Plainspoken fly fishing from gear to culture.
Casting Across Fly Fishing treats fly fishing as both a craft and a habit of attention. Episodes move from wading boots, rods, flies, and licenses into bigger questions about elitism, seasonality, books, and why anglers keep returning to the water.
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Casting Across Fly Fishing is built around the ordinary details that serious anglers actually talk about. The show is not flashy. It spends time on boots, rods, hooks, flies, books, licenses, weather, fish behavior, and the small judgments that sit between a plan and a good day outside. Recent episodes show a pattern: start with something practical, then let the topic open up. A wading boot discussion becomes a case for side protection, grip, and ease of entry. A fly rod FAQ turns into a broader note about weather, patience, and keeping the sport less worked up than it sometimes gets. Opening day is treated as preparation, not ceremony. The advice is plain: check the flies, sharpen what needs sharpening, understand the license rules, and put gear in order before standing in moving water. The show also pays attention to fly fishing culture. Its take on elitism is direct, arguing that the sport’s old image has been overtaken by brighter aesthetics, younger anglers, conservation organizations, and a less buttoned-up public face. That does not mean it ignores friction. It notices the old guard, the style arguments, and the way people still talk about who belongs. The gear episodes are detailed without sounding like catalog copy. Rod length, action, line control, streamer weight, and predator-fishing safety all get treated as lived problems. Carp receive the same seriousness as trout, with attention to rod weight, delicate presentation, fast-sinking flies, and the responsibility of landing fish efficiently. Books also recur as part of the ecosystem. Reviews and reading habits sit alongside watercraft, suggesting that fly fishing is learned through pages, shops, shows, streams, and trial. The style is conversational and sometimes looping, but the repetition has a purpose. It works through a point until the practical shape becomes clear. For PlayNext, this is a strong fit for anglers who want more than trip reports and less than polished industry theater. It is a workbench show, steady and opinionated, with both mud on the boots and books on the shelf.
Made for: Best suited to fly anglers, curious beginners, and gear-minded outdoors listeners who enjoy practical explanations without insider gatekeeping. It also fits readers and podcast listeners who like the culture of fishing as much as the catch.
What sets it apart: The show stands out by tying concrete field details to larger arguments about fly fishing’s identity. It can talk wading boot traction, carp rods, opening-day licenses, and elitism in the same grounded editorial lane.
The Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast explores the quarry and the culture of fly fishing. Each episode, I'll discuss some aspect of fly fishing - the people, places, and things that go into the pursuit of fish.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
Matthew makes fly-fishing gear and preparation legible by tying each choice to casting control, safety and conditions on the water.
Matthew turns fly-fishing decisions into practical, experience-based explanations. The focused monologue moves comfortably from rod length and action for large predator flies to line weight for carp, with close attention to casting control, fish handling and safety.
This is the tackle-bench friend who explains why six inches can make line pickup easier.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A practical, grounded look at why a wading boot's side protection can matter as much as its toe box.
Best in Show 2026 gives the Fly Fishing Show's Consumer Choice Awards a practical angler's read, with Matthew of castingacross.com quickly settling into Grundon's Rock Armor Wading Boot. The appeal is not treated as showroom polish.
A grounded look at fly fishing's changing image, with a fair note on why the elitism charge has not fully faded.
Matthew follows fly fishing's image as it moves from buttoned-up casting shirts, capes, tweed jackets, and Wellington boots into something brighter, louder, and more open to a younger crowd.
A grounded opening-day reset for fly anglers who want gear, licenses, and seasonal basics in order.
Casting Across Fly Fishing treats opening day less as a grand occasion than as a useful reset for anglers getting back into season. The episode stays on the practical work that can make an early outing smoother: checking gear, sorting flies, sharpening hooks, and making sure…
A practical carp episode about presentation, weighted flies, and having enough rod to keep a hard run under control.
Casting Across Fly Fishing treats carp fishing as a matter of timing, pressure, and restraint. Matthew of CastingAcross.com keeps the focus on the moment a fish takes the fly, moving from the softer presentation often needed for common carp to the heavier tackle that can steer a…
A practical look at shorter rods, fast action, and controlled casting for big flies and predatory fish.
This single-episode review gives fly anglers a grounded way to think about the harder end of the setup: big flies, predatory fish, and rods that keep the cast from getting away from them.
A fly-fishing show recap where booth finds lead back to the people sustaining the sport.
The 2026 Fly Fishing Show comes across as more than a gear stop, with Matthew of CastingAcross.com moving between the wider expo scene and the quieter pull of individual booths.
A thoughtful fly-fishing gift guide focused on useful upgrades, personal touches, and time on the water.
Casting Across frames its 2025 fly-fishing gift guide around fit, usefulness, and shared experience rather than price. The host starts with the simplest gift, taking someone fishing, then moves through upgrades to gear an angler already uses, including nippers and a fly rod.
Inside the margins of tournament bass fishing.
Regional fishing talk, lake by lake.
Field notes from serious outdoor lives.
Current conditions, fly craft, and river wisdom.
SoCal fishing talk with shop-floor grit.
Matthew recaps his experience at the 2026 Fly Fishing Show, covering presentations in Marlboro, Massachusetts and Edison, New Jersey.
Matthew of CastingAcross.com presents his 2025 fly fishing gift guide, focusing on experiential and thoughtful gifts rather than product recommendations.
Matthew discusses the importance of mitigating risks in fly fishing and outdoor activities to engage safely and responsibly.
Matthew discusses fly rod reviews and invites listener questions on the Casting Across fly fishing podcast.
Matthew of castingacross.com uses episode 388, "Best in Show, 2026," to treat the Fly Fishing Show's 2026 Consumer Choice Awards as a gear shortlist, not a final verdict.
Matthew of Casting Across argues that fly-fishing elitism shifted from the 1990s image of A River Runs Through It, Orvis, and tweed into a newer form of gatekeeping around "authentic" fly fishing.
["Opening Day on episode 386 of Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast, released April 2, turns spring trout season into a question of legal timing and preparation.", "Matthew of CastingAcross.com contrasts crowded Pennsylvania opening weekends with year-round fly-fishing-only water and the general trout waters that wait for a state opener.", "He tells new anglers to check reels, line, leaders, knots, flies, waders, boots, and fishing licenses before the first trip, and he says a fly shop should help if the setup is unclear.", "The second half shifts to spring conditions in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts, where cold mornings, warming sun, high water, stream gauges, and seams change the choice between nymphs and streamers."]
Matthew shares five observations and lessons learned from a year of weekly fly fishing book reviews on YouTube.
The host discusses frequently asked questions about fly rods while also reflecting on the weather and the importance of staying chill.
Matthew from Casting Across explains the value of his website and podcast for fly fishing enthusiasts, encouraging listeners to explore the website for deeper content.
Matthew of CastingAcross.com dedicates episode 382 of the Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast to a full primer on fly fishing for carp, following up after mentioning carp only briefly in the prior predator-fishing episode.
Matthew of CastingAcross.com uses episode 381 of the Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast to cover gear for targeting big predatory freshwater fish like large bass, pike, musky, and carp.
Matthew from Casting Across presents an unofficial 2025 gift guide for fly fishers, focusing on thoughtful ways to give and ask for gifts rather than specific products.
Matthew discusses revisiting the topic of fly fishing with less gear and updated perspectives on streamlining the sport.