Weigh, Measure, & Show Grace

I’ve never carried a scale or a tape measure on the river. At one point in my life, when I fished primarily with a single fly rod, I knew the length of the rod butt to the cork and to the stripping guide. Even then, the inconvenience of laying a trout alongside my rod made this process tedious. So I didn’t do it. As far as weighing fish goes, I did have friends who would carry a spring-operated scale in their tackle box. These devices, which clip to the fish’s mouth, seemed inaccurate. Moreover, their use on a lot of two and three pound fish seemed unnecessary.

What is the point of quantifying fish with precision?

There are some situations where it makes sense. As heretical as it may sound to fly fishers, keeping fish is a thing. When one does that, measuring is very important. Regardless of what you think of tournaments, they rely upon numerical record-keeping.

More valid than both of those examples though are the benchmarks of the angling community. Although it is ultimately arbitrary, a 10 pound bass means something. What does “a five pound trout” mean? I am impressed with a 20 pound catfish… but should I be? Don’t some get to be 100 pounds? And circling back to bass: In some California lakes 10-pounders are by-catch. Up north? A 10 pound largemouth isn’t just something. It is legendary.

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Podcast Ep. 134: Sunglasses – Don’t Fish Without Them

Aside from my rod, line, reel, and flies, there is no more important piece of fishing gear than sunglasses.

Yes, they keep the sun out of your eyes. But a good pair of sunglasses will help you catch fish and keep you safe. There aren’t many gadgets that you can slide into a vest pocket that you can say that about. That means “any old pair” might not do. It also means that you would be justified in spending more than $20.

In this week’s podcast I talk about how to choose frames, how to select lenses, and how I chose the specific sunglasses that I fish in.

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

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Smallmouth Will Ruin It

Smallmouth bass are dangerous. Wherever you find them, they cause headaches for fly fishers who normally pursue trout. They change everything. Once these strong, fast predators make inroads, you can be sure that they’ll impact your angling.

Why? You’re going to forsake the gentle creeks for the big rivers. You’ll have felt the pull of a smallmouth. You’ll have seen the surface explode under a  popper. How are you going keep anyone down on the stream once they’ve seen river bass?

Pound for pound, inch for inch, smallmouth are perhaps the most well-rounded freshwater fish. Some fish might pull harder, but don’t get as big or chase the same variety of flies. Other species grow to gargantuan sizes only to fight with significantly less gusto. A smallmouth bass will eat anything and everything, run hard, jump high, and fool you into thinking you’ve hooked into something much larger every time.

They’re dangerous to trout anglers, though. Particularly when they’re found in rivers, fishing for these bass is a simple transition. Aside from retrieved surface flies like poppers, sliders, and gurglers, fishing for smallmouth is essentially the same as fishing for trout. And while the dramatic strikes and active angling of topwater patterns is productive (and a real thrill), you’ll catch more smallies if you do fish for them like trout.

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Memorial Day, the Right Way

There is no right way to observe Memorial Day.

Go fly fishing. Grill something in the backyard. Take care of some house projects, lounge in front of the TV, or catch up on some work that needs to get done.

In my opinion, all of those activities can be right for Memorial Day if they’re done with some contemplation. With a few moments of conscious recognition that we’re able to take the day off, able to work, and able to whatever because of the relatively unique brand of freedom that we have in the United States. That freedom is something we shouldn’t take for granted. It is special because of what it is, but more so when we consider that it was purchased with the lives of thousands. Lives that were, for the most part, voluntarily laid down.

Head outside into the woods or stay on the couch. If you do so with remembrance, humility, and gratitude, I think you’re doing it right.

Enjoy today, Memorial Day.

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Podcast Ep. 133: Fly Fishing Gifts

Giving gifts to a fly fisher isn’t always the easiest thing to do. Admittedly, we’re a pretty particular bunch.

I mean, we have preferences on which kind of nippers we use to cut millimeters of tippet.

