Earth Day Books from My Other Library

I don’t celebrate Earth Day. But I think about the environment quite a bit. And I do so from within a worldview that forces me to reckon with nature, my place in it, and the entire trajectory of the created order.

If you have been around Casting Across for any length of time, you are probably aware that I am a pastor. These days, it is necessary to qualify that statement with the follow up that I am a pastor who believes in the Bible. Funny days, these.

Similarly, if you’ve been reading or listening to Casting Across you undoubtedly know that I hold books in high regard. Fly fishing books are one of the pillars of my angling appreciation. But for every one fishing volume I own, I probably have another dozen books touching on some various aspect of theology.

So today, “in honor of Earth Day” (albeit a few days late), I’m sharing some books on nature from my other library. There isn’t anything here about casting, fly selection, or where to catch the biggest trout in the lower 48. But the concepts and questions books like these will encourage you to think through address the very ground beneath your wading boots.

Are you a Christian who wants to pursue a more theologically rigorous conception of the world around you? Are you a skeptic who has only heard the stale, one-note church choir sing about using it up because the end is near? Here are four books worth reading that present a Biblical worldview of the creation:

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Catching Virtually Inaccessible Fish

Fishing new water is always exciting. Particularly when there is  a high degree of certainty  that there will be plenty of trout, exploration is enjoyable. A recent  morning on a new stretch of river was filled with probing undercut banks and drifts through deep runs. Slow and deliberate observation was the ticket to identifying spots and staying inconspicuous. Upon turning a bank in the creek, I saw a hole that obviously held a fish.

The only problem was that it was virtually inaccessible. Virtually, not completely. But it was going to be a challenge. There were two large logs forming an “x” across the creek. Debris had piled up at the center axis, which also happened to be right over the deep, dark hole on the same bank as me. That was my target.

I’ve caught plenty of trout out of virtually inaccessible spots. Each time it requires some significant planning, positioning, and, ultimately, being the beneficiary of circumstance. I’ve also botched plenty of legitimate chances at good fish holding in complex situations. Bad casts, bad drifts, bad back casts, bad rod positioning, bad footing, and bad approaches have led to plenty of spooked and lost fish. Some trout aren’t going to be caught. Others can be, but it takes a little bit of work.

Here are four things to think about when it comes to spots that force truly challenging presentations:

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Podcast Ep. 284: Urban Fly Fishing 101

Trout don’t live in ugly places is a cute little phrase. But it is not true.

I have caught trout in some ug-ly places. Busted concrete abutments, shopping carts, and the growl of engine braking are not what you think when you daydream of fly fishing. But out of necessity or adventure, this alternative ambiance certainly is an option.

Today I give an ever-so surface level primer of how to figure out where and how to fish in town, city, or subdivision. You might have to dodge an angry person or some garbage, but you might also have an unforgettable angling excursion.

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

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TroutRoutes & onX: Charting Fishing Success

TroutRoutes is unequivocally the best digital app for fly fishers. And no: it is nothing like social media. No one knows where you’re fishing, what you’re catching, or what you’re doing. Given the majority of the angling apps out there, that needs to be said. It could be argued that alone makes it  worth having on your device.

But there is, of course, so much more. And now that onX has acquired TroutRoutes? You can be sure that more is going to get even better.

If you hunt, or are simply aware of the vast outdoor industry outside of fly fishing, you are undoubtedly familiar with onX. The platform is the digital authority for knowing access and distances in the field. It is also a superb mapping tool regardless of how far from civilization you find yourself. Launching soon, onX fish  promises to provide the same benefits to anglers who find themselves motoring across massive lakes or walking around their local pond. With their absolute wealth of data resources for trout rivers throughout the country, TroutRoutes will serve as a powerful third facet of the onX family.

Check out the press release, and more of my experience with TroutRoutes, below:

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Leaves of Three: Let Anglers Be!

photo: NPS

The large trout was gently finning, staying relatively still in the gin clear water. Every once in a while he would slide to the right or the left. Given that the spring creek was absolutely thick with cress bugs, it was a safe assumption that the brown was sold out to feeding on these little crustaceans. Now all I had to do was get my fake cress bug in front of him.

But then I realized there was a problem.

