BONUS: A fly fishing primer

Tomorrow’s episode is an interview with Rahm Emanuel, who, like S.E., happens to be very into fly fishing! The two wade into the topic during the conversation and quickly find themselves comfortably in the deep end of in-the-know fishing jargon, so consider this BONUS episode your life preserver. S.E. is joined by returning podcast champion (and husband) John Goodwin to define all the key terms you’ll hear in this week’s main podcast. It’s a short, fun conversation that is sure to reel in both land-dwelling and seafaring listeners. Take the bait!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey, Off the Cup listeners.

Speaker 2 (00:05):
You know, I like to give you a little something extra.
That's why we do a talking Coffee and a talking
politics and an Off the Cup. Well, I've got a
bonus episode for you. It's a pre episode primer. So
we have an episode coming up of Off the Cup
with Rama Manuel. It's fantastic. We talk about a lot
of different things, but I'm realizing we talk a lot

(00:27):
about fishing. We get pretty nerdy about fishing, and my
producers alerted me to something, which is why they're great producers.
We throw around a lot of phishing terms that maybe
not everyone understands. I do it with total lack of consideration.

Speaker 1 (00:41):
For the listeners.

Speaker 2 (00:43):
So I wanted to do a pre interview primer of
fishing terms so that when you go and listen to
the Rama manual Off the Cup episode, which I know
you will, you'll be completely prepared and armed with the language,
and you won't be, you know, looking stuff up as
you listen. So who better to help me do that

(01:04):
than my favorite fishing buddy and my husband, John Goodwin.

Speaker 1 (01:08):
Welcome to Off the cop Fly Fishing Edition.

Speaker 3 (01:10):
Thanks for having me on the best topic ever. I
appreciate it.

Speaker 2 (01:13):
This like other than coffee. This is like what you
want to talk about the most.

Speaker 3 (01:18):
Yeah, one hundred percent. Yeah, I'll drop anything to talk
about this.

Speaker 1 (01:20):
I love this.

Speaker 2 (01:21):
Before we get to the glossary, rom and I talked
about a lot of like bucket list places to go fishing.
He mentioned he's been to New Zealand. He mentions going
to Mongolia. I mentioned I want to go to Andorra.
We both talk about fishing. I think in Brazil and Alaska.
I'm just wondering, what's the top of your bucket list

(01:43):
for fly fishing destinations.

Speaker 1 (01:45):
Give me like a top three?

Speaker 3 (01:46):
Yeah, for sure, New Zealand. I mean the scenery alone,
plus you've just got these wild trout that are very
challenging and technical. Just that's a dream. Number two. I
think I'd like to try the chalk streams of England,
which is where, by most accounts, fly fishing originated. And
these very specific streams that kind of go through the
English countryside. And chalk streams is very specific, you know,

(02:10):
like chalk like chalk cliffs, and that's very clear, free
flowing streams, and that's where they believe fly fishing originated.
It just seems like such a Big Spot, and then
Alaska for trout. I've done salmon in Alaska, but I've
never done trout, so just giant you know, rainbows and whatnot.
I'd really love to hit up Alaska for some trout fishing,

(02:33):
not just salmon.

Speaker 2 (02:34):
There's not a lot of places where I have you beat,
but I've done trout fishing in Alaska.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
I know you have caught Dolly Varden, caught grailing.

Speaker 3 (02:45):
I want to do those some trouts.

Speaker 1 (02:47):
Yeah, okay, great?

Speaker 2 (02:49):
And what's their your favorite place that you've already been, Like,
you do you just love going back to this spot?

Speaker 3 (02:55):
Sure? So I think my favorite is probably the Owahi
in Idaho. It's a kind of on the Idaho Oregon
border and it's these giant cliffs and you're kind of
fishing down in the middle of it. And I've never
seen more trout in one place. The sun was going
down and they were all sipping on flies on the surface,
and you just saw these mouths and it's just a

(03:16):
river of mouths like this, and I was just in awe.
I didn't even cast, I just watched. So that scenery,
those that amount of fish just someplace I can't wait
to get back to.

Speaker 2 (03:26):
Like the equivalent of like a deep like a boil
on the surface.

Speaker 3 (03:30):
Yeah, and you just wanted to watch it. It was insane.

Speaker 1 (03:33):
What's your favorite fishing trip you've done with me.

Speaker 3 (03:37):
I loved our float trip down the Snake in Wyoming.
It was so fun. We caught so many fish. Yeah,
we had a lot of laughter, and you're pregnant with
Jack and your belly. It was it was just such
a fun, unique trip that we did together.

Speaker 1 (03:53):
You're leaving out the most important part of that trip.

Speaker 3 (03:55):
You caught probably the state record mountain white fish.

Speaker 1 (03:58):
Yes, they did.

Speaker 3 (03:59):
Yeah, and our guide did not have a ruler or
tape measure or any sort of measurement device. But he's like,
that is the biggest damn mountain whitefish I've ever seen
in my life.

Speaker 1 (04:10):
Yes, it was a donkey.

Speaker 3 (04:11):
It was a donkey certified donkey.

Speaker 1 (04:13):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Okay, good, let's get into a glossary to explain some
of the terms. I'm sure we just use some of
them now, but we'll explain some of the terms that
come up in this ram emmanual podcasting episode, which I'm
sure he'll be tickled about as well. Okay, so we'll
just go through the list, got it. What is fly fishing?

