2 Guys and a River

2 Guys and a River episodes:

• 03.31.2024

  Episode 280: What to Do When You Hook a Fish

  You've set the hook. Now what? In this episode, we offered up some of the best practices for netting and releasing your fish. One of the most important reminders is to monitor the interval between the time you hook the...

  
• 03.22.2024

  Episode 279: Challenging a Fly Fishing Platitude about a Trout's Diet

  “Trout do 80% of their feeding underwater.” We've repeated that platitude often over the years. In a recent issue of TROUT magazine, a publication of Trout Unlimited, Tom Rosenbauer labels that platitude a  "trout myth.” In this episode, we discuss...

  
• 03.15.2024

  Episode 278: Resolutions to Make the Next Three Seasons of Fly Fishing Great

  New resolutions are often tied to the new year. We've decided to release our resolutions near the beginning of the real fly fishing year - spring. We love fishing in winter, but we catch most of our fish and spend...

  
• 03.08.2024

  Episode 277: Winter Fly Fishing Tips

  We hit the river a couple weeks ago and discovered once again that winter fly fishing is not like fishing in the other three seasons. A recent fly fishing newsletter helped put winter fishing into perspective with a few tips....

  
• 11.25.2023

  Episode 276: How Returning to the Fundamentals Will Improve Your Fishing

  Just like every other craft, a fly fisher must occasionally return to the basics of the art and skill of fly fishing. In this episode, we identify several key elements of fly fishing that we've had to relearn or remember....

  
• 11.18.2023

  Episode 275: Steve Fly Fishes in Alaska

  Steve spent some time in Alaska this summer, breaking his fly rod, catching a few rainbows, and netting a silver. Listen in as Dave interviews Steve about his Alaskan fly fishing experience while on a trip to visit family. Some...

  
• 11.12.2023

  Episode 274: Crazy Fly Fishing Moments - Rattlesnakes, Buying Bear Spray, and Dave in Full Form

  Steve screaming after almost stepping on a rattlesnake, Dave in his underwear, and buying bear spray at closing time - these and other crazy fly fishing stories make our last trip to Montana memorable. This is not a practical episode....

  
• 11.05.2023

  Episode 273: When Your Fly Fishing Trip Is Just Okay

  Every fly fishing trip can't be the best ever. Nor can every day on the river exceed your expectations. We recently had an "okay" fly fishing trip to Montana, if measured by the number of fish we caught. We caught...

  
• 08.05.2023

  Episode 272: Make Your Fly Fishing More Simple - and More Enjoyable

  Make your fly fishing more simple. And thus more enjoyable. When first starting out, most of us feel overwhelmed with the many types of fly rods, sizes of flies, tippet weights, leader lengths, casting techniques, how long the tippet should...

  
• 07.29.2023

  Episode 271: Fly Fishing High Mountain Lakes

  Fly fishing high mountain lakes requires a modicum of thought and preparation. In some ways, a "hike and fish" means packing lots of water, the right rod and flies, a rain jacket, and the right mindset. We don't fish a...

  
• 07.23.2023

  Episode 270: Summer Dry Fly Fishing Patterns

  It's the dog days of summer, and hopefully you are slinging some grasshopper patterns or other terrestrials to catch fish on the surface. In this episode, we've identified four buckets of dry fly patterns for summer fly fishing. We also...

  
• 07.16.2023

  Episode 269: Fly Fishing with the Summer Crowds

  Fly fishing with the summer crowds seems inevitable, if you plan to get out this summer. Warm weather and vacations bring out even more fly fishers to your favorite stream. In this episode, we offer several strategies to avoid the...

  
• 05.29.2023

  Episode 268: When It’s Time to Quit Your Favorite Stream

  Quitters never win. And winners never quit. That's true. And it's also not true. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is to quit your favorite stream, creek, or stretch of river. In this episode, we wax not so eloquently...

  
• 05.22.2023

  Episode 267: The Basics of Fishing with Streamers

  Fly fishers who sling streamers tend to catch bigger fish. There's no scientific evidence to support this, of course, other than our anecdotal evidence. But we've had some terrific days on the river casting bigger flies that we fish on...

  
• 05.12.2023

  Episode 266: Fly Fishing the Edges of the Seasons

  Most fly fishers despise driving up to where they expect to fish for the day and see three trucks alongside the creek. In this episode, we discuss our basic approach to fishing the four seasons. We try as much as...

  
• 05.07.2023

  Episode 265: Fly Fishing Spring Creeks with More Success

  Fly fishing spring creeks often demands more finesse than fishing freestone rivers. The water temperature is more consistent in spring creeks, and the food more ubiquitous. If you want to catch fish in a spring creek, your tackle must be...

