When it comes to line, leader and gear changes on the water, if it isn’t easy, you won’t do it. That’s a Troutbitten mantra, and it’s the same for every angler I’ve ever met. It’s true, because none of us wants to waste fishing time by tying knots. Reaching into packs...
 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. One of the greatest attractions to fly fishing can also present one of the biggest barriers. It’s the...
** NOTE ** Video for Casting Forehand and Backhand appears below. Fly casting differs from spin casing in a few key ways, and here’s one one of them: You need both a forehand and a backhand cast to achieve effective presentations. Trying to fit a forehand cast on the...
 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. Casting, drifting, swinging and stripping -- everything else is downtime. As Paul said, “Brother,...
Pay with your time — now or late. Try this simple trick for splitting the rod in two, for easy transport through the woods or over the highways.
Fishing has taught me to do the simple things now, because it makes life less complicated later. I’m still learning that. As fishermen, I think we’re all reminded of it every day . . .
Fly selection is important, but it’s one of the last questions to ask. There’s no denying that catching a few trout helps lead us to the promise of catching a few more. One trout is an accident. It’s just as likely that you found a maverick as it is that a single fish can teach you the habits of the rest. Two fish is a coincidence, but three starts to show a trend. And at a half dozen fish, there’s enough data about who, what, where, when and why to build the pieces of a puzzle.
To the die-hard angler, adaptation and adjustment to what we discover is one of the great joys of fly fishing for trout . . .
Trout learn to see some colors, some materials, some shapes and movements as fake. And when they see the same fake fly often enough, they stop eating it. That’s what we mean by angler pressure. So, part of the game becomes a guess about what flies the trout have learned to reject and how we can turn the fish on again.
That’s the unnatural thing about trout seeing too many fishermen and too many flies . . .
For the majority of our tactics, fishing upstream is the best way to present the flies. And sometimes it’s the only way to get the preferred drift.
So too, working upstream allows for stealth. The angler becomes the hunter. With a close, targeted approach to smaller zones, we get great drifts in rhythm, one at a time . . .
Knots are personal. I don’t believe in any of the knot strength tests because there are too many variables. And what I know about the performance of my favorite Davy, for example, conflicts with the (I’ll say it) myth of its inferior breaking strength. My Davy’s are strong. But I don’t know about yours. That’s for you to find out . . .
What I call the Pulley Retrieve is a smooth and efficient method of recovering line. It’s useful for both fly line tactics and with a Mono Rig in hand. It’s an ingrained habit for me, and I use it every day that I’m on the water. Recover more line, and recover it smoother. Why not, right? Sounds good . . .