2 Guys and a River

Fishing in snake country is pretty much inevitable. Rattlesnakes and copperheads, just to name two venomous snakes, pose a risk to fly fishers, depending on where you live, in late spring, summer, and early fall. In this episode, we recount a harrowing tale of a fly fisher in the eastern United States, bitten by a … Continue reading "S4:E12 Fly Fishing in Snake Country" The post S4:E12 Fly Fishing...

Wild salmon have gone missing in the United Kingdom. For every 100 salmon that leave the rivers of the UK for the sea, less than five return. That is a decline of nearly 70% in just 25 years! In this episode, we interview Mark Bilsby, CEO of the Atlantic Salmon Trust. He oversees The Missing … Continue reading "S4:E11 The Missing Salmon Project" The post S4:E11 The Missing Salmon Project appeared...

Dry fly fishing lessons happen when you, well, fish with dry flies. This summer, both of us got away to fish while on trips to the West, caught some nice fish, and relearned a few basic lessons. In this episode, we identify a handful of practical takeaways from our summer, including, “fish early and late” … Continue reading "S4:S10 Summer Dry Fly Fishing Lessons" The post S4:S10 Summer Dry Fly Fis...

Drift boat fly fishing is often the first experience that someone has with fly fishing. The experience can ignite a passion for the sport. In this episode, we recall our first drift boat experiences as well as debacles. It’s definitely a unique challenge to cast and mend while moving at the speed of the river. … Continue reading "S4:E9 Drift Boat Fly Fishing" The post S4:E9 Drift Boat Fly Fishing...

The fly rod is the foundational element of gear for a fly fisher. If you have one fly rod, you need two. And if you have two, you definitely need two more. We love fly rods, and in this episode, we drill down into what we use and why. This is all about gear talk. … Continue reading "S4:E8 For the Love of Fly Rods" The post S4:E8 For the Love of Fly Rods appeared first on 2 Guys and A River .

The outdoors and the good life are synonymous. And Ernest Hemingway embodied the good life, with his exotic safaris, hunting in Idaho, and fishing in Cuba. He prefigured many of the great fly fishing personalities, such as Lee Wulff, Joan Wulff, and Bud Lilly. In this episode, we reflect on the life of Hemingway, one … Continue reading "S4:E7 Hemingway, the Outdoors, and the Good Life" The post S4...

In this episode on dry fly dropper rigs, Steve and Dave discuss their favorites and how and when they use dry fly dropper rigs. Once you start using a dropper with a dry fly, you'll never go back. The post S4:E6 Our Favorite Dry Fly Dropper Rigs appeared first on 2 Guys and A River .

Life in the great outdoors is one big mystery. This is our second installment of fly fishing mysteries, and in this episode, we discuss some deep ones, such as: Why do fly fishers wear chest waders on 85-degree days? Why do you always need to replace expensive gear during an expensive fly fishing trip? In … Continue reading "S4:E5 Mysteries of the Fly Fishing Universe, Part 2" The post S4:E5 Myste...

Fly fishing on a family vacation is a nice idea in theory but often impractical in reality. Often, you simply make the family unhappy with you. In this fun episode, we regale each other with family vacations gone awry and offer a few practical ideas for fly fishing on a family vacation. You may want … Continue reading "S4:E4 Fly Fishing on a Family Vacation" The post S4:E4 Fly Fishing on a Family...

Fly fishing rules include using light tackle to catch more educated fish, avoiding bright sunny days, and switching to nymphs when nothing is rising. There’s a lot of conventional fly fishing wisdom that works much of the time. But sometimes the wisdom is more a general guideline than a deep unalterable truth. In this episode, … Continue reading "S4:E3 Fly Fishing Rules Made to Be Broken" The post...

Nymph fishing tips from us are one thing. Nymph fishing tips from the true experts – you, our listeners – are quite another. The best part of publishing our podcast is all the wisdom from our listeners who post comments on this site or on Facebook. In this episode, we identify a handful or so … Continue reading "S4:E2 Nymph Fishing Tips from Our Listeners" The post S4:E2 Nymph Fishing Tips from Ou...

Never has there been a better time to be a new fly fisher. The only word is “more”: more gear, more videos, more podcasts, more articles, more fly fishing shows, more YouTube channels, and more exotic fish to catch on a fly rod – than ever before. In this first episode of Season 4, we … Continue reading "S4:E1 6 Fly Fishing Trends Shaping Our Sport" The post S4:E1 6 Fly Fishing Trends Shaping Our...

