Troutbitten

In this second episode of our Critical Nymphing Concepts series, my friend, Austin Dando, and I walk through the idea — the concept — of having more influence or less over the flies. Meaning, who or what is in charge of the nymphs? Is it you or the river? And do we want to have more influence over the flies or less? What looks more natural? Which choice — which method — fools more trout? We cover...

This Season Ten skills series is about the critical concepts of nymphing. In seven episodes this season, we're covering the what and the why of nymphing. The techniques we work on are physical skills necessary to get great drifts and fool fish. But these nymphing concepts are about putting a reason behind everything we do. Why do we make the changes? How do we adapt to meet the preferences of...

For this final episode of Season Ten and of 2023, we wanted  to have some fun. In this episode we walk through a bunch of Troutbitten . . . terms, words, sayings, phrases . . . and talk about what all of this means. Let’s call it a Troutbitten glossary. If you’re lucky enough to have your own group of long-time fishing friends, then I’m sure you have your own phrases too — your own idioms and ways...

We’re here to talk about bad habits — things that aren’t personal style but just bad form. These are bad habits that come with a consequence. These are, quite simply, mistakes. And in every case, there’s a much better way to do things. We meet anglers from all over the country and the world, we often see these bad habits from good anglers. And inevitably, these are some of the key things that hold...

This one is about taking photos and videos on the water, about camera gear, about keeping that gear safe but available, and even a few tips on taking a good fish selfie. Photography is something that we see most anglers get into, at least a little bit. I’ve often described the fish selfie as the grand compromise of catch and release fishing. We don’t kill the trout and take it home to show it off...

Some favorite rivers meander and roll through stunning scenery and enchanting tracts of wilderness. And most trout fishermen quickly realize that the pursuit of wild trout takes them into some of the most beautiful valleys on earth. But some other favorite rivers run through towns or behind old factories. Maybe they’re paralleled by a highway or narrowly channeled by railroad tracks on either side...

This episode is a conversation about tight line leader styles. We share what we like best, what works for each of us and what does not. This is Part Two for the podcast that we two weeks ago, titled, “Tight Line, High Stick, Euro Nymph, Mono Rig -- What's the Difference and How Did We Get Here?” While that first episode laid out a history of tight line tactics, this conversation is focused on...

Here we are in the middle of season nine, and we’re doing something a little different. This is like an intermission between sets. My wife, Becky, is here, and we’ll catch up on a few Troutbitten things, like updates to the Recommended Gear page and the upcoming fall leader sale. I also have a listener email to share that really gets to the heart of what we all love about being out there on the wa...

Over the years, nymphing has grown up a bit. There's more information, more styles and more a cceptance of those styles than ever before. While nymphing was once seen as that thing you did when trout wouldn’t eat dry flies or wets, more anglers than ever choose nymphing first — as their go-to method for catching trout in all seasons. Because nymphing provides a unique complexity unlike anythi...

Sometimes, an angler's love for gear becomes more important than the fishing itself, until the goal becomes a bigger collection of fishing gear instead of a collection of good fishing experiences. We’ve all seen this out there. And sometimes we have to actively fight that urge to want the next thing or believe that our deficiencies on the river can be solved with more gear. The truth is, too...

How do we handle tough days? How can we turn it around and start catching fish? When the going gets tough, how do we fix it? What are the strategies?  So, most things don’t turn out the way you had them planned. That’s life. But as you’re driving the dirt road toward your favorite trout water, thoughts and plans unfold in your mind. And while preparing for a destination trip, you expect success. O...

This conversation is about spawning trout. Specifically, we tackle the ethics of fishing during the spawn, whether it’s right or wrong to fish for trout that are actively in the process of making the next generation of trout. Moreover, where do these ideas of what’s ethical or not come from, and why are the expectations confusing for a lot of anglers? Is it okay to be on the water while trout are...

Everything changes. That’s the only constant. And in the fly fishing world, the tactics, the gear and how we share all of this information changes, even though what the trout eat and how they eat it pretty much stays the same. That time frame, that snapshot, from where you entered the fly fishing world, shapes what you do on the water. And it’s amazing what just twenty calendar years does to that...

