Sitting in a Library Reading a Fishing Book

I wasn’t looking to read a book. My goal was to use books to gather information. But despite my best efforts I was turning page after page, laughing, and getting a lot more than fishing tips.

All thanks to John Gierach.

As a child I was a vociferous reader. Books assigned in school were merely speedbumps on a road paved with stacks of books checked out from the library. If the program hadn’t had a cap, I could have sustained myself on coupons earned from Pizza Hut’s Book It initiative. But as is often the case, childlike ambition was quickly crushed by the burdens of teenage years. And by burdens, I mean angst, girls, and a general 13-17 malaise. Those factors, along with the requisite forced reports which accompanied the few books that  remained, stymied any last literary pursuits.

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Podcast Ep. 180: Fly Fishing Accusations, XVIII

We’ve got four topics to cover this time on the audience Q&A podcast. And the Qs are good! Hopefully the As are as well.

This week I’m talking about the hook barb debate, fly suggestions, John Gierach, and what to do with the silica packets that you get with a new pair of shoes. I’m confident that at least one of those items will pique your interest and potentially get you going down a fly fishing rabbit hole.

As always, thanks for the emails and the comments. I appreciate them; so keep them coming!

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

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Prince Nymphs & Cat Stevens

“What is the little white stuff on it’s back?”

“It is supposed to imitate a wing case or something.”

“It looks like it has a starched collar. Are the fish going to go for that?”

The fly shop owner peered over his newspaper at the two young men picking through the fly bins. The less-than-entomological assessment of his prince nymphs didn’t phase him much. Being the proprietor of a hardware/outdoor/variety store on what had become a sleepy main street, he was hardly bothered to the point of criticizing the casual conversation of  teenagers.

“We’ll take these flies.”

“And… two cigars?”

The fly purchase was necessary. It also greased the skids for the tobacco purchase.  17 is almost 18. But in their minds, ten dollars worth of flies would be enough to assuage any vigilance from the shop keeper. After all, he was smoking a pipe. There was solidarity along with the financial incentive. It worked.

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Letters to the Fly Fishing Editor

Every week I get some interesting emails because of Casting Across. Most of the time, they’re quick observations or pertinent questions from website readers and podcast listeners. I think it is great. And I do my best to respond quickly and thoughtfully.

In fact, I actively encourage feedback. Leading up to podcasts episodes that end in a “0” I solicit questions, comments, and accusations.  (In fact, one such episode is being recorded this week – so email away!)

While accusations might be a bit harsh, I truly am okay with legitimate feedback. I am not above correction. A quote from one of my favorite authors, which is quite appropriate, is: “I always think I’m right, but I know I’m not right all the time.” That just about sums it up.

However, I would say that the vast majority of the critical emails I receive stem from a misunderstanding. Some are from a lack of reading comprehension. Okay, that might be a little condescending.  Some are from my writing being to vague from time to time. That’s better. But these emails look like this:

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Podcast Ep. 179: 3 Fly Fishing Lies

If something is said enough times for enough time, it just becomes assumed. But that shouldn’t be the case.

On today’s podcast episode, I break down my opinion on three fly fishing lies. Notice, I said my opinion. You might think that the angling mistruths I’m addressing are fine and good. I’m willing to admit that each of these sentiments is right for some people. What I am contesting is that they are right for most people.

In the first of what I assume will be a recurring show topic, I talk about rod weights, fly sizes, and politics.

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

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Fishing Rod Care: Ferrule Ends

What is the most essential part of your fishing rod?

That is a bit of a trick question. The answer is really all of it. Hook-keeper aside, there aren’t really nonessential components on a fishing rod. Of course you need a handle. Obviously you can’t fish without a reel seat. Each guide, including the tip top, is pivotal. If you don’t believe me, try laying out a long accurate cast without one of the guides on the top third of your rod. Whether you’re  using a fly, spin, or baitcasting rod, what you see from the bottom to the top matters.