Every stream has its honey hole, the pool or run that consistently produces. But things change. The river changes: a heavy snowpack and then a spring blowout or maybe even a drought. And your honey hole disappears. Gone forever. We’ve lost a few honey holes through the years, and the disappointment is real. In this … Continue reading "S3:E52 When Your Honey Hole Disappears" The post S3:E52 When Yo...

What is fishing without the eating? No matter the luck on the river, we always wind up as two hungry fly fishers, looking to regale each other at a Wisconsin supper club or Montana bar and grill. This episode will definitely not help you catch more fish. But it just might motivate you to take … Continue reading "S3:E51 Diners, Dives and Two Hungry Fly Fishers" The post S3:E51 Diners, Dives and Two...

Nelson’s Spring Creek flows from the hills of Paradise Valley, just south of Livingston, Montana, and into the Yellowstone River. It’s only miles away from DePuy and Armstrong spring creeks, two other amazing fisheries, but Nelson’s is something extra special. In this episode, Dave interviews Steve about one fine day on Nelson’s Spring Creek. Since … Continue reading "S3:E50 One Fine Day on Nelson...

The Fly Fishing Universe is vast and filled with dark, unsolvable mysteries. One such mystery is, “Why are there no insect hatches on a perfectly overcast day in early spring when just the day before the caddis were coming off like a plague?” It’s a mystery. Just one of the great mysteries. In this hilarious … Continue reading "S3:E49 Mysteries of the Fly Fishing Universe, Part 1" The post S3:E49...

Fly fishing safely is harder than it sounds, For sure, fishing is no extreme sport. Recently, however, while we were fishing in Yellowstone National Park, two fly fishers were attacked by a grizzly – just a drainage system over from us. Besides bears, there are other risks, of course, such as lightning. In this episode, … Continue reading "S3:E48 Fly Fishing Safely in the Summer" The post S3:E48 F...

Fishing for spring spawners on Montana’s Madison River needs to be on your bucket list. There several stretches of the Madison – the Lower, the Upper, and, among others, the stretch between Hebgen and Quake Lakes. Each part of the Madison is unique. In this episode, we continue our “One Fine Day” series by telling … Continue reading "S3:E47 One Fine Day on the Madison at Bear Trap Canyon" The post...

Some of you fish alone all or most of the time. We don’t. We probably fish five or six days with someone (often together) for every one day we fish alone. And yet both of us enjoy the days alone on the river. In this episode, we reflect on what makes fishing alone so different … Continue reading "S3:E46 Why We Like to Fish Alone" The post S3:E46 Why We Like to Fish Alone appeared first on 2 Guys a...

Fishing guides are the hardest working folks in the fishing industry. Each year, we budget one guided day on the river, most often float trips, though last year we did a wade trip on the Madison. We’ve accumulated a modicum of experience with fly fishing guides. And we’ve learned a ton about how to fish. … Continue reading "S3:E45 What Fishing Guides Have Taught Us about Ourselves" The post S3:E45...

Spring fly fishing is in full swing, though the weather still feels like winter in many parts of the United States, certainly in the northern states. Weather is certainly one variable in spring fly fishing, but there are others that affect the kind of day you’ll have on the water. In this episode, we identify … Continue reading "S3:E44 The Variables of Spring Fly Fishing" The post S3:E44 The Varia...

Hebgen and Quake Lakes in southwestern Montana bookend a short ribbon of the Madison River that is well known for its big rainbows in late March to mid April. In this episode, we recall one fine day on this stretch of the Madison, our first fly fishing trip together after college. Steve tells the story … Continue reading "S3:E43 One Fine Day between Hebgen and Quake Lakes" The post S3:E43 One Fine...

Frustration almost always sets in when the same tactics yield the same results. If you fish only once or twice a year with a guide or outfitter, improving your fly fishing game doesn’t really matter much. But if you take fly fishing with even a modicum of seriousness, you know the importance of making small … Continue reading "S3:E42 Adjustments to Improve Your Fly Fishing Game" The post S3:E42 Ad...

The fly fishing industry today is a mature industry with a thousand niches, such as salt water fishing, Tenkara, even fly fishing for carp. Before fly fishing’s emergence into the conscience of popular culture came the trailblazers, such as Lee Wulff, Joan Wulff, Lefty Kreh (who passed away recently), and, among many others, Bud Lilly. … Continue reading "S3:E41 Legends of Fly Fishing: Bud Lilly"...

Fly fishing gear can last a long time, if well cared for. Steve just retired a pair of 20-year-old waders. Of course, he isn’t fishing 50 days a year, but just a modicum of care can prolong the end of fly rods, reels, waders, nets, and boots. In this episode, we offer up some simple … Continue reading "S3:E40 Extending the Life of Your Fly Fishing Gear" The post S3:E40 Extending the Life of Your F...