Fly Fishing Writing: The Long & The Short of It

The average post on Casting Across runs around 600 words. That isn’t a lot. That is like a few pages of a book.  (Books are like websites that people have printed out and stapled together and you don’t need wifi to read.)

Why keep it short? Well, I don’t spend a lot of time reading stuff on the internet. Consequently, I don’t expect you to spend a lot of time reading stuff I write on the internet.

Sometimes the thoughts I have rattling around in my head or jotted down on a notepad exceed 600 words (notepads are like word processors…   never mind). My solution to this has always been to break the topic down into component parts. “I want to write about a trout,” I’ll say. “But the trout deserves, like, at least 1,000 words to describe adequately.” What a dilemma. “Oh! Monday I’ll write about the head and the pectoral fin, and Wednesday I’ll write about the dorsal fin and the tail!” Genius.

Recently I did this as I drew parallels between barbecue and fly fishing. That wasn’t my first faux long form rodeo.  In fact, there are two other pieces on Casting Across that blow past the 600 word finish line.  Have more than a minute? Want some real narrative juice and emotional progression? Looking to kill time getting your oil changed?

Read these two series:

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Don’t Filter Brook Trout

I understand why bad pictures get the black and white treatment to make them more interesting.

(I’m guilty of that.)

I can tolerate people using Snapchat to make their faces slimmer and their eyes brighter.

(I’m not guilty of that.)

I’m opposed to using filters on brook trout.

This isn’t some sort of crusade or cause. It isn’t about making people feel bad. Saying this certainly shouldn’t be cause to search back into the archives of social media accounts to determine who has potentially committed this faux pas. It is a preference, and one that I feel is worth sharing.

After all, what is the point?

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You Only Turn Four Once

I had three offers to go fishing today. That’s right, I live a pretty privileged life.

Offer #1: float a large, super productive trout river.

Offer #2: chase the swelling population of stripers off the beach.

Offer #3: spinning rods, bluegill, and not a whole lot of fishing myself.

Can you guess which one I chose?

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BBQ: The Perfect Food for Fly Fishing, III

Do you fly fish?

If you answered “no,” then the next question is “why not?”

If you answered “yes,” then there are about 100 questions to follow.

The reason being the remarkable amount of diversity within fly fishing. One angler might primarily pursue trout on spring creeks while another’s quarry is whatever happens to be running up the coast. In certain parts of the country, both of those people may very well live in the same town. Their target species, gear, and potentially even disposition may be radically different – but they’re both fly fishers.

The same sort of world within a world situation is present in barbecue.

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BBQ: The Perfect Food for Fly Fishing, II

To catch a fish, all you need is a cane pole, some line, a hook, and a worm.

To cook meat, all you need is a pan and some heat.

Those approaches will get the respective jobs done. Fishing or cooking like that could be considered doing things the easy way. Straightforward methods work, but there isn’t the precision and care that takes things to the next level. It is pragmatic, it isn’t a craft.

Barbecue and fly fishing are crafts.

Personally, both barbecue and fly fishing trigger the same parts of my brain. The culture and the skill involved in each cause similar synapses to fire, resulting in euphoria… and a little bit of compulsive behavior. Basically, this is why I believe that fly fishing and barbecue are perfectly complementary.

Think about it this way:

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BBQ: The Perfect Food for Fly Fishing, I

In the summer of 2015, I decided that I wanted to write something for public consumption. Two topics immediately came to the forefront of my mind. What was actually the second, fly fishing, won out. Casting Across was launched in the fall.

The first topic was barbecue.

Why write about food? More to the point, why write about just one food?

In the fall of 2001 I flipped through the Columbia, South Carolina phonebook looking for an all-you-can-eat dinner option for myself and some college friends. Farm Boy’s Barbeque in Chapin advertised such a menu. We drove, we ate, and my life changed that night.

What I saw was a craft surrounded by a culture. It wasn’t just amazing pulled pork. Not unlike fly fishing, there is an entire barbecue world that spins a smoky circle much wider than a pile of tender, delectable meat. In fact, I’d argue that barbecue and fly fishing have a lot in common. More in common, perhaps, than any other food.

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Rusty Flybox: Smile, Grumpy Fly Fishers

You know something that everyone who fly fishes is able to do? Smile.

Sure, in fly fishing some people like to be super serious. Go to a fly fishing show or Trout Unlimited meeting and you’ll inevitably see a guy  who looks like he’s just broken the tip of his favorite rod. There are always going to be gloomy people out there.

But even the grumpiest, most sour-puss fly fisherman can smile at some of the funnier aspects of what we do as we pursue fish.

Right?

Well, below are three of my attempts at making you smile while thinking about fly fishing. One has to do with an angling exercise routine, another focuses on how we get our hopes up on the water, and the last… well, let’s just say it could be a little controversial.

Read any of them by clicking on the title or the picture:

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Untying the Mystery of Fly Fishing Leaders, II

Have you ever taken the time to look through some of the more thorough resources on leaders? Some anglers have spent a lot of time intricately thinking through the dynamics of material diameter and length. You can really fall down the rabbit hole. There are individual formulas for every weight of fly, depth of water, and speed of current.

But just like anything else in fly fishing, you don’t need to get that involved to be successful.

Last week I shared six simple concepts that I find helpful when thinking about leaders. For someone who is just getting started, or for someone who has decided to go one step further than just using knotless, tapered leaders, these are quick techniques that I’ve integrated into a lot of my fly fishing.

Again, these are not intense and over-engineered formulas. If you want to jump into that game immediately, go for it. There are all sorts of great resources out there. These are just meant to basic leaders that will help you understand the relationships of taper, length, and diameter to casting and presentation.

Here are three ideas for leaders:

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Higher Fly Fishing Perspective

Imagine watching a movie dozens of times but never seeing the beginning. Assuming the story isn’t too complicated, you’ll probably get the gist of things. And if it’s a good flick you’ll enjoy the experience regardless.

Up until this past week, that was kind of my experience with Shenandoah National Park.

Since the earliest days of my fly fishing, I’ve been exploring the rivers on both slopes of the park. The Rapidan, Rose, Devil’s Ditch, Thornton, and Piney were creeks that I frequented over the decades. I’d drive from Northern Virginia to spend the day hiking upstream and chasing wild fish.

The scenery was spectacular. The wildlife was abundant. The little rural villages became familiar. With few exceptions the brook trout were cooperative.

But I’d never seen the beginning of the movie.

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Last Cast of the Week, 7/13/2018

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, Angling Trade / IFTD, &  Boston Globe / Bradford Camps.

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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