Beyond Measure

As Melville knew of whales in Moby Dick, so it is with fish we pursue: one should not trouble with odd inches, nor indeed should inches enter into a proper understanding of fly fishing. How can we measure morning light breaking across a riffle, or that perfect moment when a dry fly lands like thistledown above a feeding trout? The cold press of current against waders, the flash of silver in deep green pools, the weight of air before rain—these are the true accounts that matter. Release the need for proof and even the fishless days grow rich: the satisfaction of reading water well, a line floating just so, the contentment of matching a hatch in gathering dusk. True success in fly fishing can’t be measured in the net but in the peace that comes with accepting what the water offers.

In this week’s edition:

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IN THE RIFFLES

a brook trout in a stream

Image by Eric Harvey

The vermiculated back and white-trimmed fins left no doubt as to what I was looking at. And the fish was large for the stream. I slowly backed away and cast downstream to the fish. Nothing. I gently lifted the fly and cast it again, twitching it the second it hit the water. The fish moved toward it, rose to the surface, and took the fly in a swirling motion.


As I played the fish in the shallow water and leaves, I yelled to my friend who came downstream and netted the fish for me. We removed the fly and admired the size, coloration, and natural beauty of this wild native fish. After releasing the fish, we high-fived, knowing that it was likely the last fish of our all-too-short but very rewarding headwater stream fishing season.


We pushed further downstream over the next 20 minutes or so with me in the lead scanning the water for fish from high on the bank. After circling back upstream to find my friend, we climbed out of the streambed and into the woods to hike back to the truck. The woods were starting to get dark; we were both cold, and we knew it was unlikely that we would find another fish as any fish is a bonus that late in the season…


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MIDCURRENT TRAVEL

“There are outings, trips, and adventures—and then there are expeditions. Each has its time and place, but more often than not, they’re defined by the limits of money, responsibility, and age.


Life can be peculiar like that, offering opportunities to those wise enough to see their value yet shrewd enough to recognize their consequence. A job that can’t be neglected, a relative that can’t be left, a body that won’t cooperate. Some say youth is wasted on the young; I say freedom is wasted on the free.”

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GEAR GUIDE