I watched Smith walk toward the access, toward home, toward the rest of life — into the lights, into the warmth, into the friendships. I stayed with the river and remained alone — pensive in the rain, resolute in the wind . . .
Search Month: March 2023
Troutbitten On the Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast — Talking About the Mono Rig
It was an honor to once again be a guest with Tom Rosenbauer on the Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast. Back in 2019, Tom and I talked about streamers. This time, Tom asked for a breakdown on the Mono Rig.
It was a fun conversation. Tom and I went deep into the long leaders tactics. We talked about the history, expectations, limitations and misunderstandings regarding the Mono Rig.
Q&A: Blind Striking
I don’t guess, because I might ruin my best chance. I also do everything I can to be in contact or just slightly out of contact with the nymph, whether that’s on a tight line to my rod tip or under an indicator. And I trust my skills this way, more than I trust my instinct to set on nothing . . .
PODCAST: Catching Up — Spring 2023
Season Seven will begin on April 10th. But in between seasons, I want to catch you up on a few things that are going on with Troutbitten.
Just a few years ago, Troutbitten was the website only. I wrote and published articles three times a week. Now it’s a multi-media company with many branches — there’s the podcast, the videos, the online shop, hosted events and, of course, the guide business.
Here’s what’s going on in the Troutbitten world . . .
Visions and Feelings
While all five senses blend together into the rich, unmatched experience of fishing through woods and water, only two are necessary for catching trout — sight and feel. These two senses combine to tell us a story about each drift. Some of our tactics require both, while others require just one. But take away both sight and feel, and the angler is lost . . .
Mono Rigs and Euro Leaders — Micro Thin or Standard? (with VIDEO)
This is an absolute keystone to understanding all the information out there about long leader systems. I hope you enjoy it.
Just like the fly lines that these long leaders substitute for, the range and variety of leader formulas leads to a lot of confusion.
Mono Rigs, euro rigs, tight line or contact rigs: Yes, there’s a difference in those terms. But everything we’ll consider here applies to them all. Basically, if what is outside of your rod guides is the leader only (or even just a thin euro fly line), then it helps to understand how the leader build affects our possibilities for how we might fish . . .
The TB Yarn Indy Hack
What we at Troutbitten have affectionately called the Dorsey has undergone a few changes over the years. I use less yarn, two colors for better visibility and smaller bands. I pre-bunch the yarn at my tying desk with minimal wraps of 8/0 Uni-Thread, and sometimes . . . just once in a while . . . I add a small piece of split shot to the line above the indy.
Wavering Confidence
I was resigned to the plan but having a hard time watching it fail.
Why was my confidence so easily shaken? Because a river that was once the most predictable of any that I fish has now become the opposite. It’s a confounding mystery that I keep coming back to, wishing to solve. And I know that with enough time, with an open mind and by running the right experiments, I’ll find the answers . . .
PODCAST: Winter Skills Series, #8: Full Crew Conversation — S6, Ep8
Here we are at the end of Season 6 — the Troutbitten Winter Skills Series. This is episode 8 of the series, with a full crew of friends to wrap things up, to hear some stories and dig into a few more tips for fly fishing in the winter months.
This is a great conversation with my best fishing friends. And this discussion is a nice endcap on a full season dedicated to fly fishing in the winter months.