The Best Action for Small Stream Fly Rods

I love my lightweight bamboo fly rods. I truly enjoy fishing with my older, wispy fiberglass fly rods. And one of my favorite graphite fly rods is a decidedly  slow action 2-weight. This lines up with a common approach to fly fishing small steams. Since the water is small and the fish are small, many opt for the lightest and lithest rod possible. Thin, flexible three, two, and one-weights that can virtually double-over on even the tiniest trout are indeed fun to fish.

However, I have come to a strong conviction for serious small stream fly fishing. The optimal fly rod to use is one with a medium-fast action.

This hardly flips anything sacred on its head. Nor does it exclude the use of truly functional and enjoyable tackle. It is simply a specific approach with some legitimate rationales that can benefit those looking to be a bit more efficient and effective as they take to the mountains and valleys in search of trout.

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Podcast Ep. 375: The Real Benefit of Outdoor Shows

What if I told you that if you think that outdoor shows are all about spending money that you’ve got it all wrong?

Sure, there are opportunities to shell out wads of cash. But you can also support small businesses. In fact, some of them are so small that they might not even technically be a business! Beyond that, there is a lot to see in person that you may otherwise only experience through the cold, distant medium of YouTube. And whether you’re in a giant convention center or the local VFW hall, there are probably people there that are worth taking a few minutes to meet. Why? They’re into the same things you are.

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

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VIDEO: For Any Angler Who Has Loved a Stream

If you have ever spent a life, a year, a season, or even a long trip on one particular stretch of water, you know how there is a lot more than fishing going on. The holistic aspect of being on a river makes you a better angler. More than that, it adds to the appreciation as you get to know the rhythms and  subtleties of the ecosystem. For fly fishers, that does mean bugs and trout. It also means other anglers. And it can all be very, very good.

Spring Creek by Nick Lyons was given to me by a man who lived on a stream that I fished diligently for a period of about five years. His rationale was that he liked the book. More than that, it reminded him of the observation and the connectedness necessary to master the little spring creek that we were both learning to fish.

Watch what else I have to say about the book and find out where you can pick up your own copy below:

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Fly Fishing, Lost & Found, and an Edsel

It wouldn’t be a bad shirt, once it went through the wash. I found it on an island in the middle of the river. The college featured on the front wasn’t far from the western Massachusetts river I was fishing. I wouldn’t dumpster dive or pick up clothes off the side of the road. But there was something seemingly pure about a shirt that had been in the tailwater’s gentle cycle for at least a weekend.

Plus, it wasn’t like I drank the unopened bottle of hard cider that I kicked up along with it.

I’ve discovered quite a few interesting items while fly fishing. Only a couple have managed to make it home with me. The aforementioned shirt did, although I never wore it. Once, off the cost of Boston, I was casting for striper when a thermos bobbed up towards me. I maintain that the saltwater and the dishwasher got is as clean as could be. Then there was the pocketknife that shone in the sun from the bottom of a Pennsylvania mountain stream. It was rusty, but it had promise. Like the shirt, the discovery felt too good to waste. But it ended up getting trashed instead of refurbished.

I’ve never found a fly rod. But I have snagged at least three spinning rods. That doesn’t include the Snoopy rod, caked in mud, that I extracted from the mud of a spring creek like a WalMart Excalibur. There have been coolers filled with rotten food.  Why I opened them? Curiosity, I suppose. There was once a backpack that I passed by but then returned to after the notion of a wad of bills wouldn’t leave my mind. Another time, a crumpled tent piqued that small part of me that wanted to be a forensic evaluator in high school. I didn’t want to find anything grizzly. Yet if there was something grizzly, someone probably should find it.

The fly fishing discoveries have been large and small, from totally worthless to kinda-sorta worth keeping. And then there was the time I found a car.

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Podcast Ep. 374: Casting… Indoors?

Hear me out: I am not saying everyone can or should practice fly casting indoors.

But if you can, why not?

In today’s episode I am really discussing how a lot of us would benefit from more and more diverse fly casting practice. Although it is essential to practice casting under ideal circumstances, it makes a whole lot of sense to also practice in realistic settings. Can you always face your target? Are you always able to go 10-to-2? Is it always feasible to fully pivot your hips while double hauling? The answer is no. So  go ahead and prepare for those situations.

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

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Trout More Than Bears

“It is definitely a bear.”

We stood over the track. Shoulder-to-shoulder, strung fly rods in hand, we blocked the trail as we observed the depressions in the mud. It was most certainly a bear. Or someone had taken their very large and very ill-proportioned dog on a walk in the mountains.

“Well, it is also definitely a black bear.”

