Austin and I sat across the coffee table from Trevor and Josh. With a couple of beers and sandwiches, it was good to catch up with the guys -- to tell a few fishing stories and hear about families, recent events and future plans. On a Friday afternoon, this impromptu...
At the end of day three in Patagonia, Austin and I had past over endless miles of gorgeous water, and we desperately wanted the freedom to fish hard. Day one was spent hiking for sight fishing opportunities. And after five miles of wading the upper Malleo River, I’d...
Wading into the Malleo river, I follow our local guide, Mati, upstream to encounter one gorgeous willow-lined riverbank after another. The opportunities are infinite. On day six in Argentina, Austin and I are anxious to pick up where we left off yesterday evening....
After months of work and preparation, I'm pleased to announce the launch of Troutbitten One-On-One Virtual Skills Sessions. This latest arm of the Troutbitten Project allows for greater connection with more anglers, readers, listeners and viewers than ever before....
You can usually spot the ancient sycamore teetering bank-side, leaning over about thirty degrees, patiently waiting, month after month, year after year, for the day when it slips the bonds of its streamside earth and crashes into the water.
. . . And oh my, those roots. Underneath the massive sycamore sits an exposed tangle of underground limbs — wet, flexible pipes as thick as your leg, with a shadowy cover where no sunlight penetrates.
No forgiveness. No freebies. Just wild trout that require your best effort and then some. From our best trout rivers, we’re dealt a fair game. We know what trout want. They look for something safe to eat. Something familiar. Something easy with a positive calorie reward for their effort. Something natural, with maybe just a little spark.
. . .The fact is, keeping it simple only works when trout agree to your narrow terms.
. . . All those adjustments sounds complicated, right? What happened to simple? Well, it didn’t work so well. And it might actually be simpler (or at least more efficient) to make a few leader adjustments than to fight with dragging dry flies and short drifts all afternoon.
The tuck cast presents a fly-first entry, from very steep and vertical with extra slack, to almost flat, with immediate contact. That’s how flexible the tuck cast is. It’s useful. In fact, it’s critical to how I present nymphs and streamers.
The willingness to meet luck wherever it stands, to accept what comes and fish regardless, is the fundamental attribute of die hard anglers, regardless of their region or the species they chase. We fish because we can, because we’re alive, willing and able, and because we mean to beat bad luck just as we did the last time it showed up.
Many anglers hang up the fly rod when the days grow long. As spring surrenders its sweetheart days, summer signals the conclusion of trout fishing season, and new interests take over. The streams are fished out, the water is too warm and trout are off the feed. It’s not worth the effort, they say. Summer water surely presents a challenge. But good trout fishing can be had all summer long by accepting the difficulties and understanding the roots of the problems faced . . .