My guest this week is Joe Cermele [40:00], who you may know from his podcast "Cut and Retie", or from his work over the years at Field & Stream as a writer and videographer. Joe loves hunting big trout, and one of his favorite ways of fishing for them is night fishing with mouse flies. Joe is always fun and informative and I know you'll enjoy this one.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some especially interesting questions, including:

If I get a 10-foot 5-weight rod for nymph fishing and tight line fishing, will I sacrifice anything when I want to fish with dry flies or streamers? I keep breaking off large carp when they head for structure. Should I use something different than a surgeon's knot? Where do I find past live fly-tying videos and your tie-offs with Tim Flagler and Cheech? A listener who is also an aquatic toxicologist explains why smoke from fires may be deleterious to our rivers and lakes. What can I do to keep googly eyes from falling off my streamers? And do streamers even need eyes to be effective? Hiking the Appalachian Trail, should I take my 7 ½ foot 3-weight or 9-foot 5-weight? Why did a hybrid rainbow/cutthroat I played quickly turn belly-up? Do you think the fly-fishing culture should reflect more deeply on the morality of catch-and-release fishing? Do you have any suggestions for fishing hatches after dark? I typically high-stick with a dry fly and listen for the rise. When water warms up, do trout go into faster water to take advantage of the higher oxygen content?

This episode was originally aired on June 16th, 2023.

OK, I lied. There aren't 15 tips. There are probably more and if you want to count them up you can e-mail me and correct my mistake. But I get a lot of questions about fishing emergers, and I thought a podcast on how to identify when fish are taking emergers and how to fish them would be welcome. Not only that, world-famous and beloved fishing guide and author Pat Dorsey [36:05] gives us his favorite fly patterns for fishing emergers including a couple secret ones.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some thoughtful questions and a few tips from listeners, including:

A great tip on casting with your non-dominant hand

Will wildfire smoke affect trout populations?

If I hear there are native brook trout in a stream, how do I find out where they are?

 A nice tip on untangling snarls of fly line.

Bigger brook trout started taking my nymphs on the swing instead of dead-drifted.

How should I take advantage of this next time?

How much of an incline in a small mountain stream can trout survive?

A listener was disappointed in my podcast with John Gierach because we did not discuss how anglers can have a positive impact on climate change.

Two listeners want to know what type of floating line to put on their Euro rods when they switch to dry flies.

Why are some articulated streamers tied with the hook down and why are some tied with the hook up?

I have a busy life. Am I missing opportunities by not tying my own flies?

Brown trout are invasive in my cutthroat stream. Should I take them home to eat them, or just kill them and throw them up on the bank?

 Is it ethical to back and fish a place on my own if a guide showed me the spot?

I have heard if you cut the welded loop off a fly line you can't use it any more because it will absorb water. Is this true?

 

 

My guest this week is one of fly fishing's best writers and storytellers Monte Burke [31:35], whose writing you may have seen in Garden & Gun, Forbes, or The Drake—or perhaps you've read his book, and one of my favorite fishing books, Lords of the Fly.  To discover who Monte, and many other people (including me) consider the finest fly-fishing guide who ever lived, you'll have to listen to the podcast.  You'll also learn about his new book of stories, Rivers Always Reach the Sea.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some questions that I think will help many other fly fishers solve problems they may have, including: A listener informs us about the different grain weights in standard fly lines, and how there is a much bigger percentage difference in lighter lines than heavier ones. What do you think about hooks that get left in a fish's mouth? What would you look for in an ideal brook trout spot? How can I keep panfish from grabbing my carp flies? Is there an advantage to silicone fly boxes over ones with foam strips? If I practice casting with my 4-weight fiberglass rod, will that affect my casting on other rods? How do you use a dubbing loop and when do you use one? The solid metal eyes on my redfish flies sink too quickly. Should I use bead chain or plastic eyes instead? What is it about CDL feathers that make it worth using?

We've recently won a big battle for public lands, and my guest this week, Joel Pedersen [25:56] of Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership, fills us in on what we've won and what we need to keep an eye on for the future. But the podcast is much more than that. Joel educates us on the differences between the major classes of public lands—National Forests, BLM land, National Parks, and Wilderness areas and just what uses are allowed on each—and who makes the decision on extractive industries in these vast tracts of land that WE as citizens and taxpayers own.

In the Fly Box this week, as usual we have some great questions that might benefit your own fly fishing, including:

I'm curious about who might be your successor on the podcast A listener informs us why he thinks a 4-weight rod is a better option for smaller streams than a 3-weight. Why do most of the hook eyes on flies orient horizontally? When would I want a fly with a vertically oriented eye? I have the Orvis Essential Trout Fly Selection. What else would I need for fishing the great Arkansas tailwaters this summer? Another listener asks if a 3-weight or 4-weight rod is better for small streams. When my indicator is bobbing along in riffles, does that action hurt my presentation? A good tip from a listener on how to get a stuck rod apart. What are the pros and cons of using a stand-up paddleboard for carp and pike fishing, and what brand do you recommend? I have not done well fishing as high water recedes. Is this typical?