Stating this truth was really  a question. He was asking me if I concurred with everything he had ever heard, read, and seen about black bears being more scared of you than you are of them. I did concur. It is a fact. But it is also a bear. When you round a corner on a trail it isn’t “just” a black bear. Waking up to something sniffing around your tent your heart doesn’t slow down because it is “only” a black bear. It is a bear. It is hundreds of pounds of muscle and claws and teeth.

“Onward and upward?”

We kept walking the trail. Our destination was the beginning of a long set of riffles and runs that consistently produced fish. We would routinely fish up through this stretch, starting in the afternoon. A few hours of leap-frogging each other and we would end up at a pool where two smaller creeks came together.  The day would end with one of us, alternatively, casting into the deep hole.

“Have you ever seen a bear… a black bear in this part of the forest?”

The bear questions weren’t incessant. But they were persistent. It wasn’t unlike a child dropping hints about a desired birthday gift. He’d talk about other things, but the topic of bears would always pop back up. Sometimes the segues were organic (“Huh, look at that scat.”). Others were much more transparent (“I had been thinking about getting bear bells for my fishing vest.”).

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12 Fly Fishing Resolutions

Okay, 13: Take a few minutes to actual pictures instead of messing with AI.

Resolved: To leave some fly boxes at home. I know I’ll regret it when the opportunity to throw a mouse pattern on a small mountain stream presents itself. I’m confident that there will be a time when I need Salmon Fly imitations in  New England. But resolutions are resolutions so I’ll just suffer.

Resolved: To limit excuses. Even though the state hasn’t been stocking as many fish and the poachers have been out there, I just need to fish harder. And the climate change has really cramped my style; the fish rise for anything but my flies. Also, what is the deal with Euro Nymphers? Do they think that it is fair l they catch all the fish?

Resolved: To avoid wind knots at all costs by purchasing an anemometer. I’ll attach it to my vest via a zinger. When I become well acquainted with the Beaufort Scale I’ll be able to eliminate all knots in tippet, leader, and fly line.

Resolved: To only use dry flies. Unless there are no insects hatching. Or there is an obvious holding spot in an undercut bank where a streamer would be most effective. I don’t think I’ll have a problem eschewing nymphs.

Resolved: To make coffee at home and not buy it from the yellowed carafe at the gas station. This was recommended by my gastroenterologist. He says it is serious.

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Podcast Ep. 373: Resolving to Fish

Happy New Year from Casting Across!

…but keep listening, even if it is May or September. Why? If you resolve to do something that matters, don’t wait. Just make it happen.

Today I share a few interesting things  about Casting Across. Then I walk through five resolutions, goals, and ideas for fly fishing in 2026. And they’re not particular to me, either. These are the kinds of things you can think about if you’re staring down a new year. There also ways to enrich your season regardless of when you consider them.

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

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Rusty Flybox: 2025

2025 was a great year for Casting Across. A brand new YouTube series and live presentations started of the year. There were articles, podcasts, and a decent number of fish. By the time fall rolled around, this little fly fishing project was celebrating its tenth anniversary.

There are a handful of  reasons why I “do” Casting Across. One of the primary purposes is the interaction with the wider fly fishing community. The views, downloads, and subscriptions represent people (usually). Those people represent a great diversity of experiences and facets within fly fishing culture. And those people are you.

Below you’ll find links to the content that was viewed the most this year, from this year. Two articles, a podcast, and a video are included. The A/V content is embedded, and you can click on the articles’ images to get the full posts. And Happy New Year from Casting Across.

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UPDATED: Casting Across Presents at The Fly Fishing Show ’26

In January of 2026, I’ll once again be speaking at the Massachusetts and New Jersey stops of The Fly Fishing Show. And this year I’ll be hosting a one-of-a-kind event on Saturday in Edison. Keep reading to find out what that presentation will be.

In less than a month The Fly Fishing Show gets started outside of Boston. There, I’ll be offering two different presentations. The following week, the whole Show heads down I-95 to New Jersey. Across the bay from New York city, I’ll present those two programs once again. But at this event – the biggest fly fishing expo  in the world – I’m also hosting something new.

If you read Casting Across with any regularity, you know that I like fly fishing books. I also like talking about fly fishing books. On Saturday afternoon in New Jersey, I’ll be interviewing a panel of fly fishing authors. It will be informative and entertaining. And the subject matter is something that everyone will appreciate, regardless of how much of a reader they happen to be. The full details on the presentation can be found below.

Once again, if you are at either show I’d truly enjoy the chance to meet you and talk fly fishing (or anything else). Here are the details about the presentations at The Fly Fishing Show in Marlborough, Massachusetts  and Edison, New Jersey – including the author’s panel:

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