  
• 04.01.2023

  Episode 264: The Unexpected Perks of Fly Fishing

  Catching fish is the reward of fly fishing. And we both love and expect to catch fish every time we head out to the river. But there are some other perks of fly fishing. And in this episode, we list...

  
• 03.22.2023

  Episode 263: Fly Fishing Tips We’ve Picked Up from Other Fishers

  It takes a village to raise a fly fisher. In this episode, we admit once again to our persistent mediocrity as fly fishers. We give credit, however, to whatever skills we have to friends, guides, and others we've observed through...

  
• 03.11.2023

  Episode 262: Three Magical Days Fly Fishing the Yellowstone River

  Fly fishing the Yellowstone River late in the fall is a risk. If the weather suddenly turns right before your fly fishing trip, the roads in the Park may close. Or perhaps if the weather has been too balmy -...

  
• 03.04.2023

  Episode 261: Why We Continue to Fly Fish

  Pickle Ball is not in our future. We continue to fly fish for a variety of reasons, including the sheer delight of spending a few hours on the river trying to convince trout that what we’re presenting is real. This...

  
• 06.21.2022

  Episode 260: Dave Kumlien on the Yellowstone Flooding and Its Effect on Fishing

  The Yellowstone Flood of 2022 is not yet over, and already it is the most catastrophic flooding event of the Yellowstone River in recorded history. Major flooding on the Yellowstone River and its tributaries wiped out stretches of highway in...

  
• 02.14.2022

  Episode 259: Fly Fishing with Lighter Rods

  Fly fishing with lighter rods makes sense only if the conditions are right. In recent years, each of us has purchased a lighter rod for smaller creeks. In this episode, we relay pluses and minuses of Fly Fishing with Lighter...

  
• 02.14.2022

  Episode 258: Lessons from Our Fall Fly Fishing Trip to Montana

  Our fall fly fishing trip to Montana was one of the best on record. The previous year was a bust. In fact, we wondered if we should even return to Montana in the fall, whether our honey holes and favorite...

  
• 02.14.2022

  Episode 257: Reflections on John Maclean’s Home Waters

  John Maclean’s Home Waters is a memoir of his father, Norman Maclean, the author of “A River Runs Through It.” In this memoir, John reflects on his growing up as the grandson and son of two characters in the novella...

  
• 02.13.2022

  Episode 256: One Fine Day on the East Gallatin River

  The East Gallatin River flows in a northwesterly direction through the Gallatin valley in Montana, north of Bozeman. From the perspective of a drone a couple thousand feet up, the river, which is more like a large creek, might look...

  
• 09.19.2020

  255: Reflections on a Montana Fly Fishing Trip

  It’s September, and often during this month we find a way for our annual Montana fly fishing trip. It was fitting that in a year like 2020, there were some strange moments. In this episode, we discuss a series of...

  
• 09.14.2020

  254: Fishing the Transition of the Season

  Fishing the transition of the season starts with a different set of expectations. The prolific summer hatches are mostly over. And the fall runners have yet to make their way up the river. In this episode, we discuss how to...

  
• 09.05.2020

  253: Not-So-Obvious Questions for Your Next Fly Fishing Trip

  Hopefully, your next fly fishing trip is sooner rather than later. It has been a year of kicking the proverbial can of what we love to do down the road. The pandemic has delayed or postponed indefinitely a lot of...

  
• 08.29.2020

  252: The Fly Fishing Etiquette Mindset

  The fly fishing etiquette mindset is a way of thinking that should permeate the actions of every fly fisher. In this episode, we read a thread from Trout Unlimited’s online forum about a fly fisher who was, in our opinion,...

  
• 08.22.2020

  251: Key Factors in Your Fly Fishing Success

  Fly fishing success is not just about your amazing chops: precision casting, reading the river, and overall fly fishing genius. There are factors out of your control that affect whether you catch fish. In this episode, we identify seven factors...

  
• 08.15.2020

  250: Strategies for Fishing the Film

  Fishing the film begins with a different mindset. We often think first about fishing on top of the surface or at the bottom of the river. In this episode, we discuss the “film” mindset” and offer four strategies for greater...

  
• 08.08.2020

  249: Photographing Your Entire Fly Fishing Experience

  Fish pics are ubiquitous. Instagram has every angle of fish pic you can imagine. But there’s more to shoot when you’re on the river than just pictures of your big brown trout. In this episode, we offer up twelve tips...