The stereotypical rod accident is the broken tip. Ceiling fans and car doors make 8’6″ rods out of 9″ rods. While I’m not going to voluntarily give up four or five inches of any of my fly rods voluntarily, I have had this happen before. Both times it has been on the water. Both times I kept on fishing. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t a catastrophe.

In my opinion, where you really get in trouble is a lot more innocuous.

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Fishing & Hunting: Don’t Paddle Past Canoes

It might have been on my fourth trip to the island duck blind when I said it out loud. “I think we need a bigger boat.” The small kayak worked great earlier in the season. Then, I wasn’t bundled up and I wasn’t carrying as much gear. I was also by myself. In December, ferrying two boys, decoys, and all of the other essentials from the road to our hunting spot ended up being quite a bit of uncomfortable paddling at 5:45 in the morning.

Waiting for birds, I repeated myself to my boys. “I think we need a bigger boat.”

All winter I contemplated what that bigger boat might be. Sure, I hunt ducks. I also fly fish. My family enjoys just being outdoors. New England, at least my part of New England, is incredibly swampy. Some of the wildest places are accessible only by boat.  Hours were spent in pursuit of what exactly would fit the bill best. Kayak? Canoe? Something else?

Moreover, I know that I’m not the only person thinking these thoughts. There are a lot of options out there these days. Some of them are incredibly pricey. Others might not only be the wrong choice – they could potentially be unsafe. But a boat can open up a world of opportunities for the angler, the hunter, or the person who simply wants to be on the water. Making the right choice matters.

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Podcast Ep. 178: The Brown Trout

Salmo trutta.

It shouldn’t be here. But it is. And last time I checked, not many of us are up in arms about it.

Today I talk briefly about brown trout. Where they come from, why they’re here, and why fly fishers are willing to give them the “non-native pass.” There is so much to say about this fish species and how we pursue it with the fly. This episode might be an introduction to a well-loved quarry, or it might get you thinking a little bit more about the fish that we have swimming in our favorite rivers.

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

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Staring Skyward

What would drive a man to stare heavenward in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean?

It isn’t a bird. It isn’t a plane. It is a mistake. But let me back up for a minute.

Sight casting for large fish on the flats does something to a guy. Not only are you fishing to the fish that you can see, but you’re also kind of fishing to the fish that you can’t see. Any given cast into the ocean could yield something spectacular. Any cast might turn into a situation where you’re quickly clearing your hand from a whizzing reel knob. That optimistic uncertainty is in the back of your mind. The forefront of your thoughts are dominated by the shadows and silhouettes that appear and disappear right in front of you.

Perhaps it is because I’m a simple trout fisherman at heart, but all of this gets to me. Rash decisions happen. Well-formed casts, aimed at 11 o’clock fall apart when something flashes  at 2 o’clock. The irrationality of it all is that there was a specific reason, a previously seen flash, at 11 o’clock. That is just one example. And it is significantly more reasonable than the situation that lead to my sky bound gaze.

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Headwaters: Stories Following Rivers & Life

“Headwaters.” Dylan Tomine  said the name of his book. I asked him why he chose that title. He  repeated headwaters out loud not because he was thinking of an answer, but because the title and the word have meaning. “Headwaters to me is all about tracing the beginning of something. The book is not so much about a source or a beginning of my life or my fishing. It is more like the process of working from the headwaters down or from the bottom up. The various stories are like the varying stages of a river.”

Headwaters is a collection of Tomine’s  fly fishing writing; an entertaining an engaging collection of fly fishing writing. Some pieces previously appeared in outdoor journals or magazines. Some are being offered up for public consumption for the very first time in this anthology. Aside from a common author, what links the various pieces together is a larger narrative arc. The stories are arranged chronologically, allowing the reader to trace the author’s journey as a fly fisherman, a writer, and a man.

Tomine gives a brief, high-level outline of that arc: “The early stories are classic fly fishing writing. There is travel and adventure. I’m catching as many and as big of fish as I possibly can. But as the book progresses you’ll see that the priorities change. It is fatherhood, the reality of diminishing resources, and, well,  maturity. What develops is a greater concern over the environment and the people I’ve spent time with.”

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