Rusty Flybox: Burnin’ a Hole..

Did you get cash for Christmas? How about a gift card to Cabela’s or Bass Pro? Or, perhaps you were the lucky recipient of store credit to a local fly shop.

Do you feel like you have to spend it ASAP? At least go into it with a little bit of a plan. Even if the money isn’t burning a hole in your pocket, resist the urge to just toss it in a dresser drawer. Take  inventory of your fishing gear during these cold months and figure out what gear you could target.

Today I’m sharing three articles that can help. I’ve got a lot of lists on the site with product ideas and recommendations. These three posts are particularly helpful for:

  • The new fly fisher
  • The fly fisher who likes to read
  • The fly fisher with a dollar amount in mind

Check out the links below:

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Don’t Get Cold Feet, Get Fishing

The first time I stepped into a large tailwater I realized I was woefully unprepared. I had the right rod. All the flies would have worked. I could even see fish rising. The problem? I couldn’t stand in the water for more than a few minutes.

The river was much more frigid than anticipated. It was hard to focus. It was hard to have fun.

In all my subsequent trips to big TVA projects I’ve packed and dressed wiser. And once I began to enjoy fly fishing in the winter, I learned that gear alone wasn’t going to ensure comfort. It wasn’t about simply buying what was needed. There were essential things I needed to do to keep my feet happy and warm.

Here are four ideas for your cold water and cold weather wading. Two won’t cost you a dime, and two might be well worth the money they entail. After all, there are few things worse than cold toes while fishing.

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Podcast Ep. 163: Fly Fishing Reading, pt. 2

What are you reading?

That is a great question to ask someone. It opens up so many doors for conversation. Within the fly fishing community, there is a good chance that everyone has read something recently. Books, blogs, and even marketing emails use language to communicate our shared passion.

But there is something special about fly fishing books. In this episode, I revisit a few different kinds of books you probably have on your shelf. I also make three recommendations for volumes that are worth adding to your library.

Also, Merry Christmas!

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

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Fly Fishing Books, XI

“What do you want?”

Whether it is Christmas, a birthday, or an anniversary coming up, you know you’re going to get this question. You might have some really practical thing that you need. Or, you might want something fun. Something fly fishing-related, even. But for many, picking out gear is an incredibly personal process. It has to fit. And it doesn’t have to just fit you, it has to fit the rest of your stuff and how you fish.

Do you know what is one-size-fits-all? Books.

I like to keep a running list of fly fishing books that catch my eye.  My wife has access to said list, and shares it whenever someone needs a little help come gift-giving time. Or, if I have a gift card burning a hole in my pocket the list reminds me of something that piqued my interest.

So, want something that piques your interest?

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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The Last Time You’ll Fish

From a big picture of respective, there’s always going to be a last time that you fish somewhere. I don’t mean to be morbid. But the fact is that we are finite. Our days are numbered. There’s only so much that we can do. And fly fishing, as pleasant as it is, does not exclude us from this unalterable equation of mortality. For a moment, let’s back away from this more existential facet of the conversation.

At a very practical level, there are places that you have gone fishing that you will never fish again. Unless you have kept some meticulous, obsessive records, there’s a good chance that certain waters are just not going to warrant another visit. Fly fishing puts us in random places. Spontaneous trips to tiny ponds. Skipping around the coast into the next inlet or bay. Taking an afternoon to tread up a feeder creek with a name that we never take the time to learn.

Sure, there are also some waters that don’t hold any allure. You got skunked. It was ugly. You decide to put a period on that story. Or, best case scenario, you had a once in a lifetime opportunity and you made the most of it. You would gladly go back; it’s just not likely to happen. Whether you treasure the memories or not, there are some places that are one and done.

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Podcast Ep. 162: Fly Fishing for the Holidays

Disclaimer: I’m not advocating that anyone abandon their family during the holiday season.

However, if you’re able to integrate a little fly fishing  in the Christmas and New Year interval you should definitely go for it.

