The Orvis Fly-fishing Guide Podcast

This week we're exploring the wide open world of warm water fly fishing, and not just for bass.  We talk about landlocked stripers and gar and bowfin and northern redhorse--and especially shad and carp.  Basically, it's about finding the fish and experimenting with retrieves--tackle and flies are the least of your worries.  Most of us have some sort of warm water close to home, so it's like that old Stephen Stills song, "if you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with".  In the fly box, we answer phone calls about how to measure the length of a fly cast, how long lines, leaders and backing last, keeping fish for the table and when to fly and when to spin.

A  great show this week! I had the chance to sit down and talk with Simon Perkins, the newest addition here at Orvis Rod & Tackle about the Fly Fishing Film Tour as well as his own short film, Sipping Dries. We ran the trailer in the podcast feed a few weeks ago. As the main event, I interview my friend Dave Brown of Dave Brown Outfitters on fishing taiwaters, as it seems you guys can't get enough of this topic! In addition, I take a few questions from the podcast listener line. We moved the podcast studio, again. As a result we have had some tech issues with the sound which kept us "off the air" last week. I think it's all worked out. Thanks for sticking with us!

This week, in preparation for the best months of saltwater fishing from Maine to Florida (May and June) we explore the idea of moving from freshwater to salt.  Trout anglers are seldom prepared for the transition to saltwater fly fishing--although the equipment requirements are easy enough to understand and you only need a few extra knots, it's mainly the casting and the expectations that throw trout anglers a curve ball.  There are 15 tips for making this transition easy and fun.  Also in the Fly Box this week, we answer questions about the Surgeon's vs. Clinch knots, knots for attaching wire bite tippets, polarized sunglass colors, hook styles on nymphs, trout stream ettiquette, and how to balance a reel with a rod (or not).

In this week's podcast I interview Captain Jim Barr from Rhode Island and we talk about the effects of barometric pressure changes and moon phases on fly fishing, both in Jim's arena of striped bass fishing and also on various freshwater species.  If you're looking for easy answers you'll be disappointed, but I think you'll enjoy hearing us talk about the empirical observations we've made over the years.  In the Fly Box section this week we discuss methods of weighting flies with non-toxic materials, why you catch bigger fish on worms than you do on flies, and an explanation of the term "turning over" a fly and what you can do to make sure your fly turns over.

Well, be careful what you wish for.  Last week I whined that we weren't getting enough response from you on Fly Box questions, so in the past week we've been inundated!  I thought I would try to answer the best 20 questions we got over the past week, both e-mails and phone calles.  We received suggestions from Sweden and Los Ageles and Connecticut and South Dakota and everything in between last week.  In our 20 questions podcast we'll explore overlining a fly rod, fishing giant warmwater rivers, how to store a leader between fishing trips, fishing without indicators, and whether to play a fish from the reel or by stripping--and lots of other goodies!

In this week's podcast we first talk about nets and bluegills. I'm not getting many nice short, concise, specific questions for the Fly Box  section so I haven't had many to answer lately.  Please send your nagging questions to podcast@orvis.com or call me at 802-362-8800 and leave a message letting me know what you'd like to hear about.  And in the main part of the podcast, Should I Stay or Should I Go? (what do you want to bet James will have some music to go along with that?) we talk about when to move and when to stay put, on everything from trout streamers, nymphs, and dries, to Atlantic salmon, bonefish, and steelhead.

This week in the Fly Box we first talk about what to expect when fishing for king salmon in Alaska, the half hitch vs. the whip finish in fly tying, and etiquette on salmon rivers. Then, in the main event, we explore the fascinating world of what some people call "junk" flies--worms, eggs, and scuds.  These flies are fished like nymphs and are just as much a "match the hatch" situation as elegant mayfly nymphs (at least in my opinion).

In this week's fly box we talk about hook styles, casting on snow, and fly-fishing jargon.  Then on to the main podcast, which is on the perenially popular subject of leaders:  When to change tippets, how to modify your leader, the differences between the various types, fluoro vs. nylon, saltwater leaders described, and much more.  It's a topic that is mystifying to many people and we hope we both intrigue and educate you this week.

This week we have a great interview on redfish (and also speckled trout and snook) with Captain Dave Hunt from Florida.  In the Fly Box, we also talk about grayling, brass and tungsten beads, and about the question of whether the term 'dry fly rod" is valid today.  Plus I tip our listeners off to an exciting new development on the web--but you'll have to listen to find out!

