The Poetry of Fly Fishing

We're not talking about the poetry of a fly cast made by Pete Kutzer, but poetry about fly fishing, some of the well known poets who were fly fishers, and why the appeal of poetry and fly fishing have much in common. My guest, Andrew Grace [29:19], is a published poet and professor of English, and he'll read us some of his own work as well as from poets like Jim Harrison and Chris Dombrowski. It's a real departure from our usual subjects and I hope you enjoy it. 

 

In the Fly Box this week, we get more into our typical nitty-gritty subjects like:

• Is there a rule of thumb for how long it takes a sinking line to get to a particular depth?
• Can I fish in lakes with a shorter, softer fiberglass rod?
• How do I elegantly get the fly line out of my rod before I start casting?
• I catch trout in Alaska when they are eating eggs behind salmon, but at other times of year I can't catch them on dries or nymphs. Are they not in the same places at other times of year?
• How many different flies are there in the world?  s there a registry of them? And can they be copyrighted or trademarked?
• If I can't use gel flotant once my fly has gotten wet, why don't I just use the powder right off the bat and forget about the gel?
• I heard that when you cast a dry fly, you should pull back a bit at the end of the cast to develop some slack. But can this be executed in a smoother fashion?
• Why empty my wallet for a Helios rod when the Superfines are so good? What will a Helios do for me that a Superfine won't?
• Where can I find Hungarian partridge to tie smaller flies like size 16s?
• Is there a way you mark what line is on what reel so you don't have to use a magnifying glass to look at those tiny line markers?
• Is there a national registry of fly-fishing clubs?