Troutbitten

This podcast is all about the the end of the fight. Everything we’ve walked through in the previous episodes gets you to the point where the fish is within range and just about ready for the scoop. A lot can go wrong at the end of a fight, so there’s a lot that needs to be done right. We cover body, fish, net and rod positioning, all in relation to the river currents. We talk about when we get the net ready and what to ...

Side pressure puts real leverage on a fish. It's where control begins and power originates. All the other skills before this one set us up to maximize side pressure, with the right angles and a great plan for landing the trout of a lifetime.

I think the opposite of side pressure is upward pressure, or pulling up with the rod tip, and we don't want to fight the fish at the surface. So while side pressure can keep the fish lower in th...

Landing a good trout is more about planning, quick thinking and good technique than luck. And in this episode, we talk about being ready for a big fish. With a little forethought and preparation, with even slight adjustments to body positioning, we put ourselves in the best position to show a picture of a lifetime rather than tell the story of another trout that got away.

A few months ago I published a video to the Troutbitten YouTu...

This third part of our Troutbitten Skills Series is all about the guiding principle of fighting fish fast. We talk about how this mindset guides our decisions and our movements for all the other skills. Because we want to fight trout fast we use side pressure and we position ourselves for maximum leverage. We thing about current direction and fighting zones, all in an effort to fight a trout fast. Because the longer a trout is on t...

Fighting trout in a river, creek or stream is all about the currents. So for this episode of our seven part skills series on fighting big fish, we talk about fighting fish upstream, downstream or across. What are the advantages and disadvantages of each angle? And what about current depth? Should we aim to fight the fish in the lower, middle or top part of the water column? And finally, we talk about the fighting zones in a river, ...

For Season 20 of the Troutbitten Podcast, we have seven episodes lined up for a Skills Series that's all about how to land the biggest fish of your life.

Because, when you do hook the big one — that one you’ve been waiting for — a Whiskey, a Namer or the best fish of your life, you want the skills for fighting big fish with confidence. You want these habits to be engrained into your muscle memory, because you don't...

In this Season 19 finale of the Troutbitten Podcast, we tackle a grab bag of topics. We call these episodes the Freewheelin' Troutbitten. This one was unintentional. We had plans to cover a topic of fishing with friends vs fishing solo, but once we opened up some of the leftover topics surrounding the Grievances episode from last week, we just kinda got things rolling and let it go. 

The last half hour is dedicated to o...

We’re here for our fifth annual Airing of Grievances episode. We do this every June, at the end of the spring seasons of the podcast. We do it to have some fun, and we do it because it’s helpful to call out the bad things and try to make them better.

We also do this because Frank Costanza from Seinfeld once said . . . “I gotta lotta problems with you people, and now . . . you’re gonna here about it.”

So ...

Here's a good talk about other styles and other species, and how using a spinning rod or baitcaster can open up your fishing world to a more complete set of skills and a better understanding of . . . fishing.

Most fly anglers can pick up and cast a spinning rod or baitcaster, but if you spend some real time to develop an intimate understanding of the strengths and the possibilities, you gain another base of knowledge.

Over the last few decades, fishing apparel has undergone a dramatic evolution. Today, we expect more than ever from our boots, waders, jackets, and shirts because we've grown accustomed to the advantages of purpose-built gear that's ready to deliver.

Comfort, support and durability are the hallmarks of great fishing gear. So I sat down with Kevin Sloan, the founder of Skwala fishing, for a look at where the industry stands n...

We’re here to talk about fishing angles. Are you wading upstream or down? And are you casting upstream or down? What’s your preference? Why do you make that decision? When, if ever does it change? And does your casting direction always follow your wading direction?

Sometimes, these preferences seem regional, while other times it’s specifically about the tactic -- meaning that swinging wet flies, for example, suits ...

What’s the nymph really doing under there? How is it affected by the currents? And is the attached tippet dragging the fly unnaturally across, over, up or out of the natural, one-seam drift that our picky trout are waiting for?

The challenge of nymphing is mercifully balanced by the frequency at which trout feed on these bottom dwelling food forms. So even if we get one in ten drifts just right, the rate at which we might fool...

For our Season 19 Intermission, my wife, Becky, joins me to check in on what's going on in the Troutbitten world. We talk about the upcoming leader sale in the Troutbitten Shop (May 24th), the Troutbitten Film Festival, guide season, changes to the Troutbitten Beer with New Trail Brewing Company and the Mono Rig book status. Then my son, Aiden, joins me for a short conversation about spring fishing.

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VIDEOS: Troutbitten | Fi...

There’s something about fishing that leads us to believe that we can figure out what the fish want to eat that day — at that moment. Really, we want to believe that. And maybe it’s true often enough that trying to figure ‘em out . . . is a smart strategy.

But I’m sure you’ve also had the experience of getting back to camp and every one of your friends all caught fish — but they all c...

How do you get deeper into the game? Is it a choice or just good fortune? We live a life on the water, and a couple of episodes ago we talked about burnout — how a lot of anglers dig in, fish hard, go all out for a few years, and then just fade away. That’s the end point for some people, but tonight we’re here to talk about the beginning. We want to consider the start of a fishing life, or more accurately, the sta...

Dry dropper is great. Just put a nymph under that dry fly and get the best of both worlds. Right? Not so fast . . .

The idea that you can have your cake and eat it too — that you'll get perfect drifts on the dry fly and the nymph — and that you somehow double your chances by dropping a nymph under the dry is not true. This is the big lie of dry dropper fishing.

Here's the problem: In most cases, neither fl...

A life on the water is an everyday thing. When we’re not fishing, we’re thinking about it. We’re preparing for it. We’re learning about it. I text with friends almost daily about river conditions and hatches. I drive beside the river just to see it — even though that route takes a few extra minutes.

We've all seen die hard anglers living their life on the water -- and then it just goes away. Rising and ...

For Season 19 of the Troutbitten Podcast, we're adding the video component, with the same conversation on both the audio and video side. So you'll still find the audio version of the podcast on Apple, Spotify and every other platform, and now you'll find a video of the podcast conversation on the Troutbitten YouTube channel.

The new video format is full of creative possibilities, and we're excited about the future of the podcast.

Inc...

This Troutbitten Skills Series and these platforms are an effort to pass along the idea that fly selection doesn’t have to be regimented or complicated. Instead, see flies for what they have in common. Find their similarities rather than their differences. Choose the elements that matter most to you. Find the components of a fly that create enough of a distinction to be the keys to a platform, and build around that idea.

I do ...