When is a fish native? When is it wild? Can it be both? And what about stocked trout? In this episode, I give a very quick overview of this topic. I look at the historic range of the three major American trout/char species, and talk about why knowing this information can be helpful. Oh, and …
When was the last time you found new water to fish? I don’t mean flipping through a fly fishing guidebook or following the stocking truck. Have you ever gone out with map in hand, located water, and fished it? Doing this can be much more rewarding than catching fish. We don’t get to do a …
Within a few hours’ drive of the urban sprawl that surrounds Washington, DC, you can get into some amazing brook trout fishing. Or, you can get into some spectacular smallmouth bass fishing. Or, you can do both. The Shenandoah is a remarkable, beautiful, and historic region of the Mid-Atlantic. For fly fishers, it offers great …
Growing up fly fishing the east, the trout and waters of the west always felt mythical. In this episode I talk about my first trip to Colorado, which is probably not unlike a lot of people’s first trip out west. There is so much that is different. At the same time, most of the important …
I truly appreciate every thoughtful comment I receive on Casting Across. Moreover, I feel that if you took the effort to continue the conversation that I started then I should respond. In this episode, I interact with three comments that I received. They are from an article on the website, a social media post, and …
You can catch fish with virtually any and all gear. That being said, there are certain kinds of gear that are especially suited for specific scenarios. Small stream trout fishing is no exception. Beyond what kind of gear you bring, how you carry it is particularly important. In this episode I discuss some of the …
Sadly, fly line is the piece of gear that lives in the shadow of the stars of the show: rods and reels. But for most fly fishers, line is much more important than a reel. For all anglers, fly line is much more important than we give it credit for. In this episode I talk …
2018 was quite the year for me. By extension, it was quite the year for Casting Across. Let me begin by saying thank you. I am always humbled and a little surprised that thousands of people want to read what I have to say about things like fly rods or using the sense of smell …
It is okay to do more outdoors than fly fish. I’d say that it is important to do more outdoors than fly fish. In fact, there are a lot of benefits that come with adding more and different types of outdoor activities to your life. And, in my opinion, doing so will actually help your …
Does your car help or hurt you in your fly fishing endeavors? The truth is that there are a few things you can do in, and to, your car to make it the perfect fly fishing vehicle. Just yesterday I put my 2001 Subaru Forester out to pasture. I didn’t shed any tears, but I …
