This week is all about fly tying.  I took a whole bunch of questions that came in over the past week (thank you very much for your great questions) and we spend about an hour going over some tricky and not-so-tricky questions.  The hardest one for me was to list the essential fly tying materials every tier should have on his or her bench (and I was not allowed to use CDC, rabbit fur, or peacock herl, which made it even tougher) and it took me two days to decide on that one.  I ended up cheating and coming up with a trout list and a saltwater list.  Other questions included emergency procedures for when you break your thread, when to use wax, most under-utilized materials, substitutes in fly-tying recipes, tips for tying with deer hair, and many others.  Don’t forget that this month, fly tying materials at Orvis are 20% off, so now is the time to think about what you’ll need for next season.

This week we talk to Paul Moinester, who we should all envy.  He quit a good job in DC to simplify and de-stress his life, and spent 6 months traveling the US to finds out more about fly fishing.  He drove from the Keys to Alaska, fishing along the way, and came up with some very eloquent pointers on improving your fly fishing game, based on his many experiences.  These are great tips from the perspective of a relative novice (at least he was when he started his trip!).

**This is a fixed version of "The Return of Fiberglass Rods". The originally posted version contained an editing error.**  We’ve had a lot of requests to do a podcast on fiberglass fly rods, but I wanted to wait until the Orvis rods were in stock before I did one.  The Orvis Superfine Touch Fiberglass are now in stock and on our web site, so this week I cover the basics of fiberglass rods:  A little history, some brief technology notes, and why you might want to at least test cast a fiberglass rod to see what all the fuss is about.  They are not like the glass rods you remember from the 60s or 70s!

We’ve had a lot of requests to do a podcast on fiberglass fly rods, but I wanted to wait until the Orvis rods were in stock before I did one.  The Orvis Superfine Touch Fiberglass are now in stock and on our web site, so this week I cover the basics of fiberglass rods:  A little history, some brief technology notes, and why you might want to at least test cast a fiberglass rod to see what all the fuss is about.  They are not like the glass rods you remember from the 60s or 70s!

This week, the main event is a fascinating podcast with Tom Bie, editor and publisher (and founder) of The Drake Magazine, an unconventional, edgy fly fishing publication that addresses the new, media-related fly fishing culture.  Tom talks about his favorite fish, the steelhead, and about his passion for swinging flies, East vs. West, hatchery vs. wild steelhead, using Spey rods, and lots on the philosophy of the best swing speed for steelhead.  We also touch on steelhead flies, and the future of fly fishing in general.  It’s a great interview and a little more cerebral than we usually get on the podcast.  Also in this week’s Fly Box, we circle back to fly tying materials to get a little more clarity on thread sizes and types of elk hair.  I answer questions on fighting big trout in confined quarters, what to do if a big trout sulks, the difference between a creek, brook, and river; the characteristics of spring creeks, tailwaters, chalk streams, and freestone streams; sight fishing to trout in shallow water without indicators, and just why a Zebra midge with a pink body sometimes out-fishes one with the standard black-and-white body.  

From the brilliant mind of CarpPro's Dan Frasier.

This week’s podcast is mostly about fly tying—at least the main event.  In The FlyBox, we talk about dangers on the water, how to keep your distance from your fishing buddy, Tenkara rods for kids, casting indoors, and how to do The San Juan Shuffle (hint—you don’t want to).  There is also a very special offer only for podcast listeners somewhere in the podcast, and it’s only good for this week, so make sure you listen soon!

This week it’s all about steelhead—or at least mostly about steelhead.  Besides the main topic, dead drift vs. the swing for steelhead, we talk about overlining rods, matching a rod to a fish size, dressing dry flies, the NOAA Saltwater Registry, hooking fish in the tongue, fishing beads, and whether to ask a guide for a refund if you don’t catch any fish (I think you know my answer to that one).

