Showing up to the river without a good pair of polarized sunglasses is like wading through water in sneakers. Sure, it’s possible. But what you can do and where you can go is limited. From head to toe, our fly fishing gear matters. We don’t need top-end glasses to...
One simple thing can change an angler’s enjoyment and success on the water, maybe more than any other — knot tying skill. But I meet too many otherwise excellent fly anglers who complain about knots or lament the amount of time it takes to make tactical transitions on...
Fly fishing gear breaks down. Waders leak, boots fall apart and pack zippers fail. The stitching at the seams of all this stuff takes a lot of abuse, so how long can it hold up? How well is it built? The 100 Day Gear Review Series on Troutbitten takes a look at how...
Tight line and euro nymphing is experiencing a groundswell of popularity. These tactics have been around for decades, but anglers are now learning the techniques from better sources, with solid advice and a fresher understanding of what is possible when using a...
Finding the fulcrum with your trigger finger, and cradling the rod in your hand makes for effortless casting. If your rod hand aches at the end of the day, you’re doing it wrong.
Everything about casting and drifting improves by holding the rod with barely enough pressure to keep it in your hand. The fish will follow.
If you’re thinking about a new fly rod (and who isn’t), it’s helpful to understand the upside and downside of extra length. Whether your intentions for the new rod are tight line tactics, streamers, dries, or a versatile tool that can easily tackle all of these, the advantages and disadvantages of extra length in a fly rod are important to understand . . .
Good fly fishing requires great footwork along the way. Staying mobile, reading the water, body positioning, wading not walking, and gear preparation. These are the keys to better wading . . .
As river anglers, everything we need now and we might need later accompanies us when we leave the truck. Our gear must transport with ease or we won’t bring it. And it must store with convenience, or we won’t use it. The vest solves these two directives better than any other system . . .
Seaguar Invizx has become my go to fluorocarbon tippet material, and some of my Troutbitten friends do the same. It’s thin, strong and flexible with excellent handling and flex. Invizx is as good as some fly shop brands and better than many others. And because the type of tippet we use is not what catches trout, I don’t overspend on tippet . . .
Rod tip recovery is the defining characteristic of a quality fly rod versus a mediocre one.
Cast the rod and watch it flex. Now see how long it takes for the rod tip to stop shaking. Watch for a complete stop, all the way to a standstill — not just the big motions, but the minor shuddering at the end too.
Good rods recover quickly. They may be fast or slow. They may be built for power or subtly, but they recover quickly. They return to their original form in short order.
Here’s why . . .