetings, assignments, etc. Truth be told, you might be surprised to see how much “free time” you have throughout the day. Now, I am all about productivity. Be a good worker.

But if you get breaks, what are you doing with them?

There are some small things that you can do, even with just a few minutes, that can get you your fly fishing fix.

Here are three ideas:

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