Embrace what's scary
If we're not doing stuff that's scary, we're not learning.
Current Staters of Flow,
Welcome to our newest group of alums! We had a spectacular time last week with the Spring Term of Intro to Fly Fishing learners at the casting ponds and at our fishing laboratory.
One big goal I have this year is to become a certified Casting Instructor through Fly Fishers International. It's not an easy process: There's a 22-task performance and teaching examination that covers all manner of fly fishing casting understanding, from loop formation and line control to hauling and distance casting to teaching beginner and intermediate anglers the theory and practice of casting. It's, uh, intense. After a seven-week preparatory course I'm headed up to Washington next weekend to participate in a two-day casting boot camp, where we drill on mock exams and get expert guidance on how to approach the test.
As an instructor, this latest PCC group felt different because through the course I was able to approach the casting instruction more systematically, with more prepared lesson planning and drilling, which felt like a big step forward.
Frankly, I'm scared of the test. I'm worried there are parts I'll suck at. It's only offered a few times a year in a few locations around the globe. Fail just two of the tasks, and you're done. You've got master casting instructors literally seeing if your loops measure up, and your teaching meets in a very orthodox set of standards. And whether you're a beginner angler or you've fished a long time, casting in front of others and having them scrutinize and measure your efforts, with or without a tape measure, is daunting. But, I continue to remind myself growth happens at the edge of our comfort zone. And, there are folks out there who want you to succeed. If you don't want to take my word for it, read about Miles Marquez, below, who recently embarked upon his own uncomfortable journey.
I hope you're finding ways to push your fishing forward as a riot of spring fishing beckons, and are rewarded by the personal growth that comes with meeting new challenges. Here at CFS we'll continue to provide safe-to-fail environments where we can all make progress together.
Are any of your fly fishing learning goals feeling especially daunting?
Let's go fishing
I'm excited to announce I'll teaching a fishing and fly tying workshop through Landdd gallery here in Oregon on Saturday, May, 16. We're going to be doing a waterside fly tying and fishing event, making some flies out of whatever funky materials we come up with to see if they'll fish. Sign up if you're interested, it's going to be a lot of fun! (landdd.org)
Register for the Maupin Meetup!
The salmonfly hatch and all the beauty of late spring in the high desert will be upon us soon. Join CFS May 28-31 in Maupin, Oregon, for some classic big bug fishing and the DRA's TroutFest celebration.
Fly fishing and mental health
Our series continues! Most recently Tony Parmenter, who has built a practice around therapeutic fly fishing, talked us through the steps of fly fishing EMDR therapy.
How a fly fishing therapist integrates tenkara and EMDR therapy
"Just showing up is one of the most important things you can do."
Fly fishing is good for you
Research proves fly fishing improves your mental and physical health.
Leaders ➰
Ten fishy links to start your week on the fly side of life
Angling &...
It's Okay to Suck: Miles Marquez on Being a Newbie Fly Angler Again (5-min read)
Miles Marquez has done hard things in his life, and dove head first into another when he came to Oregon and got hooked on steelheading. This serves as a great reminder that when you try new things and push yourself you have to also give yourself permission to suck. (skwalafishing.com)
The South Platte River — A Pocket Water CO Field Guide (20-min read)
This beefy post details all the spots to check out on the South Platte. Bookmark this post for the next time you take a trip to Denver.
(linkedin.com)
Bug of the Month: March Brown (15-min read)
As a follow up on last week's vivid March Brown footage, here's Hannah Camel at the Deschutes River Alliance going into even more detail on a favorite spring bug. (deschutesriveralliance.org)
Should I use brass or tungsten dumbbells? It used to seem obvious. (12-min read)
Jazz Kuschke offers some well-thought-out rationale for choosing brass versus tungsten dumbbell eyes in fly construction. While with nymphs, tungsten might be the clear choice, with streamers it isn't always as cut and dry. (themissionflymag.com)
Reading The Water: Form and Content in Fishing and Poetry (3-min read)
Grant Clauser close-reads rivers like poems.
I want poems to prompt questions the way a river or creek does. A stanza break, a caesura–these are moments in motion.
PICK OF THE WEEK
🎥 Painting the Chicago River using a fly rod (5-min watch)
This week's video pick: Watch Chicago-based artist Ben Miller create a painting using a fly rod, feeling the flow. 10/10, no notes. Thanks to CFS member Robert for sharing. (instagram.com)
...Aware & Active & Alive to the world
What we once thought timeless (8-min read)
Originally published in Hatch magazine, J. Carrol Sain digs down into the deep, visceral anxiety that comes when you watch what our climate emergency is doing to your home ecosystems. I love Sain's writing, for its lush metaphor and strong observational perspective and resonant imagery and sentiment. (jcarrolsain.substack.com)
What Not to Do When Creating Space for Wildlife (6-min read)
Ian Rose talks to experts about common mistakes gardeners make when improving their backyard habitat. I'm in the middle of naturescaping my space into a mini oak savannah, and this is a good reminder of how we might approach a project with good goals in mind yet unwittingly cause harm. (sierraclub.org)
Wildlife Conservation Police Are Searching Thousands of Flock Cameras for ICE (7-min read)
In Florida, Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers are querying license plate scanning service Flock on behalf of immigration officers, in what seems like a loophole that's outside their remit. This seems like a recipe for loss of public trust and cooperation. (404media.co)
Want to cover Oregon's outdoors? Apply for Statesman Journal internship (1-min read)
The Salem Statesman Journal's outdoor writer, Zach Urness, is looking for a few good outdoors enthusiasts for the SJ's paid summer internship, which includes working on the Explore Oregon podcast. Could it be you? (statesmanjournal.com)
Events 📆
Got an event you want the community to know about? Send it over, and I'll include it here. You can see all of our upcoming CFS events on Luma.
April 23, Ashland, OR
Screening of The River Remembers and First Descent: Kayaking the Klamath (Ashland Independent Film Festival)
April 24-25, Gresham, OR
Sandy River Spey Clave (Sandy River Spey Clave)
April 25, Vida, OR
The Wooden Boat Show on the McKenzie River (The Redsides)
April 30, "Running Wild" Tour, Seattle
(Wild Salmon Center)
May
CFS: May 16, Fly Fishing and Fly Tying, OR
(landdd.org)
May 20, Portland, OR
"Running Wild" showing (Wild Salmon Center)
CFS: May 28-31, Maupin, OR
It's our annual Maupin Meetup! Registered now, before it fills up. (CFS Events)
June
June 23, "Running Wild" Tour, San Francisco
(Wild Salmon Center)
June 26-28, La Pine, OR
Tenkara Oregon's Tenkara Bugout (Tenkara Oregon)
That's it that's all! Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish.
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