Like everyone else, I’ve waded through the fly bins, the magazine articles and the endless catalogs of new patterns trying to understand what flies I should carry. But the best fishermen I know all have a handful of go to patterns that they use ninety percent of the time — probably more. Most of those patterns are dead simple. My own handful of flies is basic, yet refined enough to cover any situation encountered on the water . . .

Part of what distinguishes fly fishing from other styles of fishing is retrieving line by hand. But then we need to get the line back out there. When should we shoot the line back through the rod guides? No one ever seems to talk about these options. But there are four of them.

We can shoot line on the pickup, on the backcast, on the forward cast and on the forward cast following the power stroke . . .

The churning waves, the cuts, troughs and sandbars of beach water mimic the flows of a good river that is full of structure. And tearing apart the differences to find the similarities between the two water systems is a challenge that’s renewed with each trip to the salt . . .

Fishing a full Mono Rig system allows for abundant versatility — but not without the line hand. You have two hands, so use them both. Get that second hand off your hip, and use it for slack recovery, opening up a range of options, adjustments and efficiencies.

We’re in between podcast seasons and on a bit of a summer break. But I wanted to keep in touch here. I’d like to tell you more about the Troutbitten Project — about all of the branches, what’s coming next and how all of this ties together.

I was in that stage of learning where I’d read more than I could put to use, while Rich had already fished more than he could ever find the words to tell.

. . . Somewhat stunned by the beauty of it all, I fell silent and let time creep along, until the slow motion whitewater of the falls mixed with the endless emerald shades reflecting in the softwater glides. An impenetrable canopy above stood guard against the angle of the sun and disguised the true time of day. This timeless valley was either day or night — with the details of everything in between insignificant . . .

Troutbitten leaders are back in the Shop. There are some unique features to Troutbitten leaders that make a big difference. These are hand tied leaders in four varieties: Harvey Dry Leader, Standard Mono Rig, Thin Mono Rig, and Micro-Thin Mono Rig. Standard Sighters are also available, and they include a Backing Barrel. The Full Mono Rig Kit contains each of the three Mono Rig leaders, three foam spools and a twenty-inch Rio Bi-Color extension.

All Troutbitten leaders come on a three-inch spool, making long leader changes a breeze . . .

Convinced or curious? Sometimes, it’s that intersection of the two states that elicits the irresistible urge from a fish. And trout eating on the drop is one of those times. . . .