5 Thoughts for Streamers on Small Streams

I love fishing small streams, and I am not alone. The pay off from the whole experience of fly fishing on a small stream equates to a lot more than just catching fish. Usually you are alone, in beautiful places, and away from it all. Usually, you are only catching small fish. But, there is no reason why you can’t get a 12 or 14 inch mountain brookie or cutthroat into the rotation every now and again.

Larger fish will certainly eat dry flies and nymphs, seeing as they too are opportunistic feeders in these particular habitats. But how do you go about catching the largest fish in any other river? Big, meaty, streamers.

There are differences between chucking articulated flies against the bank of a roaring tailwater and fishing a streamer in a small creek. There are also differences between dapping tiny attractor patterns and fishing a streamer in a small creek. The rod, flies, and approach have to all be significantly  altered from what you’re used to. Here are five things you ought to consider if you want to get into the pool bosses of your local, small stream – including my favorite presentation:

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Setting Sail Again with Pirate Fly Fishing

If their first fly patch caught your eye on social media because of the vivid colors of the brown trout pattern, the brook trout design of the new First Mate probably had you following links to learn more about Pirate Fly Fishing.

Back in March I spoke with Justin West of Pirate Fly Fishing about the launch of their first product. Recently, I had the chance to speak with the other half of Pirate Fly Fishing, Maddie Bonthron, about the next item they will hopefully be rolling out: the First Mate Patch.

The First Mate isn’t an upgrade or replacement from the Pirate’s Fly Patch, it is just another option for anglers. The same high-density foam and near-indestructible plastic create the core product. Now, two super-strong magnets sit at either end of the patch. They allow anglers to drop flies or tools on the edges. This patch also uses Velcro to affix to surfaces – boats, car interiors, coolers, or even sling packs. And it is generating similar buzz in the fly fishing world to their initial offering.

“Since March we’ve had some great experiences with the patch,” said Bonthron. “In particular, going to trade shows was great for exposure, networking, and having people get the product in their hands. Once they did that, they saw how relevant it could be.”

The key to this relevance, and the spark of inspiration for the next project, is the simplicity that embodies the design. In a time where even the simplest fly fishing products have the tendency to be over engineered, pirate decided that there was a real benefit to the less is more approach. Bonthron explains: “Sometimes even the simplest things have a learning curve. We like the idea of people understanding what we make, but then seeing a whole range of possibilities of how they could use it.”
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Video: Office Fishing Knickknacks

Have you ever answered a question that wasn’t asked?

I have. And you get to hear and watch the answer.

All the while getting the treat of rapid motion, awkward camera angles, my not looking at the right part of the cell phone, glowing hands from being too close to the lens, and other enjoyable byproducts of anyone and everyone being able to film and upload random nonsense to YouTube.

That being said, you do get to see some stuff that is in my office. With commentary.

Come to think of it, I don’t have a lot of fly fishing stuff in my office. All of my good  angling whatnot is still  in a box at the new house… Perhaps this is just the beginning. Yeah – treat this video as the beginning of the HGTV show, and sometime down the line the big reveal will happen.

There will be excitement, there will be surprises, and there will be tears.

Check out the video below:

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Astral: My Favorite Fly Fishing Shoe isn’t a Fly Fishing Shoe

After I blew out the heel/ankle on my third pair, I knew I was going to have to bid adieu to a very popular brand of sandals. For over five years, this particular pair of footwear had been pushed with varying degrees of success. Wet wading, beach trips, and casual summer wear saw me in these sandals. But averaging less than two years for over $100? I was ready to move on.

My first inclination was to try out one of the options from within the fly fishing industry. Plenty of brands have angling-specific sandals or wet wading boots. To be honest, however, I didn’t want to spend a lot of money. And wading footwear gets expensive quickly.

As much as I love getting the latest and greatest in fly fishing, I was feeling the crunch of being cost-effective and realistic about my chances of justifying another pair of “fishing shoes.”

I did have a gift card to an outdoor retailer. This chain has angling gear, but their focus is on adventure and casual items. I browsed through their selection of sandals and shoes. One pair, initially only through it’s aesthetics, stood out to me.

The Astral Brewer.

A relatively young company (2002) focusing on PFD’s and other water sport accessories, Astral is a popular brand among kayakers in particular. This North Carolina company not only seeks to be on the front lines of both function and form, but also eco-friendly practices. Their reputation is strong, both for use and durability.

Yet I could not find anything, aside from a few random message board comments, about their footwear being used by fly fishers.

But why not? The Brewer, the model I was looking at, seems like a perfect fit for many of my wading needs. Quick drying fabric, solid construction, sticky rubber sole, ports for expelling water and small debris, and the almost universal  accolade of comfort. And, they look good.

I bought them, and I used them.

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Casting Across Comes Alive!

Ah, technology. Today I went fishing and live streamed it across the universe. Using Instagram, I recorded myself on my cell phone and allowed the public to join me on my adventure.

