S7, Ep 33: Nut Jobs and Chimichangas: A PA Smallmouth Update with Brendan Ruch

In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash reunites with Brendan Ruch for the latest Ruch Report, filled with fishing tales and a touch of humor. Brendan shares his recent adventures on the river, including a successful day of fishing despite some unpredictable weather. The duo lightheartedly discusses everything from imaginary convenience store chimichangas to Easter treats, setting the stage for a fun and engaging conversation.

As they dive deeper, Brendan reflects on the current spawning conditions, noting that while some fish are starting to spawn in certain waters, mass spawning events are still on the horizon. He also shares insights into his favorite fishing techniques, focusing on the effectiveness of his custom streamer, the Nut Job, which he’s been using with great success on both type three and intermediate lines.

Listeners will appreciate Brendan's detailed breakdown of his preferred rod, line and leader setup for fishing the Nut Job, emphasizing the advantages of using streamer-specific rods for better control and manipulation of the fly. The episode also highlights Brendan's latest video collaboration with Schultz Outfitters, showcasing updated techniques and materials for tying the Nut Job.

With plenty of practical tips and a light-hearted atmosphere, this episode is a must-listen for anglers looking to enhance their skills and enjoy the smallmouth season. Plus, Brendan announces the winner of the Prettiest Nut Job Contest, adding a fun twist to the episode!

To learn more about Brendan, check out our interview.

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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Hey folks, it's Marvin Cash,the host of the Articulate Fly. We're
back with another Roosh reportwith the man himself, Brendan Roush.
Brendan, how are you?
What up, big Marv? I am good.I had a good day on the river and
now I'm sitting in a gasstation parking lot. Life couldn't

(00:21):
be any better.
Yeah. Did you finish the otherhalf of the chimichanga?
No, I just, I discarded thatfor good reason.
Yeah. Was it kind of one ofthose well aged convenience store
chimichangas? Kind of underthe light?
It was an imaginarychimichanga just for. For the conversation.
Got it. So. So did the EasterBunny bring anything good this time?

(00:48):
It brought some wacky weathertoday that ended up putting some
good fish in the net. They,they like to eat when it's windy
apparently today, so I can'tcomplain about that. But. Yeah, no,
some Reese's eggs, obviously.Don't tell me it's Reese's because
it's Reese's. Some Zittner'seggs, I don't know if you've ever

(01:09):
heard of those. Dark chocolatecoconut, some kind of cream fire.
And like maybe some lavenderpeeps, something like that.
Yeah, I didn't touch thepeeps. I feel bad, but I usually
leave the peeps hanging there.
Well, there you go. You gotany of those gourmet jelly beans?

(01:34):
I think my brother hides thejelly beans from me. I'm not sure.
No jelly beans this year.
Well, there you go. And youknow, we were talking before we started
recording that the spawn is alittle bit slower than you thought.
You were saying that the fishhaven't really started spawning yet
in your neck of the woods.
Yeah, I think on certainbodies of water, fish are on beds,
particularly the water that'sbeen low and clear and been heating

(01:56):
up a little bit faster in someof the warmer weather we've had the
last couple weeks. But yeah, Imean, where I was today, I. I rode
into some shallow spots tofish the outside, the, you know,
the seam and the water'sgreen, so I can't confirm. I'm sure
there are some fish on bedsomewhere, but definitely not mass
spawning events right now.Where I was.

(02:18):
Yeah, very, very cool. And youknow what else? You know, you had
a good day. Kind of what's,what's been happening the last two
weeks?
Wind, good fish and stillswimming nut jobs. Hopefully people
aren't tired of it yet, butfishing nut jobs on type three lines

(02:42):
when it's high, typically mostof the ones I have now are 316 tungsten
bead weighted and then ifwe're, you know, if the water starts
to drop out. I had a, about aweek fishing those flies on intermediate
lines and everything I've beenfishing so far this year has been
the SA Titan sync tip. Whetherit's intermediate or the Type 3 just

