Troutbitten
Episodes
How Has Fly Fishing Changed?
15 Oct 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Everything changes. That’s the only constant. And in the fly fishing world, the tactics, the gear and how we share all of this information changes, ...
Night Fishing for Trout -- Nymphs, Wets and Pushers
24 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this six-part series we’ve covered locations, water types, weather, water and light conditions. We’ve talked about the gear, about flashlights ...
Night Fishing for Trout -- Topwater, Emergers and Streamers
17 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the episode you’ve all been waiting for. Tonight, we talk about fishing the top water. And yes, that means mouse patterns — sometimes....
Night Fishing for Trout -- Planning and Adapting Locations and Tactics
09 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
All fishing trips benefit from a good plan, and most of us couldn’t stop planning, hoping and dreaming about an upcoming trip if we wanted to. Our n...
Night Fishing for Trout -- Swinging and Drifting
03 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We night fish with many different fly types: surface patterns, mouse emerges, streamers, wet flies, nymphs and Harvey Pushers. And all of these flies ...
Night Fishing for Trout: Lights -- Natural and Artificial
27 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this second part of the Night Fishing for Trout Skills Series on Troutbitten, we consider light. First the naturals, like moonlight and starlight, ...
Night Fishing for Trout: People, Places and Things
20 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This season is a skills series about fishing for trout after the sun goes down. And for the next six episodes, we’ll break down the night game into ...
Summer Catch Up '23 -- The Fishing, The Shop, Videos and More
29 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We’re in between podcast season, and it's time for an update about what’s going on with Troutbitten. My wife, Becky, joins me to talk about t...
The One With Sloop - Stories With a Troutbitten Friend
02 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Every Troutbitten regular knows about Sloop. We’ve referred to our friend on nearly every podcast, especially in the last few seasons, as it’s bec...
The Airing of Grievances 2
25 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We're back for the annual airing of grievances, here to call out what's wrong in the fly fishing industry.Some of our grievances are lighthe...
Why We All Love Big Trout
18 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about big trout -- what they mean to us, why we chase them, and how catching a top tier wild trout often leaves a bookmark in the stor...
That's Not Fly Fishing -- What It Is, What It Isn't, Who Cares
11 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
“That’s Not Fly Fishing.” How many times have you heard this at the bar or seen someone write it on social media? When the way you are fishing i...
This Is The End -- A Story
04 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is a brief pause in season seven of the podcast to share something that I published to Troutbitten in the early years. The last two weeks...
Vest, Pack or Something Else? Carrying Your Gear
28 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What’s the best way to carry your gear? Should you use a vest, a chest pack, hip pack, sling pack or something else?How you choose to carry gear is ...
Talking About Tippet -- Size, Strength, Length and Rigging
21 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
The leader might be the most important piece of gear that we have -- more consequential than the rod, the fly line, or even the fly itself. And of cou...
What to Love About Small Stream Fishing
14 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is about small stream fishing — specifically, what we love about the places, the fish, the tactics and the experience of fishing smalle...
Good Wading, Better Fishing -- How Wading Skills Change Everything
07 May 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about wading a river. Good wading. Better wading. Confident wading. Because, for a river angler, nothing is more important. Good wadin...
High Water, Dirty Water, Muddy Water
30 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
What can we do when the rains come, when the snow melts, or when the floodgates open?Rivers rise in many different ways. From quick and heavy summer t...
What Is More Difficult? Fishing Dry Flies or Nymphs?
23 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
We have a fun conversation for this episode, about what’s more difficult — nymphs or dry flies. This is not a talk about which tactic is better. A...
Angler Pressure TWO -- What It Does to the Fishing
16 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
This is the second episode of our two part discussion on angler pressure. Last time, we talked about how fishing pressure affects the fish — how the...
Angler Pressure ONE -- What It Does to the Fish
09 Apr 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season 7 of the Troutbitten Podcast begins with a two-part discussion on angler pressure. This is a big one. It’s a topic that everyone in the fishi...