As you may be aware, I hadn’t caught a fish in the month of September. Trying times, these. I saw an opportunity in my day to fish in a spot that I knew would be sick with panfish. There are carp, there are smallmouth, but there are lots and lots of panfish.

If you’ve ever watched fishing shows on television before, you are probably well aware that all they do is catch fish. Big bass after big bass. Bill Dance is in a constant state of unhooking 7 pound fish.

I knew that this was the expectation that my audience would have going into my live stream. So I stacked the deck in my favor, made sure the beard and mustache looked good in the mirror, tied my fly on, and action.

I froze. What do I do? What do I say? Should I show myself or reverse the camera and show the water? A few seconds in and I’ve stared blankly, the awkwardness only being slightly reduced by the fact that I’m wearing mirrored sunglasses.

Instagram does you the favor of showing you how many people are watching you. Or, conversely, how many people are not watching you. It became immediately apparent that this was going to be an exercise in futility.

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Last Cast of the Week, 9/22/2017

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  Hatch Magazine / Patagonia,  Beaverkill Angler / Orvis, & Cortland.

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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The Historic Range of Adventure

This brook trout was caught within its species’ historic range. You might respond with very little excitement, as that is precisely where one would expect to find any animal. Or, you could appreciate the fact that the historic distribution of char up and down the East Coast has been greatly diminished to the point where there are relatively few populations remaining.

Let me tell you something: this trout is unremarkable in the first sense and very special in the second. But there is much more to this fish than either of those things.

Tbis brook trout is an urban brook trout. it was caught just outside of city limits. Cities, as you know, have been the bane of nature for as long as development has existed. While we can absolutely be good stewards of the creation that is around us, it is totally impossible to not have any negative impact. Some species, and some ecosystems, are much more fragile than others. They feel the brunt of modernity much more quickly and much more pointedly.

Spring creeks and salmonids are up there when it comes to fragility. That is why this brook trout is special.

So, why even fish in a place like this? Isn’t it a bit hypocritical or counterintuitive to stress an already stressed creature and habitat?

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In Defense of the Palomino

Gimmicky. Bananas. Unnatural. And worst of all: stockers.

Those are some of the pejorative terms used by anglers to describe a particular flavor of rainbow trout. The fish in question is, of course, the Palomino.

Otherwise known as the golden rainbow, and sometimes improperly (and abhorrently, to the chagrin of west coast anglers) referred to as a “golden trout,” this hatchery product can be found pretty much anywhere rainbow trout are stocked. The official story is that these genetically modified fish were cooked up in a West Virginia laboratory a few decades ago. I like to put on my tinfoil hat and assume that Three Mile Island had a hand in their genesis.

The neon yellow and orange fish are derided online and amongst anglers. But palominos are the ABBA of trout. You make fun of “Dancing Queen” in front of your friends, but when it is on the radio you turn  it up. When you see a palomino, you fish for it.

Don’t lie. It is okay. And here are three reasons why:

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15 Days


Today is September 15, 2017. You know what that means?

This is the longest I have gone in any month this year without catching a fish. 15 whole days. And, I haven’t even tried. I have not gone fishing once in the month of September.

January? I caught fish. February? Fish. Even those two cold months started off with fish in hand. The springtime and summer were easy enough. Bass, trout, you name it.  Salt, fresh, warm, cold.

But here I am, halfway through the ninth month of the year, with no fin to show for it.

“But you just moved, certainly that is a perfectly reasonable excuse!” you might say. Unloading boxes and remodeling are precisely why I should be fishing.

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A Good Day at the Fly Shop

Believe it or not, I do other outdoor stuff outside of fly fishing. I run, I (enjoy it when someone else tends to the) garden, I hike. I’m even comfortable enough to spend a whole day doing one of those things, even if it means that I am “giving up” a day fishing.

That doesn’t mean that I am not going to be thinking about fishing. Or looking in mountain streams for brookies. Or noticing big, cruising carp in a subdivision pond. Or planning my next trip to wherever I am currently, this time with fly rod in hand.

A few weeks back I was up in Vermont, doing some trail running and exploring a part of New England that I had yet to venture into. Vermont is beautiful, but the location of the state makes it such that you’re not going to be there unless you want to be there. No one just drives through Vermont. The Stowe area, where I was, is great. But unless you ski, there probably isn’t much of a draw for folks from a distance.

The ridge of Mt. Mansfield, containing the highest peak in Vermont, was the draw for me. I hit it early in the morning, enjoying spectacular weather and views only slightly obscured by wildfires blazing to the north in Canada. After the run, I ate some pizza in Stowe, and headed back down to Massachusetts.

When what did I see? A sign for “The Fly Rod Shop.”

I’ve known that the shop existed, primarily from seeing social media buzz for their relatively young fly fishing show. Being “The Vermont Fly Fishing Show,” I rightly assumed it was somewhere in Vermont – but I had no clue I’d be passing it on my trip.

So, I stopped in.

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