(03:09):
mend's a little bit easierthan a full intermediate. And I do
have my clients do a lot oflike rod tip action that sometimes
includes mending in thebeginning. So very helpful there.
Yeah. So you know, if we drillinto that a little bit deeper because
Rodrigo sent in a question. Hewanted to get your favorite rod line
and leader set up toeffectively fish the nut job. You

(03:29):
know, how would you break that down?
So as far as streamer rods go,um, any, I would just go out on a
limb and say like with thatfly you could fish it on your traditional
9 foot 7 weight, 9 foot 8weight rods. But you're going to
have a better time if you geta streamer specific rod, particularly

(03:51):
the NRX plus swim fly rod fromG. Loomis. I like the 7 and the 8
and then they also have theIMX Pro V2 streamer sticks which
are I think 8, 10 also in a 7and an 8 weight. So that's what I
have on my boat and I'mfishing all Titan taper lines. And

(04:11):
then my leader build isbasically carbon copy of like The
Schultz outfitters YouTubeswim fly leader. I've been fishing
that since the first time Ifished with Mike, which was probably
2018. And it's does well forme. I'm usually around like seven
feet when I start and thenwhen I add more 16 pound tip it,

(04:34):
it's kind of like wingspanlength so you know, around six feet.
I will then add tip it back toseven feet and then you know, go
from there.
Got it. And just for folksthat don't know, you know, your preference
for a streamer rod, I'm goingto imagine that those rods are not
tip soft like a traditional,like fast, you know, nine foot seven

(04:58):
weight rod. Right? Yeah.
You know I'm, I'm not verywell versed in rod design but it
seems like the, the mass iscarried up through the tip so the
rods are pretty stiff and youcan manipulate the flies really well
through rod tip movements withrods such as the ones I mentioned

(05:19):
that are designed for streamerfishing. Whereas your typical bonefish
designed rods and that's goingto be, you know, your flagship rods
from every brand is going tobe designed to cast a bonefish fly
in a bonefish taper line.They're going to be a little softer
in the tip and a little bitharder to manipulate the line with.

(05:39):
Yeah. Because you. Right. Youlose some of that animation to basically
tip flex. Right?
Yeah, yeah. So that. That flexis absorbing what could be action
in your fly.
Got it. And also too, if Iremember correctly, as a matter of
fact, I think I saw it today.Your. Your nut job video with the
Schultz outfitter guys is nowlive on YouTube. Right?

(06:03):
Yeah. Yeah. Head over to theSchultz outfitters page. Couple tweaks
in there. And updates fromthe. The Ax video that was posted
a few months ago. The. TheSchultz video was filmed in February,
and the Eric's video wasfilmed in November. So got the new
Senyo satin chenille from MFCin there and the tungsten bead, which

(06:24):
is just so much quicker thanlead wraps. I don't care if it adds
30 seconds. I want to make flytying as quick and painless as possible.
Well, there you go. That'syour evolution from the fly tying
symposium. Right. To Bob inthe hood.
Yeah. Yep.
And so, you know, folks, welove questions on the articulate
fly. You can email me or DM meon social media, whatever's easiest

(06:47):
for you. And if we use yourquestion, I will send you some articulate
fly swag. And we are drawingfor some cool stuff from Brennan
at the end of the season. Andyou know, Brendan, we ran a promotion
last time to for the prettiestnut job, and you were going to basically
go through all of the socialmedia posts and pick the winner.
Who'd you pick?
Well, there were a lot ofgreat flies, and I really appreciate

(07:09):
everyone that participated,but our good buddy Jack Wynn is going
to be getting a rouge anglinghat. I know he's already got a couple,
but that. That fly that heentered in the contest is just too
good to pass up.
Well, there you go. And beforeI let you go buy a real chimichanga
for dinner tonight, you wantto let folks know where they can
find you so they can get onyour boat.

(07:30):
Yeah. I am @BrendanRoosh onInstagram, BrendanRoosh and Rooshangling
on Facebook, and my email is rushanglingmail.com.
Well, there you go, folks. Asalways say you owe it to yourself
to get out there and catch afew tight lines, everybody. Tight
lines, Brendan.
Take care, guys. Thank you, Marvin.