Search Month: June 2022

(VIDEO) Fly Fishing the Mono Rig — Casting vs Lobbing

Turnover is the fundamental difference between spin casting and fly casting. And all good fly casts, with fly line or otherwise, allow the line/leader to turnover in the air and then hit the water. That’s the difference between casting and lobbing. Without good turnover, we are simply lobbing the line.

Remember this: lobbing is limiting. And a good casting approach, with great turnover, introduces a wide range of options . . .

Podcast: An Introduction to Night Fishing for Trout — S3-Ep14

Ambition is the fundamental characteristic of every good night fisher. We wade into the darkness for the experience. And we quickly realize that the night game is an unwritten book, with just a few clues and an infinite room for learning new things. Each exhilarating hit and every trout in the net is a unique reward, because night fishing requires that you assemble the puzzle yourself.

In this episode, I’m joined by my friends, Trevor Smith and Josh Darling, for an overview on night fishing for trout . . .

If You Have to Revive a Trout, It’s Probably Too Late

Reviving a trout was once taught as part of the routine. But we don’t hear that so much anymore. Because the idea of playing a trout to the point of exhaustion, so much that you have to help it regain balance and breath, is mostly a thing of the past. And that’s a good thing . . .

Casting and Drifting | Drop Shot Nymphing on a Tight Line Rig — Pt.5

Gaining the bottom, feeling that contact with the riverbed and then gliding over it, tap, ta-tap, tap-a-tap, maybe five to ten times throughout the drift is success. But I’ve noticed that anglers tend to get complacent. Tickling the bottom is only half of the job. And that’s not good enough. We still need to find the right speed for a drift and keep everything in one seam.

Drop shotting puts the angler in ultimate control. Be aware of every element of the drift, and make good choices, because all of them are yours. Control is the advantage of a drop shot rig. Remember this always — your rod tip controls everything . . .

Podcast: An Introduction to Night Fishing for Trout — S3-Ep14

Podcast: An Introduction to Night Fishing for Trout — S3-Ep14

Ambition is the fundamental characteristic of every good night fisher. We wade into the darkness for the experience. And we quickly realize that the night game is an unwritten book, with just a few clues and an infinite room for learning new things. Each exhilarating hit and every trout in the net is a unique reward, because night fishing requires that you assemble the puzzle yourself.

In this episode, I’m joined by my friends, Trevor Smith and Josh Darling, for an overview on night fishing for trout . . .

If You Have to Revive a Trout, It’s Probably Too Late

If You Have to Revive a Trout, It’s Probably Too Late

Reviving a trout was once taught as part of the routine. But we don’t hear that so much anymore. Because the idea of playing a trout to the point of exhaustion, so much that you have to help it regain balance and breath, is mostly a thing of the past. And that’s a good thing . . .

Casting and Drifting | Drop Shot Nymphing on a Tight Line Rig — Pt.5

Casting and Drifting | Drop Shot Nymphing on a Tight Line Rig — Pt.5

Gaining the bottom, feeling that contact with the riverbed and then gliding over it, tap, ta-tap, tap-a-tap, maybe five to ten times throughout the drift is success. But I’ve noticed that anglers tend to get complacent. Tickling the bottom is only half of the job. And that’s not good enough. We still need to find the right speed for a drift and keep everything in one seam.

Drop shotting puts the angler in ultimate control. Be aware of every element of the drift, and make good choices, because all of them are yours. Control is the advantage of a drop shot rig. Remember this always — your rod tip controls everything . . .

Podcast: The Airing of Grievances — S3-Ep13

Podcast: The Airing of Grievances — S3-Ep13

Some of the fly fishing industry trends, these habits, these practices, just seem wrong. And the gear, the ads, videos and articles, — a lot of it steers people in the wrong direction.

So we thought we’d have a little fun with this and call out as many issues as we can fit into one podcast. But it’s all in good fun. And quite honestly, most of the things we bring up could certainly benefit from a fair dose of constructive criticism.

Fly Fishing Strategies — Plan for the Hookset

Fly Fishing Strategies — Plan for the Hookset

For a moment, let’s consider where the line goes when the hookset doesn’t stick a trout . . .

You strike on the rise and miss a fish. Or, while nymphing, you set when the fly bumps a rock for the forty-fifth time. And the fly goes where?

In wide open meadows and valleys, who cares? With no trees to eat your fly, sloppy hooksets go unpunished. But the rivers I frequent harbor broken tree limbs as earnest gatekeepers. I like dark, shady corners because the trout do. And working around these obstacles forces me to be mindful — to know where every hookset finishes . . .

VIDEO: Real Dead Drifts — Up Top and Underneath

VIDEO: Real Dead Drifts — Up Top and Underneath

A dead drift is the most common presentation in fly fishing for trout, because it imitates their most common food forms. We want a dead drift on both a dry fly and a nymph. But what is it?

It’s a one-seam drift that travels at the speed of the current without tension from the attached tippet. That’s hard to achieve, but it is possible by first understanding what a dead drift looks like, both on the surface with a dry fly and below the surface with a nymph . . .

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Podcast: What’s the Deal With Junk Flies? — S3-Ep12

Podcast: What’s the Deal With Junk Flies? — S3-Ep12

Junk flies are never a sure thing. They are simply another option to help solve the daily puzzle on the river.

You can’t just put any kind of bright, flashy materials on a hook and fool trout. There’s a reason why trout eat these flies. And there’s a reason why these patterns shine for so long and then fall off at the end of a season. There’s also a huge difference between the way stocked trout respond to some junk flies vs the way wild trout respond . . .

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What Does It Take to Catch a Big Trout?

What Does It Take to Catch a Big Trout?

For many years, I believed that it takes nothing special to catch a big trout. I argued with friends about this over beers, during baseball games, on drives to the river and through text messages at 1:00 am. My contention was always that big trout don’t require anything extraordinary to seal the deal. They need a quality drift, a good presentation, and if they are hungry they will eat it. I frequently pushed back against the notion that big wild trout were caught only with exceptional skill.

So for all who’ve heard me make this argument, I’d like to offer this revision: I still believe that large trout don’t need more than a good presentation. But what is GOOD may actually be pretty special. Meaning, it’s rare to find the skill level necessary to consistently get good drifts and put them over trout (large or small).

Here’s more . . .

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We Wade

We Wade

We wade for contemplation, for strength and exhaustion, for the challenge and the risk. We wade for opportunity . . .

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Euro Nymphing Fly Line vs The Mono Rig

Euro Nymphing Fly Line vs The Mono Rig

I’ve received countless questions about my thoughts regarding euro lines and mono rigs. And while this is also one of the most common questions I’ve fielded through the years, it has a complex answer that I’ve never tackled in an article. So let’s fix that.

Here are my thoughts on euro nymphing lines vs a Mono Rig. These views address all seasons, all distances and many variations . . .

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