This week, my guest is Orvis rod designer and my fishing buddy Shawn Combs [14:05], who uses the new Helios rods as an example of how a new rod series is developed.  What kind of input goes into a new rod design?  Why do we keep making new rod series?  How are they tested?  How many prototypes of a new rod are built before we decide on the final model?   The Fly Box is short this week because I've caught up with questions and am doing this before I leave for a couple weeks.  But they're good ones, including:   Do I need to set the hook in a different manner with a glass fly rod?   Is there something about the new Helios rods that is not covered on the web site and catalog copy?   Is there a place where I can still pick up a Helios 3 rod?   I am going to Cozumel and will be wade fishing from the beach.  What should I know in advance?   A listener gives some great tips on fly fishing for trout in Missouri  

How Fly Rods Are Developed, with Shawn Combs

The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast provides weekly tips  from acclaimed fly fishing author and lifelong fly fishing enthusiast, Tom Rosenbauer. Get the most from your time on the water!

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  Carp are difficult any time but around spawning time they can be extremely frustrating.  But they can be caught on a fly.  You need to know where to look and which fish to target.  Guide Rowan Lytle [44:38] has it dialed in, and if you always wanted to catch a carp on the fly you need to listen to this podcast.  Rowan, not yet 30 years old, has already caught 202 different species of fish on a fly rod, and some of them will surprise you.  But you'll need to listen to the podcast to find out what they are.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips from listeners, including:    I tip for taming your line and leader when you don't use a hook keeper   How far do I hold my UV lamp form the fly when curing UV epoxy?   What do I do on my local lake when the Power Bait crowd out-fishes me?   How do I catch catfish on a fly rod?   Do you fish different caddis pupa patterns for cased vs. uncased caddis?   How do different holes in a river change throughout the season?   Should I fish dry flies and nymphs in a lake different from the way I fish them in streams?   Do weed guards on flies actually work in thick vegetation?   If we see mayflies about size 12 hatching in our lake, should we use a size 12 nymph or one smaller?   What is the difference between flow, thin, and thick UV resins and when should I use each one?   My size 20 grizzly hackle keeps breaking.  Do you have any tips for keeping tension and not breaking the stems?   What are the advantages and disadvantages of buying a complete outfit vs. separate components?   A tip from a listener on whether to use your wading staff upstream or downstream of your position.   I want to start tying flies.  What pattern would you recommend I start with?     What are your favorite bass and bluegill flies?  

Secrets of Carp Fishing Around Spawning Time, with Rowan Lytle

  My guest this week is Sarah Foster [54:15], executive director of The American Museum of Fly Fishing, on why she thinks learning about the history and traditions surrounding fly fishing are important and add to our enjoyment.  She talks about recent exhibits and acquisitions, and what is in store for the future of the museum.  It's a must-see for anyone visiting southern Vermont.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some especially interesting questions and tips from listeners, including:   Why do I keep getting strikes on nymphs while stripping them upstream like a streamer?   Is the throat of a pool a common place to find trout feeding?   At what temperature does a brown trout start to actively feed?   When I see a pod of rising trout, why can I only fool one fish even though the other ones continue to feed?   How do older Orvis bamboo fly rods compare to contemporary models?   I found eggs in holdover brown trout in the spring.  Were these fish that never found a mate?   I have trouble with rabbit's foot hair coming loose on my flies.  How do I secure it better?   If you only had one line for striped bass from shore, what line would you choose?   How much time before the incoming or outgoing tide should I fish for striped bass?   Can you explain exactly what a shock tippet is?   What is your "last fly" during the evening hatch when it gets tough to see?   Do polarized sunglasses lose their effectiveness over time?   A listener gives a tip for an easier way to tie a surgeon's knot   A listener gives a caution about fishing below sewage treatment plants after a major flood event   My 70-denier thread keeps breaking.  What could be the problem?   What feathers from a chicken are useful in fly tying?   I fish a 6-weight rod and want a different rod for smaller streams.  What should I pick?   I always use a wading staff.  Is the metal tip on the staff an alarm clock for trout, and have you ever put on a rubber tip to prevent this?  