This week I discuss some of the reasons why the period from late December to early January is great for getting out on the water. The calendar, as busy as it can be, is really working in your favor. There are some weather and fish peculiarities that you have to work with, but that is worth it. I do get into some of my favorite techniques for winter, too.

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

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Achieving Punctuated Tranquility

This fall I’ve taken some of my own advice. For years I’ve been encouraging those who read or listen to Casting Across to diversify their outdoor experience. It isn’t that I assume everyone who fly fishes only goes fly fishing. I just know that there have been times in my life when I’ve been primarily focused on getting out on the river, fly rod in hand, seeking to catch a trout. Actually, that might be a generous assessment. There are times when I was exclusively focused on catching trout. Whether it was stage of life, circumstances, or some other conflation of variables is neither here nor there. That is the way it was. It wasn’t bad, but looking back it was imbalanced.

Then along comes duck hunting.

Don’t get me wrong: Casting Across isn’t shifting away from fly fishing. I can’t even imagine that there is going to be a glut of waterfowl content any time in the near future. But sitting on a stump before first light just staring at the water and the sky is good for me and for my fly fishing. And it isn’t that duck hunting is any better than my hiking, camping, or paddling. The stillness forces me to think. The short season, hunted in pre-dawn spurts, gets me outside for a little bit on a regular basis. The lack of doing a lot lets me do a lot of observing.

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Trout & Feather: December ’21

That is me. And I’ve obviously caught a largemouth bass. Aside from those two facts there’s not a lot of certainty I have about this picture.

Why should that matter to me? Or, more pertinently for the reader, why should this photographic mystery matter to you?

I have a good reason why this all matters to both of us. But first, let me provide some background information: I have a small photo album with a wooden cover that sits on my dresser. It is there because it has always been there. For something like 15 years, this gift has wedged itself snugly in between a humidor, a Chicago Bears stein that holds loose change, and the spot reserved for my wallet. Inside are a number of fly-fishing photographs. There is a picture of my first trout, my first steelhead, and my first trip to the Appalachians. There is a picture of me being instructed in casting by the late Leon Chandler. There are also pictures, like the bass shot in question, that have lost their backstory.

15 years ago, I deemed it worthy for inclusion. Today? I’m not sure why.

There is a link to the rest of the post, Thousands of Words 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 serious look at Tim Cammisa’s fly tying essentials. The other? Well, serious isn’t the word I’d use…

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

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Podcast Ep. 161: Is Invasive a Bad Word?

This week is a quick sprint through a sticky subject: which species deserve to live in any given area?

In part, I’m responding to an article that questions the demonization of invasive species. Generally speaking, their point is a good one. However, some of the implications of the article are troublesome.

As anglers, we have a responsibility to steward our resources.  This means making decisions on when to interfere, when to remediate, and when to simply let things be. This all matters, because healthy fish populations depend on such choices.

Listen, think about it, and let me know what you think.

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

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The Heroes of Fishing Stories

The best heroes are flawed. The simplest explanation for this is that we can identified with such a person. Sure, there are plenty of deep literary nuances that a reader with an analytical mind can probe and ponder while reading about protagonists with obvious shortcomings. That is fine. For most of us, we read ourselves into the main character. We want to be the hero. And we know that we are flawed.

Any fly fishing story worth its ink has a hero. The dragons of these tales usually aren’t fish. The journeys are hardly comparable to a trip to Mordor. But there is still a person, and it is through those eyes we see places and ears we hear words with which we can relate. Norman Maclean, Nick Adams, and even the non-fictitious John Gierach spirit us away to rivers where we’ve never been.

The thing is, they might be rivers where we’ve never been; but we can be there. That means the heroes of fly fishing stories are not that different than you and me. Their exploits, while remarkable, are usually only the products of circumstance and observation. Because the most memorable stories containing the most heroic anglers aren’t just about big fish.

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