Go Big this Holiday Season: Shop Small

You don’t have to buy anything to have a Merry Christmas. You certainly don’t have to devote copious amounts of time and extravagant sums of money to celebrate the season, your family, and the incarnation.

But if you do decide to go that traditional and joyous route? And if you so happen to be a fly fisher or someone who is shopping for a fly fisher?

You could do a lot worse than shopping small.

I am not ethically opposed to big brands and big stores. I fish with plenty of gear from the biggest labels in the industry. Furthermore, I am awfully happy when physically or virtually browsing around Bass Pro. If you’re looking to find unique items, to support independent business owners, and knock Christmas morning out of the park?  Patronize a small(er) company.

Just below the break I’m going to promote a handful of businesses that I think are worth your hard-earned dollars. First, I think that it bears mentioning that this 2021 holiday season is different for a few reasons. A number of variables have made it such that supply and demand are out of whack. Bottom line? You’ll be doing yourself and small business owners a favor if you order early and have a little patience.

Here’s where you can get some distinctive and exciting fly fishing items this year:

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Written on Water: Stories of Maine’s Grand Lake Stream

Grand Lake Stream sits only a short canoe ride from the Maine/New Brunswick border. For centuries, anglers from all over Maine, New England, and points much further away have come up to explore this remote tip of the country. They are rewarded with smallmouth bass, brook trout, and the much-coveted landlocked salmon. There are plenty of options and ample breathing room in which to explore, too. With 11 interconnected lakes, there is more water than woods.

This wild, idyllic setting is where Randy Spencer is fishing guide, author, and chronicler of oral history. All three come together in his most recent work, Written on Water.

Written on Water is a fishing book. But it assumes that genre in the same way that A River Runs Through It is a fishing story; or To Kill a Mockingbird is a crime novel. People are at the forefront of Spencer’s narrative. The woods, the water, and the fish are characters, too – albeit in a supporting capacity.

“Among the guides,” Spencer says, “we have this saying that it is all about the context. All we have to do is get out of the way and let people enjoy the view.” He’s witnessed magic happen among the incredibly diverse clientele that comes up to experience the Maine woods. “I see the same story play out over and over again. Without fail it repeats itself: that level of decompression. The beauty of our natural resources gets to someone who is wrapped up tight. To watch this happen to someone? It startles them. They’re spoken to in a way they haven’t heard for a long time, or, they are just hearing for the first time.”

Those stories, and the stories of the people who heard that voice decades ago and chose to stay in Grand Lake Stream, are the stories in Written on Water.

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Podcast Ep. 157: Filling a Winter Fishing Pack

By and large, the core essentials of your fly fishing pack, sling, or vest are going to stay put throughout the whole year. You might move a box or tool in or out depending on hatches or conditions, but things usually sit right where you put them.

In the winter, fly fishing changes. The same water and the same fish require different tactics. Some of these approaches necessitate a few alterations to what you pack. Chances are it is gear that you already have. You just want to make sure you have it when you need it.

Today I give a quick overview of what I make sure is in my pack and accessible when I’m on the water in the late fall or winter.

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

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30 Long, Wet Minutes

If you want to guarantee that you’ll get rained on, forget your tent’s rainfly. I believe in providence; not luck or coincidence or karma or Murphy’s law. The handful of times I have neglected to ensure that I’m completely protected from precipitation are, in fact, the nights when the heavens have opened up.

Waking up to  the sensation of a flooded sleeping bag makes for a good story. Even if the protagonist/victim simply cuts and runs, this kind of disaster-comedy is something most people can get behind. When the inevitably futile, yet herculean efforts to mitigate the situation result in failure? Gold.

And I have one such story to share.

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Fast Fly Rods: Should You or Shouldn’t You?

It feels like only yesterday that fly rod companies were advertising every new offering as FAST. Rods for trout, striper, and everything in between touted quicker action that produced longer casts with greater accuracy. Of course, there are always trade-offs. For many models, this meant reduced sensitivity and feel. Still, some builders produced some quick-action fly rods that serve a very useful purpose.

So, why should you consider a fast fly rod?

Aren’t they just stiff graphite sticks meant for pumping out 80-foot casts? Again, sometimes yes. Most traditional trout anglers won’t find much use for them. Furthermore, minimalist or beginner fly fishers could do better. But there are some people who fish in some situations that would truly benefit from a fast fly rod.

