2 Guys and a River

Harrison Flats is not listed on the trail head as you walk into the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness in Colorado. The trail ends about a mile below the lake, so finding it is cause for celebration. In this episode, Steve interviews Dave about finding and fishing this pristine high mountain lake that sits above the timberline. … Continue reading "S3:E39 One Fine Day in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness" T...

Fly fishing for brookies is one of the great joys of life. In this episode, we regale each other with stories of fly fishing for brookies and also discuss a study from the Minnesota DNR about whether brown trout are crowding out the native brook trout population in the Driftless. We wrap up our conversation … Continue reading "S3:E38 Fly Fishing for Brookies" The post S3:E38 Fly Fishing for Brooki...

Life gets in the way of fishing more than we’d like. We’ve had stretches during which we’ve fished little, and stretches that were full of days on the river. Life often gets in the way of doing what we love most. In this episode, we identify the big life obstacles to fishing and some ways … Continue reading "S3:E37 When Life Gets in the Way of Fishing" The post S3:E37 When Life Gets in the Way of...

Fly fishing off color water is pretty much standard fare in the spring. We all fish different kinds of waters – freestone rivers, spring creeks, or tail waters – but when the water muddies up, it’s time to tweak our approach. In this episode, we discuss some practical adjustments to increase the odds of catching … Continue reading "S3:E36 Fly Fishing Off Color Water" The post S3:E36 Fly Fishing Of...

Big brown trout are in reality river sharks, as biologists have noted. Brown trout in general also tend take over rivers and streams. Biologists surmise they feast on other trout like cutthroat and small fish. In this episode, we discuss a report in Hatch Magazine about what biologists discovered in the stomachs of brown trout. … Continue reading "S3:E35 What the Big Brown Trout Had for Lunch" The...

Mayflies are an important food source of trout. The short happy life of a mayfly is about a year – and all but roughly a day or so of its life are spent rolling around the bottom of the river. Their few hours as adults are mostly spent in a mating frenzy, after which the … Continue reading "S3:E34 The Short Happy Life of a Mayfly" The post S3:E34 The Short Happy Life of a Mayfly appeared first on...

Learning to fly fish is the worthy pursuit of a lifetime. But the first couple years, depending on how often you fish, can be frustrating. You think it’s about casting, but that’s not even a fraction of what you need to learn to catch fish consistently. In this episode, we interview Steve’s two sons about … Continue reading "S3:E33 The Roller Coaster of Learning to Fly Fish" The post S3:E33 The Ro...

Making small adjustments on the river is the secret sauce to better days on the river. No one ever tells a new fly fisher that the three attractor patterns in his or her fly box won’t work every time out. Sooner or later, we all learn that fly fishing is all about a thousand adjustments. … Continue reading "S3:E32 The Art of Making Small Adjustments on the River" The post S3:E32 The Art of Making...

Parenting kids to love the outdoors is easier said than done. It requires intentionality, patience and flexibility. In this first-of-its-kind episode (for us), we invited several of our kids to ask them about our “outstanding” job of helping them develop a love for the outdoors. Joining us for this episode are Steve’s two boys, Ben … Continue reading "S3:E31 Parenting Kids to Love the Outdoors" Th...

Your strike indicator gives off some important signals, the most obvious being whether a fish is working your nymph. In this episode for newer fly fishers, we discuss the various kinds of strike indicators – and how to read whether your nymphs are down far enough in the feeding zone. Nymph fishing is a high-interest … Continue reading "S3:E30 What Your Strike Indicator Tells You" The post S3:E30 W...

Fly fishing reflections are a good way to begin planning for the new year. In this episode, we look back on 2017 and discuss its lowlights and highlights. We both want to fish more days in 2018, improve a couple areas of our fly fishing craft, and, hopefully, catch more fish. Life really is short. … Continue reading "S3:E29 2017 Fly Fishing Reflections" The post S3:E29 2017 Fly Fishing Reflections...

Fly fishing exile is when you wished you lived closer to the big rivers. Steve moved from Bozeman, Montana, to the Chicago area more than ten years ago. And Dave moved from Colorado to the Chicago area more than 25 years ago. We’ve grieved the loss of close proximity to blue-ribbon waters. Now, we’re not … Continue reading "S3:E28 Living in Fly Fishing Exile" The post S3:E28 Living in Fly Fishing...

Fly fishing shows are not our expertise. We’ve been to a grand total of one in the last five years. We needed an expert, and so we called on Matthew Lourdeau, a fly fishing blogger and fly fishing show frequenter. Matthew lives on the east coast, and in this episode on fly fishing shows we … Continue reading "S3:E27 Matthew Lourdeau @castingacross on Fly Fishing Shows" The post S3:E27 Matthew Lour...

