Paul had stepped out onto his slate front porch and closed the door behind him as Gerry talked to him about the potential habitat improvement. Practically, it was to keep the bugs out. At a deeper level, Paul was subconsciously moving into a defensive posture. He wasn’t going to get into a fist fight with Gerry King, Vice President of the Spring Meadow chapter of Trout Unlimited. At least tonight he wasn’t. But he was becoming more and more hot around his neck and up behind his ears. The summer evening was cool. The creeping heat was all about frustration.

Say, Gerry. Thanks for coming out here. And I know the chapter wants what is best for the creek. But… Well, when is the next chapter meeting?

Thinking of gracing us with your presence Paul? And maybe $35 dollars? You still a member?

Paul was indeed still a card-carrying member of TU. Even though the wounds from local projects were still raw, he knew that good was being done. And Gerry King was not the pattern for the vast majority of the guys who he knew and fished alongside. This fact, and the humble acknowledgment that his voice carried a certain influence when it came to his creek, nudged him towards making a rare public appearance.

Rusty Flybox: Fighters

June 12, 2023

Unless you’re angling for the purpose of sustenance or competition, species and size are less important than the challenge wrapped up in the pursuit. Where you catch a fish matters to you. How you catch a fish matters to you. The fight of a fish matters to you. Particularly for catch and release anglers, the sensation of a wild creature pulling on the other end of tackle is a significant part of the experience.

Today I’m sharing three articles from the Casting Across back catalog that touch on hard fighting fish.

What is the hardest fighting trout on the east coast?
Which fish would “win in a fight”?
What species will ruin trout fishing for you?

Check out each of these articles below by clicking on the image or the title:

Podcast Ep. 239: Wade Safe & Stay Alive

June 9, 2023

This week I was doing some research on how safe fly fishing is compared to other outdoor activities.

Good news: it is safe.

Bad news: it puts you in a position where you’ll be facing 2 of the 3 most common causes of death outside.

Take a listen to the podcast to figure out what they are, but you can probably guess by the title of the episode that they have to do with wading. I share 5 quick and easy things that you can (and should) do to wade safe and stay alive. You can never eliminate risk, but you sure can take some simple steps to reduce it while on the water.

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

Fly Fishing Might Kill You*

June 7, 2023

If you Google something to the effect of “dying in a national park,” you’ll get quite a few nifty infographics. Each one will show you that bears are not going to be the way you meet an untimely end if you do end up shuffling off this mortal coil while recreating on NPS property. Bears, avalanches, snakes, mudslides… things with teeth and things that fall get a lot of street cred when it comes to danger. But the real threat is you.

Why the fascination and preoccupation with morbid stuff at national parks you ask? 1) The data is available and I don’t feel like digging deeper. 2) A lot of people’s outdoor time does take place on public land. So while it isn’t exhaustive, it is a reliable sample size. But mostly #1.

Anyway, back to the point. Things with teeth and things that fall get all the “I survived” hype. The real threat is you. You have teeth (a coincidence inconsequential to this discussion) and you fall (this is the point). Drowning and falls make up the majority of deaths at our national parks.

Which is why I think it is no hyperbole to say that fly fishing might kill you.

River Apollo, IV

June 5, 2023

Today you’re seeing part 4 of a series. Read the beginning of River Apollo here.

Paul wasn’t an off the rack kind of guy. His rocky past and idyllic present were each a few standard deviations away from the middle of society’s bell curve. He knew this. He was thankful for this – even for the struggles and the scars that they left. As much as anyone would love a life on the banks of a picture-perfect trout stream, he enjoyed it more because of where he’d been. But his picture-perfect trout stream wasn’t average, either.

It was a spring creek. A wide, slow, grassy spring creek. The current never seemed to flow in a straight line downstream, but the water always ended up in the next pool. The bugs came out at weird times. The fish holed up where they shouldn’t be. The wading bordered on unsafe. Paul loved it for it’s eccentricity and how it paralleled his own perpendicularity.

He learned the value of maintaining the river’s eccentricity nearly 25 years ago. Within days of moving in, anglers and local historians were dropping in to “welcome” him. Gerry King’s predecessor, Carl Hybel, brought some sort of casserole that his wife had made. Paul wasn’t one to spurn generosity, even when it was a dish nearly a decade out of time. But if there was an emetic that could bring back something eaten in the late 90’s, Paul would gladly imbibe a bottle of it. Because that tater tot-topped trojan horse led to all sorts of trouble.

Carl returned a few days later to collect the casserole dish, etc.

I’m glad you liked it. Kathy is a real whiz in the kitchen. Hey, Paul. You mind if the guys from the chapter access the creek from your property to do a little stream cleanup?

“A little stream cleanup” sounded benign. Turning down “a little stream cleanup” would have been akin to spurning free snow plowing or trash hauling or pressure washing. “A little stream cleanup” was mitigated speech for another euphemism: habitat improvement.

