TROUTBITTEN
Fishing Wild Rivers
For Wild Trout
Refining Techniques That Build Experiences
This Is Troutbitten
THE LATEST
Fish and Film Videos
The Fish & Film series is coming to Troutbitten in August. This video series is the fruition of a project we’ve been working toward for two years.
From POV shots to tactics talk, from dry flies and small streams to big streamers and heavy current, we want to show what it’s like on the river, day after day. The flies, the weather, the dog, the travel, the moods — every video in this series is here to tell the story of a life on the water.
Recommended Gear Updates
The popular Troutbitten Recommended section is larger than ever and separted into multiple pages. This collection now includes selections from the Troutbitten crew, Austin, Bill, Matt, Trevor and Josh, so there’s more of our favorite stuff than ever.
You can access all of these pages through the top menu under “Best Gear” or click HERE.
One-On-One Sessions
Virtual, private Troutbitten classes are here. These one-on-one skills sessions are held in our Troutbitten virtual studio, where we record the Troutbitten podcast. Skills sessions are tailored to fit, for whatever you want to learn. These one or two hour sessions are recorded, and you’ll have a video of our meeting in return.
Find the One-On-One Sessions page in the top menu under “More,” or click HERE.
TROUTBITTEN ARTICLES
Welcome to Troutbitten.
Since 2014, I’ve published over 1000 stories, commentaries, tips, tactics and reviews.
As the Troutbitten Project has grown branches, these articles continue to be the heart and soul of my work. Some of these writings are organized in series form, where a group of articles reads like chapters in a book.
Adding to this collection of articles and sorting them, so you can find what interests you most, is an ongoing work. Please visit the Troutbitten Articles Page to begin.
Thanks for being here, and thank you for your support. Fish hard, friends.
— Domenick Swentosky
TROUTBITTEN ARTICLES
Welcome to Troutbitten.
Since 2014, I’ve published over 900 stories, commentaries, tips, tactics and reviews.
As the Troutbitten Project has grown branches, these articles continue to be the heart and soul of my work. Some of these writings are organized in series form, where a group of articles reads like chapters in a book.
Adding to this collection of articles and sorting them, so you can find what interests you most, is an ongoing work. Please visit the Troutbitten Articles Page to begin.
Thanks for being here, and thank you for your support. Fish hard, friends.
— Domenick Swentosky
Streamer Presentations — Quick or Smooth?
You can move the fly ten inches across seams. You can jerk strip, jig and twitch the streamer with jumpy and choppy motions or you can do all of it super smooth. Which do the trout prefer?
The Jerk Strip – Streamer Presentations VIDEO
Moving the fly with the rod tip and not just the line hand is a fundamental skill that opens up many presentations that bring trout to a streamer.
The jerk strip is critical for any serious streamer angler. It’s a must-have skill for animating the fly — for selling the streamer to a fish. And it’s the baseline for what I think of as a jig strip, a twitch strip, a glide strip, a head flip and twitch, a lane change, and much more. At its core, the jerk strip is a hand off from left to right — it’s about moving the fly with the rod tip and then recovering with the line hand. In this way, the jerk strip sets the table for everything else . . .
PODCAST: Barbed Hooks or Barbless? Does It Really Matter? — S13, Ep5
Should we always fish barbless? Maybe not. The answer isn’t that simple. So the Troutbitten guys are here for a conversation and a few thoughts about barbs on hooks.
Each one of us has fished for long enough that we’ve used both barbed and barbless flies. We’ve also used barbs on lures and bait hooks, because we all grew up fishing in different ways. Some anglers who jump right into the fly fishing game — especially for trout — are exposed to a another sentiment. So their reference points are different. And like anything else, what might seem almost outlandish to one person can seem like no big deal to another.
PODCASTS
The Troutbitten Podcast launched in the fall of 2021, and it quickly became the most popular independent fishing podcast on the charts.
While in season, the podcast publishes once a week, and there are four seasons each year.
Troutbitten Podcasts seasons follow two formats.
In the first format, a full panel of my best fishing friends covers a topic in the wide world of fly fishing for trout. These free-form episodes with the Troutbitten crew are uniquely entertaining and deeply informative.
In the second format, my friend, Austin Dando, joins me to break down one specific topic in a multi-episode exploration of advanced tactics. These seasons are part of the Troutbitten Skills Series.
Visit the Troutbitten Podcast Page to find them all . . .
PODCAST: Finding Your Confidence Flies — S13, Ep4
The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below. Every angler needs a set of flies to call their own. Among the thousands of patterns, options and...
PODCAST: The Ethical Angler — What Does That Mean? — S13, Ep3
The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below. What's right and wrong? That's what ethics really boils down to. Certainly, there are nuances about...
PODCAST: The One or Two Fly Debate, Across Fishing Styles — S13, Ep2
The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below. The Troutbitten guys are here to talk about two flies. Why do we fish two dry flies, two streamers,...
TROUTBITTEN VIDEOS
The Troutbitten YouTube Channel began in 2017. But I took it to the next level in 2020, by partnering with my friend, Josh Darling of Wilds Media, to film a video that is still one of my favorites — The River Doesn’t Owe You Anything.
In 2022, Josh and I committed to publishing every other week, and I’m excited to bring his artistic and deeply professional video production to some of the ideas and stories that I’ve wanted to share for years.
Troutbitten videos currently feature the Tips Series, Fly Fishing the Mono Rig Series, and Gear Reviews. Who knows what’s coming next . . .
Visit the Troutbitten Videos Page to watch them all . . .
VIDEO: Fishing The Rocks — The Opportunities Around Midstream Boulders
How do we fish around midstream rocks? How do we use them to our advantage? Because trout surely use them to their advantage . . .
Introducing . . . The Riverside Video Series
Riverside is a new video series from Troutbitten. It’s a place for sharing some of the latest articles from Troutbitten and streamside thoughts . . .
VIDEO: Floating the Sighter
There may be nothing more misunderstood in the tight line game than floating the sighter. But it’s a great tactic that solves a lot of problems and offers some unique presentations that fool trout.
However, there’s a lot more to floating the sighter than simply laying line on the water. In fact, without a solid understanding of what’s going on, laying the floating the sighter can hurt the presentation . . .
Leaders, stickers, hats, shirts canvases and more.
The Troutbitten Shop features logo-branded apparel and hand-tied leaders in all our favorite formulas.
GUIDED TRIPS
Guided fly fishing trips on central Pennsylvania’s best waters.
With an emphasis on education, Troutbitten trips are tailored toward your goals, your skill level and your interests. It’s your adventure.
These limestone spring-fed rivers are full of of wild brown trout that teach the right things.
No setups. Just wild trout in wild places.
Visit the Troutbitten Trips page for more.
SUPPORT
Troutbitten is an independent resource for all anglers. To help support this project, please consider the following.
— Make purchases through ads, through affiliate links. and on the Recommended Gear page
— Visit the Troutbitten Shop
— Donate directly to the Troutbitten Project