"That slowdown on the tag happens when the lower nymph — your point fly — reaches the strike zone," I said. And even though both nymphs are going slow, they like the position or the level of the upper one.” That can only happen with a two fly rig. Continue reading One Nymph or Two? — Here’s a Particular Look That Can Only Happen With Two at Troutbitten ..read more

. . . It can be dead silent on that mountain, quiet enough to remember a place in time with no interruptions, a day that started in a bustling, wide valley and finished in stillness on top of a mountain. . . . . . . The guitar amp, the voices, the conversations, the laughing and arguing, the engine noise and the truck’s rattles, the NPR opinion and the crackly speakers — it’s all gone. And it’ll stay gone for as long as I’m here on the mountaintop. This is real silence. Continue reading This Is Real Silence at Troutbitten ..read more

The Pennsylvania Fish Commission needs to hear your comments. And a simple, short email makes a BIG difference. Stop stocking over wild trout. Let's support all policies that eliminate the stocking of hatchery fish over wild trout. Pass it on . . . Continue reading Be a Voice for Wild Trout — Your Most Effective Conservation Measure is Also the Easiest at Troutbitten ..read more

It’s the companionship and teamwork, along with the effort and commitment required to get down the river. It’s about a good lunch and friendly banter as much as the novel approach to tactics and the pure advantage of accessing more water. From the put in to the take out, boating changes everything. It’s a wonderful way to learn a river and to connect with friends. Continue reading PODCAST: Boat Fishing — How Everything Changes When Floating a River — S11, Ep5 at Troutbitten ..read more

As much as I try to keep things simple for myself, I'm too often lured in by the latest, greatest, next-best-thing-ever streamer pattern to come around. And I while I do believe that reasonably sized, natural streamers catch more good trout than huge streamers, I catch myself looking at a simple #8 Bugger these days and thinking, “Oh, that’s not nearly good enough.” Continue reading Back to Basics — Back to Buggers at Troutbitten ..read more

The setup cast keeps you in control on the river. It allows for repositioning and redirecting the line, leader and fly to the next target. The setup cast gives you a chance to regroup and rethink, too. It keeps you in rhythm by keeping you out of trouble and lending new options to an active angler. Continue reading The Setup Cast — Fly Fishing Strategies at Troutbitten ..read more

From the bottom to the top, when the bugs transform from water born to airborne, meeting the with an emerger often sells the presentation. Our conversation in this episode covers those emergences . . . Continue reading PODCAST: What’s the Deal With Emergers? — S11, Ep4 at Troutbitten ..read more

I’m not suggesting that 6X and lighter tippets are always a crutch. But they certainly can be. Extra-thin tippets are an easy way to solve a tough problem — getting a good dead drift. But sometimes, choosing a harder path makes all the difference -- because you might learn more. . . . How and why in the article . . . Continue reading Why You May Not Need the Crutch of 6X and Smaller Tippets at Troutbitten ..read more

My friends join me for a tough discussion. What are the benefits of guiding? What are the good things? How does it help anglers? Does it actually help people and make our sport or this fishing scene better, or does it just put money in the guide’s pocket and put more pressure on the trout? Continue reading PODCAST: The Ethics of Guiding — More Harm Than Good? — S11, Ep3 at Troutbitten ..read more

For a moment, let’s consider where the line goes when the hookset doesn't stick a trout . . . You strike on the rise and miss a fish. Or, while nymphing, you set when the fly bumps a rock for the forty-fifth time. And the fly goes where? In wide open meadows and valleys, who cares? With no trees to eat your fly, sloppy hooksets go unpunished. But the rivers I frequent harbor broken tree limbs as earnest gatekeepers. I like dark, shady corners because the trout do. And working around these obstacles forces me to be mindful — to know where every hookset finishes . . . Continue reading Fly Fishi ..read more