Articles in the Category Videos

How We Cover Water (with VIDEO)

Here are a few ideas and guiding principles that work for me every day on my rivers. I don’t try to cover everything. I don’t make grids, but I do make plans. I like to stay creative and follow the signs that trout give me. And for my wading approach, I break things down into three simple strategies: the typewriter, the zig zag and following up one lane . . .

The Corner Cast — Rounding the Corner Might Be Better Than a Roll Cast (with VIDEO)

Rounding the corner with a Corner Cast often outperforms a Roll Cast. It’s faster, more efficient and easier. But remember, it requires great casting from, with good line speed and crisp stops. That’s where good fly casting always begins. So develop a good baseline and everything else will follow. . . .

Troutbitten Fly Box — The Harvey Pusher Night Fly (with VIDEO)

When you work the Pusher, imagine the wings flexing and pulsing as you hand twist retrieve and pulse the rod tip on a three count. See the fly in your mind’s eye and make it come alive in the dark. Then hold on tight . . .

(VIDEO) The Universal Uni-Knot — One Knot to Rule Them All

Here are ten different uses for the Uni-Knot. This universal knot is a problem solver, and it opens up opportunities . . .

(VIDEO) What’s In That Vest? Laying Out the Essentials and More

(VIDEO) What’s In That Vest? Laying Out the Essentials and More

The key to a good carrying system is efficiency. Carry lots of gear or be a minimalist. But however you carry your gear, make sure it works for you. Think it through. And then change something if the system is holding you back, if it’s getting in your way or taking you out of rhythm. A carrying system should be designed around the way you fish, and not the other way around. Think about that. Don’t change the way you fish to suit a poorly chosen pack.

My vest is the most important piece of gear that I own. Because it holds everything that I work with. And having things laid out with a purpose keeps me efficient and ready to adapt. 

(VIDEO) The Fly Rod Dip and Swish — A Useful Trick You Might Have Missed

(VIDEO) The Fly Rod Dip and Swish — A Useful Trick You Might Have Missed

What do you do when the fly line to leader connection comes back through your rod guides? How do you get to fly line back out there? And if you’re using a long leader system or a tight line nymphing system, and the butt section of your leader wraps around your rod tip, how do you get it unwrapped?

The fly rod dip and swish. That’s the answer you do. It’s a really useful tool that solves a lot of problems . . .

Fish and Film #1– Doc, Darling, Delly and Dom (VIDEO)

Fish and Film #1– Doc, Darling, Delly and Dom (VIDEO)

For a couple of years, the Troutbitten guys and I have wanted to put together films that simply show the fishing, the friendships and good times on the water. So begins the Fish and Film series on the Troutbitten YouTube channel . . .

Reading Water in Levels, Lanes and Seams (with VIDEO)

Reading Water in Levels, Lanes and Seams (with VIDEO)

Reading water is a base level skill for every river angler. While mystifying at first, finding the features of moving water becomes second nature in short order. Then, the river opens up and reveals itself, signaling where trout hold, where to cast and how to achieve the necessary presentations.

Levels, lanes and seams are not the structure of a river itself. Instead, the structures of a river — a wide gravel bar, a small island or a midstream boulder create the lanes and seams — the features of your favorite water.

This is how we read a river . . .

Mono Rigs and Euro Leaders — Micro Thin or Standard? (with VIDEO)

Mono Rigs and Euro Leaders — Micro Thin or Standard? (with VIDEO)

This is an absolute keystone to understanding all the information out there about long leader systems. I hope you enjoy it.

Just like the fly lines that these long leaders substitute for, the range and variety of leader formulas leads to a lot of confusion.

Mono Rigs, euro rigs, tight line or contact rigs: Yes, there’s a difference in those terms. But everything we’ll consider here applies to them all. Basically, if what is outside of your rod guides is the leader only (or even just a thin euro fly line), then it helps to understand how the leader build affects our possibilities for how we might fish . . .

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15 Knot Tying Tips (with VIDEO)

15 Knot Tying Tips (with VIDEO)

Being a versatile angler comes down to changing things. And on the river, that means tying knots. Good anglers need the facility to tie knots, with ease. This is my best advice for tying quick, clean, strong knots.

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Five Keys to Reading the Sighter (with VIDEO)

Five Keys to Reading the Sighter (with VIDEO)

Control. Options. Precision. These are the most attractive aspects of fishing a tight line system, and the sighter is the key to it all.

A sighter is more than a strike indicator. It also shows depth, angle, speed and contact. It points to our flies and takes away the guesswork. For an angler who learns to read all of this on the sighter, that colored line above the water provides a most significant advantage to the underwater game . . .

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(VIDEO) Finding Your Best Fishing Angles

(VIDEO) Finding Your Best Fishing Angles

Choosing your casting position based on visibility, working with the light rather than fighting against it, is not an intuitive decision. But by simply moving our body, by wading up, down or over, we change the light, the highlights and the glare on the water. In this way we can see through a section of river from the left side that was under impossible glare from the right . . .

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(VIDEO) The Tight Line Advantage for Nymphs, Indicators, Streamers and Dry Dropper

(VIDEO) The Tight Line Advantage for Nymphs, Indicators, Streamers and Dry Dropper

For effective, convincing underwater presentations of flies to a trout, the tight line advantage is the cornerstone concept. Nothing else is more important.

Because a river is composed of changing and moving seams, defeating that unwanted drag is the nymph angler’s ongoing battle. How do we defeat that drag? With the tight line advantage. Watch this video to see it in action.

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