In this week’s podcast, I do give some specific ideas. However, I also talk about a few kinds of gifts that you can give (or ask for) that are virtually foolproof. There are some gifts that anyone, anywhere, regardless of how long they’ve fished or what they fish for, can use.

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

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Fly Fishing, the Wrong Way

Once, as a younger man, I got into an argument. This isn’t to say that I hadn’t quarreled prior to or since. That has happened plenty of times. This particular squabble has pertinence to our discussion today: fly fishing.

An opinionated fellow was trying to say that there was one way to cast a fly. One way. Anything else, he said, might be fishing but it certainly wasn’t fly casting. The whole set up to my finally speaking up for sanity felt like a joke that was being played for too long. There was no punch line. He was serious. He was as earnest as I was incredulous. My disbelief manifested in a stunned “are you… do you mean that?”

What followed was an unfruitful exchange that skipped from semantics to history to preference to mild character assassination. All of that to say, some people think that you can cast a fly and try to catch a fish the wrong way.

This, of course, is stupid.

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The Trout of Ruined Expectations

Shows what I know.

Months ago I was crestfallen about the perceived state of one of my favorite trout streams. A small, spring-fed, brook trout oasis in and amongst suburbia has been messed with. Not by man. By rodent. By  castor canadensis: the North American beaver. The darned things had dammed up the creek. A fragile ecosystem had been thrown into utter chaos by the insensitive gnawing of a buck-toothed, paddle-tailed,  ne’er-do-well.

I had reason to be concerned. The creek, as previously stated, is unique. It exists in a region that has been farmed, developed, paved over, or all three. Yet where other streams run sterile it thrives. The cold, clean spring water nurses an abundance of vegetation, insects, and brook trout.

Now? Beavers. The headwaters were no longer  running cold, clean, nor clear. For they had stopped running. They now sat beneath a tannin-stained pond, covered in pine needles and maple seeds. Things looked dark. Things looked stagnant. Things looked different. That first cast was made with much emotional apprehension.

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Podcast Ep. 132: Fishing in the Margin

Why keep a fly rod in the back of your car at all times?

If you can tolerate it rolling around, you’ll set yourself up for some good to great fly fishing at a moment’s notice. And if you haven’t fished for a while, any fly fishing is good to great.

Recently I had a meeting fall through. It turned into an hour of fishing for brook trout in a brand new beaver pond. The results and the experience were both more than I had hoped or bargained for.

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

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Trout & Feather: May ’21

Not every angler has Seychelles-caliber water in their backyard. (Just like most trout anglers aren’t calling the Madison or the Yellowstone home.) But an overwhelming number of fly fishers live within a reasonable drive to the coast. Moreover, many people head somewhere beachy for business or pleasure throughout the course of the year. You are there; the fish are there.

What is stopping you?

For freshwater folks, getting the most out of those first casts into the salt means not doing what you’re used to. Don’t fish, or even think like you’re on your brookie creek. It is still fly fishing, but it means doing things differently. Here’s four things to switch up when you start wading into saltwater.

There is a link to the rest of the post, entitled Mixing in a Little Salt after the jump.

But before you do that, be sure to check out the two videos I’ve included in today’s post. Tim of Trout & Feather talks Euro Nymphing in both: the why, the how, and the what. They’re definitely worth the watch!

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

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Fly Fishing Books, X

How does your fly fishing library look? Along with keeping tabs on your favorite fly fishing websites, what tangible resources do you keep within arms’ reach?

At and given point in time, I have one fly fishing book that I’m working my way through. Often it gets whatever is left after a day of work and study. But it is good to have a ribbon draped across a page that takes me to the water.

Even if it is only one small shelf, there is a lot of value in a personal fly fishing library. This is the tenth installment in my fly fishing book recommendation series. If you’re looking for a couple of ideas to start or grow your library, this article and those that came before it might be a good place to start.

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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