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We’re back for the annual airing of grievances, here to call out what’s wrong in the fly fishing industry.
Some of our grievances are lighthearted silliness that doesn’t really matter, but it’s fun to roast or to call out. But there’s another kind of grievance too. Because a lot of the stuff going on in the fly fishing industry isn’t really good for anyone — or maybe it’s only good for a few. Because the industry — and by that I mean you, me, the fly fishing companies, and all the media around it — picks up trends. Then it pushes and pulls anglers in that direction. And sometimes, what is served up doesn’t benefit the average angler. It’s not helpful.
So there are problems. And this episode is for highlighting some of the worst. Because it’s fair to call balls and strikes, and because it helps to acknowledge that things could be better and try to make a change.
Resources
PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Airing of Grievances, S3, Ep13
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Season Seven of the Troutbitten Podcast concludes next week with episode twelve. So look for that one in your Troutbitten podcast feed.
Fish hard, friends.
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Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com
Cheers guys. I never understood the giant net thing. Then again I am a hand bomber for life.
Nice
Enjoyed the podcast. Did you know your vest video wound up on MidCurrent Fly Fishing.
I didn’t think anything about it other than thinking it was pretty cool until I realized maybe you didn’t authorize it.
I have seen your content before on their website if memory serves me correct.
I enjoy some of their content so I hope it’s legitimate.
Thanks, Gary. It’s good. Midcurrent is an aggregate site, where they often share things from around the fly fishing world. They don’t lift and copy whole articles to their site. They’ve been sharing Troutbitten work for a long time, and I appreciate it.
Cheers.
Dom
This is a great annual tradition! Please keep it up. Regarding the last part of the podcast on “euro nymphing”, I was hoping to get your thoughts about so-called euro rods and their line weight ratings. I fished a friend’s 10’10” 2-weight rod (diamondback’s “ideal nymph” rod series) expecting an absolute noodle, but was shocked at how stout the first 2/3 of the rod was (it felt more like what I would expect from a “standard” 9-10 foot 4-weight rod). My friend actually uses a weight forward 4-weight line with this rod when he switches from a “micro-leader” to a dry fly leader, and again I was surprised at how well it cast the 4-weight line (in other words, the rod didn’t “feel” like a 2-weight). It’s thrown me through a bit of a loop as I ponder next rods to consider for tightlining (with some versatility for things like casting fly line when needed). Do you think the standard short-hands we use to describe/categorize rods needs some updating? Any thoughts on this would be great.
All the best,
Dustin from New York
Hi Dustin. Thanks for your comment and question. Honestly, no, I don’t think the rod weight categories need to be updated. They are and should continue to be rated for how they cast a fly line. Mono rigs are different, because we are loading the rod not just with the weight of the leader but the weight of the fly and/or split shot, and there is a WIDE range of weights there that will work. One of the troubles I have with the lightest weight rods is how poorly they deal with any other situation than straight euro nymphing with light to medium weight flies. I want a rod that can handle all that I might throw during the day, and that starts with being able to handle a real fly line.
Many more thoughts on all this are on an article I wrote a bit ago.
The Best Fly Rods for the Mono Rig and Euro Nymphing
https://troutbitten.com/2021/09/22/the-best-fly-rods-for-the-mono-rig-and-euro-nymphing-my-favorite-rods/
Great podcast guys. I lost it when Dom’s wife went off, really funny stuff, one of the best podcasts yet!
The Pro Staff thing is promotional not professional staff. These PROs are promoters and not professionals that is why they get the discount, to promote the companies and there products. It seems like it has all turned into marketing and trying to sell you something, kinda sad if you ask me.
Hi, Emmett! Thanks for the comment. You are correct that it can refer to as “promotional”. However some companies elect to refer to it as professional, and that is what I am referencing. Cheers!
Thanks Austin,
I understand what you were saying it just seems to me that the passion for the process has become secondary to the marketing/promotion of products and content. Not just in fly fishing but it seems like in almost everything nowadays, which makes Troutbitten such an important resource. It doesn’t seem like you guys are marketing or trying to sell me anything, just passionate about fishing for wild trout and sharing your knowledge. It’s genuine and priceless.
Thanks again
Many years ago, my then current girlfriend said, totally unselfconsciously, “I don’t know if I want to go to sleep or complain some more.”
Nothing like kvetching to lighten things up, even when they’re serious. Thanks guys. But, to be honest, you were outdone by Dom’s wife’s routine about how the worse thing about fishing is that it happens in water and then everything in the house stinks of wetness. That’s priceless.
She hates the smells.
Great podcast, although I didn’t agree with everything (like Bills hate toward cyclists, haha). A tip regarding Instagram, if you click on the Instagram logo at the top left in the app, you get a drop down menu where you can choose “following”. That will show only accounts you follow without any recommended content and much less algorithm controlled bullshit.
Nice tip. Thank you.
All the podcasts are informative and enjoyable, but this one was over-the-top good. Thoroughly enjoyed the crew loosening up a bit while offering pertinent insights and outing the bad actors. Thanks.
Thanks for the compliment. It was fun.
Love it! There should be a wives airing of grievances show!!
Smiling so much my mouth hurts.
We’ve thought about this.
If you guys decide to do the wives grievances thing, suggest the focus be on solutions the wives can offer to minimize and correct the grievances each of you guys generate. Can’t imagine my wife has any grievances, but your insights may help me avoid problems.
I enjoyed another podcast. My wife also hates the smells. I think God gave women a better sense of smell or something? I have to keep most of my wet things in the car or garage which doesn’t work in colder months.
I think I have a grievance of my own.
Question – Would Joe Humphreys call it “Euro” Nymphing? I like to call it “Mono” nymphing thinking Joe learned it from someone, then passed it to others in US. Then Euro pirates changed the name cause they won some tournament in Czech Republic or something like that by adjusting flies with synthetic materials. I think that gives too much credit for the small adjustments they made to a proven system.
Cheers again!
Joe would not call it euro nymphing, no. Because it isn’t. As soon as you add split shot or anything else to the line, you are no longer euro nymphing. Also, I credit Aaron Jasper with the term euro nymphing, attempting to encompass what was then referred to as Czech, Polish, French and Spanish nymphing. No one went out and just did one style, so the term made sense.
Awesome podcast! I really agree with much of what was discussed. Here are a few of my constructive grievances from an angler with no sway in the industry except what’s in my wallet.
Adding to Euro Nymphing: too many rods designed/ influenced by the competition scene. Every nymphing rod is always 10ft, but sometimes that’s too much.
The term ‘nymph rigs’ – used in almost every fly rod review. It’s not helpful to newer anglers, and confused me for the longest time. An example would read like “this rod can handle the heaviest nymph rigs effortlessly”. It always suggests we anglers need a double beaded stonefly with split shot to get our fly into the strike zone. I fully agreed withthe euro nymphing segment, but at the very least, even if you don’t euro nymph, the rudimentary basics teaches you that very little weight is actually needed to get your fly in the strike zone. And of course Dom, I learned from you, a tuck cast is what you really need.
Thanks Dom and the crew. All the best from Minnesota.
Great podcast, Dom, lots of good topics but your wife was brilliant – should have her own regular slot !
Charlie from New Zealand
Can we all acknowledge what really happened: Dom’s wife stole the show! Too funny…
Great tradition you’ve created. And the Frank Costanza impression got even better.
Overuse of the word “tactical.” Sometimes it’s just a hat or a sock. It doesn’t have to be a tactical hat or sock.
Good one.