Leader Follower: Fly Fishing with Furled Leaders

I’ve always used a monofilament leader… why should I change?

That is a perfectly legitimate question. I feel qualified to say that, considering it was a question that I posed myself this past winter.

For the first half dozen years of my fly fishing career, I used pack after pack of knotless tapered leaders. After I noticed their lack of versatility and their cost, I began tying my own monofilament and fluorocarbon leaders. My wallet reaped the greatest benefit, and I could discern some advantages. But all in all, it was still just a leader.

Leaders are the least glamorous part of the fly fisher’s terminal tackle. The rod and reel are the stars, the fly gets the most attention, and the line makes it all work. Leaders are simply there because they have to be, right?

The why should I change? question this winter came after I came across a North Carolina company that specializes in furled leaders. What I saw from Appalachian Furled Leader Company got me asking what this traditional, yet underrepresented piece of gear had going for it. I contacted Justin Rose, the owner and leader maker, and asked him what made furled leaders so special? His answer was simple: “you’ve just got to fish one, then you’ll see what makes them so great.”

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Last Cast of the Week, 5/5/2017

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 Trout Unlimited, Cheeky, & Presenting the Fly.

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.

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Lightning and Fly Fishing – Trout Unlimited

I have the day off today – a perfect opportunity to go fishing. However, it is storming and looks to continue to do so.  It might be tempting to get out, but as this article from Kirk Deeter reminds me, it just isn’t worth it.  This is the kind of reminder that we all need. Do you know what else we all need? A picture of a graphite fly rod that has experienced a lightning strike. Read this quick post on the TU site to see just that.

Largemouth Flies – Cheeky

So many fly fishers target largemouth bass. Few seem to utilize the most tried and true methods available, choosing instead to “just throw a popper” or “strip a big streamer.” The first step in successfully  pursuing these fish is proper fly selection. Check out what the guys at Cheeky have put together on their excellent, daily blog. Yes – daily! Good reels, good belts, good content.

Presenting the Fly

You should be following the guys from Presenting the Fly.  I met them many moons ago at a fly fishing industry event in Boston. They always have some fun stuff on social media, and their website is very well made. Their home waters are in New England, which, aside from stripers and some Maine brook trout, is underrepresented.  Their latest adventures saw them spend a day on the Farmington River in CT.

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Pull Trout, Not Muscles: A Guide

About 10 years ago, I went bowling. Standing at the counter, waiting for my freshly aerosoled shoes, I noticed a brightly colored trifold brochure. “Stretches for Bowling.” A professional bowler (I assume) was featured on the cover, doing his best to not exert himself too much by pulling his left arm across his chest.

The first revelation I had: I’ve been bowling in a very dangerous state since I was a child. Tens of games played with nary a stretch. It is a good thing I’m not paralyzed.

Secondly, I began to ponder what other activities I should be warming up for. Cooking? Driving” Reading?

And then, of course, fly fishing. #eureka

Now, I’m not talented enough to put together a full color brochure that includes a model demonstrating the proper technique. So you’ll have to wander through this quagmire and hope for the best. Without further ado, the official…

Casting Across’ 5 Stretches for Fly Fishing

The Bootfoot Toecurl: Before you step into the water, you’ve got to put your waders on. The last thing that you want is a foot cramp sidelining you, leaving you writhing in pain behind the trunk of your car. Curl your toes up, like four or five times.

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Fly Fishing For Sunfish

Catching sunfish and fishing for sunfish are two entirely different things. Most anglers catch sunfish. Often the bycatch when fishing for larger species like bass, these round relatives of the more popular sportfish strike voraciously at flies that don’t even come close to fitting in their mouths. But perhaps in a similar manner that the lowly carp has received a surge of popularity in the fly fishing community over the past decade, panfish will finally receive broader recognition for their value as a targeted species.

Often referred to by to some general name according to one’s region, bluegill, pumpkinseed, green sunfish, redbreast sunfish, rock bass and other species of sunfish can put up quite the fight. Moreover, larger specimens aren’t pushovers. Particularly in the southeast, there is a devoted and fanatical angling community that specifically seeks these bruisers. Once these fish get to a foot in length, you can throw all of your cane pole, corn kernel misconceptions out the window.

