ARTICLES
Enjoy the Day
TROUTBITTEN
Troutbitten is built on words. These ideas, these stories, tips and tactics are the roots of a tree that has grown branches.
Troutbitten reads more like a book than a blog. So settle in and find something to read.
Find the category links at the top of every article and the tags at the bottom, because those lead to the archive pages for the topic.
Also within these articles, all text in orange leads to supporting content. Finally, use the search page to find what interests you most.
Thank you for your support through the years.
ALL ARTICLES
What Moves a Trout to the Fly?
We know that different patterns work for trout at different times, but it’s helpful to acknowledge that some flies move trout a lot further than others.
So what kinds of flies motivate trout to move a little further?
PODCAST: Finding Your Confidence Flies — S13, Ep4
Every angler needs a set of flies to call their own. Among the thousands of patterns, options and choices out there, eventually, we sort out a handful of confidence flies.
Our faith in these flies gives us conviction when choosing them and tying the knot. We’ll fish THIS fly in THIS water. That’s what will catch the next trout. And if it doesn’t, then we’ll change something — maybe the water type, maybe the presentation, maybe the rig. Or maybe we’ll reach for the next confidence fly.
Fifty Fly Fishing Tips: #18 — Imagine a Target — Fish to the Fish
You can roam the river, mending, drifting and stripping, casting into every corner pocket and straight channel. You have the skills to present the fly, the consummate awareness of currents and flows and the stamina to wade rough water for hours on end. But can you imagine a target? Can you picture a trout feeding in the hydraulic swirl behind an unseen chunk of bedrock on the river bottom? Can you believe the trout is there? . . .
The capacity to imagine a trout in the river is a next-level skill that’s only earned by thoughtful time on the water . . .
STORIES
Dry or Die?
. . . There’s a segment of fly anglers who will never see streamers, nymphs or wet flies as a legitimate offering. That’s fine. Keep it to yourself.
There’s another segment of fly fishers who believe trophy hunting for big browns with big streamers is the only way to live out there. And everything else might as well be tweed hats and waxed catgut. That’s fine too. Keep it to yourself.
The majority of us are fishermen, just having fun, trying to catch a fish and then catch another one . . .
Life On the Water
Accomplished and skilled fly fishing requires that you give part of your life to the river. That’s evident in the first few trips, and I think the depth of all this surprises would-be anglers. It intimidates some, and it captivates others . . .
Patagonia Nymphing
I don’t know another time when I approached a slot with so much confidence. Better. Slower. This was it. At the end of the fishless drift, my certainly wasn’t questioned, it was simply re-informed. “Need more weight,” I said. It was an unforgettable, prove-it kind of moment . . .
TACTICS
Fish and Film — Tight Line Nymphing and Tight Line to the Indicator (VIDEO)
This third installment of the Fish and Film series highlights the technical aspects of good, adaptive nymphing. It’s a look at a full morning of fishing riffles, runs and flats, while making the necessary and natural changes to find fish.
There are many adjustments along the way. And I comfortably switch between pure tight line tactics and tight line to the indicator style, along with weight adjustments, using both beadhead flies and additional split shot . . .
VIDEO: The Lagging Curve Cast — Dead Drifts for Days (Fly Casting Skills)
The Lagging Curve is a beautiful way to provide slack to a dry fly, and it’s my favorite way to get perfect dead drifts to a dry fly in rivers. I fish a lagging curve at just about any angle, using both a forehand and backhand cast, and it provides slack to a dry fly for days.
The lagging curve is really the opposite of what most people mean by a curve cast. This is an underpowered curve and not a power curve.
The leader design matters a lot, and so does the casting stroke. I cover it all in the video . . .
Fish and Film — Home Waters – Terrestrial Dries and Terrestrial Nymphs (VIDEO)
Fishing is a story . . . On a summer morning of fishing, I fish terrestrials in two different ways — first as a dry fly and then as a nymph.
The concepts of terrestrial fishing are largely centered around the dry fly. And I show that in the first half of this video. Target the edges and fish some of the middle stuff along the way. But the terrestrial fishing mindset — the concepts and strategies — are effectively taken over to a nymphing rig as well, often producing more and larger trout.
NYMPHING
Patagonia Nymphing
I don’t know another time when I approached a slot with so much confidence. Better. Slower. This was it. At the end of the fishless drift, my certainly wasn’t questioned, it was simply re-informed. “Need more weight,” I said. It was an unforgettable, prove-it kind of moment . . .
Troutbitten Shop Spring Sale ’24 — Leaders, Hats, New Trail Merch, Stickers and More
The Troutbitten Spring Sale ’24 is here, with all leaders, hats and stickers back in the Troutbitten Shop. With this round, we have a few special items to offer, from the Troutbitten and New Trail Brewing company collaboration. There’s a Fish Hard / Drink Beer hat, sticker and t-shirt. The Troutbitten Shop is fully stocked. Hats, leaders, stickers, shirts, hoodies and more are ready to go.
PODCAST: Critical Nymphing Concepts #7 — Animating the Nymph — S10, Ep7
We spend so much time refining presentations and trying to achieve perfectly natural dead drifts that moving the nymph a bit, animating the fly, is liberating. It’s fun.
STREAMERS
Streamer Presentations — The Super Pause
Quite simply, the Super Pause is a lack of animation to the streamer for a long time. But that pause usually follows some kind of movement. Last fall, on our podcast about streamers, Bill surprised all of us by saying he often didn’t move the fly for five seconds. That seemed like a long time to all of us. I remember saying that I didn’t know if I had that much patience with a streamer. Dell did, and I didn’t. But I do now.
