The Fishful Thinker Podcast

Choosing gifts for outdoorsy folks can be tough; host Chad LaChance is here to help! Working at Sportsmans' Warehouse for five years gave him some insight into holiday season ideas and he shares them in this episode. 

Testing fishing products in an official capacity requires a defined process, plus a bunch of experience. Here's how host Chad LaChance handles this responsibility.

The use of technology in fishing has always been hotly debated, but probably never as much as when live or forward facing sonar hit the scene. Love it or not, it's here to stay. Host Chad LaChance was an early adopter and gives his thoughts on the good, bad and ugly of FFS.

"Jigging" is a very common term in fishing, but the idea of working a jig is very broad. Two anglers, both jigging, may be fishing completely differently and with different results. Host Chad LaChance love to jig and shares his thoughts on the ways and means of multi-species jigging.  

Love it or hate it, social media is changing the fishing game. Host Chad LaChance shares his thoughts on the positive and negative sides of social media in fishing. 

'Tis the season to harvest, and few things are tastier than freshly harvested trout, juvenile lake trout, or kokanee salmon. Host Chad LaChance loves to smoke all these fish, and then eat them stand alone or in other preparations. He shares his smoking ideas in this episode; enjoy...and please subscribe while you're here!

Flutter spoons, jigging spoons and blade baits all come into their own in the fall and will produce bass, walleyes, white bass/wipers/stripers and others all through the open water season. Host Chad LaChance relies heavily on the technique and shares his presentation details in this podcast. Please subscribe while you're here!

It's late September and that means the water in our regional ponds is cooling down and the aquatic vegetation is starting to die off. That adds up to some aggressive fall bass fishing as these eating machines prepare for a long slow winter under the ice. Host Chad LaChanceshares his insights on this fun fall bite; please subscribe while you're here!

Trophy fall brown trout are beautiful, aggressive and generally display a "doesn't play well with others" attitude...which is all part of their charm! Host Chad LaChance loves this bite, and shares his power fishing details in this episode.

Early fall sees a lot of fish and wildlife transition into their hyperphagia stage....the annual fall feeding binge in preparation for leaner winter months ahead. Fishing can be evry good, but there are some keys to maximizing success and host Chad LaChance discusses them in this episode. Please subscribe while you're your here! 

Ahhh...the fall season! Outdoors folks have so many options to pursue their passions, both hunting and fishing, that it can be daunting. Host Chad LaChance says you don't have to choose...you can do both on any given outing, you just have to plan accordingly! 

Love it or hate it, technology has taken a marked turn in fish catching with the advent of live or forward facing sonar and other developments. Anglers, to be fully up to speed with technology, must now be able to manage data, maintain networks and connectivity, and interpret what they're seeing. Host Chad LaChance has taught sonar classes in his boat for a decade and shares his thoughts in this e...

Host Chad LaChance has been traveling around filming Fishful Thinker TV since 2008 and for a decade before that he fished tournaments or just for fun all over the place. All those fishing trips have taught him what info he needs to know in advance to ensure the trip has the highest possibility for success. Please subscribe to the Fishful Thinker podcast and YouTube channel...both a labors of love!...

Late summer means boils...no not as in people food, as in schooling predator fish pushing baitfish to the surface and "boiling" on them as they feed. It's a sight to behold and can seriously fun for anglers armed with the right knowledge and skills of how to handle the situation. Host and guide Chad LaChance shares his insight in this episode...please subscribe while you're here!

The weakest part of your tackle is the knots you tie, and especially when coupled with lazy line maintenance, poor knots cost both money and fish. Host Chad LaChance shares his knot and line maintenance insight gleaned from 20 years of guiding and 45 years of fishing. It's pretty simple to keep prevent break-offs...all it takes is some diligence and discipline. 

It may be the dog days of summer, but an escape to the high country is a sure way to get some relief from the heat. Whether you fish small creeks or high cirque lakes targeting brook trout or cutthroats, you will find the scenery incredible and fishing can be as well...with a few of host Chad LaChance's tips in your arsenal! Please subscribe while you're here!

Mid summer can be a fantastic time to fish, but it can also be frustrating. There's tons of bait, the fish have a lot of pressure already, and most of them have moved to off-shore haunts for summer. Host Chad LaChance has guided anglers through summer days for almost 20 years and dshares his thoughts on summer mid summer reservoir fishing in this episode. Please subscribe while you're here; Fishfu...

Ever wonder how your favorite lure was developed, or how they made that new model of fishing rod so much better then the older version? Host Chad LaChance spends a lot of his time as an official fishing tackle tester working closely with product development teams and companies to help ensure what they are working on will work for anglers when it comes to market, and share's his insight in this alm...

The venerable soft plastic tube may have been invented for bass fishing, but host Chad LaChance has been fishing fishing them for everything from trout to panfish to snook for 30+ years. He shares some insight on the ways and means of rigging and fishing this uber-versatile lure genre. Please subscribe wherever you listen in! 

Whether it be aquatic vegetation or terrestrial vegetation that is flooded, fishing in the weeds can be both frustrating and rewarding. Not all vegetation is created equal in the fish's eyes though, so host Chad LaChance delves into how he approaches fishing the salad. Please subscribe wherever you listen, and follow along @fishfulthinker on your social channels!

Love to fish but want to get off the bank? The easiest and least expensive step is a paddle board or simple kayak. There are, however, some nuances to selecting, equipping and fishing from a paddlecraft and host Chad LaChance, who lives lakefront and has several versions of both paddle boards and kayaks, shares his thoughts on them. Please subscribe; Fishful Thinker is a labor of love! 

Fly fishing may be centered around trout rivers, but that is not the only place where fly guys can ply their craft. Besides that, rivers may not be a great option these days with the 2023 nationwide monsoon and heavy winter snow melt. Don't despair though, host Chad LaChance has a love for warm water fly fishing and shares his thoughts in this podcast. Please consider subscribing wherever you tune...

Fishing a lure on the water's surface is about as fun and interactive as fishing gets...the bites are visual and it's great way to get newish anglers hooked on the sport as well. Bass to stripers to trout to pike...topwater fishing will get you bit.

The first weekend in June is free fishing weekend in CO and a few other states Fishful Thinker TV host Chad LaChance has some insight as to how to get the most reward out of the weekend on the water. 

Catching a fish is only part of the process; what you do next determines a lot. From careful field handling for tablefare to careful fish handling for truly successful catch and release, host Chad LaChance discusses all of the above. Please subscribe...Fishful Thinker is a labor of love!