3 Ways to Learn at The Fly Fishing Show

January 30, 2023

Every year I attend at least one stop on The Fly Fishing Show’s east coast schedule. Along with catching up with fly fishing friends and browsing the exhibitors’ booths, I made time for the various kinds of scheduled programs. This year I watched a casting demonstration focused on dry fly presentation. I attended seminars explaining flies for trophy brook trout and two-handed gear. I was also given the opportunity to sit in on a fly tying class for articulated streamers.

I continue to be impressed at the quality of these presentations and their applicability for all kinds of anglers. Similarly, I am surprised that more aren’t standing-room only. Even though there is an absolute wealth of information available online, the personal and in-person aspects of these programs create unique educational occasions.

These demonstrations, seminars, and classes are all different in format and content. Each are valuable for all anglers, especially those who are already planning on attending The Fly Fishing Show (or similar expos). Here are quick breakdowns of the three programs and their distinctives:

Podcast Ep. 220: Fly Fishing Accusations, XXII

January 27, 2023

Today’s podcast docket is relatively diverse: brown trout strains, multipurposing your hiking boots, and how our worldview impacts our pathway toward conservation.

Yeah… there isn’t a lot of continuity there.

However, all three of the messages I received regarding these issues were thoughtful and worth my time. I think that my interaction with all three of these issues are worth your time too.

As always, listen, think, and feel free to reach out yourself.

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

Diverse Conservation in Mount Rainier National Park

January 25, 2023

Mount Rainier is an iconic aspect of any skyline shot of Washington State, perhaps only rivalled by Seattle’s Space Needle. At over fourteen thousand feet this active volcano towers over the surrounding wilderness. With its top covered by glacial ice and its bottom blanketed by thick coniferous forests, Rainier has been impressing people as long as there have been people in the Pacific Northwest.

A perspective that has only been perceptible in the past hundred years or so has been Rainier from above. While such a viewpoint is interesting for geologists and volcanologists, it also illustrates something remarkable for those concerned with watersheds. Cascading down the severe sides of the mountain are no less than nine distinct watersheds. Rivers flow out like points of a compass. There is great similarity, but ecologically each is practically isolated from one another.

This diversity has allowed for a multi-faceted conservation plan regarding native fish species, including six salmonids, within Mount Rainier National Park.

Showing them People, Places, & Things

January 23, 2023

My four boys are 10 and under. Since they are boys, and since they are my boys, they are interested in the outdoors. There is an intrinsic desire to see what is over the next hill, under the big log, or beneath the surface of the water. With great vigor they investigate each one as thoroughly as possible. Sometimes they employ trial and error. Sometimes, they imitate. Consequently, each of them has a functional knowledge of how to use a fly rod to pursue what might be swimming just out of sight.

That is what they know about fly fishing: going fly fishing. That, and the excitement of the occasional package that I receive which includes new gear. That, and the guarantee of hot cocoa and a breakfast sandwich on the way to the river. That, and the grown up feeling that comes with being included in a streamside conversation between me and another adult.

Thankfully, they don’t scroll through Instagram, read YouTube comment sections, or find their way into the dark recesses of online message boards. They are blissfully unaware of the dark, cynical underbelly that exists among a group of people who like to catch fish using one particular method. (Hopefully that sentence alone explains their mother’s and my rationale.)

But the bad apples don’t keep me from exposing my boys to the joy of the whole orchard. The pursuit of fish is good. But there is also a lot of good, and a lot of good worth exposing kids to, in the people, places, and things that go into the pursuit of fish. This is why I took my boys to our local stop of The Fly Fishing Show, and why I’d encourage you to do the same with the children in your life.

Podcast Ep. 219: 7 Dry Fly Prep Essentials

January 20, 2023

The rise of a trout to a dry fly is perhaps one of the most quintessential moments in all fly fishing. A good cast, a proper drift, and a picturesque take all come together to create what many consider to be the pinnacle of trout fishing.

You can achieve this with any old gear. But there are a few things that will probably make it more attainable and more enjoyable.

Today I walk through the seven things I think are helpful to have with you as you head out. Some you can buy, others are a little less tangible. But they’re all important.

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

Fishing Idaho: Gold in Rainbows

January 18, 2023

For nearly 15 years, Idaho Fish and Game has encouraged anglers to kill trout. Ads have been placed. Limits have been eliminated. And, most interesting, cash prizes have been offered.

All so that rainbow trout can be killed as efficiently as possible in the South Fork Snake River.

Of course, the reason behind the initiative (“rainbow trout suppression”) are virtuous. After decades of stocking nonnative rainbows on top of cutthroats, Idaho is taking action. The South Fork Snake River has a remarkable carrying capacity for cold water fish. But because rainbows and cutthroat trout are so similar, their ecological niches overlay. As a result, the native cutthroats are unable to thrive. Furthermore, their genetic similarities allow for crossbreeding. “Cutbows” are fine for fighting and eating, but they are a real thread in watersheds that represent historic populations of either parent species.

Around 2010, Idaho Fish and Game decided to take action.

Gone Hunting: Last Day

January 16, 2023

The wind and the snow/rain weren’t ideal, but it was the last day of the season. The birds hadn’t been behaving in any sort of discernable pattern, but it was the last day of the season. None of us had a whole lot of optimism, but it was the last day of the season.

It was precisely the kind of day to be up early, outdoors, and watching the skies.

Knowing that there are just about 9 months between us and the opener, we had gone hunting.

Podcast Ep. 218: Your Day at a Fishing Expo

January 13, 2023

I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold, dismal January day than walking around a convention hall filled with flannel-garbed anglers. But I know that there are some out there who can’t see the appeal.

My perspective is that many who poo-poo fly fishing shows are doing it wrong.

In today’s episode, I share 5 things that I’d do if I was heading to a fly fishing expo event. And to get out ahead of the number one critique: only one of them involves spending any money.

Whether you’re planning on heading to a show or not this winter, this podcast will hopefully give you some ideas.

Also, use code CASTING right now to save 20% and get free shipping at manscaped.com.

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

The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

January 11, 2023

Mole and Rat are most well known for their interactions with the capricious Mr. Toad. His automobile-related hijinks keep his rodent friends busy, and beset them with stresses and obligations of no fault of their own. Indeed, Mr. Toad is perhaps the most entertaining character in Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows. However, there is much more in this century-old children’s novel. There are colorful characterizations of anthropomorphic animals which impeccably describe humanity. There are lessons of friendship that exalt loyalty and candor. And there are, through the tiny eyes of the smallest creatures of the river and wood, beautiful descriptions of the world around us.

In an adventure that doesn’t involve the famous Mr. Toad, Mole and Rat volunteered to help look for a missing otter child. As they steer their crude vessel downstream, they are struck with the exquisite allure of the river.

New Year’s Days & New Year’s Trout

January 9, 2023

There are a lot of ways that one can ring in the New Year. As a teenager, most of those significant midnight moments involved doing what was most significant to me. And that was fish. My best friend and I would drive up to Southcentral Pennsylvania from Northern Virginia and go to bed around 8:00pm, in a tent, on a frozen field.

There was something that felt significant about waking up early, buying a brand new trout stamp, and catching a fish before most anglers even saw the new year.

Often, buying licenses on New Year’s Day was an adventure in itself. Most fly shops weren’t be open. Before online sales and digital confirmations, ambitious anglers were dependent upon groggy and disgruntled big-box employees. These holiday workers that pulled the AM short straw were less than eager to go through what was relatively complicated paperwork.