Here are three scenarios in which a fast fly rod excels, and three questions you should ask yourself before you consider purchasing one:

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Podcast Ep. 156: Casting Mechanics & Practice

There are very few things that an angler can control while fly fishing. You can’t force a fish to be in a spot. You can’t demand that a fish eat your fly. And, of course, you are totally unable to dictate weather and water flows.

But you can control your cast.

In this episode I talk a little bit about casting mechanics. Specifically, I discuss a few tactics that beginners and advanced casters can employ to hone their  skills. One tactic might sound a little weird, and the other a little unorthodox. But I’ve benefitted from both and I think you will too.

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

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The Dog-Eared Pages of Outdoor Christmas Catalogs

With Halloween candy wrappers still blowing down the sidewalk, another sign of the season appear within mailboxes all over the country. Even in a digital age, where millions of products are just a hey Siri away, Christmas catalogs still hold a place in the cultural consumer calendar. For the outdoorsman, one wish book is a comforting omen of the coming holidays: the Bass Pro Shops and Cabela’s Christmas Gift Guide.

For decades, an angler or hunter could expect to receive at least a few hundred pounds’ worth of glossy pages from these two companies. Fishing, Spring Hunting, Fly Fishing, Fall Hunting, and Christmas catalogs came from each brand within days of each other. As waste-consciousness and online shopping converged, the size and quantity of these printings diminished. Then, upon Bass Pro’s purchase  of Cabela’s in 2017, mailboxes emptied out even more.

But there is still the Christmas Gift Guide.

Yes, there is virtue in shopping small. There is honor in shopping local. There is nobility in eschewing wanton paper consumption and practices with materialistic overtones. There’s also some cool game cameras that send images to your cell phone on pages 128-129. There’s camo bedding on page 76, crossbows on page 146, and an old timey creel on page 113.

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3 Reasons for Better Fishing in Bad Weather

The river was around 40 yards wide. The fog was so thick that halfway across it was impossible to make out the opposite bank. Which means, halfway across, it was impossible to see either bank. The cold water from the bottom of the deep reservoir usually elicited a mist over the water on warm summer mornings and evenings. This morning’s weather added an additional haze that hemmed the entire river in a blanket of cloud.

Wading slowly, further towards the far bank, the streamside vegetation finally came into view. Over the course of the next few hours I pulled trout after trout from along the deep edge of the river. The fish rose with reckless abandon to large emergers drifted along a seam I didn’t see until I was right on top of it.

Waking up to a morning of wind, rain, or dense fog can cause all but the most intense anglers to roll over for a few more hours in a warm, dry bed. I have neglected these opportunities plenty of times. Although it doesn’t help me in those pre-dawn moments, I can also say that I have had plenty of success on the water in ugly days; perhaps a higher percentage of good days fishing on bad weather days than not.

While I can’t prove any of it empirically, there were three things that I feel contributed to my success that day. Each was directly linked to the foul weather.

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Podcast Ep. 155: Anniversary & Industry

One of my favorite parts of Casting Across is that it keeps me close to an industry that I have truly come to appreciate. The people in and around fly fishing are, in my opinion, a great and diverse group. Over the past six years, my writing and speaking have given me more chances to spend time with them.

Today I talk briefly about the genesis of Casting Across. Then, I share a few thoughts regarding the fly fishing industry. Hopefully, it is an encouragement or a new perspective for you.

I’ve said it before, but on this anniversary week of Casting Across: thank you for reading and listening!

This episode is brought to you by X-Chair. Upgrade your home office by heading to XchairCasting.com  and get $100 off your order.

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

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6 Years of Casting Across & You

I had something planned for today, for the 6th Anniversary of Casting Across.  The plan was to share some of the highs and lows of writing and talking about fly fishing three times a week for six years. There were some angling stories, some life events, and some interesting perspectives that come from recording my thoughts through all of it.

Then I received an email.

I get countless messages because of Casting Across. About half are straight-up junk. Then, there are a lot of emails from fly fishing companies’ and conservation organizations’ mailing lists. Those are helpful for keeping a finger on the pulse of the people, places, and things that go into the pursuit of fish. What I really enjoy are emails and direct messages from you  – from people who have made Casting Across a part of their week.

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