On this week’s podcast, we discuss man-eating Chinook salmon, the ethics of going back to a spot a guide has taken you to, what BWOs are, possible cranefly hatches, stomach pumps, and I make an apology to the SUP crowd.  Then we have a great interview with Whit Fosburgh, president and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership.  Whit brings to light some boring-sounding legislation that is important to anyone who loves the outdoors, and gives us a good general overview of why they are important—like thousands of acres of public land that is inaccessible to taxpayers and what is being done about it.

In this week's podcast, besides an interview with Kirk Deeter, author of The Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing for Carp, we talk about how fly fishing can be a pain in the neck, fishing above waterfalls, jeans under waders, split shot on spring creeks, Tenkara and kids, minimalist equipment for fishing, hiking, and camping, and when to look for Trico duns this time of year.

This week we’ll discuss 12 tips for fishing tiny dry flies, a topic of great interest this time of year.  In the Fly Box we range from a good general Salt water outfit to clinch knots to night fishing with two flies to how much line to have out when you are waiting to make a cast to a visible fish.  Based on suggestions from many podcast listeners, I’m starting a section about equipment and also a section on fly-fishing myths.  We had tons of good feedback and suggestions on podcasts, and it was loud and clear that listeners don’t want a co-host but they do like interviews.

I have an interview with Doc Thompson, legendary New Mexico fly-fishing guide and an all-around great guy.  Doc will share tips for finding and catching high-altitude trout in small streams.  In the Fly Box, we range from foul-hooking fish to tying small flies to hooking and holding trout on tiny flies to guide etiquette to casting big streamers.  And we’ve started a new feature where we talk about a couple of the red-hot fishing spots for this week.

This week I offer 10 (actually 12 because I thought of a couple more as I was talking) tips on fishing pressured waters—those where trout get pestered all day long with different fly patterns.  The logical course of action would to avoid those places, but the problem is that these waters are typically full of large wild trout and have great hatches—and these days because of the internet there are few secret trout streams.  So pack up your fly boxes, resign yourself to seeing other anglers, and pay attention to your manners and courtesy.  Catching a trout on a hard-fished river is as satisfying an accomplishment as catching 20 on a wilderness stream. Lots of stuff in the Fly Box today, too. A loaded episode, for sure.

This week I interview Adam McNamara of Orvis Portland in one of our continuing series of carp podcasts.  As usual, I learned some hot new tricks (like how to imitate a clam with a fly!) and I am sure you will as well.  Adam is the founder and organizer of Carpocalypse, one of the best carp events in the US.  Also, to begin we talk lots of trout for those of you who turn down your noses at carp:  how to tell the number of a fly line if it isn’t labeled, adding tippets to braided leaders, what to do about refusals to dry flies, using wading boots without waders, tips on grass carp (oops), and what I think about people “spot burning” unknown fishing spots on the internet—if you care what I think.

This week we have a few fly box items on what to do after your fly drags, landing net decisions, and how to get by in a boat with two fly lines and only one reel (my advice—don’t go there).  Our main topic this week is about the importance of local knowledge for any kind of fly-fishing trip and is titled “Ten reasons you need local knowledge”  It’s actually mostly reasons and also a few tips, but you all know I can’t count.

This week we have a great interview with Dan Frasier, fly-fishing editor of Carp Pro magazine on—guess what?  There are some terrific tips in this interview and here are a couple I had not heard of and will try on my next carp fishing trip.  I am sure you will find some as well.  In the Fly Box, we range from hooking shad to getting started in fly tying to picking the right leader length to fishing streamers in Europe.  And I’m also asked about my top 10 saltwater flies for fishing anywhere is the world, so I will list them here as well as mention them in the podcast 1.       Lefty’s Deceiver in chartreuse in size 1 2.       Lefty’s Deceiver in olive and white in size 1 3.       Clouser Minnow in original brown and white in size 4 4.       Clouser Minnow in chartreuse and white in size 4 5.       Gurgler (any color) 6.       Surf Candy in size 4 7.       Adams’ Bastard Crab in size 4 8.       Puglisi Peanut Butter in purple and black in size 1/0 9.       Simram in size 6 10.   Cowen’s Albie Anchovy

