Currently browsing… True Cast
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The True Cast – Poise
Even now, If I could earn any one word, it would still be “poise.”
The tallest one-word compliment I ever got in my life came from a high school English teacher, Bill Schoff, who was tasked with providing one word to describe a student upon their graduation from Germantown Academy in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. Mr. Schoff was a magnificent writer who contributed to The New Yorker and many other…
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The True Cast – Hope
The beauty of trout fishing is that it inspires hope. Plain and simple. That’s where it all starts and ends. Think about it. Every cast you make ignites a tiny little episode of hope. Hope is what keeps bringing anglers back time after time You drop that cast right near the spot where you saw…
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The True Cast – Is Eight Enough?
Capping the number of caught-and-released fish could solve a lot of problems… and bum a lot of people out. I’m just back from a couple of weeks in England, where I got to fish some fabled chalk streams, like the River Itchen and River Test. It was an interesting trip that got my mind spinning…
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The True Cast – Does Angler Pressure Affect What Trout Eat?
I absolutely love fishing with streamer flies. After all, streamers elicit a predatory response, particularly when trout fishing. Streamers are what turn a trout’s instinct dial from meek and mild dun sippers and nymph inhalers to full-on carnivorous beasts. And mouse flies! It’s one thing to hear a trout crash on a fly at night,…
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The True Cast – Secret Spots
The best “secret spot” story I can share involves a place (I still can’t say where, other than somewhere in southwestern Colorado) a good friend (D.)
As a writer of fishing stories, one thing I wrestle with most is whether to divulge the places where the stories take place. That’s not a new dilemma. Legend has it that when Ernest Hemingway wrote about the “Big Two-Hearted River,” he wasn’t really writing about the actual Big Two-Hearted River. I admit to doing…
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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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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……