David Siskind | Sunday, 8 March 2026
I’m flying to Honolulu but I’ll have to wait until Monday to test out my new soft-gaze on the local bonefish. I’ll be fishing then with Makani Christiansen who hosts Fly Fish Hawaii. Not sure what we’ll be doing. I hope the joint military bases are fishing well. Makani served in the navy and has access to some beautiful wadeable beaches and inside-the-reef flats. But every place he’s taken me to, on foot or from the boat, on the base and off, has been great.
I have been practicing the soft gaze in the park, by focusing on a distant point and looking for movement within a fixed wide window. So far what I observe is that out-of-pattern off-center movement immediately draws my eyes to its source. Could this be what I’m looking for? I’ll see (ha ha).
But in that vein I discovered something else. I am still (for over a year now) emphasizing mobility work and proprioception drills in my quest for fitness and fishing longevity. I throw in a little strength and cardio but am finding that ease of full-range movement enhances these as well. My old knee injuries and general clumsy practices have led to some pain that I’ve been trying to ameliorate by first working in proper alignment and then working toward out-of alignment strength around each joint. A few days ago I stumbled on something that seemed promising. Not sure why I tried this but I put my mind in the tip of each second toe and performed various deep squats and lunges. Miraculously my knees, ankles and hips started to work together smoothly. All twinges of pain on the eccentric movement disappeared entirely. I’m performing these movements with confidence - the fear of the dreaded twinge is subsiding. And once again turning to Gemini found that the Morton’s toe (second toe) is a commonly effective EXTERNAL point of focus for self-organization of muscular action. I was delighted! Attempts to back this up with source citations were unsatisfactory. References to Tai Chi instructions were as close as I got to confirmation of my method.
That’s the AI disappointment. Research is vastly simplified but I feel like responses to a carefully crafted inquiry seem suspiciously fulfilling. Am I asking leading questions? Should that matter? In any case I’m looking for similar casting external cues.
What I’m hoping for is a unified amalgam of proper gaze, wide focus, proprioceptive mapping, and well crafted cues. I want my fish sighting to merge with my targeting, merging with the easy application of appropriate force to deliver a fly, starting a conversation with the targeted fish. That’s all. Is that too much to ask?
I brought my new MED5 strung on my HT10 to the park yesterday. There was a slight breeze. I slowly added line going through the gears. I expected better results. However, three keys produced the best casts - late fast haul, full wrist flop forward and back, and smooooth. I love slinging around the MED5 on the stiff 10wt at medium distances. Loops really tighten up. I thought I’d be able to jump into it and significantly use the longer head to increase my carry but found it’ll take work.
I’ll fish Monday. Visit the Volcano National Park later in the week and get back to practice upon my return to LA.
It looks like the world could blow up. Maybe I’ll have pics of an eruption next FP.
Aloha,
David Siskind