Baker’s Hole is a bucket-list stretch of the Madison River near the west entrance of Yellowstone National Park. Baker’s Hole Campground is located approximately three miles north of West Yellowstone, Montana, and in the fall, Hebgen Lake rainbows move up the Madison River to spawn. The stretch that winds near the campground features several deep … Continue reading "S3:E26 One Fine Day on the Madis...

The best part of any fly fishing trip is often the exceptional people you meet. Yes, we like to catch fish, but often what gives the trip color and creates great memories are the unexpected conversations. In this episode we identify five exceptional and one unexceptional conversations from a recent trip to Montana. Listen now … Continue reading "S3:E25 The Exceptional People You Meet While Fishing...

Yellowstone National Park is no doubt our happy place. It’s one of our favorite places to fish, especially in the fall. This fall we fished the Yellowstone and Gardner near the north entrance of Yellowstone Park as well as the Madison River near West Yellowstone. In this episode, we recall one fine day on the … Continue reading "S3:E24 One Fine Fall Day in Yellowstone National Park" The post S3:E2...

Laughter really is the best medicine when your best laid fishing plans go sideways. Or when you snap off the tip of your fly rod on the first day of your fly fishing trip. Or when your partner’s lack of planning almost ruins the first day of your fly fishing trip (let’s just say it’s … Continue reading "S3:E23 Laughter Really Is the Best Medicine When Fly Fishing" The post S3:E23 Laughter Really I...

Fly fishing solo can be confusing when you’re first starting out, especially if all you’ve ever done is guided float trips. Making the transition is not a snap for everyone. Many folks take a guided float trip and never make the time to learn the sport. In this episode, we identify several ways to make … Continue reading "S3:E22 From Guided Float Trips to Fly Fishing Solo" The post S3:E22 From Gui...

Best overall fly rod – it’s not a debate for the ages, but it’s important to new fly fishers. You probably are not going to purchase two fly rods out of the gate. In this episode, we sort out a few key issues and discuss how we approach fly rod length and line weight. Listen … Continue reading "S3:E21 Which is the Best Overall Fly Rod?" The post S3:E21 Which is the Best Overall Fly Rod? appeared f...

Brown trout fishing is everywhere, mostly because the browns have taken over the American waters. Brought over to America in the 1800s, this European specie has thrived globally, even pushing out some native trout in the process. In this episode, we give a brief overview of this beauty, tell a few stories, and offer a … Continue reading "S3:E20 The Wonders of Brown Trout Fishing" The post S3:E20 T...

Buying fly fishing gear is not merely about catching more fish. For some, it’s more like a shopping or hoarding addiction. For others it’s about status. For each of us, purchasing new fly fishing gear means something slightly different. This week, we discuss some of our recent purchases, what we plan to buy next, and … Continue reading "S3:E19 Buying Fly Fishing Gear for That Next Trip" The post S...

Barriers to fly fishing more include season of life, health, beginner frustration, finances, and many others. In this episode, we identify five common barriers and discuss how we can overcome them and get out on the water more often. So much of what keeps many from fly fishing more boils down to a question: Is … Continue reading "S3:E18 Overcoming the 5 Barriers to Fly Fishing More" The post S3:E1...

Elk Creek flows out of the Scapegoat Wilderness west of Great Falls, Montana. It’s one of thousands – small-creek fisheries in Montana filled with various combinations of browns, rainbows, brook trout, and even some cutthroat. In this episode, we walk down memory lane from a day more than 36 years ago. It was surely a … Continue reading "S3:E17 One Fine Day on Elk Creek near Augusta, Montana" The...

Dry fly fishing lessons are best learned by doing – not by reading or in a classroom. This summer, we had some great days on the river catching brookies and browns on dry flies. We also learned a few things. Click now to hear some of the lessons we had to relearn as we fished … Continue reading "S3:E16 Dry Fly Fishing Lessons from the Summer" The post S3:E16 Dry Fly Fishing Lessons from the Summer...

You can’t fix stupid is one of the all-time great phrases about how humans can behave in public. It’s also true in the great outdoors. “You can’t fix stupid” also applies to us. We’ve not been the most brilliant at times. Click now to listen to some stupid things we’ve seen others do in the … Continue reading "S3:E15 You Can’t Fix Stupid Outdoor Behavior" The post S3:E15 You Can’t Fix Stupid Outdo...