In modern fly fishing, the idea of an opening day of trout season doesn’t hold the same kind of mystique that it did in past generations. With many catch and release waters being open year-round, the calendar doesn’t dictate if one can fish. The conclusion to fish or not depends more on personal choice. Weather, …
Being such a tactile activity, taking up fly fishing is served well by a “watch and learn” approach. A father will teach a son. Someone with means can hire a guide or instructor. The ambitious novice will simply approach a fellow angler on the stream, and the fly fisher will gladly consent. For ages, the …
Most Fridays on Casting Across are devoted to other people’s contributions in the fly fishing community. Articles, pictures, social media accounts, videos, podcasts, products, and more will be featured on The Last Cast of the Week. Today, I’m sharing items from American Museum of Fly Fishing, Hatch Magazine, & 5280 Angler. If you’d like to …
Manchester, Vermont isn’t a premier fly fishing destination. That isn’t to say that is a bad place to go if you want to catch trout. In fact, it is home to a solid, historic brown trout fishery in the Battenkill. The smaller streams in the mountains teem with native brookies, and bass or musky can …
A year ago, I had the idea to explore the emergence of “retro” gear in fly fishing. Whereas very recently the necessary paradigm of equipment in the industry was always and only “lighter, faster, sleeker,” the past decade has seen many companies revisiting traditional elements. With the partnership of some premier fly fishing brands, I …
I was trespassing. Well, sort of. The company that owned the land that the stream flowed through hadn’t actively used it for years. And word on the street was that their concern was more about teenagers and their drunken revelry than fly fishers, duck hunters, and trappers. So, I’ll go ahead and file it in …
Wood smoke. Mothballs. Dust. Wet waders. These are the scents that won’t be making Yankee Candle’s list of new releases, but that doesn’t mean that they are completely repulsive. Perhaps on their own, they don’t have much to offer. In fact, they can be downright off-putting. No one wants to come away from a hug …
Mention Southcentral Pennsylvania to a fly fisher, and chances are they will understand exactly where you’re talking about. In the angling world, it isn’t just the middle third of the commonwealth’s bottom half. Within this portion there is a valley that is bordered by the ridges of North and South Mountains, and in it lie …
Yesterday afternoon, I scampered through four inches of New Hampshire snow to my mailbox. Upon seeing the media mail envelope, I knew that the book had come. Back in August, Mike Klimkos, friend and editor of the Mid Atlantic Fly Fishing Guide, asked if I could share a few thoughts on the Letort Spring Run. …
After thinking and writing about the progress on Big Spring Creek in Pennsylvania last week, it got me thinking about other famous streams that have fallen on hard times. Largely due to the impacts of poor fisheries management and/or environmental neglect, some of the rivers that our grandfathers lauded as destination waters have declined in …
