Football or Fly Fishing: 3 Ideas to Help You Decide

September 19, 2016

Football season has kicked off. The pun, as you may have assumed, was quite intentional. When it comes to being a football fan and an avid fly fisher, intentionality is the name of the game.

With weekends being the prime time to get on the stream, and those precious two days also being the principal slots for scheduling games, choices have to be made. Additionally, fall is the best time for both activities. Sure, one can wait until the doldrums of winter to eschew river time and crash on the couch. But that argument falls apart when you live in the south, have steelhead or salmon nearby, or are tough enough to put on big boy/girl waders and fish when it’s a little chilly out.

Once again, it is about intentionality.

Are there hatches, runs, or seasons that you really want to fish? Don’t let a regular season game between two teams you marginally care about cause you undue stress.

Is there a match up that your heart or fantasy lineup couldn’t bear to miss watching on live TV? Then go fishing that morning or the next day.

Last Cast of the Week, 9/16/2016

September 16, 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 World Fly Fishing Championships, Fish Eye Guy Photography, and JOTO.

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.

Waiter, There’s a Dog in My Stream

September 14, 2016

I’m not a dog person.

That doesn’t mean that I dislike dogs. I just don’t have one. And if I did, I don’t think I’d be a “dog person.”

You know. Dog bumper stickers. Life Is Good shirts with funny dog situations. Glamor shots at the mall of my dog and me. Dog people stuff.

There are some things that are quite intriguing about certain dog people lifestyles, however. The whole upland hunting scene look quite posh. And who wouldn’t want to read a book in an overstuffed armchair next to a roaring fire while gently patting the head of a golden retriever? Basically I want the image of dog ownership that Orvis is selling.

What I will not do, if I ever come into possession of a dog, is take it fly fishing.

Fly Fishing Podcasts Worth Listening To, part III

September 12, 2016

If one’s digital footprint on Google is any indication of their contribution to their respective field, then I’m making an impact in the appreciation of fly fishing podcasts. I’ve given suggestions about what you should be listening to two times. I’ve also talked to some of the major figures in the genre and analysed why this sport is such great subject matter for the medium. These three pieces have been read and shared a respectable number of times, and hopefully it has lead to people checking out the excellent content that can be streamed at their convenience.

I’d like to offer up a few episodes that I’ve appreciated over the past few months. There is certainly a lot more quality work out there, and I’ve hardly scratched the surface. Definitely go back to the articles linked to above to see what else is worth listening to. But below are episodes from 2 Guys and a River, Anchored with April Vokey, Fly Fishing Consultant Podcast, and Orvis Guide Fly Fishing Podcast that I think you should take some time to check out.

3 Tips for Fly Fishing Suburbia

September 7, 2016

The majestic evening flight of the sunfish.

Do you live at the epicenter of some huge developer’s cul-de-sac dream? Are your hopes and aspirations of living like Thoreau flourishing amidst townhouses stretching as far as the eye can see? Is a pond built for the retention of rainwater/sprinkler water/flash flooding as the result of massive grading and paving projects the River Dove to your Izaak Walton?

Fishing in suburbia can be an enriching a rewarding experience. With some creativity, a little self-loathing, and a penchant for sophomoric hijinks, you too can catch fish out of someone’s backyard.

Here are three helpful tips to increase the number of fish you catch, decrease the run-ins with local authorities, and all but eliminate hooking joggers with your backcast.

Fish at Night

Why do you fish? Is it to be in a crowd? I doubt it. Most normal folk enjoy getting into the great out of doors to escape the not-so-great everywhere else.

The Fish of Your Labors

September 5, 2016

Ah, Labor Day. A time to eat meat, stop wearing white, and generally avoid contemplating the checkered past of our country when it comes to industry.

For fly fishers, it is the real and present reminder that fall is around the corner. So long, hot days. Adios, leaving the trout (mostly) alone.

For fly fishing writers, it is a chance to not spend too much time in front of the keyboard and put the better parts of the three major food groups (pork, beef, and pork/beef sausage) on the smoker.

Have a great day, fish if you must, and remember not to spell labor with a “u.”

Last Cast of the Week, 9/2/2016

September 2, 2016

Today, I’m sharing items from The Missoulian, The Fly Shack, & In The Riffle.

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.

Going for the Bronze: Smallmouth Bass at Dusk

August 31, 2016

This summer, I haven’t even started fishing for smallmouth until after 7:00pm. There are some fish-focused reasons for this. As is common across cold and warm water ecosystems, there is an uptick in insect and baitfish activity at dusk. Diminished shadows and light provides a sense of security for aquatic creatures, including bass. Additionally, there are some logistical factors. Where I am in Virginia, rivers can be pretty busy with kayakers and tubers until around dinnertime. Plus, I have to contend with all of that work-stuff during the day.

But just because you may be forced into waiting until later doesn’t mean that you are missing out on good opportunities for chasing smallmouth bass with a fly rod. In fact, there are many reasons why waiting until later is a good idea for any kind of fly fishing you’ll be doing in the summer. And summer smallie fly fishing can very well be one of the most accessible and most rewarding ways to fish late.

Here are three things to keep in mind as you wade out into the river looking for hungry bronzebacks:

See the trees:

Trees overhanging the river are some of the best places to catch river bass of any size. There are a number of reasons for this. Smaller fish will hang out under the branches waiting for a meal. All fish appreciate the cover that limbs provide. Often, overhanging trees extend out to where there is a drop-off or bottom substrate change; both of which also attract the bass’ food sources.

Casting up under trees can be tricky and/or risky, but it is a necessary chance you should take. Use heavier leaders (I like 8-pound fluorocarbon at the lightest) that can take some abuse and jerking. Make casts that stay low, such as a sidearm cast or a tight roll cast. Don’t worry about your cast making some noise, as the fish would be okay with a small critter making a “plop” as its falling out of the tree.

Trout Quixote. three.

August 29, 2016

This is the fourth part in this series. Read the first here , the second here, and the third here. Subscribe by entering your email address in the right sidebar to receive a notification of new content on Casting Across.

So I obviously didn’t catch a trout.

That, as you are very well aware, is a Lepomis cyanellus. The green sunfish. Common across the eastern half of the United States, it is a fine panfish in its own right.

I caught these little guys, one after another. They were more than eager to eat dry flies and streamers. They even put a little bit of a bend in my three-weight.

The ability of sunfish to live in even the smallest, swampy trickles is pretty remarkable.

But sunfish are most definitely not trout.

I’d be lying if I said that I wasn’t disappointed. After all of that anticipation, all of that build up, to catch something other than a brook trout was a letdown. A five pound bass wouldn’t have given me a reason to cry, but it still wouldn’t have been that little trout that my imagination had conjured up.