TROUTBITTEN
Fishing Wild Rivers
For Wild Trout
Refining Techniques That Build Experiences
This Is Troutbitten
TROUTBITTEN ARTICLES
Welcome to Troutbitten.
Since 2014, I’ve published over 900 stories, commentaries, tips, tactics and reviews.
As the Troutbitten Project has grown branches, these articles continue to be the heart and soul of my work. Some of these writings are organized in series form, where a group of articles reads like chapters in a book.
Adding to this collection of articles and sorting them, so you can find what interests you most, is an ongoing work. Please visit the Troutbitten Articles Page to begin.
Thanks for being here, and thank you for your support. Fish hard, friends.
— Domenick Swentosky
TROUTBITTEN ARTICLES
Welcome to Troutbitten.
Since 2014, I’ve published over 900 stories, commentaries, tips, tactics and reviews.
As the Troutbitten Project has grown branches, these articles continue to be the heart and soul of my work. Some of these writings are organized in series form, where a group of articles reads like chapters in a book.
Adding to this collection of articles and sorting them, so you can find what interests you most, is an ongoing work. Please visit the Troutbitten Articles Page to begin.
Thanks for being here, and thank you for your support. Fish hard, friends.
— Domenick Swentosky
You Don’t Have to Match the Hatch
One by one they came back to the gravel lot, all of them pleasantly water-weary and uniquely satisfied. Each had caught lots of trout — that part of the story was the same. But the hot flies were all different. Trout had come to dries, streamers and a variety of nymphs. All of the Troutbitten crew had found success, but each had come to it in a different way.
. . . I’m not suggesting to ignore the hatches. I’m saying that you could ignore the hatches and probably catch just as many trout as the next guy . . .
Slipping Contact — Tight Line and Euro Nymphing
Slipping contact is the intermixing of influence and autonomy. Take the fly somewhere — help it glide along. Then surrender it to the current, and let the river make the decisions. Slip in and out, and find the balance between influence and independence to the fly . . .
PODCAST: What to Love About Small Stream Fishing — S7, Ep6
We fish small streams for the adventure, for the exploration and the experience. We fish smalls streams in search of wild trout in wild places. And we fish small streams because the challenges of fly fishing these waters teaches us everything we ever need to know about fishing bigger rivers . . .
PODCASTS
The Troutbitten Podcast launched in the fall of 2021, and it quickly became the most popular independent fishing podcast on the charts.
While in season, the podcast publishes once a week, and there are four seasons each year.
Troutbitten Podcasts seasons follow two formats.
In the first format, a full panel of my best fishing friends covers a topic in the wide world of fly fishing for trout. These free-form episodes with the Troutbitten crew are uniquely entertaining and deeply informative.
In the second format, my friend, Austin Dando, joins me to break down one specific topic in a multi-episode exploration of advanced tactics. These seasons are part of the Troutbitten Skills Series.
Visit the Troutbitten Podcast Page to find them all . . .
PODCAST: Good Wading, Better Fishing — How Wading Skills Change Everything — S7, Ep5
The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below. This episode is about wading a river. Good wading. Better wading. Confident wading. Because, for a...
PODCAST: High Water, Dirty Water, Muddy Water — S7, Ep4
The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below. What can we do when the rains come, when the snow melts, or when the floodgates open? Rivers rise in...
PODCAST: What’s More Difficult? Fishing Dry Flies or Nymphs? S7, Ep3
The Troutbitten Podcast is available everywhere that you listen to your podcasts. ** Note ** The Podcast Player, along with links to your favorite players is below. We have a fun conversation in this episode, about what’s more difficult — nymphs or dry flies. This...
TROUTBITTEN VIDEOS
The Troutbitten YouTube Channel began in 2017. But I took it to the next level in 2020, by partnering with my friend, Josh Darling of Wilds Media, to film a video that is still one of my favorites — The River Doesn’t Owe You Anything.
In 2022, Josh and I committed to publishing every other week, and I’m excited to bring his artistic and deeply professional video production to some of the ideas and stories that I’ve wanted to share for years.
Troutbitten videos currently feature the Tips Series, Fly Fishing the Mono Rig Series, and Gear Reviews. Who knows what’s coming next . . .
Visit the Troutbitten Videos Page to watch them all . . .
The Streamer Head Flip VIDEO
My favorite streamer presentation and my best trick for convincing trout to eat a streamer now has a companion video.
The head flip helps seal the deal on tough trout that won’t commit, and it’s a great look for almost any streamer — big, small, heavy or light. It’s a presentation that I use every day, because it works in so many situations.
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 . . .
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.
Leaders, stickers, hats, shirts canvases and more.
The Troutbitten Shop features logo-branded apparel and hand-tied leaders in all our favorite formulas.
GUIDED TRIPS
Guided fly fishing trips on central Pennsylvania’s best waters.
With an emphasis on education, Troutbitten trips are tailored toward your goals, your skill level and your interests. It’s your adventure.
These limestone spring-fed rivers are full of of wild brown trout that teach the right things.
No setups. Just wild trout in wild places.
Visit the Troutbitten Trips page for more.
SUPPORT
Troutbitten is an independent resource for all anglers. To help support this project, please consider the following.
— Make purchases through ads, through affiliate links. and on the Recommended Gear page
— Visit the Troutbitten Shop
— Donate directly to the Troutbitten Project