You Need Water to Fish

You need water to go fly fishing.

Obvious, right? While this is appropriate for  fish to habituate to your particular river, pond, or coast, it also has a very real application for you.

Sling packs have bottle holsters and drift boats have footprints for coolers because anglers need to stay hydrated. For every hundred articles about how to prospect for trout, which fly rod to buy, and where to go on the next vacation, there probably isn’t one piece on water. Even with the premium people pay for high-end, vacuum-sealed tumblers to carry their beverages, there isn’t a lot of fishing-focus on that kind of water itself.

So, in brief, I’ve got three reasons why you should be drinking early and often while fly fishing:

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Podcast Ep. 184: For Doug

This week I found out that a man who was instrumental in my taking up fly fishing passed away.

I can say that he played a big part in my appreciation for fishing even though he and I never were on the water together once. He mentored and helped along one of my best friends, and that relationship led my friend to introduce me to fishing.

Today I briefly share that story, and talk a little bit about some of the ways that you can invest in the life of a young person through fly fishing. It isn’t for everyone, but for those who can do it it is a great way to do some real good.

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

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Trout Can’t Be Happy

“That fish is happy.”

I looked over at Doug with the kind of puzzled expression that one would make if the definition of a recently heard word was elusive. But I knew what fish were. And I knew what happy was. I just couldn’t wrap my mind around how these two terms had any relation to each other such that Doug would order them together in a sentence the way he did.

While I later came to the conclusion that he did not utter this sentence with the sole intention of getting a rise out of me, he did quickly perceive my bewilderment. Probably because I didn’t talk. I usually talk.

“Look at it. That is a happy trout.”

We had been fishing the small limestone stream for the better part of the day. Fish were caught; none so remarkable as to remember. It was the kind of  day that comes with a certain frequency of fishing. An average day. But a good day. The late spring conditions proved ideal for any kind of angling a person would want to engage in. Trout took streamers, nymphs, and dry flies. They weren’t taking them with reckless abandon. In fact, they manifestly spurned any presentations that were reckless.

Reckless presentations are often the result of desperation as much as they are the product of some deficiency in skill. In such instances defined by the former, the best solution involves a reset. You must stop in order to stop doing what you’re doing that you’re doing poorly. Otherwise your fishing will be as convoluted as that last sentence.

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Hot Cold-Weather Deals

This past weekend, thermometers around me hit 90 degrees. It was a one-day aberration from an otherwise mild New England Spring. But for that one day it was hot. The weather, always a topic of conversation, was on the forefront of everyone’s mind.

“It’s only May!”

“Got your air conditioner on yet?”

“Time to get the pool ready!”

That evening, sitting as still as I could close to an open window and an oscillating fan, I got online to shop. I wasn’t browsing swimsuits or sunscreen. The stripers have returned to the Massachusetts coast, but I wasn’t looking at tying materials or fly line. I was clicking around hunting and fishing stores, trying to find a good insulated coat with waterproof cuffs.

Obviously.

It isn’t that I’m already pining for late season trout fishing or frozen December mornings in the duck blind. I’m quite content that it is spring and there are months of wet wading in front of me. However, now is the time to get what I need for  six months from now. If anything, I’m a little late. (This is a fact, seeing as my remarkably average waist/inseam/foot measurements are getting hard to come by in the clearance pages.)

Here are three reasons why I was searching for as many grams of Thinsulate I as I could find on a sweltering night:

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Podcast Ep. 183: Phones & Fishing

I know a few people who have flip phones. They’re the bamboo rod enthusiasts of the tech world… or something like that.

For the rest of us, the futuristic computer/camera in our pocket goes with us wherever we go. That often includes the rivers and woods which we enjoy. There are plenty of pros and cons that come with using a smartphone in particular, technology in general, for your fishing.

Today, I talk about some of the things you might be missing out on if you turn to tapping your screen. I give a few reasons why I advocate carrying your smartphone wherever you go.

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

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3 Reasons to Celebrate this Fallfish

photo: Josh Dolin | Outdoor Life

Minnows rarely make the news.

Yet a quick search for “Virginia fallfish” turns up what seems to be a relentless pursuit among anglers of the commonwealth to find bigger and bigger  examples of Semotilus corporalis. Josh Dolin is the latest fisherman to get his name attached to this underrepresented species.

