2016

October 14, 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 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

October 12, 2016

“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.

1492: What Could Have Been

October 10, 2016

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

October 7, 2016

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)

October 5, 2016

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.

Four Friendly Fixes for Fall Fly Fishing

October 3, 2016

For four woefully short months, we get to experience fall. For those who live in latitudes where the seasons change (and I’m not talking about simply going from green to brown, and back again), fall is arguably the best time of the year. Football, cooler weather, pumpkin everything, and pretty spectacular fishing are generally on the docket.
Changes in conditions require changes in approach. Even though the trout fishing can literally be the best of the year, failing to plan is tantamount to planning to fail. The same summer tactics that have been working from late June to September aren’t going to cut it. Bugs aren’t going to be hatching in the hot morning sun, because there isn’t a hot morning sun anymore. The water isn’t going to have as long of an opportunity to warm up, and neither will you as the fly fisher.

There is something inherently disconcerting about changes, particularly as it relates to going from a place of comfort. If you’ve been in a summer groove, making the necessary adjustments to adapt to fall fly fishing could be hard – even if the payoff is worthwhile.

While the particulars of technical presentation and fly selection will vary greatly from the Mid-Atlantic to New England in the fall, there are some general concepts that are universal to regions across the country that go through a change in seasons. I’ve compiled four items of note that I have tried to focus on as much as possible as I physically and mentally make the transition to autumn.

Last Cast of the Week, 9/30/2016

September 30, 2016

Today, I’m sharing items from GrindTV, Leland Fly Fishing, & University of Mary Washington.

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.

So You Know How When: Watching & Waiting

September 28, 2016

F5.

You know what I mean. Sitting in front of your computer, trying to get “work” done, you are drawn back to the webpage that contains the information you want. And you tap F5. Every once in a while, you might actually click the refresh button. If the data isn’t changing enough to make you feel like you’re getting the results you want, you may even relaunch the page, restart your browser, or reboot your computer.

Why? You’re watching and waiting for water.

I suppose that back in the day, people would just plan on going fishing – and then they would go fishing. Perhaps a monsoon at the eleventh hour would deter someone. Or, hearing from a trusted source that the Corps of Engineers are letting a lot of water out might change your plans. But by and large, there was a lot of faith in conditions being suitable for a day on the water.

We have the benefit of being a few smartphone taps away from instantaneous precipitation and river flow conditions. The USGS operates thousands of monitoring stations, and there are more online weather resources than one can count.

So You Know How When: Fish Art

September 26, 2016

So you know how when you are out, and you see a statue or painting of a fish, and you think “oh!”

It doesn’t have to be some specifically fly fishing related artwork, but when you (a fly fisher) see some graphic depiction of fish your attention probably gets grabbed. You could be at an art museum viewing some beautiful oil landscape on canvas, and you’d notice the little figure of a fisherman painted on the bank. You might even look around, smiling, seeing if there is another guy who got suckered into going to the art museum who is seeing this tiny diamond in the rough.

Fish art is en vogue. Some of the most expensive stuff you can get at fly shops and fishing expos are paintings and carvings. Sometimes they will even cost more than the premier rods! But this isn’t what I’m necessarily talking about.

Be honest: you derive a silly modicum of joy from seeing a fountain with a concrete-cast fish on top of it. You might wonder what species it is (probably koi). You might wonder the hows and whys of its inclusion (probably “just because”). And guess what has happened? You are now pondering art, culture, and stuff that is a whole lot more highfalutin’ then casting a fly to a trout.

But that is why this whole angling thing is about a culture and a quarry. Fish, be they trout, bass, or tarpon, are our thing. Not that they don’t belong to others, but our relationship with them is a particular one. Maybe even special. So when we see them depicted in art, we are left to consider if the artist is one of us or if he or she is riffing on our vibe. Either way, it makes us smile.