Once again, catching sunfish and fishing for sunfish are not the same thing. And you will very likely not catch a trophy sunfish unless you are fishing for them.

Late Spring (post-spawn) and summer sunfish fishing can be incredibly dynamic. Although there are plenty of four and five-inch exceptions to the rule, most panfish will stay around cover. Rocks, stumps, and weeds are very likely places that you’ll find them. Expansive weed beds and larger submerged trees are ideal spots for larger sunfish. True, these are the main locations that bass are targeted. The bass are there for the exact same reason you are: sunfish are the objective. Although they have similar behaviors, are both predatory, and are even related; they are very different. Thus, the warmwater fly angler has to adapt in order to chase trophy sunfish.

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Last Cast of the Week, 4/28/2017

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  Orvis News, BeerAdvocate, & Life Magazine Archives.

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.

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Orvis News – Ask the Experts

Have you ever sat through a lecture or debate,  just waiting for the (more) exciting Q&A session at the end? Orvis News puts one of these out every once in a while. Guides and pros from all across the country have been asked: “What are one or two things that most fly fishers don’t do that they should?” As you can imagine, there are some diverse answers – but all are beneficial.  This post features some good information about cleaning line, mending, and paying attention.

BeerAdvocate – Brewing for Beasts

If you fly fish and have ever been to a restaurant, bar, or grocery store, you know that there are plenty of beer labels adorned with illustrations of fish. The fact is that the craft beer culture and the outdoors culture have a lot of common ground these days. Most notably, a conservation ethic. This article explores some of the breweries – large and small – that are involved in preservation and protection of wildlife. “Whatever the reason, your next pint could be contributing to the health of your local ecosystem—so drink up, and toast the fish, snakes, and birds that, in a small way, you’re helping to save.”

Life Image Archives

Want to kill an hour… or afternoon? Life magazine (that was a thing, once)  has a great selection of their photography up on the web, and it can be accessed via a Google search option. Sports, celebrities, and politicians – they’re all in there. Just putting in “fishing” provides some amazing vintage images of people angling from Canada to Cuba. If you are into history, aesthetics, or daydreaming, you need to check out this consolidated collection of high quality photos.

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Fly Fishing Gear Review: 2001 Subaru Forester Rear Bumper

There are pieces of fly fishing gear that I leave at home from time to time. They are important, but they aren’t invaluable. Engaging in this lifestyle for nearly two decades, I’ve amassed quite the collection of rods, reels, and miscellany. Many of the various bits of tackle are uniquely created for use in a certain body of water, a particular season, or a specific fish. Those fly boxes and leaders might get pulled out for a month, then packed away for the rest of the year.

However, there is one necessary armament in my angling arsenal that I literally never go fishing without.

The rear bumper of my 2001 Subaru Forester.

I know, I know. It hasn’t been featured in any magazine or blog’s “best of” articles; nor are there any young, attractive, social media personalities posting super cool photos of their neatly disheveled adventures in front of one. But I have to tell you: this thing is indispensable.

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Fly Fishing at Night & Not Getting Bit in the Face

“Things that go bump in the night” is hardly a frightening phrase in the context of fly fishing.

The bump is precisely what you’re looking for. A fish eating your fly, responding out of the darkness, is the whole point. It isn’t as though fishing at night is the same as, say, ophiology at night. Identifying snakes in the dark is a bad idea. For one, you can recite “red to black, friend to Jack” until you’re blue in the face… because you didn’t see it was actually a venomous coral snake the whole time, and it had been biting your face. But I digress.

So, are you scared of fly fishing at night?

(Maybe you weren’t before, but you are now, knowing that you could get bit in the face by a coral snake.)