My guest this week is Antoine Bissieux [38:28], Orvis-Endorsed Guide of the Year for 2025.  Antoine, otherwise known as The French Fly Fisherman, regularly fishes with and communicates with the top French competitive fly fishers, and has developed methods of fishing nymphs and dry flies as well as dry/dropper setups adapted from what he has learned from these world-class anglers. You'll learn some new techniques to make your fly fishing more effective and more interesting no matter where you fish.      In the Fly Box this week, we have some questions that I think will help many other fly fishers solve problems they may have, including:

• How can I tell what line is on my old reel?
• Should I get a 3-weight or 4-weight rod for small streams?
• Do those devices to remove flies from fish quickly really work?
• I have seen carp opening up their mouths and taking repeated gulps of food from the surface. Is this common and what do you call it?
• A fly shop told me that using tippet rings is not a good idea because I would break off fish. Is this true?
• A listener reports on conditions on the rivers in western North Carolina after the floods.
• I put a nick in my fly line and have to cut off the last 12 inches. Can I still use this line?
• My foam flies keep landing upside-down. How can I correct this?
• How should I fish streamers in clear pools where you can see right to the bottom?
• How should I cast to a fish that is directly below a branch trailing in the water?
• A suggestion from a listener on using a room dehumidifier to dry out waders and boots.
• Can I rig two flies on a blood knot, using both sides of the knot, one longer and one shorter?
• Would a 9-foot, 9-weight rod be the right one for fishing in Chesapeake Bay?  And can I use the same rod for steelhead in Michigan?
• I see a lot of goose feathers on my local golf course. Can I use these for biots on flies and which part should I use?
• What can I do with saltwater flies where the hook has gotten slightly rusty?

I offer no apologies for being a carp evangelist. They live almost anywhere, they are here to stay (they were stocked in many places in North America even before brown trout), and they are the hardest-fighting fish in fresh water. They are also fascinating creatures that can be a challenge to catch—which is why most of us fish with a fly rod. Rick Mikesell [49:05] of Denver is one of the best carp anglers I know and a terrific teacher and he gives us a great introduction on how to pursue these worthwhile fly-rod targets.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some interesting requests, including many questions about leaders and tippet.

• What fly line should I use on my Helios 2 rod for dry-fly fishing?
• What can I do to prevent my tippet from kinking?
• What can you do when small stream trout refuse your fly?
• I have been using heavier tippet and seem to be doing just as well as with lighter tippet.  What is your take on this?
• Is there a big difference between various brands of tippet material?
• Can I just add a tippet ring to my 9-foot 4X leader to make a nymph leader?
• Should the butt section of my nymph leader be made from fluorocarbon?
• What should I take on a multi-day fishing trip that I would not normally think of?
• Why am I foul-hooking so many trout and whitefish this year?
• What do you think of furled leaders?
• What rod should I get for my 8-year-old daughter?  What rig should I start her out with?
• What do you think of Crocs as inexpensive wading shoes?
• What can you tell me about an older Orvis rod I purchased?
• How can I tighten the drag on an older spring-and-pawl fly reel?
• What is the deal with all these multi-fly rigs? Am I missing something by using a single fly?
• Do people fish for trout with poppers?
• Do I need sinking agents as well as flotants?
• At the end of my drift I stripped in a dry fly and got strikes. Should I change my setup and move my flies a bit?

This episode was originally published on November 20th, 2023.

Todd Tanner [43:02] is a lifelong fly fisher and journalist and spent years as a guide on the Henry's Fork, one of the best (and toughest) dry-fly rivers in the world.  He also prefers not to fish nymphs.  Todd shares his 12 tips on improving your success with dry flies this week, and they are solid and helpful.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a great and varied selection of questions and tips from listeners, including: I don't see any brook or brown trout in the usual places this fall. Are they all upstream spawning? Two great tips from a listener for beginning fly tiers. Is a 10-foot 4-weight a good rod for both Euro nymphing and dry-fly fishing? A great tip from a listener on how to prevent your dry fly from getting too soaked before retrieving it for the next cast. A listener makes the point that watershed-level stream restoration is often not possible. If my stream is stocked with rainbows, will I find them in other parts of the river system and will they survive? Can I use a less expensive spool of fluorocarbon spinning line instead of the expensive stuff sold for fly fishing? If I use only the tip of a CDC feather, can I use the remaining fibers for something else? Kudos from a listener on a wonderful experience he had in the Orvis retail store in Atlanta What kind of insects are most common in infertile streams? Is there a reason Orvis makes a 10 ½ foot and 11-foot H3 rod and not a 10-footer? A great rattlesnake story from a listener I found a whole bunch of trout rising in a seam and tried everything but could not catch them. I tried all kinds of dries and nymphs and changed my tippet and my angle of approach. What do you think the fish were eating? 

