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Troutbitten Shop Summer Sale ’24 — All Leaders, Hats, Stickers and Two New Leader Designs
The Troutbitten Shop Summer Sale ’24 is here, with all leaders, hats and stickers back in stock, along with two new leader designs.
VIDEO: Mono Rig Mods — All the Adjustment for a Versatile, Hybrid System
My friends and I don’t go fishing with our mind set on a certain tactic. We let the trout make those decisions, and we’re ready for anything. The Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig is the perfect tool for such an approach.
. . . It’s a versatile tool. It’s a hybrid system. And to maximize those options, simple adjustments are necessary. This video shows those adjustments in detail . . .
PODCAST: Season Twelve Intermission — Catching Up With Leader Sales, Videos and Plans
For our Season 12 Intermission, my wife, Becky, joins me for a lighthearted look at what’s going on in the Troutbitten world. We talk about the upcoming leader sale in the Troutbitten Shop (August 21). We talk about the New Trail Troutbitten beer, the event and the video. And we talk about the Fish and Film series on YouTube.
Becky and I also answer a bunch of fun questions from listeners.
STORIES
My Fishing Dogs
Fishing with a good dog brings a novel joy to average moments. It’s the wet nose on your cheek in the middle of a bankside sit, the shared ham sandwich under dripping evergreen boughs while waiting out a soggy thunderstorm. It’s the simple companionship — the kind that comes without questions or conditions. Our bond with a good dog is pure friendship. It is, quite simply . . . love.
Never Blame the Fish
When everything you expect to work produces nothing, don’t blame the fish. Think more. Try harder.
When your good drifts still leave the net empty, then don’t settle for good. Make things perfect. Never blame the fish . . .
Super Fly — The Story of a Squirmy Wormy
Occasionally (rarely) something comes along that makes trout go a little crazy. Why? Who the hell knows. But it trips some trigger in trout that makes them move further and eat more than they do for just about anything else. In my life there’ve been only four of these super flies.
In dark bars and seedy internet gatherings, I keep my ear to the ground for rumors of the next super fly. Because those who find one can’t keep a secret for long. And I want to be in on the next fly from the ground up again. I want long months of virgin trout that lust for something original yet familiar, the right mix of bold but non-threatening, curiously edible and irresistible. I want to fish another super fly . . .
TACTICS
Streamer Presentations — Let Them Eat It
“Let them eat it. Don’t take it away from them.” I’ve burned that simple message in my brain. For many years, I focused obsessively on the motion I would give to a streamer, I now focus equally on where and when I will pause it.
Attract them with motion. Then let them eat it. Streamer fishing for trout really is that simple. But the variations within the framework are where artistry arises . . .
VIDEO: Tight Line and Euro Nymphing — The Lift and Lead
The Lift and Lead is a cornerstone concept for advanced tight line nymphing skills.
Lift to allow the fly to fall into place. Lead to stop it from falling and to keep it gliding through the strike zone.
For certain, the lift and lead is an advanced tactic. But if you’re having success on a tight line for a few seasons now, you’re probably already incorporating some of this without knowing it. And by considering both elements, by being deliberate with each part of the lift and lead, control over the course of your flies increases. Efficiency with weight improves.
The path is more predictable. And more trout eat the fly . . .
Streamer Presentations — Your First Move
Streamer anglers will tell you that most of their hits happen within the first few seconds or strips. Trout see the fly enter, and their decision whether to attack, chase or ignore your fly is often determined by your first move after entry.
. . . Trout don’t miss much in their field of vision, and they surely notice anything the size of a streamer landing in their zone. Therefore, what that fly does next either entices, dissuades or spooks the fish . . .
NYMPHING
Let’s Stop Kidding Ourselves — The Bead on a Hook Challenge
Testing rigs and flies on the water is fun. It provides the next reason to get back out there, and it center-focuses us on something new. Testing also takes the pressure off. You’re not out there to catch every trout. You’re out there to experiment — to investigate and assess results against a theory.
Do trout eat the bead-on-a-hook better than a nymph with dubbing or micro-tubing behind it? Maybe . . .
Mysteries, Mistakes and Misunderstandings | Drop Shot Nymphing on a Tight Line Rig — Pt.6
Too heavy, clumsy casting and tangles. None of this is true. Drop shot on a tight line is a finesse approach when set up right and fished well.
This article covers strike detection, feel, frequency of bottom contact, weight mistakes, lazy fishing, casting errors and more.
Five Keys to Reading the Sighter (with VIDEO)
Control. Options. Precision. These are the most attractive aspects of fishing a tight line system, and the sighter is the key to it all.
A sighter is more than a strike indicator. It also shows depth, angle, speed and contact. It points to our flies and takes away the guesswork. For an angler who learns to read all of this on the sighter, that colored line above the water provides a most significant advantage to the underwater game . . .
STREAMERS
Troutbitten on Dave Stewart’s Wet Fly Swing Podcast
I had a great conversation with Dave Stewart on his Wet Fly Swing podcast. We talked about streamers, nymphs, the Mono Rig and how Troutbitten has grown into a fly fishing company and become my full time career . . .
Streamer Presentations — The Cross-Current Strip
There are a lot of ways to retrieve a long fly after the cast. And that’s really what’s so much fun about the streamer game. Fly anglers might spend hours fretting over the imperfection of a drag free drift on a dry fly or twice as long considering the depth and drift of a nymph, but when the streamer is tied on, it’s a chance to let loose. Nothing else in fly fishing allows for such freedom of presentation. “Everything works sometimes.” No other fly type fits that tenant so well.
But what will trout respond to most? That’s the question. And on many days — most perhaps — the answer is a cross-current strip. Here’s why . . .
When the First Cast Matters Most: Part One — Streamers
While fishing the long flies, accuracy is paramount. In a recent conversation with my friend, Bill Dell, he made an excellent point that changed the way I fished streamers again. Bill’s thoughts forced me to rethink the habits I’d fallen into. And that hammered me back into shape.
Bill told me he doesn’t make a cast until he’s in the ideal position, until he can deliver the streamer to that sunken log near the bank with exactly the angle he considers best. He refrains from any lead-up casts. Rather, Bill saves the initial cast for when he can deliver the knockout blow — no jabbing on the way in. Here’s why . . .
ANGLER TYPES IN PROFILE
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BIG TROUT
Home-Stream Fish of the Year
My home-water is not full of big fish. Burke likes to call it fishing for midgets. Is that politically incorrect? OK then; it's usually a matter of fishing for little fish. However, this evening we caught a larger one -- easily my fish of the year on this water....
NIGHT FISHING
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