2 Guys and a River

Catching fish is not merely about pure skill. Many fishers buy their fly fishing experiences with guides and outfitters. With the latest fly fishing gear, access to a drift boat, and a great guide, any person can catch trout. But for the rank-and-file fly fisher, the one who can’t always buy a fly fishing experience … Continue reading "S2:E16 Reasons You Are Not Catching Fish" The post S2:E16 Reas...

Fly fishing with streamers is no doubt the single best way to catch bigger fish. For the fly fisher just starting out, slinging bigger flies requires some adjustments. Fly fishing with streamers may mean a bigger rod and it definitely means making adjustments in leader size. In this episode, we discuss some of the basics … Continue reading "S2:E15 Fly Fishing with Streamers" The post S2:E15 Fly Fi...

The Yellowstone River closure late last month confirmed once again how fragile our rivers are. In one week, about 4,000 fish (mostly whitefish) died due to a parasite. Some sections that were closed have been reopened, but jury is still out on the source of the parasite. In this episode, we tell our stories of … Continue reading "S2:E14 Lessons from the Yellowstone River Closure" The post S2:E14 L...

Fly fishing gear is like candy. Or better than candy. There’s no joy like the permission one gives himself or herself to buy a new fly rod or reel, or purchase a new pair of waders. Click now to listen to “Fly Fishing Gear We Use.” In this episode, we discuss our fly rods, waders, … Continue reading "S2:E13 Fly Fishing Gear We Use" The post S2:E13 Fly Fishing Gear We Use appeared first on 2 Guys a...

Fall fly fishing – is there a better time of year to fish? The crowds are thinner. Many summer fly fishers replace their fly rods with bows, shotguns, and rifles. They become hunters. Yea! Fall fly fishing promises warm days and cool nights. Listen to Fall Fly Fishing now and expect great things this fall! … Continue reading "S2:E12 The Promise of Fall Fly Fishing" The post S2:E12 The Promise of F...

Fly fishing etiquette – yes, there is such a thing. There are unwritten rules about how a fly fisher should behave while on the river. Listen now to our podcast on fly fishing etiquette and how the community views such things as bringing along your dog to fly fish and how to create space for … Continue reading "S2:E11 Fly Fishing Etiquette" The post S2:E11 Fly Fishing Etiquette appeared first on 2...

Colorado fly fishing is legendary. It takes a little more effort to get away from the crowds in Colorado than, say, Montana, but Colorado fly fishing is amazing. We took separate trips to Colorado this summer, and in this episode we tell stories of catching cutthroat trout at 12,000 feet, and brookies and browns in … Continue reading "S2:E10 Colorado Fly Fishing High" The post S2:E10 Colorado Fly...

You plan the fly fishing trip. You carve out the time. And you finally make it to the river. And then nothing goes right, especially when it comes to catching trout. Listen now to “When Your Fly Fishing Trip Is a Dud” as we regale you with some fun stories from a recent fly fishing … Continue reading "S2 E9 When Your Fly Fishing Trip Is a Dud" The post S2 E9 When Your Fly Fishing Trip Is a Dud app...

Time to fly fish is a snap if you’re living in the American West or near some great streams. And if you have no other responsibilities in life. If you are not a fly fishing professional (and we’re not), you probably have a job. You may have a spouse. You may have kids. If so, … Continue reading "S2:E8 Time to Fly Fish Amid the Busyness of Life" The post S2:E8 Time to Fly Fish Amid the Busyness of...

Fly fishing made simple is big promise. If you’re just starting out, learning how to cast, read water, and grasp a modicum of entomology can feel overwhelming. We’ve wanted to publish an episode on keeping fly fishing simple, and a recent post by a listener pushed us to make it happen. In this episode, we … Continue reading "S2: E7 Fly Fishing Made Simple" The post S2: E7 Fly Fishing Made Simple a...

Montana’s Madison River is one of our favorite western rivers. There’s both the Upper Madison River and the Lower Madison River, two distinct sections. In this episode, we go into story-telling mode, narrating a terrific day of fishing while floating the Lower Madison in late summer. Listen to our latest episode:”One Fine Day on the … Continue reading "S2:E6 One Fine Day on the Madison River" The...

The successful fly fisher – what does success really mean? At minimum, success requires a persistence to stay at it during the slow and frustrating days. Like any pursuit, fly fishing demands a certain mindset of those committed to the sport for the long haul. In this fifth episode of Season 2, we identify the … Continue reading "S2:E5 The Five Traits of a Successful Fly Fisher" The post S2:E5 The...

