Throwback Gear Review: Scott Alpha Series

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.

Prior to the summer of 2001, I had never fished in the salt water before. My friend and I were graduating from high school, and his parents invited me to join them for a week on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The promise of a week of redfish, snook, sea trout, and maybe even a tarpon was enough to get my eyes on every fly fishing catalog in my possession. Because, having never fished in the salt prior to that summer, I didn’t own anything heavier than a six-weight.

Early that spring I grabbed the fist-sized roll of 20s I had accumulated  and headed to the fly shop. Being in high school, and saving for my first year of college, I was on a relatively tight budget. Cash available for rod, reel, and line totaled in at around $450 or so. I was able to cast a handful of fly rods.  20 years ago, many rods in that price range were on the bottom end of most manufacturers’ line ups. After an hour or so one fly rod stood out among the rest.

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Podcast Ep. 139: Not too Hot for Trout

A common solution for conservation-minded anglers that place stewardship above sport is to lay off the fly fishing for a month or two.

But does that mean that fishing for trout is off limits in July and August? Are bass and carp the only fair game in the heat of summer? (As if these fish don’t have temperature thresholds…)

As is the case in most circumstances, if a “smarter not harder” mindset is employed the fly fisher can absolutely still fish for trout throughout the warmest times of the year. Here are three things to consider.

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

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14 & Fly Fishing

I was 14 years old the first time I went fly fishing. This means that I’ve been fly fishing for well over half my life. Also, fly fishing has been something that has been part of my life more, from a cumulative perspective, than I lived with my parents, that I’ve known my wife, or that I’ve spend time in any one home.

Being a new angler as a teenager entailed some trade-offs. I couldn’t drive myself anywhere. But I could also fish without buying a license for those first few years. Living in northern Virginia, that meant if I could get there then I could fish there for free. I took advantage of generous angling mentors and friends, travelling in-state as well as to nearby Maryland, DC, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania. But what money I did make was absolutely spent on gear. I didn’t want to party. I didn’t want the latest and greatest shoes. I wanted fly fishing gear.

Although it meant that some of that money had to go towards licenses, turning sixteen also meant autonomous transportation. I’d eat fast food and sleep in my car. Suddenly, the woods and waters held more allure than the football field and the wrestling mat. I also had parents that encouraged my growing obsession. Having your son be into fly fishing rather than all of the typical teen goings-on is a pretty easy pill to swallow.  I wasn’t a saint, but I was always more into mischief and fishing than real trouble.

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Red, White, & Bluegill

It’s the 5th of July. I’m here to declare another kind of independence. You, my fly fishing friend, are invited to secede right along with me.

Maybe you don’t feel like you’re living under an unbearable burden. Perhaps there are no angling shackles upon your casting arm. But if there is even the slightest chance that you need to get behind this pronouncement, stand up and salute:

It’s just fishing.

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Podcast Ep. 138: Warm Water, Small Stream Fly Rods

Whether it be due to location or preference, some anglers routinely pursue species like bass. Additionally, the waters they frequent aren’t the typical wide smallmouth rivers or vast largemouth lakes. Our nation is covered with small steams that contain robust populations of bass and other warm water fish.

If your local creek is where you’re going to be spending a lot of time, isn’t the right rod the right choice?

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

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Magnet-ique: Fly Attraction

Fly fishers appreciate the little things that makes their time on the water easier. This means things that aren’t over-engineered, over-complicated, and over-priced. The magnetic fly patches from Magnet-ique easily meet this little and simple criteria.

Since 2019, a pair of British fly fishers have been making these little and simple tools in the UK. They wanted something that would meet a need they had while fishing, and they took the initiative to design, create, and sell their products to anyone else looking for some convenience.

Core to Magnet-ique is two different magnetic, rubberized fly patches. The MagMini is a figure-eight shaped patch and comes in a single (one-sided) or double (two-sided) configuration. The MagMicro is a small, single dot. Both designs come with a metal backplate which facilitates placement on anything from vests to shirts to hats to packs. The plate also features a hook for optional lanyard attachment. What this all means is a versatile and flexible piece of gear.

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Explore by Fishing the Other Bank

Which bank do you fish on?

It isn’t a trick question or some sort of sneaky form of angling psychoanalysis. In my experience, asking this question reveals one of three common answers:

  • I have to fish this bank, because the other side is inaccessible.
  • I have to fish this bank, because all of the likely spots are here.
  • I have to fish this bank, because… I’ve always fished this bank.

The first one is valid. The other two? Not so much.

If you wade, there are some factors that may keep you on or very near the bank – irrespective of which side you’re on. Deep water, silty or muddy bottoms, and local regulations may force you to stay on the bank. Spring creeks or high-volume rivers are often best fished from the shore. Furthermore, one side of the stream may truly be inaccessible for one of the reasons mentioned above. Or, it could be that trees and other streamside obstructions make casting incredibly difficult.

But don’t sell any river short. There are “likely spots” all over any moving water. And routine? Unless you’re perfectly content with the same, always doing something the same way isn’t a recipe for discovery or improvement.

Here are three reasons why you should cross the river and check things out from the other bank:

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Podcast Ep. 137: Trip Report – VA Double

Part of this year’s Father’s Day gift was “a day to go fishing.” (Note: this is a great gift to give someone.)

Now, I get to fish a lot. But this gifted day was special because it was to be used while we were on vacation in Virginia. Picking a spot to fish wasn’t easy, as I have plenty of local favorites and there are countless great opportunities. However, I was able to nail something down. Well, two things.

In this episode I talk through a day on the water. Hopefully some of my observations and ideas will be helpful for your normal outings or your special fishing trips.

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

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Scent Home

“Do you guys smell the plants?”

“You mean the flowers?”

“No, the plants. Can you notice that they smell differently than the plants back home?”

To be fair, I don’t think I was paying too much attention to the olfactory stimulation elicited by Virginia flora when I was a young teenager. My kids didn’t pick up on the comparison I was making. The backyard and forest greenery in Massachusetts does share a lot of the same general qualities as what we were walking through at the moment. But this morning was the perfect time to take in the smells of the various trees, bushes, and undergrowth.

It had rained. A cool, morning rain. The showers had subsided too early to impact the remainder of the day. Once the sun broke through the dissipating clouds, the warmth and humidity of a late-June day south of the Mason-Dixon had plenty of time to take hold. There is plenty to complain about there. However, the smells of the earth and the plants is not one of them.

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Angler’s Block

Just because you love fly fishing doesn’t mean it always comes easily. Various and sundry circumstances can lead the angler to a period where there is less productivity on the water. That is normal, primarily because the fish aren’t obligated to play along. Weather, seasonality, and the aforementioned finnicky fish will keep hands clean and nets empty.

What can also happen  is that fly fishers struggle to fish just because. Maybe it is a string of unproductive days on the water. Maybe it is tedious routine. Maybe it is other parts of life  impacting drive, engagement, or enjoyment. Perhaps all of this comes across as overblown psychoanalysis, but it is realistic to assume even the most avid angler will experience a slump.

Sometimes just going fishing fixes everything. Nature has a way of making things right. Simply being out there is reorienting. Add in a couple of healthy or hard-earned fish, and that may very well set the world as it should be.

But that isn’t always the case. Just like an author or artist needs to break out of a routine in order to come up with new ideas or to spur on creativity, the fly fisher can truly benefit from inspiration or incentive. Here are four ways to bust out of the doldrums and give your fishing a shot in the arm:

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