Fly Fishing Fall Foliage: 3 Tips

Let’s talk about leaves.

“Why? What to leaves have to do with fly fishing?” you might ask.

First, you need to read Trout Are Made of Trees to your child, grandchild, or self. So, there is that. More than the scientific benefits of understanding the relationship between foliage and fish in general, there are some matters to discuss pertaining to fall specifically.

Leaves change the way that you approach the river. Yes, that is correct: in the fall, leaves can impact your fishing in a way that requires you to adapt. Here are three things that you might not have necessarily thought of that may be worth contemplating as you head out for some of the best trout fishing on the calendar.

Leaves on the water

I fished a Pennsylvania freestone stream one fall that was so totally covered in leaves that it made fishing practically impossible. The water was low so there wasn’t a lot of flow, there was a windstorm that shook most the leaves off the trees, and I literally could not fish. Casts were catching leaves in the air. Flies, even heavy streamers, were landing on leaves and fouling immediately. Fly line would sit on leaves, and cause all sorts of drag. It was miserable.

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Fly Fishing is Trespassing

I was trespassing.

Well, sort of. The company that owned the land that the stream flowed through hadn’t actively used it for years. And word on the street was that their concern was more about teenagers and their drunken revelry than fly fishers, duck hunters, and trappers. So, I’ll go ahead and file it in the “tree falling in the woods with no one around” category of property law. I was the tree, and I wasn’t making a sound.

I’d accessed this particular stretch of water before. Numerous times. It is a small tributary of an incredibly famous stream. The main stem gets slammed spring, summer, and fall. Additionally, the little branch narrows to a small, deep channel where it enters the main creek. It is overgrown, murky, and doesn’t seem worth a second look.

But most fly fishers should know better. Because a short walk upstream (after looking around to make sure no one is watching you deviate off the path) reveals that the tight little run opens up into a perfectly fishable creek.

Where this creek is… well, where it is I’m not exactly going to say. Where it is, generally, is old. People have been there for a long time. People have used the land, used the water. So although it is somewhat remote, there are traces of civilization all over. Busted out dams. Culverts. Diversion channels. And when nature takes those things back, they get awfully fishy.

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Last Cast of the Week: 10/21/2016

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 Creek, Colorado Springs Gazette, & Pyramid Fly Co.

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).

Thanks again for reading, and please take a moment to subscribe by plugging your email address in the field on the right sidebar.

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Five Insufferable Fishing Phrases

Fishing quotes. Angling maxims. Phrases you are tired of seeing printed on the kitschy doodads that friends and family “saw and thought of you!”

But even worse than a knick-knack emblazoned with these tiresome sayings is actually having someone speak them to you. With serious intent in heart. That, my friends, can be too much to bear.

Maybe I’m jaded. Perhaps I’m a bad person. But I thought I’d lay out some of the most infamous quips that have ever offended the sensibilities of a fly fisher.

Editorial note: I’ve formatted each quote in bold, and emphasized all with an exclamation point. Hopefully this construes the tone and smarminess that usually accompanies the utterance of such obnoxious idioms.

“A bad day fishing is better than a good day working!”

False. There isn’t anything inherently bad about work. I’ve had plenty of fishless, sweaty, freezing, or otherwise disastrous days out on the water to call this one’s bluff. If you don’t fish a lot, then a bad day fishing seems like a waste. If you fish hundreds of days every year, then a bad day is most definitely a squandered opportunity to do something else. Can’t see the sense in this? Get your priorities in order.

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We’ll be Backcasting After these Messages

"Mortgage broker fly fishing banter! Ha!"
“Mortgage broker fly fishing banter! Ha!”

Ah, fall. That time of year when I should be fishing but I’m firmly planted on the couch, wading from football to baseball playoffs and back again. I don’t watch a whole lot of television. Sports are really the only thing that will get me to stop and zone out for a prolonged period of time. Even fishing shows hardly keep my attention. So consequently, every September/October I get exposed to all of these “commercials” everyone keeps talking about.

And, boy, have I learned that I don’t have what I need in life! I’ve been living this whole time – content with my family, functional cars, and little fly fishing hobby – completely unaware that my cell phone carrier, financial institution, and fast food taco/cheese ratio are all woefully inadequate! Good thing I’ve got a credit card handy… but is it the right one?!?

