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The True Cast: Upstream, downstream.
Some thoughts on teaching kids about fly fishing.
Some thoughts on teaching kids about fly fishing. I’m often asked by eager parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, what is the right age to introduce a kid to fly fishing? My answer is always the same: It depends on the kid! And, more important, it depends on how you define “introduce to fly fishing.” A…
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The True Cast: Wanna fly fish? DON’T tie yourself up in knots.
Before getting into specifics, it’s worth pointing out one fundamental truth: a well-tied knot is far more effective than any fancy knot recipe.
A number of years back, Scientific Anglers completed a study of “people who expressed interest in fly fishing but didn’t quite engage,” asking them what the main obstacles were that prevented them from getting over the proverbial hump. It boiled down to two things. First was casting – some thought making fancy loops was a…
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The True Cast: How this editor truly feels about photos of fish out of water
A few years ago, I took a vacation with my wife and son to London, England, and one of the top things on our to-do list was see the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. So, we went early and staked out a spot on the Queen Victoria statue, directly in front of the…
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The True Cast: In fly fishing, failure IS an option… (and that’s just fine).
I’ve found that the most dedicated anglers tend to be those who relish challenges, even simple ones like, “how am I going to trick that creature, hiding behind that rock, to eat this fly?”
While I was fishing the Delaware River with him several years ago, my friend, author Monte Burke, summed up the entire fly-fishing experience with succinct aplomb: “At the end of the day,” he said, “it’s really just about problem solving, like putting pieces of a puzzle together.” How true! And I’ve found that the most…
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The True Cast: “Replace Yourself.”
Especially when I fish, I think about all the mentors I’ve had, and I am grateful.
I’ve been very fortunate to have had many mentors as I waded into the wide, wild world of fishing and writing. My parents unconditionally supported the fascination I had with fish, even though they weren’t themselves into fishing. My father-in-law was probably the person most responsible for teaching me how to fly fish, and more…
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The True Cast: On guides and guiding
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it…
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The True Cast: Is fly-fishing an “elitist” pursuit?
Okay, so as we shove this “True Cast” column/ship off the dock, we may as well start with a doozie. Every now and then, I get a nastygram telling me I focus too much on fly fishing, that I should get off my high horse, and run more stories about “conventional” tackle, and that fly…
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