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The True Cast – That bug thing… how do I pick the right fly?
If you told me I could only pick six patterns to fish for trout anywhere in America, these are the patterns I’d pick.
Fly fishing for trout encompasses many challenges, which I think is much of the appeal of the sport in the first place. It is, as my friend Monte Burke so eloquently explained, all about puzzle solving; How do I make this cast? How do I know where a trout will be in the river? How…
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The True Cast – It isn’t about the gear. It’s about the hook.
When I first signed on as the editor of TROUT magazine, the great John Merwin—author of The New American Trout Fishing and then the fishing editor for Field & Stream—offered me some friendly advice. “Run a cover that shows a trout with a Panther Martin lure hanging out of its mouth,” he said. “That’ll get…
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The True Cast – We Should Take It Easy on “Make it Easy”
At what point did some fly fishing companies decide that the learning curve was a bad thing? After all, it seems like every piece of gear these days is designed to make fishing easier. This fancy rod will not only help you cast farther it will also improve your accuracy like nothing else! This reel…
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True Cast – How to choose a fly rod for trout.
Hint: it isn’t just about the fish.
Hint: it isn’t just about the fish. It’s a question I get asked all the time, so I’ll try to tackle it now for those of you who might be thinking about a new rod for spring. First and foremost, people often make the mistake of assuming that certain rods are meant for certain fish……
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The True Cast – 3 things
The three things that intimidate would-be fly fishers (and why they’re no big deals) Companies that sell fly-fishing gear obviously do a lot of research to help them understand their customers, and when it comes to turning the curious into dedicated aficionados, they’ve learned that there are three main barriers that stand in the way:…
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True Cast – The Best Trout Fishing Places in America
So, what are the best trout fishing places in America? They are the ones that you appreciate most, often times for reasons other than how many fish you catch.
I once made the mistake of writing a story on “America’s Best Fly-Fishing Towns” for Field & Stream magazine. The story turned out fine, but then they put me on a radio tour, and one happy town heaped praise on me, while nine others grilled me on why I didn’t rank them first. It looks…
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The True Cast – Make 2024 a year to “Accentuate the Positive”
Fishing can and should be a haven of good in a turbulent world. Fishing can and should bring out the best in people.
We live in a cynical world. Probably more cynical, these days, than when Tom Cruise first uttered that line in the motion picture “Jerry Maguire” nearly 30 years ago. I’m not going to talk about politics, because that disgusts me too much. I wonder, however, where the tipping point was that turned everything from honoring…
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