I’ve heard before that it is quite difficult to maintain “tournament shape” year-round. This seems reasonable, but I am not exactly sure what tournament shape looks like yet, maybe a tesseract. Even if you are doing your due diligence to keep a reasonably healthy body, you still may get injured if you never take a break. I have only fractured one bone from casting so far, but my body knows that I cast everyday. My elbows wish I would learn a better technique for sure, and unfortunately, I waited until I was in pain before I started to take the proper precautions. I’m working on that. It is also necessary for fly people to do fly fishing from time to time. It’s some sort of biological imperative that hasn’t been deciphered quite yet, but we do know that if a fly person doesn’t get to fully involve themselves with pursuing a specie from time to time, then they get a little squirrely. If you are out there fishing right, then you probably lose a little bit of that elusive, “tournament shape” while you are at it. Also, as I am one to consistently complain about it, the weather can also put a wrench in outdoor casting time, which could take away from casting shape, but maybe not. All told, maybe you can’t be in competition shape year-round, but I’m going to find out.

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One of the very interesting things I do is teach flycasting at elite and advanced level. Even before that it becomes similarly interesting because almost everyone has the potential in flycasting to become one of the best in the world. And I really do mean that. Of course there are many ways to measure ability, some are subjective but many are quantifyable. One of the easier ones to quantify is World Championships flycasting. And I would say that everyone who has an interest in this, with coaching, would not look out of place at this event.

And that’s quite a statement. In some ways arguably it’s because it’s such a small niche event. If it was an olympic sport then I think the entry level would be higher and perhaps my statement would be less true. The reality in this case, is that not only would almost no one look out of place at the event with coaching, but because the majority of competitors are uncoached, they might actually do rather well!

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I’m covering for James today. In the meantime I thought I’d draw your attention to the Sexyloops Board. I know it’s very well read but it’s also great to get involved. We are very welcoming, happy to discuss everything fly fishing and fly casting. It’s not the BS angry world the social media can be. In fact if you are an angry troll then please don’t post!!

In my opinion, and everyone else’s for that matter, it is the very best place to find out about fly casting and teaching. Arguably it’s a very serious angling place too and no fly fishing or fly tying question would be out of place. In fact if you want to learn advanced fly tying techniques such as the “whipfuck” then this is the only place. That was one of my inventions.

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Shocking news, it is still cold in Finland. Fun part is that southern Finland is colder than our area at the moment. I'm cool with that as in here is around - 16 celsius so it is pretty perfect weather for reindeers to pull sleigh.
 
And it is not too cold for guests to be outside and have a ride. Casting is still on pause. Mainly as seems to be some surprises coming behind every corner and this winter starts to be more like extinguishing fires than just doing things. They say that good things happens to good people, so I must be really bad one.

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In a recent FP I wrote about the role of the triceps for the fly caster and how it is related to pain from fly casting. These discoveries have been the key to understanding the pain I have been having in my elbow with a really big flare up in the summer of 2024. Since then I have been experiencing pain in the area below my right elbow. The pain has been from pretty sever and the arm feeling numb and stiff. To quite good from time to time. But never feeling completely good.

After a whole year had passed I thought it was as good as it was going to get. It felt quite good with some small flare ups from time to time. I thought that was how it was going to be for me and that it might get better sometime if I kept working on the exercises for the forearm. A part of pain management is acceptance. So I had accepted that I would experience pain from time to time and was happy that I was able to cast and keep practicing.

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There was a huge drop of Epstein Files a week ago causing a hubbub, world-wide. I bring it up here because I think it shines a light on   how policy is made that ultimately affects our fishing. Mostly,  As it turns out, there is, indeed, a cabal of privileged elites who live in a world of mutual back-scratching - a universe of favor-trading, outside and floating above the rules and norms governing the rest of us. It seems that money, influence, and fame can buy freedom from the normal limits on imagination and civil behavior. Without the constraints of limited resources, desires run wild. No one and nothing checks behaviors. There is no accountability for harms visited on regular folks. It becomes reasonable to expect to buy or network one’s way through life. I’m amazed at the variety of characters who get caught up in this world, often, apparently, people who are well aware, but forget that all of this ease and license is granted by the exploitation and immiseration of others. It’s gross. And maybe inevitable as things are currently set up. I imagine if you inherit, cheat, luck-into, or even earn enough money or influence to enter this world, you quite naturally start to spend and trade your way to a more graceful life and unless possessed of unusual strength of character, will conveniently forget how difficult things are for most people. It’s natural. It’s easy. And in the end many of the people-who-should-know-better turned their most compassionate selves toward Mr. Epstein, apparently in return for past favors, offered sympathy and advice toward his social rehabilitation after his conviction. Nice impulses but corrupt. Fuck ‘em all. They know better and lie about it when exposed.

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