I had crawled under the bushes for a dozen yards to observe this particular brown trout. Walking upstream, a flash of color and movement gave me all I needed to investigate. Since the fish in the headwaters of this stream were notoriously wary I made the decision to slither on my belly to an unobtrusive vantage point. These trout were earned. This kind of thing was normal.

As I already mentioned, after locating the fish and identifying a reasonable pattern in his behavior there was a problem. The cast and presentation would be difficult; sure. But the real quandary I found myself in was a thick tangle of poison ivy. I had been so laser focused on keeping my eyeballs on the fish that I neglected to acknowledge that I was army crawling through Satan’s preferred ground covering.

Remarkably, I came away from that scenario unscathed. I say remarkably, because that is not usually what happens to me when I come in contact with even a hint of the oil from this demon vine. Calamine and steroids are usually necessary. That is why I am usually much more observant of these three poison ivy deterrents:

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Podcast Ep. 283: Guide Stories & Insights

Guides do a lot more than put fish on the end of your line. In fact, putting fish on the end of your line is one of those things they can’t do. So when they ask questions, give ideas, or encourage the trip to go in a different direction, their expertise is worth leaning into.

Today I’m sharing four guide stories. Two are from my perspective as a client, one as a guide, and the last is from a friend with a particularly stubborn client. They’re more educational/cautionary tales than anything else, but hopefully they can give some perspective as we’re heading into another fishing season. And, potentially time on the water with a guide.

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

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The Kind of Moxie it Takes to be Anadromous

The history of introducing fish into American waterways is a story of interesting stories. Setting aside the ecological concerns of nonnative species for a moment, the paths taken by the ancestors of today’s trout and bass are remarkable. There are plenty of fantastical accounts of warming barrels of fry and derailed trail cars filled with parr. Of course, some may be apocryphal.

At the same time, when we watch a hatchery tanker filled with 100,000 juvenile salmon overturn and dump the majority of the fish into a river we can believe the fantastic.

This precise thing happened in early last week (April, 2024).

While we don’t know the end of the story, the beginning of this fish tale are certainly interesting:

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Reelly: Believe the Fly Fishing Unbelievable

“What is the most unbelievable thing that has happened on the river?” After guiding for decades, Ryan Johnston has probably heard that query more than a few times. The result is Reelly.

In asking a question like that, some people are  looking to be amazed. Some are probably looking for dirt.  Johnston’s book is not a tawdry list of misbehaving, rude, or clueless clients. There are a few individuals who grace the pages of Reelly that might make you wince a bit, but this isn’t an opportunity for a fly fishing guide to vent. While  “unbelievable fly fishing guide stories”  may elicit the idea of one worst day ever after another, this book does something different. And it does something better.

In a straightforward but engaging manner Reelly lays out dozens of remarkable moments from a guide’s decades at the oars. Most of the situations would be the most talked about scenario of your season. Some may very well be the pinnacle of your angling career. For Johnston, enough things like this have happened that it was probably wise to record it all for memory’s sake.

But because he did, you have an opportunity to hear about these unbelievable moments too.

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Podcast Ep. 282: Nasty Weather Fly Gear

…and a few of them are pretty inexpensive, too.

For one reason or another, you might find yourself fly fishing in the kind of weather that isn’t found on catalog covers. But there is also a very good chance that such outings yield experiences that you won’t forget.

By and large, the gear that you have will work when water is high, fast, and coming from the sky. But there are a few things that are really helpful for you to have on hand when the fair-weather anglers are warm and dry.

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

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Bread, Milk, & Egg Patterns

As far as I can recall, I’ve only really pressed my luck once when it has come to fly fishing in blizzards.

To be fair, I was fishing the Lake Erie tributaries. Not only are the lake effect weather patterns erratic, but combat fishing for steelhead* puts you in an unstable state of mind. After two days with moderate success with the trout, we woke to a report saying that the entire Northeast and Mid-Atlantic was going to be covered in snow. Immediately.

Bearing an implicit assumption that the media sensationalizes things, we thought we could get a morning of fishing in. By the time we waded into the river the visibility had dropped to a long double haul’s length. So we thought we could still get half a morning of fishing in.

Crawling down the interstate a few hours later, flanked by giant PennDOT salt trucks, we began to second guess our decision.

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