The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast provides weekly tips from acclaimed fly fishing author and lifelong fly fishing enthusiast, Tom Rosenbauer. Get the most from your time on the water!

Episodes

August 12, 2025 82 mins

 

I know a lot of listeners are relatively new to the fly-fishing game, and so I asked Phil Monahan [30:31], editor of Midcurrent.com (who also helps people through this sometimes-steep learning curve) to share with us ten pitfalls you may want to avoid when learning the game. And I am willing to bet that even you experts out there make some of these mistakes every time you go out. I know I do.

In the Fly Box this week, we have som...

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My guest this week is Scott Barmby [35:56], director of the Orvis Chesapeake Fly Fishing Schools, who educates us on threats to the Bay's population of striped bass, and also the many fly-fishing opportunities in the Bay. It's a vast ecosystem that I didn't know much about, so it was interesting to me and I am sure it will be to you. I think you'll learn some surprising things about this national treasure.  

In the Fly Box this wee...

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My guest this week is Joe Cermele [40:00], who you may know from his podcast "Cut and Retie", or from his work over the years at Field & Stream as a writer and videographer. Joe loves hunting big trout, and one of his favorite ways of fishing for them is night fishing with mouse flies. Joe is always fun and informative and I know you'll enjoy this one.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some especially interesting questions, includi...

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This episode was originally aired on June 16th, 2023.

OK, I lied. There aren't 15 tips. There are probably more and if you want to count them up you can e-mail me and correct my mistake. But I get a lot of questions about fishing emergers, and I thought a podcast on how to identify when fish are taking emergers and how to fish them would be welcome. Not only that, world-famous and beloved fishing guide and author Pat Dorsey [36:05]...

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My guest this week is one of fly fishing's best writers and storytellers Monte Burke [31:35], whose writing you may have seen in Garden & Gun, Forbes, or The Drake—or perhaps you've read his book, and one of my favorite fishing books, Lords of the Fly.  To discover who Monte, and many other people (including me) consider the finest fly-fishing guide who ever lived, you'll have to listen to the podcast.  You'll also learn about his ...

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We've recently won a big battle for public lands, and my guest this week, Joel Pedersen [25:56] of Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, fills us in on what we've won and what we need to keep an eye on for the future. But the podcast is much more than that. Joel educates us on the differences between the major classes of public lands—National Forests, BLM land, National Parks, and Wilderness areas and just what uses are allo...

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My guest this week is Antoine Bissieux [38:28], Orvis-Endorsed Guide of the Year for 2025.  Antoine, otherwise known as The French Fly Fisherman, regularly fishes with and communicates with the top French competitive fly fishers, and has developed methods of fishing nymphs and dry flies as well as dry/dropper setups adapted from what he has learned from these world-class anglers. You'll learn some new techniques to make your f...
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    I offer no apologies for being a carp evangelist. They live almost anywhere, they are here to stay (they were stocked in many places in North America even before brown trout), and they are the hardest-fighting fish in fresh water. They are also fascinating creatures that can be a challenge to catch—which is why most of us fish with a fly rod. Rick Mikesell [49:05] of Denver is one of the best carp anglers I know and a terrific...
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    This episode was originally published on November 20th, 2023.

    Todd Tanner [43:02] is a lifelong fly fisher and journalist and spent years as a guide on the Henry's Fork, one of the best (and toughest) dry-fly rivers in the world.  He also prefers not to fish nymphs.  Todd shares his 12 tips on improving your success with dry flies this week, and they are solid and helpful.
     
    In the Fly Box this week, we have a great and varied sele...

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    Many North Americans would love to catch brown trout in their native environment, and most of us think of the UK or France or Slovenia for wild, native brown trout. But, Spain has a long history of fly fishing in the Pyrenees (Hemingway loved fly fishing in the Pyrenees and called this region "the closest thing to heaven") and for the traveler, there are many rivers with public access. Spain has small freestone mountain stream...
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    This episode was originally published on February 5th, 2024.

    My guest this week is Charity Rutter [39:50], a great friend and longtime guide in the Great Smoky Mountains.  She and her husband Ian have just finished a great book (I read the manuscript and loved it) and although it won't be available until April, you can pre-order it  here: 

    https://randrflyfishing.com/store/fly-fishing-guide-to-great-smoky-mountains-national-park/

    ...

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    May 27, 2025 77 mins
    We're not talking about the poetry of a fly cast made by Pete Kutzer, but poetry about fly fishing, some of the well known poets who were fly fishers, and why the appeal of poetry and fly fishing have much in common. My guest, Andrew Grace [29:19], is a published poet and professor of English, and he'll read us some of his own work as well as from poets like Jim Harrison and Chris Dombrowski. It's a real departure from our usu...
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    Every week I get some iteration of this question: "I hooked three fish and lost all of them before I could get them to the net. What am I doing wrong?" Well, often you did nothing wrong and it was just bad luck. But there are steps you can take to make sure you land the fish you've hooked and Josh Nugent [36:46], a regular on my podcast and one of the most thoughtful anglers I know, presents us with his Seven Deadly Sins. Ther...
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    I get frequent questions on the fly box about fishing for sea trout, or sea-run brown trout. I've never caught one and have never fished for them, so I brought in an expert on the subject, Krystjan [35:21] from Fish Partner in Iceland, owner of the organization Orvis uses for its hosted trips (and I'm hosting one in July) to Iceland and a fanatic fly fisher. He talks about seasons, conditions, presentations, and o...
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    Inside nearly every fly fisher is a budding writer, eager to share their passion with the world. I've done podcasts on how to write better fly-fishing stories in the past, and figured it was time to talk to an editor and publisher about how you can get your masterpiece published. Ross Purnell [32:15], editor and publisher of Fly Fisherman magazine, was happy to share his advice on this subject—and no one in the fly-fishing wor...
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    I've had a number of guests on the podcast teaching us about urban fly fishing and it will be an ongoing process because everyone has different takes on how to approach it.  There is nothing better than a few hours of peace before or after work, without needing to drive for hours, and you can fi...
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    I get a lot of questions about wader care, storage, and washing instructions.  Fit can also affect how long waders last and how comfortable they are.  Waders are one of our most expensive purchases, outside of a rod and reel, and in order to make them last longer we need to take good care of the...
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    Tic Smith [37:18] is head guide at Orvis-endorsed Southeastern Anglers and is a veteran guide with many decades of experience on southern tailwaters. Our discussion centers on his home river, the Hiwassee, but the tips and tricks he shares will be valuable on many other tailwaters.  He talks tackle, flies, presentation, and most importantly reading the water from a drift boat.
     
    In the Fly Bo...
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    It's always interesting to find out that public figures can be as obsessed with fly fishing as we are. People like Harrison Ford, Jeff Daniels, Tucker Carlson, Bette Midler, Jimmy Kimmel, and Dick Cheney are all serious fly fishers. (And no, I don't have any of them on tap for my podcast). But Rahm Emanuel [37:25] is a dedicated listener to this podcast, and when I had a chance to interview him I took it. There is no politic...
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    I get lots of questions about dubbing, which is a simple process that we sometimes complicate with hundreds of different blends and as many opinions on how to apply it. But it's an essential skill in fly tying, so Tim [35:18] and I spend a whole podcast exploring types of dubbing, when you would use them, and different methods of applying this essential material. Tim is always a fun guest and this one is no except...
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