Speaker 3 (04:32):
Fly fishing is when you are fishing using the weight
of the line to cast rather than the weight of
the lure. So you have a very light fly that
mimics usually a fly or a small fish at the
end of the line, but instead of the weight being
the lure, the weight is in the line. So that's

(04:54):
how you have to cast, with the line helping propel
your bait or fly towards the fish.

Speaker 2 (05:02):
Okay, or fishing with the fly instead of a lure, right, sure, yeah, okay.

Speaker 1 (05:07):
What is spin fishing? That's what I prefer. Sure.

Speaker 3 (05:10):
Spin fishing is when you use sort of the traditional
reel that you spin the reel and the line comes
on it the fishing everyone.

Speaker 1 (05:16):
Knows, Yeah, reel it back in.

Speaker 2 (05:18):
Yeah, they brought up casting.

Speaker 1 (05:21):
I think that's we explained it.

Speaker 2 (05:23):
That's when you throw your line out, whether whatever kind
of rod you're using.

Speaker 3 (05:27):
Hitting, hitting, I think that's from the fish bites, correct hooking,
getting that right in the jaw exactly. Yep.

Speaker 1 (05:37):
I think I use this term jigging.

Speaker 3 (05:40):
Jigging is usually like a weighted lure or fly on
the bottom and you kind of bounce it up and.

Speaker 1 (05:45):
Down on the bottom.

Speaker 2 (05:47):
Right, So sometimes you're casting and you're trying to hit
middle water. Sometime you're trying to hit top water. Jigging
happens on the bottom.

Speaker 3 (05:55):
Yeah, generally yep, up and down jigging.

Speaker 1 (05:58):
What is the fly?

Speaker 3 (05:59):
A fly? I is a lure that's tied to mimic
fish's natural food, right, and it's very lightweight.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
So I know I said this to Rom I was talking.
I was telling a story of salmon fishing in Alaska,
which I did on a eggsack bait.

Speaker 1 (06:20):
So what is that?

Speaker 3 (06:21):
Sure? So you know, fish eat each other's eggs, just
like we eat chicken's eggs. So trout and salmon will
generally eat their own eggs and you just put them
in a bag otherwise because they're so small, right, you
put them in a bag and you throw it down
river and hope something bites it.

Speaker 1 (06:35):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (06:35):
Super gelatinous, really weird feel, but very effective, especially when
they're biting. What's a blind? This is out of fishing now,
but apparently I used this term.

Speaker 1 (06:46):
What's the blind?

Speaker 3 (06:46):
A blind is when you're hunting and it's like a
small structure to sort of hide from your prey.

Speaker 2 (06:52):
Yeah, deer, birds, whatever, what is a float as in
like a three day float?

Speaker 3 (06:58):
Sure, So instead of waiting to go fly fishing, you
would float down the river, generally in a drift boat,
so you're covering a lot more water as you go
down stream.

Speaker 1 (07:07):
So when you say wading, spell that w A.

Speaker 3 (07:10):
D I N G. Right?

Speaker 1 (07:12):
And what is that.

Speaker 3 (07:13):
Waiting is when you're walking in to a river or
pond and generally you're either in waiters to keep you dry,
or you can wade where you just walk in and
with nothing on your legs.

Speaker 1 (07:23):
Raw dogg it you will if you will?

Speaker 3 (07:27):
Yep, exactly?

Speaker 1 (07:27):
Okay, I think I said, what's a king?

Speaker 3 (07:32):
King is the species of salmon. So you've got several
primary species king, pink, coho silver?

Speaker 1 (07:38):
You got you got five?

Speaker 3 (07:40):
Oh, king coho silver, ink, pink? And is that it?

Speaker 1 (07:47):
No, there's another one silver kokini?

Speaker 3 (07:49):
Maybe?

Speaker 1 (07:49):
Uh no, I.

Speaker 2 (07:51):
Forget, but there there are. There's a trick to knowing
them because they're you. You make them the fingers of
your hand. Oh sure, Like the king is the thumb,
the pink is the pinky. I forget how it goes?
But what is a big brown?

Speaker 3 (08:04):
Oh? Well, there's you know, primary species of trout or
brown rainbow brook and a brown is just a big
brown trout.

Speaker 1 (08:12):
Yes, morom I think said use the term reading the water.
What does that mean?

Speaker 3 (08:17):
M So you know, fish like to hold and feed
in certain places in the water. So you've got a
seam and that's where the bait's gonna be drifting and
the fish during line up, So you're gonna read the
water to figure out where you think the fish are
most likely feeding to better your chances of hooking them.

Speaker 1 (08:34):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (08:35):
I forget who said this, but one of us said,
and then you just let it run.

Speaker 1 (08:40):
What does that mean? That could be you're talking spin
fishing for.

Speaker 3 (08:45):
This, sure, I think that's when you've got a fish
on the line. And if they're too green, which means
they've got a lot of energy, they can be harder
to get to shore. They could break your line. So
if you let them run, you let them take a
little line, wear them out a little bit so you
can really out yep.

Speaker 1 (09:00):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (09:00):
And then lastly, apparently there was a place that needs
to be discussed or defined keen I.

Speaker 3 (09:06):
Keenine Peninsula, Alaska, Great salmon trout fishing capital of you
know America.

Speaker 2 (09:11):
Probably, Yeah, it's both it's both the peninsula and the river. Yep,
the keen I and the and the confluence of the
Russian River and the keen I are where people usually go.

Speaker 1 (09:20):
Okay.

Speaker 2 (09:21):
I think this was a very helpful explanation of commonly
used fishing and hunting terms that I hope makes listening
to Robin Manuel's episode of Off the Cup a little easier.

Speaker 1 (09:32):
Thanks Don, who welcome to meets