Another thing I’ve (re)learned is that fly fishing is for people in the twilight of life. “The olds,” as some might call them. Why? Because every third life insurance, mutual fund, and *ahem* male pharmaceutical advertisement features a quasi-masculine gent of about 55-65 whipping some poor fly line about a river out west. read more

Last Cast of the Week: 10/14/2016

LCW

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 Sea-Run Brook Trout Coalition, Fly Fishing Collaborative, & Cyclops.

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).

Thanks again for reading, and please take a moment to subscribe by plugging your email address in the field on the right sidebar.
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The Hardest Fighting Trout Around

“This is the best hamburger you’ll ever eat.”

I’ve said that a handful of times to family and friends as we headed into downtown Portland, Maine. The restaurant in question is Nosh, and the meal that I’ve put at the top of the meat pyramid is the Apocalypse Now burger. (Google it…)

Now, I don’t honestly think that I’ve stumbled across the best burger in the world. I’m sure that there are secret restaurants of the rich and famous that sell elite meat prepared by top-tier chefs. More than that, I don’t get out a whole heck of a lot.

But from my limited experience, this is a good burger. And everyone I’ve talked to who has had the same sandwich agrees.

In my admittedly incomplete frame of reference, the trout of the Upper Delaware River system are the hardest fighting trout you’ll encounter on the east coast.

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1492: What Could Have Been

Maybe if Christopher Columbus had been a fly fisherman, he would have been much more benevolent and less sleazy in disposition. Who knows, perhaps Europeans and indigenous peoples  could have gotten off on a better foot if the tarpon, bonefish, and permit of Hispaniola were a source of camaraderie and mutual interest.

Regardless of a certain sailor’s legacy, and if you have the day off or not, take an hour to explore. If you can’t get outside, have a quick break and read something about blazing a new trail… like this article, or maybe this one.

Thanks for reading Casting Across, and please take a second to subscribe in the right sidebar.

Last Cast of the Week: From the Vault

Most Fridays on Casting Across are  devoted to other people’s contributions in the fly fishing community.

Not today.

Today, I’m sharing two pieces from Casting Across that were posted many, many moons ago. I love how a website provides an eternal (relatively – as long as you pay your hosting fees) presence for writing, photography, and the other miscellany you may stumble across in a place like this.

There is a real ebb and flow to website traffic. When this site started, I think I put up some pretty good stuff. But who wants to read another fly fishing blog? As people commented, linked, and liked, I received more exposure. I’m thankful for that, but I also kind of feel like some of the earlier writings have been the unfortunate victims of circumstance.

So here are two articles that got less than two dozen hits in their initial run. Maybe they deserve more… maybe, you might say, I should be thankful for the few views they did get. I’ll let you decide.

When It is all Downhill

Have you every started off the day by catching a fish right off the bat, only to never sniff another bite the rest of the trip? Here, I look at that phenomenon. It happens to the best of us… well, maybe the “best” actually catch fish all day. Perhaps I should say that it happens to the “pretty good” of us from time to time.

Putting the ‘Tude in Solitude

Another piece in the vein of fly fishing neurosis, I share (too much) about my anxiety of finding someone fishing where I want to be fishing. “It’s a free country” is a good sentiment; but it is also a real drag in practice. If you’ve ever had those palpitations as you come up to your preferred parking pull out, this will be an article to which you can relate .

An Additional Autumnal Observance (also Alliterative)

Earlier this week I shared four fall fly fishing fixes.  A “fix,” of course, is simply a compromised synonym for “tip” imposed to create a clever sounding title. Oh well, it’s what’s on the inside (of the article) that counts.

After posting the piece, rereading it, and seeing how hundreds of other people have read it, I got to thinking that I really didn’t capture the spirit of fall fly fishing. Given, that is a herculean literary task. Really, is it possible to put into words how amazing it is to be outdoors in autumn? Unless you hate leaves, crisp air, and the faint smell of wood smoke,  there is a totally unique sensory experience that is unparalleled across the other seasons.

Add in being on the water early in the morning, and you have a recipe for pure joy.

There are little things that fly fishing in the fall entails. That morning cup of coffee now serves an additional function. It tastes good and gives you caffeine, but now that extra warmth is necessary for getting out of the car on a chilly October dawn. A warm fleece is comfortable and important as the sun rises higher in the sky. Shedding it as noontime arrives means feeling the rush of fresh air on exposed forearms and the back of your neck.

And the colors of those fish.

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