Ralph Cutter [36:53] is an extremely perceptive, pragmatic angler with a lifetime of experience in white water, both fishing and in watercraft and water rescues.  He feels that what we’ve been taught to do if we fall in wearing waders is all wrong, and he has a number of tips for getting to shore safely that most of us don’t know about.  He also recommends a second wader belt for wading in very tricky waters.  He’s proven this through countless experiments on the water.  If you spend any time...

The use of the natural toxin rotenone to remove invasive, non-native species of trout to protect native species is a controversial topic. Does it really work? What does the poison do to the insect, mammal, and bird populations? Ted Williams [52:36], a proponent of these tactics in selected waters, discusses where reclaiming populations has been successful and also places where it would not make sense. Ted is one of the foremost environmental writers of our time and is never afraid to stick...

  This week, my guest is guide BJ Gerhart [33:50], a longtime veteran guide at Three Rivers Ranch in Idaho and one of the savviest anglers I know.  He shares his tips for getting around the common problems of early season trout fishing, mainly cold water and high flows.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some helpful tips from listeners, and some interesting questions for Tom, including: If adult trout can’t see UV light, as you said in last week’s podcast, what should I do with all the...

Can trout see color?  Can they see UV light?  How does a trout's window on the outside world affect how they feed and how they notice predators like us?  How can a trout see so well at night and also in bright light when they have no eyelids, and their pupils don't constrict?  Jason Randall [31:10] is an experienced fly fisher and scientist, and he stays up on the latest scientific papers on trout and also talks to leading scientists, and is one of the best at distilling this information for...

My guest this week is Brandon Hoffner [35:55], executive director of the Henry’s Fork Foundation, and the topic is the diverse habitat and trout-fishing opportunities of this world-famous river that has influenced so many anglers, techniques, and fly patterns over the years.  Like all trout rivers today, the Henry’s Fork also has its share of environmental issues and we’ll explore how the Henry’s Fork Foundation works to maintain this magical fishery.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a...

The Montana Supreme Court recently reversed a decision that would have blocked a copper mine on the headwaters of the Smith River.  Where we thought we had a win in preventing a mine in the wrong place, we now may have to live with that mine.  David Brooks [33:02] on Montana TU tells us how, at the very least, TU and other organizations convinced the mine to put in a number of mitigation solutions that were not in their original plan.  Trout Unlimited has one more hail Mary on this issue,...

Josh Miller [43:10] is a guide and has been a competitive angler and coach for years and he, like many young fly fishers, is an innovative angler who doesn't rely only on older methods of fly fishing but develops his own techniques based on how he wants his flies to drift.  This is a geeky one with some rambling, but I think Josh has some thought-provoking ideas that will get many of us thinking.   In the Fly Box we have some interesting questions and tips from listeners, including: What...

This week, my guest is Orvis rod designer and my fishing buddy Shawn Combs [14:05], who uses the new Helios rods as an example of how a new rod series is developed.  What kind of input goes into a new rod design?  Why do we keep making new rod series?  How are they tested?  How many prototypes of a new rod are built before we decide on the final model?   The Fly Box is short this week because I've caught up with questions and am doing this before I leave for a couple weeks.  But they're...

This week, my guest is educator and aquatic entomologist Anna Le [18:57], who introduces us to the amazing world of trout-stream invertebrates.  She tells us how to gauge the health of a river by looking at the bugs, and also how we can all be citizen scientists and alert the authorities when we see a decline of important indicator species.   In the Fly Box this week we have the usual mix of difficult and easy questions, plus tips,  including: A great tip from a listener—don't try to...

This week my guest is Charlie Schneider [45:30] from Cal Trout, a great organization that Orvis has supported over the years because they are really effective in protecting wild trout habitat.  Charlie talks about the many species and subspecies (or races depending on whether you are a lumper or a splitter) of wild trout found in California, some of are unique to California.   The incredibly diverse topography and geology (and proximity to the Pacific Ocean) contribute to this array of...

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,...

Lindsay Kocka [42:30] is a fly-fishing instructor, formally trained natural movement and strength coach, mobility specialist, yoga teacher, and mindfulness educator.  She taken her fishing experience and formal training to come up with a method to help us wade stronger and more confidently.  Regardless of your age, you'll benefit from this podcast, which will give you lots of tips on how to feel more comfortable and confident on the water.  You'll also learn about how to get your body and...

