Troutbitten

Two years ago we did a full episode on Hatches. That discussion was a broad, overarching look at how the bugs — the insects that trout eat — dictate many of the habits of trout. We argued that knowing the hatches, following the emergence and being ready for these events is not only a lot of fun, it drastically improves your success on the water. Trout don’t miss the hatches, and neither should we.

At the same time, none of...

How many times have we heard the supposed stages of an angler? First you want to catch a fish, then you want to catch a bunch of fish, then you want to catch a big fish, then you want to catch the toughest fish, and then you just want to catch a fish again.

This is a clever way to look at a life on the water. But is it really true? This is our topic.

We also expand on some other stages that anglers go through, and...

I was happy to be a guest on the Untangled Podcast with Spencer Durrant. We talked mostly about Nymphing tactics for beginners. We also talked a little about a fishing life and the fly fishing industry.

You can listen to that full episode  here in the Troubitten Podcast feed

Follow the Untangled Podcast hosted by the Venturing Fly Company YouTube channel.

https://youtu.be/AWoagPJ0JPc?si=EjXoavzV8pGg9NEI

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In this interim episode, Becky and I look back on what has happened in 2024 so far, and we set the table for what’s to come. We talk about Patagonia, videos, articles, podcasts, livestream podcasts, one-on-one sessions, hosted trips, guide season, the next Troutbitten Leader Sale and a Troutbitten beer.

Thank you for being part of this Troutbitten community.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | One-On-One Virtual Skills S...

Here we are with our final installment, part seven of our series on critical nymphing concepts.

Almost all of our focus throughout this series has been on achieving dead drifts. We aim for natural looks that imitate what the real bugs do most. So we try to stay in one lane, we try to find the right speed and the right depth. Most of the articles on Troutbitten about nymphing also assume we’re aiming for dead drifts. It&apo...

This episode is about tension and slack. It's about how we manage fly lines and leaders on the water while nymphing.

Remember, each of these episodes — all of these concepts — apply to all styles of nymphing. So we might choose to lay line on the water with an indicator rig (and sometimes mend it) just like we might choose to float the sighter with a tight line rig.

My friend, Austin Dando, joins me to walk ...

This discussion is all about weight. It’s the fundamental factor in nymphing. Because as soon as you choose to leave the surface, once you clip off the dry fly and fish anything else . . . weight is necessary.

Even wet flies have some weight. They’re designed not to float but to break the surface with at least the weight of the hook. With streamers, of course, weight is required to get the flies to whatever depth is necess...

This episode features what might be the most important concept of nymph fishing. There are three different ways to present a dead drifted nymph to the trout -- three ways to imitate what trout commonly see from the naturals. While trout eat dry flies in one plane (the surface) the complexity of currents underneath introduces more difficulty, simply because trout might be looking for food in multiple ways.

My friend, Austin...

In the third part of this critical nymphing concepts series, we consider the advantages and disadvantages of fishing with a suspender.

We cover the following

• Indicator styles and why the type matters
• Not all indicators are created equal
• Choosing tight line or indy, or combing both
• What you lose by adding and indy
• What you gain by adding an indy
• Complications of an indy style
• What is commonly missed when using an indy
• Reading ...

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 the following

• What is i...

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 trout for the moment? Thi...

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 of talking about things. ...

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 people back from going fu...

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 to friends anymore. But we...

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. These places can be just...

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 how we use these leaders....

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 water.

And...

Over the years, nymphing has grown up a bit. There's more information, more styles and more acceptance 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 anything else in fly fishing. And anglers ...

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 much stuff gets in the way...