Podcast Ep. 199: More Phones & Fishing

Don’t let your phone become a distraction. That is true for everyday life, and it is also true when you’re fly fishing.

Of course, your phone can be an incredibly useful tool that can enrich your time outdoors. In this follow-up podcast, I share a handful of apps that I use when I’m outdoors and preparing to get outdoors. Some are free and some come with a small fee. Every one of them can be useful for you as you spend time on the water. None of them, in my opinion, take away from the authentic experience of fishing, hunting, or hiking.

Check out my recommendations and how I use them in this week’s podcast.

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

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Fly Fishing Books, XIII

Sometimes a really good book doesn’t check all the boxes that you assume it should.

For example: a book on birds might be what you, a fly fisher, needs. Or, a Rocky Mountain angler could benefit from a book about Pennsylvania fly fishers. Or, a book about buffalo may very well be the best book you read this month.

Curious as to why I’ve used those examples? Good. Because I have some more book recommendations.

As I’ve done for all of the entries in my “Fly Fishing Books” series, I’ve spread the selections over three rough categories:

  • Guide (regional, site specific)
  • Technical (methods, locations, fly tying)
  • Literature (novels, biographies, history)

Check out one kind of each book, why I suggest it, and a bonus read below. And follow the links in the headings to get a copy for yourself.

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First Fly Shop Love

All fly fishers love fly shops.  These stores stand as the brick and mortar embodiment of fly fishing culture.

Fly shops are about more than buying gear. They are usually just off the banks of water  productive enough to warrant a full-time  angling retail option. The people employed are almost always passionate about the sport, and generally personable enough to hold a conversation. There is also the pleasant, stereotypical aesthetic: huge rod rack, mounted fish from an era when it was appropriate, rainbow walls of tying materials, and probably a sleepy dog.

Everyone has a favorite fly shop. The first fly shop that I fell in love with was a Sports Authority.

I had just started fishing with conventional tackle. As a teenager, I’d hang out in the fishing section once  week. I would look at crankbaits, wiggle rods, and stare at the expensive reels behind glass. Initially, I ignored by the assortment of fuzzy, weightless lures and tiny spools of monofilament “tippet”. Every once in a while, I’d spend enough money for a bag of soft plastic grubs. And I got to know the employees that manned the outdoors department.

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Podcast Ep. 198: Seeing Life Beyond the Bank

You might prefer to find waters to fish that are far, far away from any and all civilization. But there are countless small towns and rural villages that abut some of the most prominent rivers in this nation. Up on the bank, there is a whole lot going on. Very little of it, for most people, involves trout, insects, or your presence.

Today I discuss some of the benefits of getting to know the area where you are fishing. It might lead to greater angling opportunities. It might lead to more enjoyment. Or, it might lead to something better that encapsulates both of those things.

All in all, I’m suggesting you take a moment to see what is happening around you while you’re fishing. That is always a good thing to do.

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

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Trout, Trout Everywhere; Nor any Rod to Fish

Family vacation. There are lots and lots of choices of where to go. As long as everyone has a good time and stays in good spirits, where is just a backdrop. Amusement parks. Big cities. The ocean or the mountains.

Or, somewhere you’ve spent time fly fishing.

Even though I’ve often advocated for squeezing even just a little bit of fishing into family vacations, that is not my plan this time around. But the backdrop of previous fishing excursions in and around Manchester, Vermont, led us to spend a week in the Green Mountains. Hiking, local cuisine, and a giant fly shop featuring enormous pellet-eating rainbows all make for a fun with a school of kids in tow.

Generally speaking, the kinds of places you want to fish are the kinds of places you want to be. Seeing them without a rod in hand and through the eyes of your non-fishing family is rewarding, too.

Anyway, I’ve got to get back to coffee and planning today’s hike.

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Music? While Fishing?

“What is that screenshot all about?” you might ask. Well,  this past weekend someone at the Washington State Department of Natural Resources tweeted it out of the park.

Take it in again. That is funny. Especially for a part of the country that is notoriously sensitive to people’s feelings and whatnot, it is incredibly funny. Good job, Washington DNR social media person.

No one wants to listen to your weirdo Phish or some underground hip-hop you found on Soundcloud under normal circumstances. The woods are the last place that such things can and should be considered acceptable. I’m not a “nature is sacred” or “music gives off harsh vibes” person. I’m a “use earbuds but even that is bizarre when you’re hiking” person. And I assume most people are with me. But again, good for the Evergreen State for reminding people not to be a clod.

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Podcast Ep. 197: New Old Fishing Etiquette

Do you know how to behave around others while fishing?

Chances are the answer is “yes.” Because even though common sense isn’t all that common these days, I have come to expect better of those who spend a good amount of time outdoors.

There are plenty of resources that articulate the formal, classic fly fishing etiquette codes. Those are great. But there are also some subjective elements that come into play depending on when and where you are fishing. In this episode I discuss how and why you can figure out how to be an upstanding member of whatever fishing community in which you happen to be wetting your line.

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

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Add to Fly Fishing: Observe & Identify

Do you see the critter?

Over the years on Casting Across I’ve advocated that fly fishers diversify their outdoor experience. The singular focus of catching trout with a dry fly is a stereotype that serves as a punching bag within our little culture. But I’d argue that only fly fishing is less than one standard deviation away from that stuffy caricature.

Hiking, running, camping, conventional angling, hunting, and paddling are all outdoor pursuits that I dabble in to one degree or another. You might find time for cycling, climbing, bird watching, foraging, or any number of other worthwhile activities in nature. Go for it. You and fly fishing didn’t make a monogamous covenant with each other. Your wading boots won’t be jealous if you lace up your hiking boots. Your flies won’t give you the cold shoulder if you take the time to organize your rubber worms. Activities don’t work like that. So don’t act like they do.

Whether you’re completely fine with being an outdoor universalist or if you’re begrudgingly moving in that direction, there is one simple hobby that you can integrate into your fly fishing: observation.

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Catch & Release (into Hot Grease)

If you’re throwing fish back, you never catch a mess of fish. You can catch a lot or a bunch. You might even have a great day where they were hitting everything you were throwing at them. Great memories, beautiful pictures, and stories that will last a lifetime: but you can’t say that you caught a mess of fish.

However, if you play your cards right, have a stringer or a live well, and aren’t afraid of a few scales or a little blood, you can catch a mess of fish.

Before I go any farther in this article, I do want to acknowledge the hard left turn that these ideas appear to be taking from the usual fare found on Casting Across. After all, you’re usually reading about the quarry and culture of fly fishing. Crappie are not the usual quarry and lithium-ion filet knives are generally not part of the culture. I’m not advocating for an incursion, per se. I do think that it is important to validate that such interests do lie within the borders of this great outdoor nation.

And I’m going to firmly plant my flag in the soil of fried fish.

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Podcast Ep. 196: Shopping From Scratch

Last fall I fell down a rabbit hole. More accurately: I fell down into a duck’s nest.

After decades of watching guys wade into swamps, dressed like trees, carrying fake birds  over their shoulders, I decided to do the same. And I loved it. But aside from some cobbled-together gear from my vast fly fishing arsenal and some random deer hunting items, I didn’t have the right stuff. I was a little wet, a little cold, and a little convinced that I’d have to do some shopping before this fall.

So I did. And I learned a thing or two I’d like to pass along.

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

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