As Bill told me the other day, getting big hits and bigger fish at the end of the line can make you pretty patient.
Good point . . .
The Tracer Streamer Concept
The tracer streamer keeps the visuals in your streamer game and catches a few trout while doing so. But getting the most of a two-streamer system requires a little forethought . . .
Troutbitten Shop Fall Sale ’23 — Leaders, Hats, New Trail Merch, Stickers and More
The Troutbitten Fall Sale ’23 is here, with all leaders, hats and stickers back in the Troutbitten Shop. With this round, we have a few special items to offer, from the Troutbitten and New Trail Brewing company collaboration. There’s a Fish Hard / Drink Beer hat, sticker and t-shirt. The Troutbitten Shop is fully stocked. Hats, leaders, stickers, shirts, hoodies and more are ready to go.
ANGLER TYPES IN PROFILE
Angler Types in Profile: The I’ve been doing that forever guy
Fly fishing is full of it — full of anglers who take themselves too seriously, and full of others who support it. Everyone knows everything . . .
So as fly fishing churns out newish concepts like articulated streamers and euro nymphing, it’s no wonder there’s some resistance to it all. No wonder at every turn we find guys with arms folded, shaking their heads and saying, “Nah, I’ve been doing that forever. . .”
Angler Types in Profile: Goldilocks
On the sweetheart days, the Goldilocks angler is there. Any other time? This morning? Not so much.
It seems that some fly fishermen are constantly looking for reasons not to fish. Provide them with a logical reason to stay home, and they will — and they’ll feel good about it.
Angler Types in Profile: The Rookie
I’m consistently surprised by the lack of river sense that’s missing in so many anglers. I mean that literally and not condescendingly. Just as a city kid marvels at the sight of deep darkness on a moonless night, fifty miles deep into a state forest, the country boy doesn’t give it a second thought. It’s experience. And that’s all it is.
People who are new to fishing just don’t know much about rivers. And I never really get used to that. Because so much of what a river does, and what fish do in response, is organic to me. I grew up fishing and playing in small streams. As a kid, I was drawn to every runoff ditch within walking or biking distance. I couldn’t stay away. And like anything else, you grow into your surroundings. I don’t think that can be changed, whether we’d like it to be or not.
Anyway, those without that same history with rivers see the water differently, and sometimes I have trouble remembering it.
On a cool April morning, Sam and I hit the water with all his new gear . . .
BIG TROUT
Fighting Big Fish With Side Pressure — What It Is, How To Use It
Side pressure pulls the trout from its lane. While the fish faces the current and tries to hold a seam, side pressure moves that trout from its comfort zone and forces it to work against the force of our bent fly rod — all while keeping the trout low. And while we never want to play a trout to exhaustion, the art of a good trout fight is in taking them to the point where we have more control over their body than they do.
Night Fishing for Trout — Location, Location, Location
It took me seasons of trial and error to understand this truth: On some rivers — especially those with larger trout — much of the water after dark is a dead zone. Nothing happens, no matter what flies or tactics you throw at them. Drift or swing big flies or small ones. Hit the banks with a mouse or swing the flats with Harvey Pushers. It doesn’t matter. On most rivers that I night fish, there are long stretches of water that simply won’t produce.
But in these same waters, there are sweet spots to be found — places where the action is almost predictable (by night-fishing standards), where two, three or four fish may hit in the same spot. And then just twenty yards downstream . . . nothing . . .
Night Fishing for Trout — Fight or Flight
I finally have an honest understanding about what draws me into night fishing. Yes, it’s the fear. And of the serious night anglers I’ve known, it’s the same for all of us. Fear is the crackling spark plug . . .
NIGHT FISHING
Night Fishing for Trout — The Bank Flash
I returned to a tactic that I’d employed on many dark nights where I couldn’t effectively reference the bank. I reached up to my headlamp and flicked on the light for an instant — a half second and no more — before returning back to the black. Then, just like the quick shots of lightning earlier, the lamp showed me the way. The image of the riverbank burned into my brain. Something inside of me calculated the adjustments and converted the images into accuracy with my tools of fly rod, line, leader and fly. It was a little bit of magic . . .
Night Fishing for Trout — Upside Down and Backward
Solving after-dark trout fishing mysteries begins by asking the same fundamental questions as we ask in the daylight: Where are the trout, and how are they feeding?
Night Fishing for Trout — Location, Location, Location
It took me seasons of trial and error to understand this truth: On some rivers — especially those with larger trout — much of the water after dark is a dead zone. Nothing happens, no matter what flies or tactics you throw at them. Drift or swing big flies or small ones. Hit the banks with a mouse or swing the flats with Harvey Pushers. It doesn’t matter. On most rivers that I night fish, there are long stretches of water that simply won’t produce.
But in these same waters, there are sweet spots to be found — places where the action is almost predictable (by night-fishing standards), where two, three or four fish may hit in the same spot. And then just twenty yards downstream . . . nothing . . .
MORE
With over 900 articles on Troubitten, there’s much more to explore than what you see above.
Use the site menu to navigate through articles collected in series. Click the categories and tags to find the archives pages for each topic.
Everything in orange, sitewide, is a link to more supporting content.
And use the search page to find what you’re looking for.
Also Subscribe to Troutbitten and follow along. (Yes, it’s free.)
Cheers, friends.