Podcast Ep. 167: Current Affairs

Water moves. We all get that. But do we appreciate how and why it moves? Doing so has a significant impact on finding fish, making a proper presentation, and staying safe in the water.

These three reasons alone should give you pause when you ask yourself if you can read water. In this podcast episode, I briefly talk about a few river current observations. There are a lot of great resources out there, but the best thing that you can do to improve your time on the water is to observe.

Hopefully this will give you a few things to think about as you contemplate how the water is moving; both throughout the water column and from bank to bank.

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

read more

Trout & Feather: January ’22

You can’t feel your fingers. Your breath is fogging up your sunglasses. Your waders are just a little bit frozen. Obviously, it is the perfect time to tie on a dry fly… in the size 22-28 range.

Even when bigger bugs aren’t fluttering around the stream, smaller insects are probably hatching. In long runs, glassy pools, and off-current eddies, trout of all sizes will orient themselves upwards. A midday sun or even precipitation can trigger insect activity.

“However,” you may object, “the flies are really tiny.”

True. But the fish don’t seem to mind. If you’re looking to take trout off the surface in January and February, midges are probably your only option.

There is a link to the rest of the post, Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Midge? after the jump.

But before you do that, be sure to check out the two videos I’ve included in today’s post. One is a great interview with angler and tyer Landon Mayer, and the other is a sub-minute clip that will walk you through a simple (but great) pattern.

Watch the videos, and find a link to the article, below:

read more

Stay Upright in Winter Fly Fishing

I broke my net. The net broke my fall. The wooden handle took my full weight as I hit the granite boulder. Shiny rocks looked like icy rocks, so I let my guard down. One of those shiny rocks was actually an icy rock. My feet went out from underneath me so fast that I heard the crack of the net before I knew that I slipped. It wasn’t immediately adjacent to the stream, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

How do you move to, in, and from the water when there’s snow and ice on the ground? Obviously, there are some situations you’ll probably want to avoid. Based upon your mobility and health, you should use your best judgment. That being said, there are a few things that will increase your odds of staying upright and safe.

Here’s one gear suggestion and two practical tips on navigating frozen streambanks:

read more

Podcast Ep. 166: Fishing Rituals

Opening day. The annual trip to the cabin. A first fish.

Within these experiences is the opportunity for ritual. And rituals simply  consist of a series of actions performed according to a prescribed order. Maybe there is something that you’ve always done. Perhaps there is something that you’ve always done because it was what your father and grandfather did. Or, the friends that you go to the fishing lodge every year arbitrarily decided that some silly activity is what you do. So you do it.

All of these rituals add to the experience of fly fishing. They connect you with previous trips. They connect you with previous anglers.

They might not translate into catching and fish, but they’re worth having around.

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

read more

*Actually* Fishing the Gray

Earlier this week I put out a piece called “Fishing the Gray.” In short, it is a quasi-autobiographical encouragement to get out and fly fish in even the ugliest weather. A good number of people read it. Hopefully, if you were one of those people, you appreciated it.

Still, I can’t help but think that some clicked in hopes that they were going to learn about some River Gray and how one could fish it. The header image is cold but idyllic. If I saw that, I’d be interested in learning more. So if that was you, I’m sorry. It wasn’t my intention to offer up an angling bait and switch.

Today I’m righting what I’ve perceived as some level of wrong. While the (slightly altered) header image is not of a river called Gray, I’ll go ahead and break down how I approach it. Chances are you have a stream like this near you. Maybe our streams have something in common.

read more

Fishing the Gray

The streambanks, even the stream bottoms, are mostly bare. There might be snow and ice. Days are short but the cold weather lasts for a long time. Overall, things are gray, It isn’t the same as fishing in the spring, summer, or fall. But it is still fishing. Guides and fingers freeze. Fish, and most fishermen, don’t have the same motivation.

So what is the solution? How do you get up and get out when everything is gray?

It comes down to making a choice. The fishing will be slower and the conditions will be less than ideal, but it will still be fishing. Time in front of the television is fine. Time behind the tying vise is good. A good fly fishing book by a warm fire is excellent. But none of those experiences will put you in direct contact with a fish.

read more

Podcast Ep. 165: Where Do Your Flies Come From?

Today I talk about two topics related to fly procurement:

  • If you buy them, where should you buy them from?
  • Is tying flies economical?

There are as many opinions on both of these questions as there are fly patterns. I don’t pretend to be the expert. But I do have a few simple data points and perspectives that might be helpful as you consider filling up your fly boxes.

And, as always, I’m happy to hear differing opinions!

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

read more

A Quick Cast Back into 2021

These nine photographs aren’t terribly exciting. What they represent is what I did in 2021. They also represent what you “liked” the most about Casting Across last year.

I don’t obsess over the analytic side of Casting Across. But it can be interesting. One of the things that interests me is what interests you.  I write what I want to write and talk about what I want to talk about. Every once in a while, something resonates with the fly fishing world.

Below are some links that reflect the empirical  side of that resonance.

I’ve listed the three articles that were read the most, the links that were clicked the most, and the search terms that people used the most to find their way to me last year. I can’t say that I’m shocked. But again, it is quite interesting. If you’ve been reading Casting Across since the beginning, or if you’re stumbling onto this fly fishing corner of the internet for the first time, check out what got the most pop in 2021.

read more

The Last Time I’ll Fish

Less than two weeks ago I wrote “The Last Time You’ll Fish.” I’ve included a link to the article below, but here’s the gist of it:  There are places that you have gone fishing that you will never fish again. Some of these places aren’t anything special. Others, when framed in this manner, are the kinds of places that you’ll make a concerted effort to get back to. Sometimes you can do something about it. Sometimes, you can’t. My goal in writing? It wasn’t to cause anyone to mourn. Rather, the intention was to share a few works with the intention of getting you to think.

So here I am, two weeks later, realizing I’m having to think about my own words.

When I started fishing in earnest I was in 8th grade. The summer of that year, I moved to a new house that was only a five minute walk from a large pond. The Northern Virginia pond was surrounded by townhomes,  ballfields, and a public pool. But it held fish. There were big bass, plentiful sunfish, and monster catfish.  I could fish there whenever I wanted. Homework was a priority in those days; but it was   behind fishing in the overall hierarchy. Following Saturday morning fishing shows, I’d head to the pond to emulate what I learned from Bill Dance and Roland Martin.

I fished in other ponds in town. Once I could drive, I would fish all over the Mid Atlantic. I went off to college. But I would always return to that pond. For nearly a decade, that pond was an integral part of my life.

read more

Podcast Ep. 164: A Fly Fishing Review

How was your year in general?

Okay. Now: How was your year in fly fishing?

You don’t need to keep a journal or go on some sort of self-discovery session to think about your year on and around the water. Just consider your successes and (relative) failures. Take quick inventory of how you did and did not spend your time. It might not elicit some great course-correction. But, as you’re making plans for next year these thoughts might inform your plans and expectations.

Today I share three things that I can say about the last year in fly fishing. Hopefully it can get you thinking, too.

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

read more