 

Many North Americans would love to catch brown trout in their native environment, and most of us think of the UK or France or Slovenia for wild, native brown trout. But, Spain has a long history of fly fishing in the Pyrenees (Hemingway loved fly fishing in the Pyrenees and called this region "the closest thing to heaven") and for the traveler, there are many rivers with public access. Spain has small freestone mountain streams, lakes, and tailwaters that offer excellent trout fishing and my guest this week, Ivan Tarin [35:59], of Salvelinus Adventures, has spent thirty years exploring these rivers and has many tips to offer.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some interesting questions and also a listener who was upset by my attitude in a recent podcast:

• Do you have any advice to help me catch more trout on dry flies?
• Does it matter that jig flies ride upside-down?
• Why can't I catch a fish on a Pheasant Tail nymph?
• What is the best color for a background on a fly-tying table?
• How do you keep track of the leader and tippet you have on a fly line?
• How long with rivers in North Carolina take to recover from the devastating floods?
• Why has trout fishing been so lousy in the Northeast this spring?
• What should I do when trout are feeding on tiny flies? Small dries are too small for me to see.
• Should I work a small bass river upstream or down?
• I don't do well on dropoffs. How should I fish them?
• What is the difference between Helios F and D versions, and what is the difference between the 9-foot and 9-foot 5-inch Helios 5-weight models?
• A listener takes me to task for making fun of conventional bass anglers.

This episode was originally published on February 5th, 2024.

My guest this week is Charity Rutter [39:50], a great friend and longtime guide in the Great Smoky Mountains.  She and her husband Ian have just finished a great book (I read the manuscript and loved it) and although it won't be available until April, you can pre-order it  here: 

https://randrflyfishing.com/store/fly-fishing-guide-to-great-smoky-mountains-national-park/

Charity shares her secrets for making more out of your time on small waters, and although she concentrates on her area, she has fished small streams throughout North America and her tips will help you no matter where you fish.

 

In the Fly Box this week we have a nice assortment of questions and tips on fly fishing and fly tying, including:

Why do you hate hook keepers so much?

Is it true that you should not hook your fly onto your stripping guide?

A listener recounts his first experience with selling flies he tied himself.

A number of people chide me for not using a wading staff—yet.

Will it hurt my fly line if I stretch it first before fishing?

A listener gives some good advice on how to get out of a dangerous situation while wading, and how to prevent your waders from acting like a sea anchor.

A tip from a listener on how he deals with litter during a day of fishing and one on how he carries rods on the back seat of his vehicle.

A listener tells me how pleased he was with Orvis reel repair service.

Should I wear socks when wearing the new Pro Approach Hikers in salt water?

Can I Euro nymph in lakes and ponds?

A tip from a listener on making more durable peacock herl bodies.

Where should I put the heavy section of mono on a shock leader?

A listener shares a tip on playing darts during the winter to keep those casting muscles in shape

I used rubber soled wading shoes on slippery rocks and had poor traction.  Should I stud them or just get a pair of felt-soled boots?

In a remote lake with an inlet and outlet, will trout move into the outlet as well as the inlet?

How can I keep my dropper and tippet from slipping off my barbless hook when fishing with a dry dropper?  And what knot is best when attaching a dropper to a hook bend?

I have a 9-foot 5-weight rod and want a rod for fishing for panfish and streamers for trout.  What rod should I get next?

We're not talking about the poetry of a fly cast made by Pete Kutzer, but poetry about fly fishing, some of the well known poets who were fly fishers, and why the appeal of poetry and fly fishing have much in common. My guest, Andrew Grace [29:19], is a published poet and professor of English, and he'll read us some of his own work as well as from poets like Jim Harrison and Chris Dombrowski. It's a real departure from our usual subjects and I hope you enjoy it.    In the Fly Box this week, we get more into our typical nitty-gritty subjects like:

• Is there a rule of thumb for how long it takes a sinking line to get to a particular depth?
• Can I fish in lakes with a shorter, softer fiberglass rod?
• How do I elegantly get the fly line out of my rod before I start casting?
• I catch trout in Alaska when they are eating eggs behind salmon, but at other times of year I can't catch them on dries or nymphs. Are they not in the same places at other times of year?
• How many different flies are there in the world?  s there a registry of them? And can they be copyrighted or trademarked?
• If I can't use gel flotant once my fly has gotten wet, why don't I just use the powder right off the bat and forget about the gel?
• I heard that when you cast a dry fly, you should pull back a bit at the end of the cast to develop some slack. But can this be executed in a smoother fashion?
• Why empty my wallet for a Helios rod when the Superfines are so good? What will a Helios do for me that a Superfine won't?
• Where can I find Hungarian partridge to tie smaller flies like size 16s?
• Is there a way you mark what line is on what reel so you don't have to use a magnifying glass to look at those tiny line markers?
• Is there a national registry of fly-fishing clubs?