Finding Your Water

Sometimes in fly fishing, it’s just the getting out that matters.

It can’t always be weekend trips, float planes, or grand vistas. It might rarely be plans. Except for the ongoing plan that you’ll go fishing when you can go fishing. To that end there is always a rod, a handful of flies, and a pair of boots in your trunk. Objectively, the fishing might not be spectacular. But in certain circumstances, even half an hour – even just down the street is like coming up for air. For most of us, the water and the fish won’t jockey for angling magazine centerfolds. Hopefully we realize how even having that option makes us fortunate. read more

Podcast Ep. 78: Getting Lost, Wet, & Stuck

We all do dumb stuff while we’re fly fishing.

…or am I alone in that?

In this episode I share a few big and potentially costly blunders I’ve made in my fly fishing life. Perhaps they will be cautionary. Perhaps they will be of entertainment value. Regardless, they’re there and through them I offer a few things to think about. After all, we learn more in difficulty than we do while at ease.

And stuck on the opposite site of a rapidly rising tailwater is definitely “in difficulty.”

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

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BREAKING: Fish Photos Forge False Fulfillment

“ACTUALLY, the fish is not that large. The angler is just holding it close to the camera. Just thought you should know.”

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That was a real comment I saw. It was on social  media (surprise, surprise).

Imagine if internet commentators  ran the world? The economy, global politics, and the proper viewing order for the Star Wars films would cease to be problematic. The perfect mingling of genius, tact, and grace are always on display under Instagram pictures and YouTube videos. I know that all of my worldviews have been influenced by un-punctuated sentences and/or cleverly placed emojis.

Fly fishing is not immune to this phenomenon.

Take the extended-arm fish photo. Is there anything inherently wrong with it? No. Of course not. In fact, it is a great way to show off the fish and not the angler.  No offense, but when I look at your fish pictures I am looking at the fish. Such pictures  can be tastefully artsy or overly dramatic; purposefully funny or cringingly comical.

Will you see me in a lot of these pictures? No. It isn’t my thing. Unless it is a trophy fallfish. Then I let it fly.

Whats for certain is that I notice how big your hand is in proportion to your body. If the length across your knuckles is wider than your head? I know that there are some perspective-bending shenanigans. No harm, no foul.

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Astral Sturgeon: The PFD for Fishing

Prior to moving to New England I didn’t use canoes or kayaks very much. It was  a matter of priorities and necessity. When I was outdoors I went fishing or hiking. Neither really required a vessel. Every now and then I would float a river for fun, but paddling and angling never really mingled. Ten years ago that changed. Fishing in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine, I found that a small watercraft was often necessary. Lake shorelines are often densely wooded, privately owned, or both. Rivers are remarkably swampy. To fish, I had to get in a kayak. Quickly, I began to enjoy getting in kayaks.

I am still a novice paddler. Although I enjoy being in small vessels, they’re still means to an end. With my schedule and interests, being on the water is all about fly fishing. My gear choices reflect this reality. High end rods and reels are serviced by packs loaded with the best flies, tools, and miscellany that I can afford. But paddles, anchors, and PFDs? It is whatever I’ve been able to scrounge up or borrow. The PFD, in particular, is usually the weakest link in the chain. Safety is important, but virtually everything I’ve used has lead to a few problems:

  • Fly line gets tangled  on it as I cast, strip, or mend
  • The bulk of it makes wearing any sort of pack or lanyard prohibitive
  • They’re all incredibly uncomfortable

Recently, I’ve been wearing the Astral Sturgeon. And none of those apply.

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Podcast Ep. 77: 5 Things You Need in Your Car for Fishing

There are a lot of articles and podcasts that tell you what you need for fly fishing. There is even content out there that details the backup gear you’ll need.

In this podcast, I talk about 5 (plus 3 more, at the end) non-fly fishing things you should have in your car if you’re going to be spending a good amount of time on the water. Sound abstract? Check it out, hear some of my horror stories, and think about if you’d be prepared in the same situation.

…and yes, duct tape is on the list.

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

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Learning Under Rocks

Cast after cast; nothing. I added weight, I took weight off. I lengthened my leader, I brought the fly closer to the indicator. I tried just about everything. Everything, except tying on a small cream-yellow caddis nymph.

Probing some familiar water in the early spring, a hare’s ear nymph was a pretty safe choice. Fishing virtually any trout water a hare’s ear nymph is a pretty safe choice. Who knows what the fish think it is? It is buggy, visible, and purposefully generic. Usually I can use it to locate a few fish and potentially bring some to hand. Today, in a stretch I know well, I was coming up empty. It turns out I just thought I knew it well.

