Untangled: Fly Fishing For Everyone | Ventures Fly Co.

If you travel to fish - whether that's to the river an hour from your house that you've just never visited yet, or you leave the country - you probably wonder what flies you need to pack along. Are the fish all eating the same stuff, or do you need an entirely new fly box for every river?

Honestly, this is a question that gets over-thought. And that's because trout all over the world eat a similar diet. Here at VFC, for example, we've caught fish in Iceland and Canada on the EXACT flies we use here in the Rockies. So today on Untangled, you'll learn why fish eat such a similar diet all across the world, and how to put together a fly box that you can have faith in no matter where you're fishing.

You'll also learn about:

• How long fly line should last, and care tips for your line
• The streamer setup the VFC crew recommends
• Why you shouldn't leave fish to find fish
• Tips for finding places to fly fish this winter

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You can catch just about anything on a fly rod — pike, bass, carp, bluegill, escaped aquarium fish in Florida, and even gar! Everyone talks about how fun these fish are to catch, but for most anglers, trips for permit, tarpon, salmon, dorado, and the like, are out of reach. The travel and cost makes them tough for an average angler to do more than dream about. But there's one fish that checks a lot of the same boxes those exotic fish do. This fish grows to ENORMOUS sizes. It fights like an angry toddler pulling you back to the candy aisle at the grocery store. And this fish isn't always easy to catch. And here's the best part — for a lot of us, they're just a short drive and hike away, swimming in thousands of lakes across the country. Today on Untangled, I'll tell you what this fish is, why I've fallen in love with chasing them, and how you can catch one all on your own.

You'll also learn about:

• The differences between wet flies and soft hackles
• When and why to fish a wet fly or soft hackle fly
• Tips for finding water that's less pressured, but still has trout in it
• Spencer's thoughts on tight-line nymphing

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

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Everyone says that if you're gonna catch big fish, you gotta fish big flies. And big flies usually means tossing streamers! So you grab a woolly bugger, or maybe a meat whistle, or if you're feeling like living on the edge, a slumpbuster. You head off to the river, start tossing these flies in spots that look promising, and BAM — something freight trains your fly like it owes it money. This is when things fall apart. You're so excited to hook something on a streamer, and your immediate instinct is to fall back on how you were taught to set the hook — hold the line tight and raise the rod tip! The only problem is, that's exactly the WRONG WAY to set the hook when fishing with streamers. So today on Untangled, we'll go over the correct technique for setting the hook, and some other tips for getting the most out of fishing with streamers.

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Sometimes, the biggest fish in the river are caught on the tiniest of flies. And we're not talking size 18 or 20 flies, either - think stuff as small as 26, 28, and even 30!

Today on Untangled, Spencer is joined by his longtime friend and dry fly expert Ryan McCullough, for another installment of the Everyday Angler series, which features conversations with anglers across the fly fishing world who don't always get a voice in the industry. Ryan is one of Spencer's fly fishing mentors, and the person Spencer credits with getting him addicted to fishing dry flies.

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

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My daughter is almost a year and a half old. And don't worry — she's not some sort of prodigy who's already casting a fly rod. She's as stubborn as her dad, but thankfully as adorable as her mom, and just as sweet. I know she's way too young to really remember some time on the water, and she's certainly nowhere near being let loose with a fly rod. But if there's one thing I've learned since becoming a dad, it's how much fun it is to share things you love with your kid. So earlier this summer, I loaded my daughter into the truck and we set off for my old stomping grounds — the same creek where I spent all my growing-up years. My daughter might not remember this day, but I know I'll never forget it.

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

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After 200 episodes of Untangled, we decided it was time -- for a LIVE STUDIO AUDIENCE! We opened the doors to 20 fans of VFC and spent the night telling stories, answering questions, and sharing those Live Reel Life moments that keep us coming back to the water. Everyone in attendance had the chance to ask their fly fishing questions to Alex and Spencer live, getting real-time feedback for the problems they're currently facing.

Some of those include:

• What to do when no bugs are hatching
• How to plan trips around catching a specific kind of trout
• Whether fly choice or presentation is more important
• How to mend fly line

This is an episode you can't afford to miss!

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

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Nothing makes a great day go immediately down the toilet the way that wind can. If the wind's at your back, it's not a HUGE problem — you probably get a bit more distance on your cast! But if the wind's blowing right in your face, you suddenly feel like the most incompetent fly caster to ever pick up a rod. Or at least, I usually do. And that's because I so often forget some of the key fundamentals for making good fly casts in the wind. So today on Untangled, we'll go through those important skills to keep in mind when the wind starts blowing. That way, you're not sitting on the bank, frustrated that you can't cast, when your buddy ties into a near 30-inch trout. Not that I'm speaking from experience…

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What's scarier - telling your mother-in-law that her pot roast is actually dry, or picking up a new fly rod with NO help at all? Because let's be honest - it's not like fly shops or websites have a ton of clear information about what all these different rods are for. And why do some of them cost $1,000 or more?

Today on Untangled, we're going to simplify the world of fly rods and give you the information you need to make the best choice for your own fishing situation. You'll also learn about:

• Whether AI can be a useful tool in planning fly fishing trips
• How to start catching fish on nymphs
• How to transition from hooking a big fish to putting that trout on the reel during the fight

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

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My first trip chasing bull trout didn't exaclty go as planned. Instead of holding a giant trout in a crystal-clear stream, I found myself lying in a bed in a stranger's house, feeling like I'd gone to the wrong Taco Bell and had one too many beefy five-layer burritos.

So how'd I end up there? What dark forces conspired to keep me from catching a bucket-list fish? Well, it all starts with my buddy Blair.

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You show up to the river for a day of fishing, you're stuffed FULL of optimism and happiness, you get all rigged up — and then your mood just CRASHES. There aren't any fish rising. No bugs hatching. No trout sunning themselves in the shallows. Just a river that feels as lifeless as those lovely political ads we're forced to watch during football season. What's the play here? How do you start from what feels like nothing, and end up catching fish, when the river is holding all its cards close to the vest? It boils down to knowing where the fish are probably hanging out, what they're probably eating, and how to get a good presentation. And today on Untangled, that's exactly what you're gonna learn.

You'll also learn about:

• Tips for rigging up with hoppers and other large flies
• How to measure the river temperature so you know when to stop fishing
• Should you opt for larger or smaller flies when fish reject your first few drifts?
• How to teach others - including family - how to fly fish
• Tips for sight fishing to rising trout
• Why the loop knot is the undisputed best knot for fishing on lakes

LINKS FROM THE SHOW

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