All about Floating Fly Lines, with Josh Jenkins   What is the difference between freshwater and saltwater fly lines?  How about warmwater and cold-water lines?  How long do fly lines last?  How do you care for a fly line?  How do you clean a fly line?  Why do we have over-weighted fly lines?  These are questions I often get for the podcast, so I asked Josh Jenkins [49:28], head of R&D for Scientific Anglers, to answer these questions and more about floating fly lines.   In the Fly Box...

Are there any tricks to spotting fish on saltwater flats, especially if it's your first time?  You may be disappointed to hear that there is no magic bullet and every place you fish will offer different species, water color, and depth.  But Jason Franklin [37:36] has a lifetime of experience helping his clients to spot bonefish and permit in the water, and he gives us some solid tips on how to develop this skill.   In the Fly Box this week, we have an unusual number of great tips from...

This week's podcast is a recording of a live interview I did with Sue Doroff [48:56], co-founder and outgoing president of The Western Rivers Conservancy, which does amazing work throughout the West by buying valuable riparian land, making the surrounding habitat more natural and resilient, and enhancing public access to many of our important trout, salmon, and steelhead rivers.  You'll learn how Western Rivers finds these areas, the financial model for how they do this, and how most are...

How has fly-tying changed in the past 50 years?  It's changed a great deal in the time Tim Flagler [43:55] and I have been practicing it, and I often get questions from people about what has changed over the years.  Tim and I discuss the way information was shared, what hackle was like back then, innovations like beads and synthetic materials and chemically sharpened hooks, and advances in fly-tying tools.  Our main conclusion is that fly tiers today have never had it better, and it continues...

We frequently discuss water temperature in regard to trout fishing but you seldom hear much about how water temperature affects popular fly-rod fish like bonefish, tarpon, permit, redfish, striped bass, and bluefish.  Yet the water on the flats can vary dramatically depending on local weather patterns and tides, which will in turn affect where the fish move to and how actively they feed.  Learn from Bonefish Tarpon Trust's science director Aaron Adams [51:35] (also a superb fly fisher) on the...

This show on winter fly-fishing was originally posted on 28 January, 2011. Before we had interviews, the Flybox, or even call-ins, it was just Sir Tom rambling into a microphone.  Don't forget there are hundreds of shows from our archives that are freelly available on your podcast reader and at howtoflyfish.orvis.com.

Careful observation, active instead of passive, is the hallmark of a good fly fisher.  They pick up patterns by observing exactly where in the river a fish came from , or how it behaved when feeding, or what weather patterns preceded a particularly successful day.  Head guide Cliff Weisse [46:15] of Three Rivers Ranch in Warm River, Idaho tells us some things many fly fishers don't pay enough attention to, and thus lose the ability to improve their skills.   In the Fly Box this week, we...

Originally Posted on March 3rd, 2023 Back in 2008 when I first began this podcast I had two dreams—that I would have my two literary heros, John McPhee and Thomas McGuane as guests (they are both passionate fly fishers). I was lucky enough to record a podcast with John in August of 2021 and this week's podcast is with Tom McGuane [44:36], author of 20 highly regarded novels, screenplays, collections of short stories, and what is in my opinion the finest book of fly-fishing essays ever...

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...

I get frequent questions from listeners on what I would recommend they read in fly-fishing literature, as there is so much out there it's tough to sort through it to find what's worth reading.  Michael Checchio [38:10] is a retired journalist and investigative reporter and a student of fly-fishing books, so we spend some time discussing what he feels are must-reads (or maybe just interesting reads) in the vast river of what has been written about fly fishing. Here is Michael's list:   ...

My guest this week is Chris Jordan [41:13], a scientist with NOAA who specializes in habitat restoration.  His view is that, in our arrogance, we've gotten habitat restoration projects all wrong most of the time.  We think we can engineer river systems to conform with what we think they should be, but rivers are dynamic and mostly unpredictable and that, whenever possible, we need to look at watershed solutions—helping rivers do the job with a lighter hand but a larger scope. Follow this link...

Besides breaking your fly rod in those boring old ways like car doors or ceiling fans, there are other, less obvious ways and most of them are preventable as well.  This week I chat with Charlie Robinton [49:00], rod repair expert on the Orvis Outfitter Team, and we'll explore other ways fly rods are broken—including some unusual ways they have been broken over the years, thanks to stories from our terrific rod repair team.  True, if you break an Orvis rod we can usually have it back to you...