Podcast Ep. 238: Approaching Mountain Trout

June 2, 2023

They’re not the biggest or most technically-challenging fish, but there is something special about a wild trout caught high up in the mountains.

And while those who spend a lot of time walking trails with fly rod in hand know that it is possible to catch dozens of feisty trout in these secluded creeks, this kind of fishing can be intimidating. It can be intimidating to a new angler. It can also be a bit perplexing to the experienced fly fisher who has only every cast into expansive runs and wide pools.

Today I’m scratching the surface of this topic by walking through what my first steps are when approaching mountain trout.

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

Fly Fishing Summer Reading Challenge

May 31, 2023

June. July. August.

Summer means bass chasing poppers, stripers crashing in the surf, and long hikes to still-chilly mountain trout creeks. These three months have a lot going for them. I’m not too fond of the heat, but I’m quite partial to the fishing… and the vacations, the evenings on the deck, and the ever-so-subtle easing of life’s pace.

For the last few years I’ve been pushing myself to read more. I’ve certainly read more quality. (Would you believe that thousands of pages of early 20th century Dutch theology is what I gush about if asked?) I’ve also made a concerted effort to read quantitatively.

I don’t read to simply add to a list. I don’t listen to audiobooks on 2X speed to warp through a semester of British lit over the course of a week. First, I’ve diversified. Theology, history, classics, mystery, and fly fishing all make the grade. It keeps my brain interested and it fuels my creativity in ways that pounding the same note over and over again never will. Second, I set goals.

And I’ve got an attainable goal for you:

Pick three fly fishing books and read them this summer.

One for June, one for July, and one for August. Even if you pick three 300-page tomes, you’re looking at less than 10 pages a day. That is the equivalent of scrolling on Instagram for 10 minutes or reading 10 unnecessary emails. Or watching the commercials during half of a baseball game. I could go on. The point is that you can do it.

I’ve written ad nauseum about the wonderful literary heritage that we all owe so much to within fly fishing. Technique, travel, and narrative all have their own special place on the angler’s bookshelf. The best loved works usually incorporate all three. A book can take you places while you’re reading it, spur you to get outside, and propel you to fish better when you’re out there. All that, for 10 pages a day.

You can do it. If you’re a reader, simply add a few fishing books to your stack. If you’re not a reader, fly fishing books usually have enough pictures to give you that shot in the arm so you’ll turn the next page. Read something new. Reread something you’ve read a few times already. Read the (short story!) Big Two-Hearted River or the marginally longer A River Runs Through It. Do it so you can say you’ve done it and so you can lay hold of that air of fly fishing cultural legitimacy.

A simple summer reading challenge is a great way to build some good book-habits. Stick to it, and it will stick to you in ways that you’ll truly appreciate.

Want a suggestion? Here are a few.

Let me know what you plan on reading below!

The Soldier-Angler

May 29, 2023

Decoration Day was the forerunner to the modern celebration of Memorial Day. A reunifying United States formally and corporately acknowledged the fallen. In steps through the decades and through other wars, Memorial Day as we know it came to be.

Thaddeus Norris’ The American Angler’s Book was published in 1864. Although the war was still being waged, soldiers still took time to fish for pleasure and for sustenance. A man might have been fighting a trout one day and then fighting for his life the next. With the high death toll of the conflict, soldier-anglers were certainly among the casualties.

This observation is not meant to trivialize the sacrifice. Unless we personally know a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who has passed in the line of duty, Memorial Day and other observances can be somewhat abstract. It can be helpful, at times, to see the intimate lines of shared experience between us. They were husbands, neighbors, fathers, friends, and fly fishers.

Podcast Ep. 237: Your First Cast with Bamboo

May 26, 2023

Bamboo might be what your great grandpa’s rod was made out of. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t fish with it too.

And maybe, that means fishing with grandpa’s clunky five-and-dime bamboo fly rod.

Why fish with a rod material that is now three generations old? Today I talk through three reasons why you should consider adding bamboo to your arsenal. I also discuss a few ways that you can procure a bamboo fly rod. Spoiler: Two of them don’t involve thousands of dollars.

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

River Apollo, III

May 24, 2023

This is, as the title says, the 3rd part of the story. Read the beginning of River Apollo here.

Paul never wanted to be a mascot for anything. One time he came close. (That is, in fact, a significant part of his life. But it is significant enough to wait for a more opportune time. It is the kind of story one shares after an unwanted guest leaves.) However, living in a prominent house on a prominent trout stream put him in the crosshairs of various foundations, associations, and causes. Every good cause needs a face, and his weathered visage was apparently good enough for both cold water conservation and historical initiatives.

Paul how’s the fishing?

Paul was already irritated by the knock. Then he was further irritated by the fact that Gerry King was the one from which the knocking originated. The phrasing of the question, which sounded as if there was no comma between “Paul” and “how’s the fishing” irritated him to a point where he knew he must consciously smile and be pleasant so as to not slam the door in the face of the regional VP of Trout Unlimited.