Life Up on the Bank: Fly Fishing in Rural Appalachia

“It looks like a movie set,” Jeff said.

“It looks like the soviets just pulled out,” I added.

It was only a halfway attempt at humor. A few months earlier, I travelled to a former soviet state. I spent time in some places that had obviously felt the weight of a very, very difficult period in recent history. And here, in America, the condition of the buildings and infrastructure I was looking at was eerily familiar.

Jeff and I took a detour through this particular town on our way to some fly fishing. The river that flowed through the town and another nearby tributary are both regional hallmarks for trout. Well-to-do anglers, from a handful of metropolitan cities only a day’s-drive away, speak highly of the watershed’s beauty and challenging fish. The area around this place is a legitimate destination.

I wonder how the residents of this time-worn town think about their surroundings.

Like so many Appalachian hamlets, this little village was settled and developed in the mid-19th century with great hope and vigor. A burgeoning economy, one which capitalized on timber, coal, and railroads, led to establishing municipalities such as this. People came, thrived, and inevitably enjoyed the outdoor pursuits that the region afforded them. While the three aforementioned business interests almost always harmed fish populations, the decline wasn’t rapid enough to eliminate it altogether during those boom years.

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Fly Fishing Books, V

I live in Massachusetts. That means that for most of the fall, winter, and spring I don’t have to do pesky things like yard work or go outside. I’m usually covered in feet of snow. This affords me little opportunity for simple or mundane outdoor pursuits.

On the positive side, this allows me to read more books. Although fly fishing books can be torturous when  stuck inside for months, they do offer some daydreaming and escapism. Having a good angling book does things that a YouTube video never will. You’re much more engaged. Even on a sensory level, an author who has a way with words will stir you  more than images ever will.

Whether you are reading this next to a roaring fire, from a temperate climate, or in the middle of summer, I encourage you to take a look at one of these solid fly fishing books!

As I’ve done for all of the entries in my “Fly Fishing Books” series, I’ve spread the selections over three rough categories:

  • Guide (regional, site specific)
  • Technical (methods, locations, fly tying)
  • Literature (novels, biographies, history)

Check out one kind of each book, why I suggest it, and a bonus read below. And follow the links in the headings to get a copy for yourself!

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Lefty, 1926-2018

On March 14th, 2018, Bernard “Lefty” Kreh passed away. He was 93.

And in his 90’s, he was still a fly fisherman, an author, and an ambassador for the sport.  His contributions to the development of tackle, the library of angling, and the community of fly fishers was inimitable. This was not a secret to anyone. At fly fishing expo shows and events, including one bearing his name, he was undeniably the biggest “celebrity.”

But you wouldn’t know it from talking to him. If you  shook his hand or told him a fishing story, he’d smile, crack a joke, and give you time. This was something that he would do over and over again, with complete strangers and with fishing buddies he’d known for decades.

In the 50-plus years that he was a face of fly fishing, he touched a diverse group of anglers. On the front end of his professional angling career, he was  a cutting edge  voice for his readers. In recent years, his casting instruction would cause fly fishing shows to come to a screeching halt – every cell phone camera aimed at him. Across that range of time, both via the written and spoken word, he captivated audiences with his mastery of rod, line, and language.

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My Friend, The Trout

I’ve known fish, personally.

Now, before you call the nice people with the straitjackets and happy pills, let me explain.

Over the years, I’ve fished in certain places with such regularity that particular fish are identifiable. Sometimes it is by where they are stationed, other times it is by their feeding activity. There have even been a few trout and bass that have distinctive patterns or shapes that make them easy to single out.

I know I’m not alone in this.

Sometimes, a fish of renown is familiar to an entire community. Everyone knows about “old one-eye” that lives by the submerged Volkswagen off the peninsula. Everyone has hooked him and brought him in close enough to see that he has (you guessed it) only one eye. But no one has landed him. Except grandpa. Apparently, he did – back in ’78.

Folklore and fables aside, aquatic acquaintances are a thing. If you are on the same beat over and over again, you’ll encounter a fish multiple times. Fish, be they brook trout or smallmouth bass, prefer to stay in one safe place rather than moving from safe place to safe place. As long as their safe place isn’t disturbed, or they aren’t edged out by nature or anglers, they’ll lay claim to their feeding lane.

This means that if you’re conscientious, you can repeatedly observe, cast to, and even catch the same fish throughout the season.

More likely, you’ll have a complex and unhealthy love-hate relationship with an animal sporting very little in the way of cognitive function.

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Killer Angles: Blue Halo on Bending Fly Fishing

 

Ten years ago, you wouldn’t see many serious anglers fishing fiberglass fly rods. Ten years ago, you wouldn’t see anyone, let alone a “serious angler” fishing a day-glow neon fly rod.