In the fly box this week, we talk about where fly tying materials come from, getting wet flies to swing deeper, fishing logs, and fishing small flies under water.  In the main topic, we discuss different kinds of trout and how to fish for them--hatchery vs. wild, and pressured trout streams vs. remote trout streams.  We've had some great suggestions for podcast topics lately so keep them coming

This week I have a special guest, Brian O'Keefe, who owns the fantastic electronic magazine called Catch Magazine, along with his business partner Todd Moen.  Brian has been in the fly fishing business as long as I have, and he's one of the best fly-fishing photographers out there.  He's traveled all over the world to photograph some of the most exotic fly fishing locations, as well as plenty of cool places closer to home.  We ramble a bit about the old days, but the podcast is mainly about tips for the novice fly-fishing photographer.  This podcast is longer than usual so I left out the usual Fly Box section, which will return next week.  Lots of good questions these days so I have a good list of topics to cover!

The main part of the podcast this week is 10 Tips on Fishing Caddis hatches, some tips I’ve learned over the years for successfully (sometimes!) fishing caddis hatches.  Caddisflies are one of the most abundant aquatic insects in trout streams, and the fishing can range from incredibly easy to downright frustrating.  But trout almost always love to eat them so we need to pay attention.  Also in this podcast we talk about bedraggled flies, tailwater insects, and one of my favorite subjects, using roadkills for fly tying.

This week I discuss a frequently requested podcast this time of year--how to set up your fly-tying area.  I talk about what you need to get started and what tools and threads you should begin with.  I also discuss storage and lighting and magnification and about how to stay organized.  In the Fly Box section we have another tip for essential safety items in a fishing vest or pack, and the difference between Blue-Winged Olives and PMDs and Pale Evening Duns.

We posted an episode a few weeks ago on how to best stock your dry-fly box. We had a number of requests for one on nymphing. Let us know what you think of this list!

In this episode Tom gives his list of what you could get that angler, and angler-to-be at the last minute!

This week we range in topics from toilet paper to bass leaders, but the main topic is one that is frequently requested: How to make sense of the thousands of patterns of dry flies into a reasonable number that will cover most of the hatches you encounter. I offer 10 tips on slimming down your fly box (or filling it up, depending on where you are in the game) plus my favorite dozen dry flies.

This week we do a podcast I've been looking forward to--an interview with a couple of top fly-fishing guides about what it's like to be a guide and how to get into guiding. Learn about how a guide prepares for their day, what they agonize over, and enjoy a few wild stories along the way.

In this week's podcast I announce the winner of the Podcast Suggestion Contest, who won a signed copy of my latest book Essential American Flies.  The topic is sure to be a crowd-pleaser to most of you--targeting bigger trout. In the podcast I give you 10 suggestions for targeting the biggest trout in a pool or in a stretch of river.  There were lots of great suggestions in the podcast contest, and I used a couple for the short Fly Box section at the beginning of the podcast:  How to cure the fall blues after a tough fishing season, and how to pack for a business trip where you might grab a few hours fishing.  Plus a terrific tip on rigging dry droppers on our podcast request line from a listener in Georgia.

This week I interview George Daniel, past competitor in Team Fly Fishing USA and now head coach. The subject is European nymphing styles like Czech nymphing, Polish nymphing, French nymphing, and Spanish nymphing. I've had a number of requests to talk about European nymphing so I called in one of the top American experts on these techniques. You'll learn the differences between these styles and under which conditions you use them, as well as how to rig for these very effective styles of catching trout and grayling on nymphs. These techniques are great to have in your bag of tricks when standard strike indicator and dry/dropper techniques aren't working.

In the podcast this week, I go on a minor rant about the ethics of crowding on today's trout streams, and pretty much tell you if you don't like the crowds, take a hike (literally).  I do give some suggestions on how to handle crowded situations if you have no other choice, but there is almost always another choice.  And in the main part of the podcast, I share with you some fall fishing secrets. We have touched on this subject before, but since the last time I have received some more tips from all of you that I really shoudl share. I also announce a very special contest for the best suggestion for next week's podcast.  The prize is an autographed copy of my new book, The Orvis Guide to The Essential American Flies, which is a large format book with spectacular color photos