We argue that dry flies are the heart and soul of fly fishing. The visual aspect is fun and exciting. And the pleasures of topwater fishing should not be missed.
Also, presenting dry flies is what makes fly fishing unique. And learning the skills to cast a dry teaches you everything about what a fly rod can do.
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.Â
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.
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.
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.
We’re here for a tough conversation. This one’s about fishing the pay-to-play setup of a club. Not all clubs stock fish, and not all clubs are a bad choice. But in short, we believe things can be better.
There’s an intangible quality built into the best anglers. It’s about being comfortable and natural around the water. It’s about having an instinct and a guiding intuition on a river that informs decision without even giving it much thought. It’s an innate knowledge of the environment and what will happen next. Knowledge of the woods, water, weather and the trout comes together with ease and adds up to something that is hard to identify.
It’s the companionship and teamwork, along with the effort and commitment required to get down the river. It’s about a good lunch and friendly banter as much as the novel approach to tactics and the pure advantage of accessing more water.
From the put in to the take out, boating changes everything. It’s a wonderful way to learn a river and to connect with friends.
From the bottom to the top, when the bugs transform from water born to airborne, meeting the with an emerger often sells the presentation.
Our conversation in this episode covers those emergences . . .
My friends join me for a tough discussion. What are the benefits of guiding? What are the good things? How does it help anglers? Does it actually help people and make our sport or this fishing scene better, or does it just put money in the guide’s pocket and put more pressure on the trout?
We consider the full life cycle of a caddis: the pre-hatch, the emergence, the egg laying phase and death. And at each of those stages, we ask what the bugs are doing, how the trout respond and how we can imitate the bugs to fool a trout.