Cracked: Opening a Book Tearing Down Dams

Virtually anyone who looks at the big picture of our nation’s waterways will see that the infatuation with dams of all shapes and sizes was significantly  inflated. Whether it be giant structures that cut salmon off from hundreds of miles of spawning habitat or a small concrete abutment that  led to flooding, the overuse of dams has revealed their limitations.

Cracked: The Future of Dams in a Hot, Chaotic World by Steven Hawley seeks to address the issue of dams and dam removal head-on.  The book chronicles what led the United States to adopt so many dams, what had spurred the movement to tear them down, and stories of various levels of success.

A significant work backed with palpable passion, the book is definitely thought provoking and suitable to the conservation conversations that are happening right now. Read some specific thoughts on Cracked below:

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Podcast Ep. 278: [Cast1] The Culture of Fly Fishing

Is fly fishing just you, a rod, and a fish?

In one sense, it is. But in a much broader, more realistic way of thinking about things it certainly is not. There are a lot more people doing what you do, and being a part of that culture is not only unavoidable but enriching.

Today I cover some important subject matter in the periphery of the fly fishing image. Things like literature and conservation aren’t directly in the cast+bug=trout equation, but they have been, are, and will be what makes fly fishing what it is.

Whether you’ve been angling forever or just getting started, it is worth thinking about how you’re part of a community of people who happen to like chasing fish with long rods.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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Rusty Flybox: Staying Alive

Maybe you’ve never had a fly fishing injury. But there is a good chance that if you’ve had an injury, it has impacted your fly fishing.

Today I’m sharing three articles that deal with a relatively obscure, but certainly important, aspect of fly fishing. Physical health is a necessary part of fly fishing. While you don’t need to be a performance athlete to be skilled at casting or finding fish, there are real benefits to having a baseline of fitness. Here are the three things I’m sharing today:

  • Sometimes you need to not fish today so that you can be healthy when the time comes to fish tomorrow.
  • There might be a day when you’re forced to stop fishing… so appreciate what you can do when you can do it.
  • Consider taking steps to prepare yourself a little bit now to set up a future full of fishing.

Click on the picture or title for each article below to be taken to the  full post:

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3 Reasons to Take a Casting Lesson (Even if You’re Good)

I can cast just fine. Why would I need a lesson from someone else?

Professional golfers have swing coaches.  Veteran quarterbacks go to training camp. World-class marathon runners get input on their stride dynamics. So even if you’re not fly fishing with the hopes of ending up on a Wheaties box, you can’t say that there is nothing to gain from getting some feedback on your cast.

Whether it be an internationally certified casting instructor,  a fishing guide who offers casting as part of the suite of his services, or  a friend that you humbly acknowledge to be a better caster than you, there are a myriad of benefits to an hour or so devoted to breaking down the mechanics of your cast. Below, I share three main reasons for taking the time to look at your fly cast. I also give real-life examples of how each positively impacted my ability to get my fly where I want it.

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Podcast Ep. 277: [Cast1] Warm Water Fly Fishing

Yes: you can fly fish for panfish and bass.

Before the seasoned and refined fly fisher scoffs at this question, it is important to realize that this is actually a very common query among new anglers.

In an incredibly cursory manner in today’s show, I go over how and why the trout angler can and should spend some time on their local pond. The benefits include honing skills. Not to mention, catching a mess of bluegill on a 5-weight is all sorts of fun.

As always, check out the back catalog on Casting Across for more info on the subject.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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Casting Across on the Untangled Podcast

Even though I talk about fly fishing into a microphone for about half an hour every week already, it is always a great experience to hop on to someone else’s podcast.

A few weeks back, I recorded with Spencer Durrant of the Untangled Podcast from Ventures Fly Co. We talked Casting Across and fly fishing out here on the east coast. Most of all, we discussed how we teach and what we learn when we take new anglers – especially kids – out on the water with us.

If you’ve been around Casting Across for any length of time, you know that such subject matter is near and dear to my heart. It was a lot of fun to share the information with the audience of Untangled, and I anticipate you’ll get something significant out of it as well.

Listen to or watch)  the episode, and find out more about Untangled, below:

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Why Fly Fishing Means Something

Fly fishing means a lot to me. I genuinely, truly enjoy being outdoors chasing fish with a fly rod. Make no mistake about that. And I am so appreciative of the experiences and opportunities that fly fishing has afforded me. Most recently, with Casting Across. But over the past 25 years I have met remarkable people, created memorable moments, and come to be in possession of some spectacular things due to my involvement in this community.

But truth be told, fly fishing is not in the top tiers of my priorities.

Perhaps that shatters some false impression about the guy who has been writing and talking about fly fishing three times a week for nearly a decade. Well, I can see your point. If there is some higher level of rabid angling commitment that you’re looking for in your casual reading and listening; trust me, it is out there. I can even steer you in that direction.

However, I don’t think that what I’m providing is too far off what you’re actually looking for. Let me explain.

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Podcast Ep. 276: [Cast1] The Seasons of Trout

If you fly fish for trout, you can fish 12 months out of the year.

There are a handful of very important caveats to that statement, but it is true nonetheless.  Exceptions aside, it is key to understanding some of the reasons why fishing changes throughout the year and why.

In another surface-level introduction, I walk through winter, spring, summer, and fall. Covering what you will encounter and how you might find success, I give you a glimpse at how someone might fish in all but the most extreme weather.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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River Apollo, VII

The world of fly fishing has come a long way. The tweed and wicker creel, old white guy image represents vintage advertisements more than present reality.

Paul, while white, a guy, and older, never really fit the prototype for the angling catalog model. Truth be told, he had never owned a wicker creel. Two of his three rarely worn sportscoats, however, were indeed tweed. He had always fished his own way. He didn’t buy into the latest and greatest fly rods. He didn’t wear the high-tech clothing. He didn’t need a big SUV or pickup to work; so why would he need one to fish? Living on the stream, he observed that a lot of folks had more stickers on their rear windows than trout in their nets. He was part of the community. But he lived on the rougher outskirts.

So when the young man stood up and questioned the chapter’s conservation initiative, Paul was relatively immune to the oxygen deprivation that hit most in the room. There was an immediate awkwardness that Paul relished. In general, he enjoyed seeing the establishment  with a finger in it’s chest. That was part and parcel of being from the rough side of the river. In this particular interest, he was also quite pleased to have a cobelligerent.

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Healing Waters: An Important Fly Fishing Book

While there are countless fly fishing books, only a handful are truly important.

Some novels are important because they capture the whole of fly fishing so well, in turn captivating audiences generation after generation. Books that explore technique can be important if they perfectly articulate an aspect of angling or pioneer a new paradigm.  Such volumes hold preferred positions in personal libraries and among the collective catalog of fly fishers.

Healing Waters, the 2023 work of Beau Beasley, is important because it illustrates the power of fly fishing and the tremendous potential for good possessed by fly fishers.

Beasley’s Healing Waters tells dozens of stories throughout  the course of the book. Each story revolves around someone or something that has been impacted by, and had an impact upon, Project Healing Waters. Project Healing Waters was founded in 2005 to  serve wounded service members at Walter Reed Medical Center who recently returned from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then it has expanded to  over 200 programs across the country, drawing in any and all veterans in recovery from injuries seen or unseen.

As a retired firefighter, someone who has been around Project Healing Waters, and an experienced writer, Beasley  is uniquely qualified to  share the personal accounts of servicemen and women.  Hearing numerous heart-wrenching accounts took resolve and a lot more work than traditional outdoor writing. But the result is poignant, authentic, and powerful. Indeed, some of the stories are hard to read.  But they are real, and need to be known.

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