Ground yourself on our home planet
Establish The Big Here on the way to finding your home waters. Also, two fun fly fishing films, and registration opening for Winter term class.
CFS crew: Welcome new subscribers. It's time to start finding your home waters.
If you can spare :30 minutes this week, I'd like you to sit down for a very important activity: take The Big Here Quiz.
The quiz helps us establish ourselves inside a larger watershed, bioregion, and series of natural and infrastructural systems, towards creating more durable connections with the world around us.
I've found it's an essential tool for getting to know places I'm living, or just passing through.
Some of the questions may stump you. That's OK. Give yourself time to be stumped, then do some digging for the answers. Logged-in members will be able to see my answers for Portland, Oregon. If you to peek ahead, or find some hints on how to get those hard-to-find answers for your area, go for it..
Nick Parish
Believe it or not, a lot of the science behind the resource quantification, the data capture, originates or is provided (in the United States at least) by the government. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. The United States Geological Survey. City and state governments. Sometimes they're pretty useful.
Winter registration opens Wednesday
Registration for the Winter session of our Intro to Fly Fishing class at PCC opens Wednesday at 7:00am PST.
Winter is our classroom-based curriculum, on PCC's Cascade campus in North Portland. There will be four Tuesday evening sessions, from 6-8:30pm.
We've increased class size to 15, so there should be plenty of space. Now's the time to rope in that friend, colleague, or partner to get a good start on your 2025 fishing.
Did I mention, the second-best Christmas gift (after a fly rod) is a fly-fishing class? The gift-giver immediately offers up a solution to "how on earth am I going to use this thing without looking like a fool?"
This Tuesday: Casting at Ghosts
Filmmaker and nature photographer Sean D. Burke is premiering his latest film, Casting at Ghosts, about an Oregon steelhead guide, this Wednesday at 6:30pm, at Baerlic Brewing in SE Portland on November 20.
It should be a great kickoff / motivator for winter steelhead season. I'll be there, let me know if you want to come along!
End note: A Little Happiness
"Fishing, Sushi & Whiskey" – you had me at the title card. Spend a few moments with a Japanese bamboo rod builder, see his workspace, and the river he's fished for much of his life. Weans warned me about this one.
Here's a great last word, from the film:
I've come to realize that excessive stimulation and excitement do not bring lasting happiness. Catching too many fish, being overwhelmed by too much information, or pursuing convenience too much. The world today is overflowing with excess. However, I believe true happiness and joy can be found in the slightly inconvenient and mundane things.
Current Flow State is a weekly newsletter from me, Nick Parish.
If you enjoyed this, please forward it to a friend.
Read our editorial policy or browse the newsletter archives.
Members support and sustain the site, our community. Learn more about membership benefits. If you're getting value from this material, consider becoming a member and giving back.