A lot can happen in ten years.

Ten years ago, Blue Halo wasn’t a company yet. At that time, cofounder and current CEO Cortney Boice was starting to become frustrated with his present rod options. “Back when the industry was going through this phase of every rod having to be fast action, I was fishing that kind of rod,” Boice says. “Then I personally went through a phase of losing fish, getting knots in my leader, and finding myself frustrated. I know it was my fault, but I didn’t think my gear was helping me.”

Fortunately, he had a friend who built bamboo rods. “I liked how they casted, and I felt like I was landing more fish.” But the cost of a bamboo fly rod, let alone multiple lengths and weights, was prohibitive. Boice went looking into his past, when he first started fly fishing, for the kind of rod that would be softer than graphite and more economical than grass.

Like many who have taken up fly fishing, his first rod was an inexpensive fiberglass model. The feel was right and the price was right. “The problem was that there weren’t a lot of (fiberglass) options outside of custom rod rollers,” says Boice. “And they had to do manually. Sometimes it would take up to six months to get a rod into your hand.” This didn’t seem reasonable to Boice and his partners. Their own desire to fish glass led to them to ask a simple question: Why shouldn’t someone who wants a fiberglass rod be able to get it as fast as they could get a graphite rod?

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Last Cast of the Week, 3/9/2018

Most 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 will be featured on The Last Cast of the Week.

Today, I’m sharing items from Risen Fly Fishing, Texas Fly Fishing & Brew Festival, and Orvis.

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:

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Words of Water

In terms of a first cause, anglers are drawn to water because of the fish. The lure of hooking and landing trout or bass reels people into the outside. Once there, the enchantment of nature works its way quickly through the sporting pursuit and deep into the psyche. The result is an affinity for the wild places.

A narrative without a defined setting is abstract and bland. Catching fish can’t be separated from the places fish are caught from. The water walked and plumbed by fly fishers is, in many ways, more important than the fish. Both the quarry and the angler need water, and even when the two don’t have contact the water is essential. A fishless day can be frustrating, but the water is always therapeutic in its own manner.

It is no surprise then that water elicits a visceral response for fly fishers. Tracing blue lines on maps, passing over bridges, or hearing the names of familiar waterways triggers memories and emotions. When the angler is away from these places, words draw more than the pull of a fish.

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Where to Go When Everyone is Fly Fishing

Certain times of the year, everyone wants to go fishing. The beginning of the season, nice weather, and hatches get people of all angling stripes into their waders. Although there is a lot of fishable water out there, the most popular spots fill up quickly during these times. Then, you find yourself “competing” while fly fishing. The solitude and tranquility so many seek is stripped away. You’re left with crowds, noise, and even the notorious combat angling scene.

Again, the most popular spots fill up quickly. Often these well-known holes have gained their reputation for their productivity. However, the prime times on the fabled stretches aren’t your only option.

If fishing is good in spot 1a, there is a good chance that you’ll do just fine in spot 1b. And if that first choice has been hammered for days or weeks, the backup option may very well yield much more than just tranquility.

Here are four strategies that can help. They don’t have anything to do with fly selection or trout prospecting. Some of the best fly fishing advice you can receive has more to do with how you approach a day, rather than how you approach a fish. Rethinking the questions of “where” and “when” can allow you to  get out, even on the most popular spots, and get into fish.

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Last Cast of the Week, 3/2/2018

Most 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 will be featured on The Last Cast of the Week.

Today, I’m sharing items from Cheeky, Rep Your Water, and The Fly Fishing Show.

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:

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Respect the Natives: Mana Fly Fishing

In art, music, or even culinary pursuits, individuals draw inspiration from the places in which they create. A region, a culture, or a landmark can provide the stimulus that instigates or propels the creative process. For Mana Fly Fishing, everything that is wrapped up in a sense of place matters.

Mana is a relatively new player in the fly fishing industry. Established in Rhode Island, but bearing a Hawaiian name, the company was founded to offer something slightly different in a crowded field. “Mana (pronounced mah-na) is this great Hawaiian word that communicates that there is this energy in everything,” says founder Joe Ware. “It really speaks to appreciating nature and seeking adventure, which are absolutely how I see fly fishing.”

More than the pursuit, this philosophy extends to the power of being in a certain place. This impacted Ware when he initially spent time in Hawaii, far away from his native Northeast. The bonefish of the panhandle flats exuded a similar, but different, energy than the steelhead and stripers of home. This, among other things, lead to him founding Mana and synthesizing the influences of two seemingly disparate parts of the same country. Even the logo, three waves symbolizing the Pacific, Atlantic, and inland waters, incorporates the diversity found within the United States.

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