Immerse: Our free fly fishing intro course
Enroll in our free email course to get started fly fishing this fall.
CFStrians:
This week I have something very special to announce for those of you new to angling: CFS Immerse.
CFS Immerse is a free, ten-email course designed to help beginner fly anglers take concrete steps to get started. Here's what you'll learn:
- Finding places to fish
- Getting the right gear
- Casting and knot fundamentals
- Fundamental fly fishing techniques
I've been building the course over the last few months in response to one big question. It was always coming up, even after anglers successfully caught their first fish in one of my classes. OK, this is great. What do I do now?
Think of Immerse as the "Couch to 5K" of fly fishing. Wherever you're starting from, after five weeks you will have taken concrete steps—with me backing you up—toward building a fly fishing practice.
If this sounds like something you could use, just hit the button below.
Best of all, when you finish the course, if you fill out my feedback form, I've got a special surprise to send you in the mail as a thank-you for helping me improve Immerse.
🎥 Watch this: Film pick of the week
Soak it up in "The North Fork" by Garret Holtz, riding along with old timer Larry as he goes about a simple day around his cabin in Montana. Larry reflects on life and dispenses wisdom like he's shaking it out of a pack American Spirit Blues.
Event calendar
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.
September
CFS: September 22, Portland, OR
Snow Peak hang at Tabiki, 4-6pm (No registration needed)
September 22, Steeplejack Brewing, Portland, OR
Pal o' CFS Jesse Lance Robbins is swinging through Portland for a reading with Water Watch, 6:30-7:30pm. (Register here)
CFS: September 26, Portland OR
Urban PDX scouting with Marc Fryt (Last call! Register here)
October
CFS: October 6-10, Portland OR
PCC Intro to Fly Fishing (one spot left!)
Find some new water closer to home
Join Marc Fryt on a special scouting mission this Saturday, September 26th in and around downtown Portland, as we visit several prime spots and hear from the author The Guide to Urban Fly Fishing on the best ways to fish them.
Nymphing won't get you the Perfect Eat
On Euro nymphing, the perfect eat, and committing to ‘DFO’.
Leaders ➰
Fishy links to start your week. Got one to share? Hit reply and send it over! 🪝
Just fish one rod 🎣 (13 min watch)
The irony of the extensive gear storage product placement in this video doesn't override its message: It's easiest, and least complicated, to fish one rod and adjust your terminal tackle (leader and tippet, flies, weight) to suit the specific situation you find on the water. (Troutbitten on YouTube)
What not to do when you're fly fishing ⛔ (5 min read)
In the "thou shalt not" category, here are a few things that fly anglers, both newbies and experienced, commonly do that wind up hurting their efforts. (epicflyrods.com)
Yet another endangered species: the Trout Bum 💸 (3 min read)
Due West Anglers argues we're running out of dirtbags. Hear hear! (And check out that vintage Patagonia ad.) (duewestanglers.com)
Teeing up a Grand Slam ⚾ (3 min read)
Did you know catching multiple species of fish in the same day can qualify you for an International Game Fish Association certificate? Tom Davis spells out the IGFA's rules, and suggests some thoughtful modifications. (tenkaraangler.com)
Guides gone wild 🗿 (7 min read)
What do guides do on vacation? Fish, of course. NZ-based Ollie Jones sends a series of dispatches from a monthlong-trip to an unnamed Pacific island on a quest for Giant Trevally. (skwalafishing.com)
Get your Roadless Rule comments in now! ⚖️ (10 min read)
The comment period around Roadless Rule preservation ends next week (Oct. 6). You've probably heard all about it from conservation organizations, but here's a big, broad interactive feature describing why it's vital to our interests as outdoor recreators. It's heartening to see OnX representing its customers with this package. (onxmaps.com)
Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front 🎺 (2 min read)
We lost poet and chronicler of the American experience Wendell Berry a couple weeks back, one of the goodest of the good. Marinate in this a few minutes, if you're unfamiliar with his work. Then go get The Art of Loading Brush. (allpoetry.com)
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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