Troutbitten

Sometimes, the goal is to catch the biggest trout in the river. In those times, what's the best fly to choose?

In this conversation, we talk through big trout situations, and we focus on the flies. If you’re really targeting a big trout, when does a streamer seem like the best choice, and what qualities in that streamer help not just get a trout’s attention, but convince them to eat the fly?

Likewise, when might a dry fly have t...

Craig Matthews is one of the most prominent figures in fly fishing, with a career spanning half a century and an influence that is immeasurable. Making his home in Montana, Craig's fly shop, Blue Ribbon Flies, became an icon as he educated and helped generations of anglers find their way with a fly rod. Craig's many fly creations, like the Sparkle Dun and X-Caddis are in my fly box, and they're probably in yours. Cra...

With this conversation, we're going back to spot burning. In Troutbitten Podcast Season 3, Episode 1, we talked through Secrets and Spot Burning ( March, 2022). And in that conversation we spent a lot of time on the first part — on what fishing secrets really are, whether they’re valuable, fun or just gatekeeping. (They’re valuable, by the way.) And we acknowledged that every angler has their own set of things they might want ...

We begin Season 17 with a conversation about fishing the 17 year periodical cicada this past summer. We talk about big flies, big water and big trout. 

For so many of us, it was the rarity of the event -- there’s no other chance for this kind of fishing, right here, in our home waters, for another seventeen years. That’s a big marker in time. Because when you look back that far, it seems like a whole different life. In truth, it’s w...

A top-tier river trout is a beast. The inherent nature of a river, with the endless obstacles, rocks, tree parts, current breaks, high gradient runs and undercut banks challenges the angler at every bend. So when you finally hook up with a Whiskey, a new game begins. It’s a match up between trout and fisherman. Who will win that fight?

Bringing a trout to the net requires a series of accurate calculations, thoughtful moves and a goo...

In Deep is a video podcast series for conversations that dive into the details of focused topics -- no fluff, just concentrated, sometimes technical talk from experienced anglers and industry professionals.

Our first In Deep guest is my friend, John Shaner. With a career spanning five decades, Shaner  has worked for influential companies like Hardy and Cortland, while connecting with seemingly every fishy angler in the ind...

Here we are at the end of the Blue Liner's Bible series. And we saved this one for listener questions and some of our own stories. This episode ties up some loose ends and brings it all back home. Because, I think we ended up right where we started, realizing that small stream fishing leads us into everything there is to love about fishing, and maybe helping to teach us some of the most important lessons of all.

Wherever you ar...

This one's about using streamers to find the biggest trout in the smallest waters. In previous episodes we worked though locating the right water for small streams. We've talked about dry fly tactics, nymph fishing and now, with episode five in this series, we’re ready to tackle streamer fishing on small streams.

Our job for this episode is to highlight the changes we make, or the different strategies we might have, for fi...

In this fourth episode of the Blue Liner's Bible, we talk about nymphing on small waters. We discuss when and where we might turn to nymphs, and then we break down the adaptations for different styles.

We cover dry dropper, mostly as a nymphing tactic. Then we discuss indicator nymphing and tight line nymphing with a Mono Rig.

My friend, Austin Dando, joins me for an important look at the variety of nymphing tactics we use on sm...

We’re here to break down small stream dry fly fishing. We’re tackling dry flies first in this series, because fishing dries on small water puts you in a great position, with the necessary skills, to fish the other disciplines of nymphs, streamers and wets.

In this episode, my friend, Austin Dando, and I walk through the gear, the approach, the casting, some philosophies and strategies for fishing dry flies on small streams. This top...

We're back with Season 16, with episode two of the Blue Liner’s Bible. This one is all about finding the right water.

We mean this in two different ways. First, you need to find a small stream that has public access (or you have private permission). But the stream also needs cold water and a good population of trout (hopefully they’re wild trout).

That’s the first thing — find a good stream to fish. And honestly, that may not be...

With cold flows and eager trout, mountain water and small stream fishing can provide the perfect setup, the perfect escape, if you’re willing to put in the effort. There are some truly wonderful things about small stream fishing, and learning to work these waters teaches us everything we need to know about fishing any trout water. But the challenges can turn many people off as well.

Small stream fishing can be tough. In tr...

Welcome to the fourth annual Airing of Grievances on the Troutbitten Podcast. Buckle up. Because it’s time to clear the air about a few things, to complain about some other things and get all the frustrations out in the open.

We look forward to this episode every year, because honestly, it’s a lot of fun. I know that listeners anticipate this one as well, and just like last year, we have a bunch of guest grievances to add ...

We talk a lot about our frame of reference in fly fishing. Wherever you get into the game, a lot of your baseline is set by whatever is popular or widely accepted at that moment in time. My friend, Matt Mickey, recently argued that Gen X anglers are uniquely positioned, that this generation has experienced development and had a wide variety of influences that will never be duplicated.

We’ve learned through every form of media. We gr...

So . . . how was it? How many did you catch? This is always the question for every fisherman, right? Whether I’m talking to my friends about a fishing trip from last week, or as I walked in the door this evening, my wife asked the same question — how many fish did you catch?

It’s a fair question. Because that’s the goal out there (usually). We go fishing to catch fish. But the answers we give can also reveal a different story.

“Well,...

When you fish long enough, things break. That’s the nature of life, really . . . things fall apart. But if you're resourceful, you put them back together.

Sometimes it’s out of necessity. Honestly, a couple decades ago, I simply couldn’t afford to go through gear as fast as it was wearing down, so I learned to patch waders, fix a fly rod, mend a fly line, resole my boots, sew tears in my fishing vest and fix my landing net.

Like...

This episode is all about breakthroughs. For each of us, as a personal account, what have been the biggest changes, or the biggest steps forward, in our fishing?

I call these breakthroughs because they're the landmarks or discoveries or changes, along the way of learning, where we can look back and say, “Now that, really made a big difference.”

We talk a lot about a life on the water. And really, each of us here at Troutbitten h...

For our Season 15 Intermission, my wife, Becky, joins me for a lighthearted look at what's going on in the Troutbitten world. We talk about the upcoming leader sale in the Troutbitten Shop (May 23rd).

We talk about the New Trail Troutbitten beer, the upcoming book on Fly Fishing the Mono Rig and a bunch of videos on the Troutbitten YouTube channel.

Becky also covers a couple favorite fishing terms near the end. :-)

Resources

VIDEO...

The trout is prized as a gamefish because it’s picky. It’s selective. Often, it requires a refined presentation to fool a wild trout. And in large part, that’s the draw toward fishing for them.

In every region, in every stream, trout habits can differ from others in neighboring watersheds. And across the fishing landscape, we find places and even moments when trout are more picky — more choosy — about what, where and how they want t...