Finding your fall connection
Seasons change. Autumn is the perfect time to reconnect and recharge.
CFStronauts,
Last weekend, Lauren, an absolute beginner in our PCC Intro Class, caught her first trout on a fly. A dry fly at that—a micro Yellow Sally.
Lauren's fishy. Her catching a fish wasn't surprising. What was surprising the fish was there at all. We were at St. Louis Ponds in October. Trout hadn't been stocked there since May.
This trout survived hundreds of Powerbait-slingers, osprey attacks, hundred-degree days, in a five-acre stillwater pond, now weed-choked and low.
As it slid back into its refuge, I was reminded. Nature will always find ways to surprise us, if we give it the chance. Grim news on low steelhead returns, drought, and what feels like a massive conflagration of bad choices is all real. But there's a future full of wonder out there. It's up to us to step into the present, and help bring it about.
Here in the Willamette Valley of Oregon we're near the end of the official trout season, but there are always opportunities for the patient explorers. Rivers and lakes that stay open year round, yes, but also the chance to daydream, to reconnect, to plan and prepare, to fill our boxes for the bountiful years ahead, and fight to bring them about.
Don't take my word for it, though. There are plenty of resources in this email. Start here, with a note from therapist Leslie Davenport:
Leslie Davenport
Upcoming events
October 27: Snow Peak x CFS Community Connect
Join us at Snow Peak's Portland HQ for a free community hang.
This month we're talking flies. Why fish eat 'em, what kinds there are, how to make 'em.
Whether you've spent years on the river or are just curious about where to start, we're convening an approachable space to learn, ask questions, and connect with others through a shared interest in fly fishing.
November 8: Casual Casting
Winter's coming! Bust off that two-handed rust, or just keep those summer skills alive with a free Sunday casting jam co-hosted with fellow casting-instructor-in-training Lisa Amato.
All are welcome, and if you don't have a rod, we can loan you one.
Got an event you want the community to know about? Send it over and I'll include it here. You can find and register for all of our upcoming CFS-led events on Luma.
👂Listen up: Podcast of the week
Trust that author Rebecca Solnit can deliver a heartening burst of human spirit. Her certified banger A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities That Arise in Disaster got me through the shock of the early part of the pandemic.
And now, to talk about her new book, The Beginning Comes After the End: Notes on a World of Change she discusses change, uncertainty, and the broad canvas of possibility that greets each unending now. Listen up at atmos.earth.
Leaders ➰
Fishy links to start your week. Got one to share? Hit reply and send it over! 🪝
Point: Don't tie your own flies ⛔ (6 min read)
Tie or buy? Miles Nolte makes a pretty good case for not tying your own flies. Leave it to the experts, and save time and money. He's being a little hyperbolic, but there's a lot of truth in this. You don't need to tie flies to have fun. (skwalafishing.com)
Counterpoint: Join this fly swap 🪶 (2 min read)
If you do tie your own flies, CFS pal Chuck Grimmett is hosting a tenkara fly swap through Tenkara Angler. Fly swaps are a low-stress way to discover new patterns and meet other anglers. Tie a dozen flies of a single pattern, mail them to Chuck, and get a dozen different flies back from tiers around the world. And who doesn't like getting stuff in the mail? (tenkaraangler.com)
The diamond inside Emerald 💎 (10 min)
Dave McCoy, founder of Seattle's Emerald Water Anglers fly shop, is a real mensch. He's not just frank about the environment and the state of fly fishing, he's using his power as a prime mover in the industry to make positive change happen. Tune in to this great Q&A. (The Mission Fly Fishing)
How to unsnag your fly 🔑 (5 min read)
'tis the season for getting snagged on leaves. (If you haven't yet, have you been fishing this fall?) But a leaf is a minor inconvenience in the pantheon of things your fly can get caught on. Joe Mahler and the castmasters at Epic have a rundown on how to free your trapped fly when it gets snagged. The rod tip you save might be your own! (epicflyrods.com)
Three cheers for the Kern 🛶 (6 min read)
Get to know California's Kern River, Western River Conservancies' "River of the Month" for October. (westernrivers.org)
Saving Thoreau's shad 🏞️ (19 min read)
Ben Goldfarb (author of the excellent Crossings: How Road Ecology Is Shaping the Future of Our Planet) takes a look at the plethora of aging dams in the Northeast that are impeding fish passage and imperiling communities in "Death by a Thousand Dams". (bioGraphic.com)
Meanwhile, Columbia dams take their toll 👎 (2 min read)
This is a dark year for steelhead on the Columbia, as very few fish have made their way back to Washington and Idaho, part of the smallest run since the Bonneville Dam was built. (midcurrent.com)
It's all coming up kelp 🌿 (4 min read)
A new assessment of the Oregon coast by The Nature Conservancy found more than 100,000 acres of marine ecosystem are prime for the restorative cultivation of kelp and shellfish. (nature.org)
The buccaneers are going nigiri 🏴☠️ (3 min read)
A Japanese entrepreneur has helped in the fight against piracy around the Horn of Africa by offering potential Somali pirates the option to catch fish for his sushi restaurants instead. (japandaily.jp)
We've raised over $10,000 for the Deschutes River Alliance and sent ribbon maps to supporters in over 14 states! Have you got yours yet?
That's it that's all! Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish. You can also find CFS on Bluesky 🦋, Instagram 📸, YouTube 🎥, or the Fishcord 💬
If you enjoyed this, please share it with a friend. We all need more fishing buddies. 💌
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