  
• 08.01.2020

  248: The Complete Guide to Fly Fishing with Streamers – with Dave Kumlien

  If you’ve never felt the violent strike of a brown trout on a streamer, you haven’t really lived. In this guide to fly fishing with streamers, we interview Dave Kumlien, Montana outfitter and former fly shop owner, on a wide...

  
• 07.25.2020

  247: Our Love-Hate Relationship with Salmo Trutta

  Salmo trutta tend to dominate wherever they live. Also known as brown trout, salmo trutta often push out brook trout – or at least push them upstream. Brown trout thrive in warmer waters. In this episode we regale each other...

  
• 07.18.2020

  246: 7 Under Explained Aspects of Fly Fishing, Part 1

  “Duh! How did I not know this after all these years?” There are so many aspects of fly fishing that simply escaped us during the first few years of fly fishing. Frankly, we’re still learning new hacks or tips that...

  
• 07.12.2020

  245: Summer Wearables for Fly Fishing Comfort

  Fly fishing comfort in summer simply requires a few basic items of clothing. Certainly dry-fit clothing is at the top of the list. So is a water-resistant cap or hat. In this episode, we offer up our short list of...

  
• 07.05.2020

  244: Fly Fishing the Small Creeks of Montana

  Small creeks in Montana are plentiful and full of trout. While the big rivers get all the press, it’s the smaller freestone creeks where some of the best fishing is. We love to fly fish the small creeks of Montana....

  
• 06.27.2020

  243: 7 Midsummer Fly Fishing Tips

  Midsummer fly fishing tips include taking a siesta in the middle of the day and trying your hand at catching trout with a size #22 Trico imitation. In this episode, we discuss a few of the changes that come when...

  
• 06.20.2020

  242: Outdoors Lessons from Our Fathers

  Parents, both mothers and fathers, play an inordinate role in the belief systems and destiny of their children. This weekend is Father’s Day Weekend, and so we wanted to share the lessons from our fathers while hunting and fishing in...

  
• 06.13.2020

  241: 8 Places to Cast Your Dry Fly

  Dry fly fishing is one of the great joys of the sport. One key element of success is where you cast your dry fly. It’s both art and skill. In this episode, we identify the eight places where you should...

  
• 06.08.2020

  240: Simplifying Your Fly Fishing Experience

  Like all of life, fly fishing has become increasingly complex: Just try to sort through the dizzying array of fly fishing rods before you purchase your next one. In this episode, we discuss our aspirations to simplify our fly fishing...

  
• 05.30.2020

  239: The Intrigue of Fly Fishing a Familiar River

  Fishing a new creek or river for the first time is exciting. But there’s also an intrigue of fly fishing a familiar place, a stretch that you’ve fished for years. In this episode, we recount a recent fly fishing trip...

  
• 05.23.2020

  238: Best All Around Fly Rod for Normal Folk

  The best all around fly rod is up for debate. The answer is, of course, it depends. Many fly fishers have more than one rod, but if you had to choose, which would be the best all around fly rod?...

  
• 05.16.2020

  237: 6 Lists for Fly Fishing Success

  Fly fishing success means different things to different people. For many of us, just a day on the river is success. In this episode, we identify six lists from our book “The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists” and discuss their...

  
• 05.09.2020

  236: 6 Practices for Stalking Trout

  Stalking trout is a basic concept of fly fishing, but yet it’s often not part of the curriculum of new fly fishers. In this episode we identify six practices for stalking trout and tell a few stories when we found...

  
• 05.03.2020

  235: Flies that Work Anytime and Anywhere

  Flies that work anytime and anywhere are essential to your fly box. Yes, there may be some specialty flies that work only during specific hatches, but more often than not, the basics are pretty much all you need (most or...

  
• 04.26.2020

  234: 4 Questions for Your Next Fly Fishing Trip

  Your next fly fishing trip may seem like years away in this moment in history, but soon enough, it will be time to plan. In this episode we discuss four questions to help winnow your options to make the best...

  
• 04.18.2020

  233: Tips for Landing Bigger Fish

  Landing bigger fish is impossible if you simply try to rip in the fish like you would if you were spin fishing. In this episode we identify several tips that have helped us increase our catch rate when Moby hits...

  
• 04.11.2020

  232: Fishing Emergers during a Hatch

  Fishing emergers during a hatch is as fundamental as it gets. And yet, most new fly fishers rarely hear about this approach early on. In this episode, we start off with a couple great stories from recent trips when the...

  
• 04.04.2020

  231: The Wading Risk of Soft River Bottoms

  Soft river bottoms pose a unique risk to wade fishers. In this episode, Dave recounts a winter fly fishing experience in which he got stuck in the mud while trying to wade to a run. It was 31 degrees. Dave...