A few days later I took my family on a hike near the stream. The boys ran, climbed, and did little boy things all over the woods. After we got back to the car I threw on my waders and we walked down to the water. I didn’t have a rod or a fly on me. This was going to be fun, but it was also science class. We homeschool our boys. We believe in a comprehensive, well-rounded education. We also believe that they’ll get excited about the things we’re excited about. I like water and the stuff  that lives in it. Sure enough, they do too.

Today we were going to be conducting a stream survey. I’d rustle up some bugs, we’d check them out, and then take some fun specimens home to study. Decades ago I spent countless days on the water doing macroinvertibrate surveys for science classes. After that, it was an integral part of the teen conservation and fly fishing camp where I served as director. Even today, I rarely fish without picking up and studying a river rock or handful of sediment.

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The Mayfly Project Mentor Interview: Heather Sees

“There was one 17 year-old boy. When we got there, he was  off to the side and disinterested. The staff said that if he liked going out and going fly fishing, they’ll all follow.” Heather laughed, “and right then I made it my personal mission to get him on board!”

Heather Sees currently serves as the National Project Liaison for The Mayfly Project. Along with being a mentor for foster children within the program in her native Pennsylvania, she also offers support for other mentors in projects across the country. Prior to getting involved with The Mayfly Project, Heather lived in Colorado. There, she was president of the Greenbacks of Trout Unlimited. This young group of anglers was, and still is, all about conservation, education, and community. And in that context, Heather decided to reach out to kids.

“I signed up initially to be a part of a Big Brothers Big Sisters fishing event,” Heather recalled. “As a kid getting outside was what I liked, what benefited me. I wanted to share that with kids that never got out of the city.” Shortly after that experience, she came across The Mayfly Project on social media. “I reached out to Jess (Westbrook, TMP founder) and asked if they had anything I could get involved with in Colorado. He said, ‘no – want to start it?’”

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Podcast Ep. 76: Why You Should Fish at Home

I’m try not to be judgmental. However, if you long to get out on the water and ignore the ponds in your backyard you’re doing it wrong.

Across the country there are farm ponds, ponds in parks, and neighborhood retention ponds filled to the brim with fish. They might not be trout. But who cares? Bass, sunfish, and even rough fish are legitimate targets for the fly fisher.

In this episode, I talk about a few ways to think about approaching local bodies of water. I discuss gear, species, and ways to leverage your time in town into a learning opportunity. Most importantly, I encourage you to fish and to have fun.

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

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Fast Flies: 3 Uses for Colored UV Resin

UV resins are a lot of fun to use. Expert fly tyers and beginners alike can open up a bottle and do amazing things with these quick-curing liquids. Certainly they excel as an alternative to traditional head cement. You can build up bodies with the thicker resins, and use thinner iterations for creating rock-solid  thread wrap finishes.

As an intermediate level tyer, I love reaching for UV resins to get flies in and out of the vise quickly. I have all the respect in the world for tying flies the hard way. I have every intention to continue learning and developing as a tyer. However my fishing and my time  don’t demand magazine-worthy technique or results. UV resins help me achieve those results quicker, more efficiently, and (if I may say) in some much more exciting ways.

Recently I have been using colored UV products, specifically Loon’s UV Fly Finish. There are currently 16 colors available in the line from Loon. The consistency of the resin itself is right in the middle: not watery, but not a thick epoxy. It is easy to work with and cures in just over 10 seconds with a good UV light.

Obviously, you can use these colored resins for hot spots. These triggering target points have proven effective on all kinds of fish, and are an easy addition for fly tyers to make on their patterns. But there are other uses for colored UV resin. Here are three ways that I’ve used the product to cut some corners in my tying and produce more flies faster: read more

The Mayfly Project Mentor Interview: Greg Lunsford

Greg repeated my question, before answering quickly and firmly. “Why fly fishing? I think that just learning to cast, there is satisfaction from that. Before they even catch a fish there is accomplishment. And that makes it special for these kids.”

The kids that Greg Lunsford was referring to are the children who participate in The Mayfly Project. The Mayfly Project is a 501(c)(3) organization that uses fly fishing as a catalyst to mentor children in foster care. Their mission is to support children in foster care through fly fishing and introduce them to their local water ecosystems, with a hope that connecting them to a rewarding hobby will provide an opportunity for foster children to have fun, feel supported, and develop a meaningful connection with the outdoors.

Those words are the mission statement of The Mayfly Project. Greg, who is a mentor for the program in Arkansas, summed it up this way: “You can just be there for a kid going through a difficult time. You can help give them an experience. Even if it is just one day it can be very satisfying for them.”

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