Fly Fishing Consultant Podcast

John Bilotta is the Guest Fishing Director at El Pescador Lodge, a Fly Fishers International (FFI) Master Casting Instructor, FFI Two-Handed Master Casting Instructor, and a founding member of the Tidal Potomac Fly Rodders. He splits his time between Belize and Connecticut. John’s daughter Gabby introduces her dad as he tells stories from his life in fly fishing. Produced by Jason Reif WaypointTV...

Rob wanted an episode about the history and culture of fly fishing tournaments in the Florida Keys. There was a search for the most informed person to discuss this topic. The search led to the all time tarpon tournament champion, Andy Mill. Andy grew up in Colorado and was a champion down hill skier before hanging up his skis for a career in broadcasting and television. His passion for tarpon is s...

Part two of iridescence in nature is about natural and synthetic iridescent fly tying materials. This episode covers different iridescent terms used in fly tying, the history of synthetic iridescence, natural and synthetic materials, and the flies that use them. Some flies are tied with a minimal amount of flash while others may be completely made of flash. Are these flies meant to blend in or sta...

Bill Skilton grew up in Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley surrounded by spring creeks and inquisitive anglers. Rob first met Bill in 2000 at the Fly Fishing Show at the University of Maryland and they finally had a chance to sit down together to discuss Bill's life in fishing. Rob considers Bill his fly tying mentor and they have maintained a relationship for over two decades. This episode is recor...

This episode is dedicated to iridescence in nature. Rob set out to explain why some fly tying materials reflect light and why others do not. This is the result. This phenomenon of color is not created by pigments, it is created by physical structures. No organism has an iridescent color and you will find out why. Rob explains the science behind iridescence and where you can see this gift from the...

Seventeen years ago Rob was a newlywed, teaching high school, driving a two door car, and living in an apartment in the Court House neighborhood of Arlington, Va. A lot has changed since the last emergence. Rob and his family live in Rutherford, Virginia. The neighborhood was a dairy farm until the middle part of last century. The neighborhood was established in the early 1960s. Not much has chang...

What do you do when you are invited to fish private trout water? Rob started tying flies and packing bags before he hung up the phone. This is his first road trip outside of the D.C. Metro area since October 2020. This episode features Rob and some friends on a hot Saturday with an entire stream to themselves. Rob breaks down the gear he packed, fly patterns chosen vs those fished, and just how ti...

Casey has a streamlined career in fly fishing that would make anyone with aspirations in the industry jealous. He is currently employed with Buff USA. We start his story in Michigan and end up in California where we learn about the history of the original multi-functional, seamless, tubular neck gator headwear product. Casey describes his minimalistic approach to fly fishing for stripers on the we...

Tom Rowland joins this episode to discuss his life in fishing. We learn history of trout fishing out west to the flats of the Florida Keys with a brief stop in the Caymans. Tom has lived a life full of fishing. This is his chance to tell fish stories with Rob as they discuss if the good old days of the keys are just stories told by lackadaisical old men, and where things are today compared to what...

Evan Dintaman is a landscape architect that works on designing school campuses across the country. He has lived in DC area for almost 9 years and currently resides with his wife in Maryland. He fishes over 150 days a year. This episode is all about targeting striped bass from New Jersey to Virginia. Evan talks about his fishless time in New Zealand to finding the best burger in Pennsylvania, where...

Luke and Dan set out last fall to catch the official state fish of each state in the lower 48. Rob caught up with them periodically last year over the phone. We live in a small world, small enough that Luke and Dan live just a few minutes away from Rob. They stopped by the back porch to discuss their road trip ups and downs, those that have helped them on their way, where they are headed next, and...

Rob shares thoughts and reflections on his career as a fly fishing guide after nearly a dozen years and the past year in particular. Is it time for something else? Rob is currently limiting his guiding to half day trips on weekdays. Should Rob spend more time fishing and podcasting? You will hear about this and more in episode 301. Now part of WaypointsTV. Produced by Jason Reif Rob's Brood X Cica...

The 300th episode brings us to Dave Kile and his long running site PAFlyFish.com Dave discusses how his website went from the primitive days of the 90's internet to the modern internet and social media and how the community around fishing in Pennsylvania is strong a quarter century later. We learn about the different geographic ranges of Pennsylvania, the famous and not so famous streams, some his...

