TROUTBITTEN
Fishing Wild Rivers
For Wild Trout
Refining Techniques That Build Experiences
This Is Troutbitten
THE LATEST
Angler Types in Profile: The Rookie
I’m consistently surprised by the lack of river sense that’s missing in so many anglers. I mean that literally and not condescendingly. Just as a city kid marvels at the sight of deep darkness on a moonless night, fifty miles deep into a state forest, the country boy doesn’t give it a second thought. It’s experience. And that’s all it is.
People who are new to fishing just don’t know much about rivers. And I never really get used to that. Because so much of what a river does, and what fish do in response, is organic to me. I grew up fishing and playing in small streams. As a kid, I was drawn to every runoff ditch within walking or biking distance. I couldn’t stay away. And like anything else, you grow into your surroundings. I don’t think that can be changed, whether we’d like it to be or not.
Anyway, those without that same history with rivers see the water differently, and sometimes I have trouble remembering it.
On a cool April morning, Sam and I hit the water with all his new gear . . .
Perspective, From the Salt to the Limestone
Nothing opens the aperture of life better than time away from your daily routine. Vacations are an intermission between acts, providing time to stretch your legs, consider what you’ve seen and prepare for what’s to come.
. . . This past week in saltwater provided that intermission and granted me perspective at just the right time.
PODCAST: Night Fishing for Trout: People, Places and Things — S8, Ep1
Welcome to Season Eight of the Troutbitten Podcast. This season is a skills series about fishing for trout after the sun goes down. And for the next six episodes, we’ll break down the night game.
In this episode: What kind of angler fishes after dark? What are their motivations and rewards? Where does night fishing for trout happen? Where are the best places to catch trout after dark? Lastly, what kind of gear and tactics will we cover in this series?
TROUTBITTEN ARTICLES
Welcome to Troutbitten.
Since 2014, I’ve published over 1000 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
Angler Types in Profile: The Rookie
I’m consistently surprised by the lack of river sense that’s missing in so many anglers. I mean that literally and not condescendingly. Just as a city kid marvels at the sight of deep darkness on a moonless night, fifty miles deep into a state forest, the country boy doesn’t give it a second thought. It’s experience. And that’s all it is.
People who are new to fishing just don’t know much about rivers. And I never really get used to that. Because so much of what a river does, and what fish do in response, is organic to me. I grew up fishing and playing in small streams. As a kid, I was drawn to every runoff ditch within walking or biking distance. I couldn’t stay away. And like anything else, you grow into your surroundings. I don’t think that can be changed, whether we’d like it to be or not.
Anyway, those without that same history with rivers see the water differently, and sometimes I have trouble remembering it.
On a cool April morning, Sam and I hit the water with all his new gear . . .
Perspective, From the Salt to the Limestone
Nothing opens the aperture of life better than time away from your daily routine. Vacations are an intermission between acts, providing time to stretch your legs, consider what you’ve seen and prepare for what’s to come.
. . . This past week in saltwater provided that intermission and granted me perspective at just the right time.
PODCAST: Night Fishing for Trout: People, Places and Things — S8, Ep1
Welcome to Season Eight of the Troutbitten Podcast. This season is a skills series about fishing for trout after the sun goes down. And for the next six episodes, we’ll break down the night game.
In this episode: What kind of angler fishes after dark? What are their motivations and rewards? Where does night fishing for trout happen? Where are the best places to catch trout after dark? Lastly, what kind of gear and tactics will we cover in this series?
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: Vest, Pack or Something Else? Carrying Your Gear — S7, Ep8
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’s the best way to carry your gear? Should you use a vest, a chest pack, hip pack, sling pack or...
PODCAST: Talking About Tippet — Size, Strength, Length and Rigging — S7, Ep7
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. The leader might be the most important piece of gear that we have -- more consequential than the rod,...
PODCAST: What to Love About Small Stream Fishing — S7, Ep6
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 podcast is about small stream fishing — specifically, what we love about the places, the fish,...
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 . . .
Troutbitten Fly Box — The Craft Fur Jig and The Craft Fur Streamer (with VIDEO)
Some flies do one thing really well. Other flies are your workhorse on the water, lending solutions to river problems by being adaptable. These are the flies we reach for over and over. These are the flies we tie first and keep well stocked. This is the Craft Fur . . .
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 . . .
(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 . . .
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