I field a lot of questions about leaders and fly rods. Those two pieces of gear, along with fly choice, seem to make the top of the list for every angler. We all have our terms and conditions for comparing things like a fly rod. And one of the descriptions I find most...
This article has a newer version It was updated in 2025, and you can find it there: The Best Fly Rods for the Mono Rig, Tight Line and Euro Nymphing -- My Favorite Rods Enjoy the day. Domenick Swentosky T R O U T B I T T E N domenick@troutbitten.com...
Fishing streamers on the Mono Rig offers anglers ultimate control over the direction and action of their flies -- all the way through the drift. And while small streamers may need nothing more than a nymphing-style cast, mid-sized and full-sized streamers require a...
Today's article is a remix from a while back. You can find it here: A Slidable Dry Dropper System Enjoy the day. Domenick Swentosky T R O U T B I T T E N domenick@troutbitten.com
I’ve had old timers tell me that leader and tippet technology is the biggest advancement in fly fishing over the last half-century. Within my own twenty-five years of fly fishing, I’ve seen fly shop wall space grow to include tippet spools of nylon and fluorocarbon in all X sizes (sometimes in half sizes too), with most manufacturers offering multiple options for stiffness and breaking strength in each diameter.
It’s all gotten a little complicated, I suppose, and my friends at TCO tell me that fielding confused questions about tippet is a daily chore. So let’s answer three important questions about tippet. What type? (Nylon vs Fluorocarbon.) What size? (How thick of a diameter is best?) And how long should your tippet section be?
Note: this article is not intended to be a comprehensive write-up for all things tippet. Google search will supply you with that. Instead, I’ll give you a real world, stream-level account of what works for me and the Troutbitten guys.
The other day I was listening to a podcast with Charlie Craven; I was dreaming of fishing while raking another giant pile of leaves in the backyard when something Charlie said caught my attention: “Trout are not very smart. They eat everything down there.”
It’s a point I’ve heard repeated time and again — that trout brains are small, and they eat sticks, leaves and rocks all the time. Ironically though, the next piece of the podcast interview rolled into what an excellent fly Charlie’s Two Bit Hooker is.
Does that duality make any sense? Sure it can. I think Charlie’s thoughts in the interview match what a lot of us think about fly selection — that trout will eat anything, but sometimes they eat another thing better.
Sighters are game changers. A visible sighter allows you to stop guessing where your fly might be and know where it is instead. By having a visual reference at a fixed point on your leader, you can track the movements of that leader, in relation to the currents, and have a very good idea of what your flies are doing under the water — or on the surface.
Not only do I build a sighter into my nymph and streamer leaders, I also add small, subtle sighters into my dry fly leaders. As my friend, Jimmi Ray, says, “Why wouldn’t you?” Sighters, however, are a staple in tight line and euro nymphing leaders, and in the Mono Rig.
I absolutely believe in the effectiveness of long mono leaders for nearly every underwater presentation to river trout, but here’s one major drawback: without the fly line, there’s nothing to look at. A sighter gives that visual back, better than ever.
Adding a second fly to the tippet section usually improves your chances of fooling a trout. Sure, there are times when the precision of just one fly is an advantage, but more often than not, I fish with multiple fly rigs. I like two nymphs, two streamers, and two...
This August, 2016 Troutbitten article is retooled and revisited here. Bobber, cork, foam, yarn, dry fly. Those are my categories, but who cares? If you’ve been fly fishing and nymphing for a while, you’ve probably tried all of the above. You have your own categories...
I’m part of the last generation to learn things without the aid of the internet. When I taught myself to fly fish in the nineties, the web was in its infancy, so my tutelage happened through a few books, some magazine articles and a lot of trial and error — emphasis...