Here are some benefits:

  • You get to go fishing.
  • Fish feed at night.
  • There are fewer people fishing at night.
  • Chances are that your children and your job don’t require your attention at night.*

*Don’t leave your children alone. That is what your spouse is for.**

**This isn’t to say that your spouse doesn’t require your attention. Bring her some ice cream.

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Last Cast of the Week, 4/21/2017

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 Fly Fishers International, PA Fish & Boat Commission, &  IndiFly / Sight Line Provisions.

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.

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Fly Fishers International

Ever heard of Fly Fishers International? Sure you have: it is the new name for the International Federation of Fly Fishers (IFFF).  The name change is not simply for the sake of “rebranding.” From everything that the FFI has written, it seems like they are positioning themselves for engaging with the next generation and the culture of fly fishing in the 21st century.  If you’ve only ever thought there was one major fly fishing / conservation group, then take a moment to check out the new FFI.

PA Fish & Boat App

Have you ever tried to navigate a state conservation organization’s website on a mobile device. Miserable. Between the numerous menus, options, images, and formats – formatted in varying success for smaller resolutions – the experience can run the gamut from awful to impossible. The Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission has put their regulations, stocking schedules, and other pertinent information on an app. Although this is only one tiny part of the overall picture when it comes to what a state can/should do, these are contemporary moves that allow citizens to engage with their agencies.

IndiFly /  Sight Line Provisions

I learned about IndiFly through a bracelet (it is a really nice bracelet from a company you should definitely check out). IndiFly is a group that uses fly fishing to conserve fisheries and support indigenous peoples.  The injection of interest and financial investment can go a long way when it comes to placing a buffer between remote and imperiled environments and harmful change. Relationships, through fly fishing, are the key that gets the whole thing going. Want an interesting trip of a lifetime that accomplishes more than giving you a great weekend? Check out IndiFly.

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Lyme: Avoid Getting Ticked While Fly Fishing

Three years ago I was at work, sitting at my desk, when I realized something was off. I had gone for a run that morning, but it wasn’t a route that was particularly long or rugged.  Nevertheless, my ankles, knees, and hips felt like they’d been through a rough game of football.

By no means am I a hypochondriac. This, however, was not normal for an active man of around 30 years old. I did have a previously  scheduled doctor’s appointment that I was able to move to that afternoon.

“Have you found any ticks?” was her first question. I hadn’t.

“Well, we’ll run the test,” she said, “And take a few doses of doxycyclene, just in case.”

Again, I hadn’t found any ticks on myself. There was no bulls-eye rash. I was just exhausted and sore.

I went home that afternoon and slept until evening. Waking up, I felt a little better and decided to take a shower. Sure enough, there was a clear bulls-eye rash that had developed on my thigh. Within an hour, I got a call from the lab saying I had tested positive for Lyme disease.

On a positive note, I felt great the next day. I went back to work, did some chores in the yard, and even  was back to running. That was a blessing. Many people aren’t that fortunate, either due to a late diagnosis, a misdiagnosis, or simply their reaction to the bacteria.

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Outcarped

I stood there, tenkara rod in hand, and stared at the grass carp.

In all seriousness, it had to have been nearly four feet long. It’s back and tail were out of the water, and what was exposed of this creature was bigger than most trout I catch. I could see its mouth opening and closing from time to time. It looked like I could have fit my fist into its maw.

I made a cast to it, consciously suppressing the instinctive mental process of playing out the most likely scenarios. Many of these would result in a lost fly, a lost fish, or a broken rod.

Suddenly the line went tight. Not a slamming take like a bass, just a hard pull in the opposite direction. I set the hook and the water exploded. The carp did a 180-degree turn and sent splashes up onto the bank. However, the stimuli I was taking in with my eyes betrayed what I was feeling with my hands. The throbbing and tugging didn’t match up with the violent run I saw the carp take.

As quick as I set the hook and became very confused, I saw the sunfish surface. In hooking this panfish right in front of the carp, I spooked the much larger animal.

Upon releasing the (quite nice, actually) sunfish, I allowed the suppressed cognitive simulations to remind me that I was under-gunned and outmatched. That carp would have taken my seventeen feet of line and tippet in a direct angle away from me, and the rod would have snapped at any number of places.

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