This week we explore the topic of whether you should fish upstream or down, not only what direction you should move but also which way you present your fly.  The podcast will tell you exactly which direction to fish every time you go out by using a simple formula (just kidding—did you really think it would be that easy?)  In the fly box we answer questions about setting the hook (again), what length rod to use (again), adding tippets to knotless leaders (again), what to do about minnows sinking your dry flies (aha!  A new one and a fun one, too), and how to improve your roll cast by using a different line.  I keep answering those repeated topics because it seems they are universal questions and sometimes a different question or slant on a question may make it more clear to listeners.  Have fun!

This week there is a very special podcast offer that will save you money but you have to listen to find out and act before May 20.  We also have a great podcast from the pied piper of urban fly fishing in the DC area, Dan Davala.  He tells us all we need to know to catch shad, both hickory and American shad.  The fly box section features questions about polarized sunglasses, fishing high water in small streams, morning or evening fishing, when to fish Flashback nymphs, and a couple tips on setting the hook.  But before you listen get a pen and paper so you can write down that special offer code because it’s only fr podcast listeners and can’t be found anywhere else.

This week, based on my experience of getting skunked trout fishing, I thought I would give you 10 reasons for getting skunked.  I mainly concentrate on early season fishing—but these excuses are also good any time during the season!  In the Fly Box section we talk about : -over-lining fly rods,-barbless hooks,-laying fish on the grass to photograph them,-matching leader with rod length,-rod and blank weights,-and some other fun stuff.  Questions this week came from as far away as Australia and the UK, and as close as Connecticut.

Got a family member or friend you want to help get into fly fishing? Check out our video for FREE fly-fishing classes at your nearest Orvis store and many authorized dealers!

This week in the fly box we discuss: ·       How stocking affects wild trout ·       Sinking lines ·       Casting exercises ·       Gripping a fly rod ·       Tangles after dark ·       Tom’s 5 favorite places to fish and the top 5 on his bucket list In the main podcast, we do an extensive discussion of leaders—leader types, materials, , and how to modify your leader at streamside.  It’s a good topic for a refresher as fishing season is upon us in most places—or almost upon us!

This week we have a full Fly Box (the only way to be at the beginning of the season!) and cover topics that range from how to store leaders to figuring out stream depths to safe handling of fish in cold water to fishing streamers with switch rods.  And lots more.  I even try to answer the question of whether I’d prefer to have 6 less expensive fly rods or three top-of-the-line ones.  That question caused me some soul-searching and I waffled a bit—but who cares what I’d do anyway?  To top it off, we have an inspirational interview with a 17-year-old fly fisher, Joey Maxim.  Make sure you listen to all of the interview, because the story gets more interesting as we talk.

This week’s podcast ends on a somber note with the passing of our good friend and mentor John Merwin, one of the greatest voices in fly fishing.  I think you’ll enjoy a few memories of John and the readings from a couple of his pieces.  But up front we have a very full fly box—lots of e-mails and phone calls on casting problems, fly tying problems and solutions, picking tackle, and fishing nymphs.

This week I concentrate on fly tying questions (except for a short sidetrack on stream smallmouths) because I love talking about fly tying—and Orvis is offering a 20% discount on fly tying materials for the month of February 2013.

This week, in an addition to a long FLy Box section, I go a little off topic as I interview Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods and The Nature Principle, who introduced the term Nature Deficit Disorder to the world, and has perhaps done more than anyone else in modern times raise awareness of how important it is to get ourselves and our children outside more often.  He’s one of my role models and it was a great honor to interview him for the podcast.  And, of course, we do talk about getting kids and grandkids out fishing and give you some tips on how to do it.  This is a podcast you may want to recommend to friends who don’t fish, as it’s one of the most important things people can do for their children.