Are Fly-Fishing Traditions and History Important? with Sarah Foster

Scott [41:18] is an assistant professor of motor control and learning at Long Beach University, as well as a fly fisher and podcast listener.  He has a small number of quick tests you can do at home to check your balance, and then simple exercises you can do at home without any special equipment to improve your balance in a matter of weeks.  Wading safely and comfortably on a river involves both balance and confidence, and what you learn here will give you help with both.  You'll enjoy your time on the water more.   In the Fly Box this week we have so many great tips from listeners that I may be able to retire and turn the podcast over to you.  But we also have some interesting questions that I'm happy to answer as best I can.  Some of these include:   A listener suggests when a self-inflating PFD may be a good option   Two listeners weigh in on how to access scientific articles on fisheries science with paying a fee for access   A listener offers a great suggestion on how to easily attach a dropper to the bend of a hook.   Should I be concerned about fishing below a sewage treatment outlet?   A listener tells a great tale of his momentous catch on one of the new Helios rods   Should I be concerned about angling for fish when they are on their spawning run?   With the new Helios rods, do you still prefer the F version for trout and the D version for salt water?   If I dispose of the shiners I catch will it help the local trout population?   What do you think of using an indicator with a big nymph or crayfish fly for early season smallmouth?   Can you explain the difference between a shooting head and a sink-tip line?   A listener gives some expert advice on the choice of insect repellents   I am having trouble with short roll casts.  Do you think it's my casting technique?   Is it helpful to pre-treat dry flies right after you tie them?   If I fish an indicator and split shot and a nymph, should I use a double taper or weight-forward line?  

How to Test and Keep Your Balance When Wading, with Scott Ducharme

Ralph Cutter [36:53] is an extremely perceptive, pragmatic angler with a lifetime of experience in white water, both fishing and in watercraft and water rescues.  He feels that what we’ve been taught to do if we fall in wearing waders is all wrong, and he has a number of tips for getting to shore safely that most of us don’t know about.  He also recommends a second wader belt for wading in very tricky waters.  He’s proven this through countless experiments on the water.  If you spend any time at all wading in rivers, you must listen to this podcast—or you can read an article in Fly Fisherman magazine he wrote a number of years ago through this link: How to Wade Safely and Get Out of Dangerous Situations - Fly Fisherman     In the Fly Box this week, we have questions that range from the very basic to more advanced, and tips from listeners as well, including:  Why do my CDC dry flies sink like a rock? I am not feeling strikes when I am nymph fishing.  Are there improvements I can make to feel more fish? Would a longer rod help more in nymph fishing? Why aren’t knotless leaders marked with a small segment of color so that the butt, tippet, and transition sections are clearly demarcated? A listener clarifies the issue of whether northern strain brook trout were ever stocked in the southern Appalachians If I want to fish pools that are 8-10 feet deep with a Euro rig, do I need an 8-10-foot tippet? What do I do if I am fishing a dropper rig and my upper dropper tippet breaks off or gets too short?  Do I need to tie another surgeon’s knot? If I am fishing straight upstream, do I need to mend my line? If my hook bends after removing it from a snag and I bend it back into place, will that weaken the hook? I have trouble tying a dropper onto the bend of a hook.  I lose tension and pressure before cinching the knot down.  Do you have any tips to help this? The water temperature was in the 40s and there was a mayfly hatch, but I only caught fish on nymphs and nothing was rising.  Why did this happen? Does choosing a fly rod really depend mostly on the size flies you’re throwing?  When I fish a small bass fly, I don’t want to try to land a bass on my 3-weight.   

This Podcast May Save Your Life, with Ralph Cutter

The use of the natural toxin rotenone to remove invasive, non-native species of trout to protect native species is a controversial topic. Does it really work? What does the poison do to the insect, mammal, and bird populations? Ted Williams [52:36], a proponent of these tactics in selected waters, discusses where reclaiming populations has been successful and also places where it would not make sense. Ted is one of the foremost environmental writers of our time and is never afraid to stick his neck out, so you may agree with what he says or you may not, but you’ll learn some important biology in the process.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a host of interesting questions and some great tips from listeners, including:  A plug for Trout Unlimited’s “Trout in the Classroom” projects What is your favorite rod for small streams, what size flies do you use, and where do I find the biggest trout in small streams? Can I use nymphs in small streams?  They have not worked for me. How do you test water temperature?  Do you need to suspend the thermometer deep in the water? How can I catch walleye on my fly rod? At what water temperature should I fish for bass? How long do you stick with one fly before changing it, and what do you look for in new water? Have you found any difference between painted and unpainted flies on streamers? I want to do some writing about fly fishing.  How do you handle criticism when you do this? What is the best practice for tipping guides? Do you recommend studs for rubber-soled waders, and how often can you remove them and then put them back? On cloudy days I can’t see as much with my polarized glasses?  What should I do? How long does it take for trout to get back into their normal positions after a flood? Should you present streamers differently in the early season than you would later in the spring? The dry fly on my dry/dropper rig keeps twisting.  What can I do to avoid this? How do you get your fly to fish in deep water running along the bottom? I keep breaking my tippet where it connects to my tippet ring even though I am using a lighter tippet to my flies.  What can I do? 

How Fly Rods Are Developed, with Shawn Combs

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