This episode contains everything you need to know about muskie except how to catch them. Rob starts us off with news of a fundraiser for fly tyer Justin Aldrich and fills us in on his own recent health scare. This episode covers muskie names, classification description, behavior, geographic distribution, feeding, reproduction, and miscellaneous information. Brought to you by Korkers and their new...

Phil Monahan is the man behind the Orvis Curtain. I'm not talking about the Insulated Curtains (he isn't hiding behind a curtain during the interview. He also didn't invent this curtain) but the metaphorical curtain of Orvis's online fly fishing content. Phil finally gets his own episode to tell his story after several interviews at The Fly Fishing Show. This episode starts and ends with crazy sto...

This episode is full of stories of fishing, giving back, and teaching others to fly fish. Lindsay Agness is the Vice President for Diversity Initiative for New York State Trout Unlimited and a part-time fly-fishing guide. Lindsay and her husband Dave run a fly fishing school for wounded veterans. Additionally, Lindsay volunteers and teaches for Casting for Recovery. She is a pioneer in recruiting...

Justin Miller has traveled the globe guiding and learning the The Fly Shop’s international destinations. He has guided the Kamchatka Peninsula every season since 2008, fishing the world with a spey rod, for every sea run fish he can find. Justin joins Rob to tell stories about fishing in Russia, salmon, steelhead, vodka, 'meat' and potatoes and what you should bring for your Russian guides.  Suppo...

Ken Gangler owns and operates Gangler's North Seal River Lodge in northern Manitoba. In this episode we learn about this fly in fishery and ecotourism operation below Canada’s Arctic Circle and the Canadian Grand Slam. Opportunities for northern pike, walleye, lake trout, and grayling are all around. Learn about the fishery, the differences in techniques for each species, and what makes fishing th...

Chris Campo catches big fish in and around Washington D.C. Chris Campo is a Virginia Commonwealth University graduate with a major in environmental studies with a minor in biology. He is a District angling ambassador, and a Fish and Wildlife Biologist for the Fisheries and Wildlife Division in Department of Energy & Environment for Washington DC. Chris stopped by the back porch for a conversation...

The first episode of 2021 takes us to Colorado. We catch up with Justin Schiavone at the base of Pikes Peak. Justin is an accomplished angler that has simplified his fly fishing equipment after several years in Colorado. You will hear about the select few fly patterns chosen and the rods used to throw them. Justin talks about his new passion for old automatic reels and his thoughts on crowded stre...

Dominic Witherow was irked by the gauche portrayal of fly fishing in the season opener of The Crown. He wrote a letter to the paper stating his opinions as an angler and royalist about the inaccuracies of fly fishing in such a detail oriented program. The story went viral. Rob tracked Dominic down and arranged for a brief discussion on English fly fishing, pub culture, the Royal Family, and bottom...

Rob recounts his day in search of trout in Pennsylvania. He recently re-read Howell Rainen's Fly Fishing Through A Midlife Crisis and was inspired to spend more time in search trout on the streams he fished decades ago. The day starts off on the historic Falling Springs, shore lunch on the Letort, and ends on the Yellow Breeches. These are streams Rob and his fishing buddy Tom fished in their yout...

Rob calls up Iceland's Kristján Páll Rafnsson in this episode. First we catch up with Luke and Dan somewhere along the gulf coast. Kristján started off camping and fishing as a kid and is now the chief executive officer at Fishpartner. He explains why this bucket list destination boasts twenty pound trout and canyon dwelling salmon. In a land of wild fish there is always a new place to discover wh...

Thankfully the year 2020 is almost over. Things got off to a wobbly start with a global pandemic and a late start to the shad run are ending not much differently. The season started late but was surprisingly busy and is now winding down. Rob curated a list of the things he relies on when fishing for fun or guiding and teaching. Oprah isn't the only one with a list of favorite things. You may find...

College student Joseph Evans lives to fly fish. He wants to live a life of traveling, fishing, and filming. Joseph attends the University of Montana and works for Henry's Fork Angler during the summer. This episode is full of stories of fishing western rivers and stillwaters from someone that has the fishing stories of an old timer despite his young age. Joseph uses a variety of modern media to sh...