He’s the Everready Bunny—at 85 years old, and a recently replaced hip, Leigh Perkins still fishes and hunts 300 days a year.  Although he retired as CEO of the Orvis Company in 1992, he’s still chairman of the board and one of our best field testers.  He’s always the first one up in the morning and the last one to go to bed, and he lives his life surrounded by a bunch of hunting dogs.  I was recently in Florida hunting wild quail and ducks with Leigh and got a chance to get some wisdom from him for a podcast.  You’ll note by his answers that he’s one of the most optimistic people you’ll ever meet.

This week I interview Jamie Rouse, two-time Orvis Endorsed Guide award winner for superior service (as rated by our customers, not by us).  Jamie gives us a very full lesson on fishing for tailwater trout during the winter, particularly on his home stream, the Little Red River in Arkansas.  Jamie targets huge brown trout on the fly all winter long-and usually catches them-so it's worth a listen to pick up some valuable tips.  I know I learned a lot in this podcast and I'm ready to get out on the water, even if the line does freeze in my guides.

My apologies for the lack of recent podcasts—Thanksgiving, Christmas, and a week of vacation made it necessary for me to concentrate on my day job as marketing director over the past few weeks.  But this week we have a nice long podcast, including some detailed fly box topics on everything from choosing a fly reel to fishing droppers to using beads for steelhead.  In the main part of the podcast is an interview I did with Dr. Aaron Adams of Bonefish Tarpon Trust on how to find saltwater fish on your own by knowing their habitat preference.

This is a "Best of Tom" Episode from the Archives. In this week's podcast I announce the winner of the Podcast Suggestion Contest, who won a signed copy of my latest book Essential American Flies. The topic is sure to be a crowd-pleaser to most of you--targeting bigger trout. In the podcast I give you 10 suggestions for targeting the biggest trout in a pool or in a stretch of river. There were lots of great suggestions in the podcast contest, and I used a couple for the short Fly Box section at the beginning of the podcast: How to cure the fall blues after a tough fishing season, and how to pack for a business trip where you might grab a few hours fishing. Plus a terrific tip on rigging dry droppers on our podcast request line from a listener in Georgia.

It's getting cold out there. Get the most of your time on the water this winter it with this popular episode from the archives.

This week I interview our rod and reel designer, Shawn Combs, whose nickname around the office is Didymo (you have to listen to the podcast to find out why).  Shawn is a streamer fanatic, and the best at streamer fishing for trout of anyone on our staff, so I asked him to tell all his secrets of fishing for late fall and winter trout with streamers.  It’s an educational podcast for sure, but it’s also a fun one.

In our continuing steelhead series, we’ve moved a little further east and this week we cover the streams of New York and Pennsylvania.  We don’t give specific recommendations on rivers, but Shawn Brillon, our resident Great Lakes steelhead, Spey casting, and fly tying expert, shares his knowledge on how to time your steelhead trips on Great Lakes tribs, tackle to use, when and how to swing flies, and how to fish egg flies and nymphs.  It’s a long podcast with a substantial Fly Box section at the beginning, so sit back and relax and daydream about steelhead.

This week we continue our coverage of steelhead with a podcast interview with Steve Kuieck on the basics of Great Lakes steelheading.  Steve concentrates on the techniques used on his home waters in Michigan, but the advice he gives is valid for steelheaders in all the Great Lakes tributaries, as well as steelheading on the West Coast.  And of course we cover the gamut with quick tips for listeners who have asked questions via e-mail and our podcast request telephone line—802-362-8800.