Our top nymph and wet fly patterns are probably not the same as yours. Every fly fisher has an opinion. Each river is unique. Yet there remain some common attractor nymph and wet fly patterns that seem to work when there is no obvious hatch in play. In this week’s episode, Our Top Nymph and … Continue reading "S2:E4 Our Top Nymph and Wet Fly Patterns" The post S2:E4 Our Top Nymph and Wet Fly Patte...

The basics of nymphing are never as basic as they seem. It takes time to learn the language of this aspect of fly fishing, and it takes a lifetime to become proficient at it. However, it’s worth the effort for most fly fishers. It’s said that 85% of a trout’s diet comes from beneath the … Continue reading "S2:E3 The Basics of Nymph Fishing" The post S2:E3 The Basics of Nymph Fishing appeared first...

Fly fishing bucket lists make us happy. There’s nothing better than to listen to someone yammer on about great days on the water in places they’ve always longed to fly fish. In this episode, we provide our fly fishing bucket lists. Listen to the second episode of our second season now. Listen to S2:E2 Our … Continue reading "S2:E2 Our Fly Fishing Bucket Lists" The post S2:E2 Our Fly Fishing Bucket...

A satisfying day on the river – what makes one fly fishing day better than another? In this first episode of Season 2, we narrate the key moments of a satisfying day on the river while fishing in the Minnesota Driftless. The amount of trout we caught was average, but the overall experience was one … Continue reading "S2:E1 What Makes for a Satisfying Day on the River" The post S2:E1 What Makes for...

This completes a year of weekly episodes from 2 Guys and a River. In Episode 52: Fly Fishing Observations from a Year of Podcasting, we discuss what we’ve learned from the weekly task of putting together each episode. The size of the fly fishing industry, the complexity of fly fishing for beginners, the importance of … Continue reading "Episode 52: Fly Fishing Observations from a Year of Podcastin...

Tie your own flies? Some might say you can’t be a real fly fisher unless you do. Well, we differ on the matter. Steve ties his own, and Dave doesn’t. In this episode, using a point-counterpoint approach, we discuss the age-old question of whether you should tie your own flies. Listen to Episode 51: Should … Continue reading "Episode 51: Should You Tie Your Own Flies?" The post Episode 51: Should Y...

Unlikely places to catch trout are good places to drift your fly. We’ve caught fish in shallow riffles, drainage ditches, grassy side channels, and trickles of water that could be barely be classified as a stream. Listen to “Unlikely Places to Catch Trout” and then post on our blog about the most strange places you’ve … Continue reading "Episode 50: Unlikely Places to Catch Trout" The post Episode...

Which leaders and tippet work best with a size #8 beadhead woolly bugger? No matter how many articles an aspiring fly fisher reads, he or she has to learn the hard way. It’s nearly impossible to sling a big streamer with a 6x tippet. You really need at least a 3x or 4x tippet before … Continue reading "Episode 49: Making Sense of Leaders and Tippet" The post Episode 49: Making Sense of Leaders and...

Fly fishing brands are everywhere: Sage, Winston, Orvis, Patagonia, Temple Fork Outfitters, Fishpond, Simms, Loomis, and many more. It’s a noisy, cluttered marketplace. It’s hard to make a rational decision. When selecting a fly fishing rod or waders or a sling pack, how do you make the best decision for you? In this episode, we … Continue reading "Episode 48: Fly Fishing Brands and Your Next Purc...

The fly presentation – it is the most challenging aspect of fly fishing. Especially when dry fly fishing or nymphing, perfecting the dead drift demands a mindset of continual learning and a ruthless critique of each cast. Improving your fly presentation is the art and skill of fly fishing. Listen to Episode 47 now! Listen … Continue reading "Episode 47: Improving Your Fly Presentation" The post Ep...

Ever have a magical day on the river? Of course you have. But such days tend to be less common than we imagine. In this episode, we recount a magical day on the river that we know will never be repeated. Three of us fly fished a stretch of water on a warm August day … Continue reading "Episode 46: One Magical Day on the River" The post Episode 46: One Magical Day on the River appeared first on 2 G...

There is no joy like the joy of fly fishing with hoppers. Period. It’s a little like learning how to play the guitar. Every newbie guitar player begins by learning how to play Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama.” And every aspiring fly fisher should begin by fly fishing with hoppers. It’s crazy fun. The flies … Continue reading "Episode 45: The Joy of Fly Fishing with Hoppers" The post Episode 4...

The ability to identify trout lies in the river or stream may be the single biggest predictor of your success. This is as basic for an aspiring fly fisher to learn as casting. Not all places in a stream or river hold trout. Spotting a trout lie, especially when fish are not rising, is a … Continue reading "Episode 44: Identifying Trout Lies" The post Episode 44: Identifying Trout Lies appeared fir...