Yes. Fallfish are underrepresented. They rise to dry flies. They fight as hard, if not harder, than trout of equal size. And they are native to many eastern streams that are considered trout water… even though those trout happen to be from Europe or the American west.

Obviously, there are plenty of significant differences between trout and this largest member of the minnow family. There probably shouldn’t be an initiative to establish Fallfish Unlimited or carve out a few aisles at Bass Pro for fallfish gear. That doesn’t diminish the value of the species or the legitimate intrigue of a 3 pound, 9.5 ounce exemplar.

In fact, here are three reasons why you should celebrate this fallfish and other catches like it:

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Throwback Gear Review: Orvis Battenkill Large Arbor

Fly fishing gear is a big part of Casting Across. I’ve always enjoyed the aesthetics, the marketing, and, most importantly, the function of fly fishing gear. Consequently, I’ll review new products on the site from time to time. But appreciating fly fishing gear shouldn’t only be about  the latest model or newest technology. The things that you’ve fished with for years – for decades ought to be celebrated as well.

It is in that spirit that I put together this gear review. Although some products are old or even out of production, their value compounds with use, experience, and familiarity. We should enjoy what we use when we fly fish, especially if we’ve enjoyed it for a long time.

Today, large arbor reels are the norm. A cursory search yields results showing only about one in ten reels have a traditional spool. Only twenty years ago the inverse was the case. The first generation Battenkill Large Arbor was released in the early 2000s. Subsequent models bearing the same name have come out in the years since, but they bear little resemblance to the design and engineering of the first reel. That first model has stood the test of time and countless fish.

Large Arbor

The industry transition to large arbor formats reflected a pragmatic, function-over-form mentality. For generations, fly reels all looked similar. Porting, colors, and frames varied from model to model, but the smallest trout reels and the largest big game reels on differed in size. Consequently, line would be wound around a tight central spool that fit over the drag spindle. For those big game reels, it meant hundreds of yards of backing and line coiled on itself within an already heavy frame.  Expanding the arbor allowed for larger coils, resulting in less line memory (easier casting) and quicker retrieval  (faster reeling). What started off as a helpful design for saltwater anglers quickly made its way into all fly fishing. Orvis’ entry into the fray was the Battenkill Large Arbor.

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Podcast Ep. 182: Why You Aren’t Catching More Fish

We’ve all had this experience:

You’re fishing in a stream that is loaded with trout. You’ve caught fish there. Others are catching fish there. But today, you’re not getting any action.

There are some very specific reasons why this might be the case. I’ve found that the issues aren’t so much about my casting, my fly box, or the weather. I’ve come to terms with the problem being my approach. Specifically, my patience (or lack thereof) and speed (or the lack of that, too).

Today I give some examples of how these approaches might be what are making or breaking your time on the water.

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

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Real Nippers: Worth an Extra $6

A few articles in Casting Across history have drawn ire from the fly fishing internet. There was the series of posts that calculated the “best rated” fly shop in each state. There have been reviews of products from companies that people don’t like. There are opinions, recommendations, and personal convictions that readers don’t agree with.

And then there is the real controversy: nippers.

Yes. Nippers. The simple piece of gear used to cut tippet. People get irate about nippers. Why? I have some nice tippet-cutting tools. I think there are good reasons to own them. I think they’re a great gift for the fly fisher in your life that has everything.

But I don’t think they’re necessary. Once more: $100 nippers aren’t necessary.

What else isn’t necessary is the self-flagellation of using fingernail clippers. I don’t think that you need to swing to the other end of the spectrum to prove a point or to save $6. Here are three reasons why:

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Fly Fishing Books, XII

Why would I read it if…

  • I could watch the movie?
  • The information is 20 years old?
  • I could get the same information from YouTube?
  • There are dozens, if not hundreds, of other books like it?

These questions are legitimate. But if you’ve ever read a good book, you know how the written word has the ability to not only mitigate but transcend all of those concerns.

Today I am sharing four fly fishing books. It would be reasonable to ask one of the above questions of each suggestion. Irrespective of that, I maintain that they are worth picking up and reading.

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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