This week we have a long podcast, well over an hour, because Damien Nurre of Deep Canyon Outfitters and I got all wound up about steelhead.  We could have gone on for hours about tackle, reading water, fly selection, how to hook them, and how to time your trip properly.  Damien gives some expert tips on how to catch steelhead and reminds us that it’s mostly a matter of luck and persistence.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t stack the deck in our odds.  Damien is an articulate and thoughtful angler and teacher with lots of solid tips, so if you fly fish for steelhead or if you’ve ever wanted to, here’s your chance to get some world-class information.

This week’s podcast is timely—it’s on one of my very favorite fly-rod fish, the false albacore or little tunny (also known as albies, bonita, fat alberts, and boneheads).  They are gorgeous, much faster than bonefish, and available from northern Cape Cod to Florida and throughout the Gulf Coast.  Fall is the best time to fish for them close to shore, although in their southern range they can be caught on a fly year-round (you just might need a longer boat ride).  There is no other fish I know if that causes such havoc with tackle and produces such idiotic and crazed behavior among anglers (and I include myself in that category).   One thing I neglected to mention in my podcast is the excellent book by Tom Gilmore titled False Albacore.  It’s the only book written on the subject and a terrific resource.  Get out there and sample a bit of this insanity yourself—you will never be the same.

Unless you live in one of the rare parts opf North America that isn't in drought conditions this summer, or you've been lucky enough to be fishing tailwater waters with an abundance of cool water, you're probably faced with very tricky conditions. Trout fishing is not impossible this time of year, but you have to adjust your tactics to lower flows, clear water and paranoid trout. We have LOTS of questions in the fly box this week which makes for a pretty long show. 

This week, I decided to answer 10 listener questions, sort of an enlarged fly box section.  As a special bonus, I have three great suggestions from other listeners that I know you’ll benefit from.  I won’t spoil all the surprises, but we talk about fly lines sinking, leaders twisting, fish getting away, fish getting hooked in the belly by mistake, and fish refusing flies.  I won’t even come close to answering all these questions but I can at least give you some ideas to think about.

This week, after a special introduction from my son who visited the studio this week,  two self-described carp addicts talk all about carp fishing, from finding them to presentation tactics to tackle and flies.  I interview my co-worker Tim Daughton, who is by far the most experienced carp fly fisherman on our staff--to put it more precisely he's obsessed with carp fishing and will pass up trout fishing most times to chase carp.  We've had lots of requests to do more podcasts on these very challenging fish, available to most people in urban and rural locations throughout the world.  In the fly box, we ramble from how much to spend for a fly rod to when to replace a fly line to fishing in foul weather to a few steelhead tips.  And a couple more.

This week we're publishing an interview I did with Daniel Galhardo, founder and CEO of Tenkara USA, on guess what?  Daniel was here to sample some of our Vermont small stream fishing, which he loved, and we had a ball fishing together.  He explains Tenkara, whether he considers it fly fishing, and the basics of how to use a Tekkara outfit.  In the fly box, we talk about dealing with fishing gear in hot weather, dries vs. emergers, and setting the hook on downstream fish.

On this week's podcast, after a week on Cape Cod I'm prepared to tackle the subjetc of fly vs. spin, something I was reluctant to discuss before because I just have not used a spin rod much since I was a teenager.  But we'll talk about the relative advantages of both methods of fishing, and when a diehard fly fisher might want a spin rod handy.  In the short Fly Box topics this week, we further our discussion on releasing fish unharmed, where to position your rod when playing a fish, DT vs. WF lines, getting the fly line wrapped around the reel seat, and a few other goodies.

This week we explore a topic that has not been requested by a listener but is something that struck me over the past few weeks of fishing over some difficult trout. It's the concept of keeping your fly line away from fish, and it's an important issue in nearly every kind of shallow water fishing--from bonefish and tarpon and striped bass to trout and carp. I include 10 tips to help you keep from "lining" fish

This week we're exploring the wide open world of warm water fly fishing, and not just for bass.  We talk about landlocked stripers and gar and bowfin and northern redhorse--and especially shad and carp.  Basically, it's about finding the fish and experimenting with retrieves--tackle and flies are the least of your worries.  Most of us have some sort of warm water close to home, so it's like that old Stephen Stills song, "if you can't be with the one you love, honey, love the one you're with".  In the fly box, we answer phone calls about how to measure the length of a fly cast, how long lines, leaders and backing last, keeping fish for the table and when to fly and when to spin.

