“One more cast.” Of all the softly spoken magic spells in fly fishing, this one might be the most frequent incantation. Part desperation, part closure; the idea of a final presentation has a certain hopeful romance to it. The fish can’t tell that you’re about to call it a day. But the thought behind the …
One should carefully approach the trout stream and objectively read the water before tying on a fly, stepping into the current, or making a cast. The alternative is to assume that what has worked for you before will work again this time. The latter is my inevitable default. Particularly when I’m feeling pressured to catch …
I caught my first trout on a fly rod in south central Pennsylvania. The lush valley with its limestone streams was different enough from suburban Virginia to be aesthetically enchanting to an otherwise distracted teenager. Closer streams with less challenging trout were an option. But I was smitten. Without any ties aside from a few …
Every other fly rod was on the vertical rack. Sage, Orvis, Winston: all the names I knew and aspired to collect. But this rod was hung up horizontally. It was a bright amber with deep red wraps. The most striking aspect of the rod was that it was shorter than all the other fly rods …
Take a look at the photo above. On the surface, it isn’t that remarkable. The trout is pretty enough… but it isn’t particularly large. The tackle in the background, on first glance, is standard fare. And there is nothing immediately distinctive about the scenery. The perceptive observer might notice something about each of the subjects …
“What do you do in your spare time?” “Ah guh higsing.” “What?” “Uh, I go fishing.” Dentists asking questions while their hands are in patients’ mouths is a well-worn trope. But this comically befuddling stereotype is as sure as a thing as being told to floss more. “Yeah, there is great fly fishing around here. …
An unparalleled optimism accompanies the evening hours on the night before fishing. Psychologically speaking, one could say that all the potentially negative thoughts become obscure behind the grand promise of a morning filled with trout. Regardless of the previous day’s events, this optimism burrows itself into the brain with an intensity that creates a sense …
Much has been written about the uncomfortable state of a kind of overindulging that results from inebriation. The college comedy film genre relies on this trope. I’m not ashamed to say, nor do I boast in the fact that I have no experience with this situation. However I can’t imagine that the disagreeable sensation that …
We were created to rest. Five days of vocational work followed by two days of other work is still seven days of work. Scripture gives a divinely ordained reason to rest. Unsurprisingly, secular biologists and psychologists agree. We have periods of time for this, and periods for that. The same applies in fly fishing. For …
Why is Altoona, Pennsylvania the only place in the world where you’ll be able to watch nine grown men, dressed up as brook trout, running around a field? On the weekend of June 25-27, the Altoona Curve (AA affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates) will be taking the diamond as the state fish of Pennsylvania. For …
