We made a Troutbitten beer and it’s ready to drink! We got together with our friends at New Trail Brewing company and brewed a Troutbitten Hazy IPA. We’ve been working on this project for over a year, and it’s been a lot of fun to work with our favorite brewery. Being involved in the planning and brewing process was rewarding. Now it’s time to have a beer.
The shifts and evolutions that a river succumbs to is captivating to watch. It’s a slow motion reel in your mind, spanning twenty years of fishing around the same small island. Until one day, after the flood waters recede, you walk down the trail to find the whole island gone.
I want an experience as close to what nature intended as possible on this twenty-first century planet. And messing with a river’s placement of things just isn’t for me.
It’s the river’s decision.
Keep it wild . . .
This video breaks down all of the important things about hook set direction, hook set distance and hook set timing.
Setting the hooks is the most exciting part of the day. For all the time we spend planning, prepping, wading, tying, casting and drifting, it’s all in anticipation of that brief moment when a trout eats the fly. You fooled a trout. So, don’t screw it up. That’s why the hook set matters most. And planning for the hookset, thinking about how a trout might eat the fly and how we will respond, makes all the difference.
Prospecting is a strategy for covering water. It’s about pace. The truth is, we’re searching for something on every cast, no matter what our approach is. But what we call prospecting is a bit different. It’s about canvassing an area, casting a wider net, searching for that next fish and then the next one. Then we take that data about where and how trout are feeding, and we use it to inform our next decision.
You’ve probably heard this a lot: “These trout have been caught on that fly before, so they won’t take it.”
Or this: “Once trout are caught on a fly a few times, they learn that it’s a fake.
But trout don’t have to be caught on a fly to learn that it isn’t real. In fact, just seeing one bad drift after another is enough to put trout off of a particular pattern . . .
Complaining is not a bad thing if it accomplishes something productive — or if it’s kinda fun. Or if it draws attention to some of the absurdities around you.
Some things need to change. Because there are plenty of influences and influencers leading us all down a road to nowhere, or really, to a place that loses the depth of this fishing experience — of what we love about the woods and the water in the first place.
Whatever you believe, take a stand for it. That’s what we try to do here with the Airing of Grievances.
Big trout after dark are never predictable. And they give you everything they have — right now. So your tippet better be strong.
There is no good argument for exclusively using split shot under an indicator. There’s also no good argument for exclusively using weighted flies on a tight line rig. I simply fish whatever weight suits the moment. Here’s why . . .
There are many different ways to set the hook while fly fishing for trout, because there are many different ways to fish for those trout. One size does not fit all. So we adapt our hook sets to suit the situation.
On Wednesday June 5th at 8:00 p.m. EST, the next Troutbitten LIVESTREAM Podcasts features Tom Rosenbauer as our guest. Join us and be part of the conversation. This LIVESTREAM is a conversation around stocked trout and club water.
Here’s a story about the solitude that so many of us seek on the water — how the full experience of planning for a trip, driving before dawn, walking in and exploring a river valley provides a respite from our daily life. It’s a chance for a clear mind and for renewed energy. “The Further You Walk, the More You Leave Behind” is about what we recover when we commit to full days and long distances, and how even after we return, we are changed.