A  great show this week! I had the chance to sit down and talk with Simon Perkins, the newest addition here at Orvis Rod & Tackle about the Fly Fishing Film Tour as well as his own short film, Sipping Dries. We ran the trailer in the podcast feed a few weeks ago. As the main event, I interview my friend Dave Brown of Dave Brown Outfitters on fishing taiwaters, as it seems you guys can't get enough of this topic! In addition, I take a few questions from the podcast listener line. We moved the podcast studio, again. As a result we have had some tech issues with the sound which kept us "off the air" last week. I think it's all worked out. Thanks for sticking with us!

This week, in preparation for the best months of saltwater fishing from Maine to Florida (May and June) we explore the idea of moving from freshwater to salt.  Trout anglers are seldom prepared for the transition to saltwater fly fishing--although the equipment requirements are easy enough to understand and you only need a few extra knots, it's mainly the casting and the expectations that throw trout anglers a curve ball.  There are 15 tips for making this transition easy and fun.  Also in the Fly Box this week, we answer questions about the Surgeon's vs. Clinch knots, knots for attaching wire bite tippets, polarized sunglass colors, hook styles on nymphs, trout stream ettiquette, and how to balance a reel with a rod (or not).

In this week's podcast I interview Captain Jim Barr from Rhode Island and we talk about the effects of barometric pressure changes and moon phases on fly fishing, both in Jim's arena of striped bass fishing and also on various freshwater species.  If you're looking for easy answers you'll be disappointed, but I think you'll enjoy hearing us talk about the empirical observations we've made over the years.  In the Fly Box section this week we discuss methods of weighting flies with non-toxic materials, why you catch bigger fish on worms than you do on flies, and an explanation of the term "turning over" a fly and what you can do to make sure your fly turns over.

Well, be careful what you wish for.  Last week I whined that we weren't getting enough response from you on Fly Box questions, so in the past week we've been inundated!  I thought I would try to answer the best 20 questions we got over the past week, both e-mails and phone calles.  We received suggestions from Sweden and Los Ageles and Connecticut and South Dakota and everything in between last week.  In our 20 questions podcast we'll explore overlining a fly rod, fishing giant warmwater rivers, how to store a leader between fishing trips, fishing without indicators, and whether to play a fish from the reel or by stripping--and lots of other goodies!

Our own Simon Perkins has a film in this year's Fly Fishing Film Tour. We are going to have him on the show to discuss his film "Sipping Dry" in the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the trailer. From the website at www.flyfilmtour.com: There are plenty of addictions to get hooked on in the world of fly fishing.  One of the most consuming is the obsession with the dry fly, which explains why anglers travel the globe in search of epic hatches and large trout rising on the surface.  "Sipping Dry" takes you to a place many refer to as the "dry fly capital of the world"--the upper Missouri River near Craig, Montana.  The film introduces a handful of characters who have altered their lives to revolve around this fishery and attempts to convey their infatuation with sipping trout, insane hatches, and the river they consider to be the ultimate in the world of dry fly fishing.

In this week's podcast we first talk about nets and bluegills. I'm not getting many nice short, concise, specific questions for the Fly Box  section so I haven't had many to answer lately.  Please send your nagging questions to [email protected] or call me at 802-362-8800 and leave a message letting me know what you'd like to hear about.  And in the main part of the podcast, Should I Stay or Should I Go? (what do you want to bet James will have some music to go along with that?) we talk about when to move and when to stay put, on everything from trout streamers, nymphs, and dries, to Atlantic salmon, bonefish, and steelhead.