Loop to Loop

Mark Susinno is a lifelong and classically trained fine artist who resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After attending Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY his brother introduced him to fly fishing and forged a path for Mark to focus his creativity. His paintings have graced the fly-fishing world for over 35 years capturing the anticipation and mysterious world of life underwater. An active conservationist, Susinno has donated countless pieces of artwork to many conservationist organizations including Trout Unlimited and Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. To see his artwork, watch the YouTube version of this podcast.

Ben Furimsky is the owner and operator of The Fly Fishing Show, the largest consumer show in the fly-fishing industry. The Fly Fishing Show travels around the United States educating and entertaining anglers from January to March. Furimsky is an accomplished fly fisher who has travelled to the far reaches of the globe, most recently to Mongolia to catch and help implant tracking devices in taimen. His shows, films, adventures, and connections to all the experts and celebrities in the business make him one of the most influential people in the sport of fly fishing today.

In a matter of just a couple of months, Blane Chocklett caught his personal best striper and then his all-time best redfish on the same fly—his darting, slip-sliding, erratic Jerk Changer. The fly is inspired by jerkbait lures, and it has an action like nothing else in fly fishing. If you want to catch mind-boggling muskies, smallmouths, pike, jacks, or any other predatory species, the Jerk Changer can trigger a crashing response. In this episode Blane explains why it works, how to tie it, and most importantly how to retrieve it for maximum effectiveness.

Bill Skilton started fly fishing at an early age with tutelage from Limestone Legends such as Charlie Fox, Vince Marinaro, and Ross Trimmer. Learn about the history of Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley and its impact on fly fishing in North America. Pennsylvania's spring creeks such as LeTort Spring Run, Big Spring Creek, Falling Springs, and parts of the Yellow Breeches were the birthplace of terrestrial fly patterns such as beetles, ants, and the famous LeTort hopper and cricket. Skilton is a Renaissance man. He's the president of the Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum, a buyer and seller of historic fly rods, art and flies, and is also an avid chicken raiser for premium hackle. If you ever thought of raising your own roosters, Skilton deep dives into the rigors of raising chickens and how to get varying results for hackle colors and sizes.

One of the most versatile, experienced saltwater guides of all time, Capt. Paul Dixon has spent decades fishing from Long Island to the Upper Keys, throughout the Caribbean and around the world. He caught his first striped bass in the 1970s in Newport Beach, California, he is a pioneer in East Coast sight-fishing for striped bass, a recipient of the 2022 Lefty Kreh Award for Lifetime Achievement in Conservation, and 2021 recipient of the Izaak Walton Award from the American Museum of Fly Fishing.

One of our favorite stories in this episode is a retelling of when Flip Pallot, Bob Popovics, and Paul Dixon filmed an episode of "The Walker's Cay Chronicles" together. Three legends!

Dixon was also the technical advisor on the fishing scenes in the new movie "Looking Through Water," which is now streaming on Amazon, Apple TV, Google play, DIRECTV, and others. The star of the movie is Michael Douglas, but look for Paul Dixon and a cast of other famous fishing guides.

Mike Dawes is the managing partner of Westbank Anglers in Wilson, Wyoming near the town of Jackson, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Dawes has guided for decades, and fly fished the world for species ranging from trout to exotic saltwater fish such as barracuda. He is well-known for his dedication to permit fishing and conservation. Having won multiple permit tournaments, including the Del Brown Permit Tournament and the March Merkin, Dawes sheds light on what it takes to be a permit angler and some strange behaviors. He is also an active board member of the South Fork Initiative of the Henry's Fork Foundation, which conserves and protects the native cutthroat trout in the Snake River. He is also a part of Fish Camp, a collective of fly-fishing educational resources for beginning anglers to advanced.

Oliver White started as a guide then grew his career as a fly-fishing entrepreneur to build Abaco Lodge. He later co-founded the indigenous empowerment non-profit organization Indifly, and currently is co-owner of South Fork Lodge in Swan Valley, Idaho. He's been featured in many films, most notably the YETI Presents film "A Thousand Casts" that chronicled his adventure in Bhutan while searching for the golden Masheer. An active conservationist and environmentalist, White has influenced the outdoor culture for over a decade with his dedication to protecting wild fish and places while empowering native cultures to build sustainable businesses in their outdoor spaces through Indifly. He is a YETI and Costa ambassador that continues to explore the world wherever fish take a feather and a hook.

Tom Baltz is an Orvis Endorsed guide and recipient of the Orvis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. He guides his home waters in the Cumberland Valley area of Pennsylvania and is a renown fly tier with patterns available through Montana Fly Co. He discusses his most well-known pattern, the Baltz's Paranymph, which has caught trout around the world. Yellow Breeches creek, LeTort Spring Run, and Big Spring creek are an integral part of the nation's fly-fishing history. Baltz dives into Cumberland Valley's rich history and his journey learning from the Limestone legends such as Vince Marinaro, Charlie Fox, Ed Koch, Ross Trimmer, and more. When it comes to fly tying, he is a master naturalist, developing his patterns through keen observation and decades of guiding.

Yvon Chouinard is a philanthropist, conservationist, climber, fly fisher, co-founder of 1% for the Planet, and founder of Patagonia. He has played a vital role in shaping the landscape of the entire outdoor community for over 40 years. He was named one of the "100 Most Influential People" by Time Magazine in 2023. He has authored numerous books such as Let My People Go Surfing, Simple Fly Fishing, and his latest book, Pheasant Tail Simplicity, co-authored with Craig Mathews, founder of Blue Ribbon Flies, and Italian angler Mauro Mazzo, is available in Octboer 2025. Chouinard finds clarity and a Zen-like perspective on tying flies that are simple in form, such as the Flymph, but are highly-effective with the proper technique and presentation.

"For me . . . perfection is achieved through simplicity, instead of complexity. If you can get your technique down to absolute simplicity by replacing all of that material with knowledge, it's really satisfying . . ." –Yvon Chouinard

Bob Rich is the author of five books, his latest "Looking Through Water" has been adapted into a major motion picture starring Michael Douglas and will be in theaters nationwide September 12, 2025.

Like its predecessor "A River Runs Through It," "Looking Through Water" is about family and how fly fishing can tear them apart or bring them closer together. Bob reveals the behind-the-scenes involved with making a movie, and the major difficulties involved with creating realism in a saltwater environment. You will love this conversation with a down-to-earth angler who has fished around the world, caught everything from panfish to 1,000-pound marlin, called President George H. W. Bush his friend, and is fondly known as "Bubba" by his many, many fishing friends. He is chairman and majority owner of Rich Products, a major donor and supporter of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust—we also take a deep dive into BTT, why it is important, and how they are making giant strides forward using science as a tool. Bob hails from Buffalo New York and we also jump into the topic of Buffalo wings. If you dip your wings in ranch, you are doing it wrong, and Bob will set you straight.