In this six-part series we’ve covered locations, water types, weather, water and light conditions. We’ve talked about the gear, about flashlights and headlamps and glow in the dark stuff. We’ve considered what a good night plan looks like, having a strategy and then adapting. Tactically, we’ve talked about drifting vs swinging flies, about three levels of the water column, about where to expect tr...

This is the episode you’ve all been waiting for. Tonight, we  talk about  fishing the top water. And yes, that means mouse patterns — sometimes. We also dig into a fly style that we feel is often more effective, the mouse emerger concept at night. And we talk about fishing streamers after dark. We cover the effectiveness of many different top water and streamer styles. And we discuss how the emerg...

All fishing trips benefit from a good plan, and most of us couldn’t stop planning, hoping and dreaming about an upcoming trip if we wanted to. Our night fishing plans are a good beginning. Aimed toward solving the mysteries after dark, these plans are formed around expectations and based on the conditions. Where are the trout, and how are they feeding? Building flexibility into our plans helps sol...

We night fish with many different fly types: surface patterns, mouse emerges, streamers, wet flies, nymphs and Harvey Pushers. And all of these flies can be presented in two very different ways — drifting and swinging. There’s a lot of variety within these two categories. There are many ways to do both. And every fly type may seem to have its best or most effective presentation, drifting or swingi...

In this second part of the Night Fishing for Trout Skills Series on Troutbitten, we consider light. First the naturals, like moonlight and starlight, then we discuss city lights and other artificials, like our own flashlights and headlamps. Lastly, we’ll discuss the use of glow-in-the-dark stuff, like fly lines, indicators and more. I'm joined by my night fishing friends, Austin Dando, Trevor...

This season is a skills series about fishing for trout after the sun goes down. And for the next six episodes, we’ll break down the night game into an outline that roughly follows the topics of a series that I published on Troutbitten, titled, Night Fishing for Trout . My night fishing friends are joining me for this episode -- Josh, Trevor and Austin. These are the only night fishing companions I...

We’re in between podcast season, and it's time for an update about what’s going on with Troutbitten. My wife, Becky, joins me to talk about the past, the present and the near future. The summer Troutbitten Shop leader sale launches on Monday morning, July 31st. All Troutbitten leaders will be back in stock: Harvey, Standard, Thin and Micro Thin Mono Rigs, Full Kits and Standard Sighters. Also...

Every Troutbitten regular knows about Sloop. We’ve referred to our friend on nearly every podcast, especially in the last few seasons, as it’s become a running contest to see how we can sneak in a Sloop John B reference. So we’re excited to have John here. Because what we all find so rewarding about this life on the water are the friendships. We form deep bonds with people because they are . . . f...

We're back for the annual airing of grievances, here to call out what's wrong in the fly fishing industry. Some of our grievances are lighthearted silliness that doesn't really matter, but it’s fun to roast or to call out. But there’s another kind of grievance too. Because a lot of the stuff going on in the fly fishing industry isn’t really good for anyone — or maybe it’s only good...

This episode is about big trout -- what they mean to us, why we chase them, and how catching a top tier wild trout often leaves a bookmark in the story of our fishing lives. We love big trout because they give us the shakes. Because they elude us. Because they are rare. And because fooling a top tier trout serves as an accomplishment that we know comes from persistence and from knowledge gained ov...

“That’s Not Fly Fishing.” How many times have you heard this at the bar or seen someone write it on social media? When the way you are fishing isn’t up to someone’s standards, when it doesn’t align with their own preferences, it seems that this frequent argument comes out easily — That’s not fly fishing! Of course, there is no single definition for what fly fishing is. The fly rod is a tool. Flies...

This episode is a brief pause in season seven of the podcast to share something that I published to Troutbitten in the early years. The last two weeks have been a whirlwind of emotion and activity. The days were filled with energy and adrenaline, as my youngest son's Little League baseball team won the league championship. They battled through two weeks of playoffs and took the title in the l...