Articles in the Category Announcements

UPDATE ON EVENT: The Troutbitten Film Festival

Troutbitten is hosting a Film Festival at New Trail Brewing Company in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, and we want you to be there. We’ll gather to share fishing stories, a few beers and good times. The event will feature door prizes with gear from many of the best companies in the fly fishing world, and we’ll have awards for some of the selected films.

The Troutbitten Film Festival features genuine experiences. It’s about the woods and the water. It’s about wild places. It’s about the friendships and stories we all collect from a life on the water. It’s not about exotic locations. It’s not a big fish contest or a big camera contest. If you’re resourceful, you can create something beautiful and endearing for the Troutbitten Film Festival with your iPhone.

PODCAST: Fighting Big Fish #7 – Everything All At Once – S20, Ep7 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

The season 20 finale covers small water, shallow water, drag settings, strip sets, locations, and using the rod to control the fish.

PODCAST: Fighting Big Fish #6 – The Last Ten Feet, and In the Net – S20, Ep6 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

This podcast is all about the the end of the fight, 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 . . .

PODCAST: Fighting Big Fish #5 – Side Pressure! – S20, Ep5 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

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 . . .

PODCAST: Fighting Big Fish #2 – Where to Fight Them – S20, Ep2 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

Aug 2, 2026 | Announcements, Catch and Release Safely, Fighting Fish, The Troutbitten Podcast

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, meaning, what types of water are a safe choice for fighting the biggest trout of your life?

PODCAST: Fighting Big Fish #1 – The Hooks Set and What Comes First – S20, Ep1 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

Jul 26, 2026 | Announcements, Catch and Release Safely, Fighting Fish, The Troutbitten Podcast

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 have time to think about this stuff when the biggest fish of your life shows up . . .

PODCAST: Freewheelin’ – Out of Town Guides, Wet Flies, Stocking, etc. S19, Ep10 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

Jun 28, 2026 | Announcements, The Troutbitten Podcast

In this Season 19 finale of the Troutbitten Podcast, we tackle a grab bag of topics. We call these episodes the Freewheelin’ Troutbitten. The last half hour is dedicated to our most important conservation message — stop stocking over wild trout.

PODCAST: The Airing of Grievances — Five | S19-Ep9 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

Jun 21, 2026 | Announcements, The Troutbitten Podcast

This is the fifth annual Airing of Grievances episode. 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 we’re here to complain about things, to clear the air and to get things off our chests about the fly fishing industry. And that means just about everyone involved.

PODCAST: Learning From Other Species and Other Styles | S19-Ep8 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

Jun 14, 2026 | Announcements, The Troutbitten Podcast

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.

PODCAST: Fishing Angles – Upstream or Downstream? S19-Ep6 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

May 31, 2026 | Announcements, The Troutbitten Podcast | 2 Comments

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?

Troutbitten Shop Spring Sale ’26 — All Leaders, Hats, Stickers and Apparel In Stock

May 25, 2026 | Announcements, Nymphing, Streamers, The Mono Rig | 0 Comments

The Troutbitten Shop Spring Sale ’26 is here, with all leaders, hats and stickers back in the Troutbitten Shop.

PODCAST: Season Nineteen Intermission — Catching Up, Leader Sales, Book, Beer, Film Fest and More

May 24, 2026 | Announcements, The Troutbitten Podcast | 2 Comments

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.

PODCAST: Is There Really Anything to Figure Out? S19-Ep5 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

May 19, 2026 | Announcements, The Troutbitten Podcast | 0 Comments

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. Maybe not.

PODCAST: Taking the Next Step, S19 – Ep4 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

May 11, 2026 | Announcements, The Troutbitten Podcast | 2 Comments

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 start of a dedicated fishing life. Most people who become serious anglers have some fishing experiences for a while, and then for whatever reason, the whole thing just becomes . . . more.

PODCAST: The Big Lie of Dry Dropper, S19 – Ep3 (VIDEO and AUDIO)

May 4, 2026 | Announcements, Dry Fly Fishing, Nymphing, The Troutbitten Podcast | 5 Comments

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 fly ends up with a great drift. Instead, both flies are compromised and their natural drift is altered.