Fish It Anyway -- A Story
26 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Troutbitten is about the pursuit of fishing tactics. It’s about discovering new techniques and improving our skills. We don’t want to hope somethi...
Catching Up -- Spring 2023
19 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season Seven will begin on April 10th. But in between seasons, I want to catch you up on a few things that are going on with Troutbitten.Just a few ye...
Winter Fly Fishing Skill #8 -- Full Crew Conversation with Stories and Tactics
05 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here we are at the end of Season 6 -- the Troutbitten Winter Skills Series. This is episode 8 of the series, and I’m here with a full crew of friend...
Winter Fly Fishing Skills #7 -- Problems and Solutions
26 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
My good friend, Austin Dando, joins me to address many of the troubles with winter fishing. In this Winter Skills Series, we’ve been through the tac...
Winter Fly Fishing Skills #6 -- Dry Fly Fishing in the Winter
19 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
With this Troutbitten skills series on winter fishing. We’ve covered locations and expectations, where to find trout, and their wintertime habits. W...
Winter Fly Fishing Skills #5 -- Streamer Fishing in the Winter
12 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
A streamer is not only a great change-up in the winter, it can be the best fly in your box - if you fish it well. There are some changes to make for a...
Winter Fly Fishing Skills #4 -- Nymphing in the Winter
05 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we dive deep into winter nymphing strategies. Specifically, we highlight what is different and what is unique about nymphing in the w...
Winter Fly Fishing Skills #3 -- Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
29 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Here's a full podcast dedicated to staying warm, from head to toe. Because sometimes, staying warm and functional in the winter is far more impor...
Winter Fly Fishing Skills #2 -- Your Hands
22 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Cold. That is what defines winter fishing. We acknowledged in the last podcast that the cold — or really the inability to deal with it — is one of...
Winter Fly Fishing Skills #1 -- The System and The Plan
16 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Season Six of the Troutbitten podcast begins. This is an eight part Skill Series about fly fishing in the winter months, and episode one is an overvie...
Fishing Buddies
18 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For the finale of Season Five of the Troutbitten Podcast and to wrap up 2022, we’re closing the curtain with an episode about fishing buddies — wh...
What to Trust
11 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the most captivating aspects of fly fishing is the seemingly endless variety of approaches, tactics and strategies that are available with a fl...
Strategies for Fly Fishing In the Wind
04 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Wind challenges our cast and changes our drifts more than any other element. It forces us to adapt our presentations, and it makes some of our favorit...
Listener Q&A -- Mono Rigs, Tough Days, Trout Range and More
27 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Troutbitten crew answers questions from podcast listeners. These questions range from gear talk to ethics, from fly selection to reading a trout r...
Streamer Presentations -- All About the Head of the Fly
20 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The longer we toss around streamers, the more we realize that it’s the most subtle changes in presentation that make a difference. Faster or slower?...
Freewheelin' Two -- Stories and Experiences
13 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Troutbitten guys and I sit down to share a few stories — moments and experiences — from a life on the water.There’s no layout for this episo...
Strategies for Fishing Low and Clear Water
06 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, my Troutbitten friends and I talk about one of the toughest conditions we face — fishing in low, clear water. It’s something that...
Catch and Release: Always or Sometimes? And How C&R Changes Things On The Water
30 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Is catch and release a good idea all the time or just some of the time? In this episode, we consider the ways that the practice of catch and release c...
Weight In Fly Fishing: Beads, Shot, Sinking Lines and More
23 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, we talk about weight and fly fishing. Because if you’re not fishing a dry fly on the surface, then weight, in some form or another,...
The Spooky Trout -- What Scares Fish and How to Avoid Spooking Them
16 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Success on the water starts with finding fish and not spooking them. No one ever caught a scared trout. All the tactics, the flies and the habits of r...
Fly Tying and the Complete Angler
09 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode of the Troutbitten Podcast is about tying flies. It's about the way that aspect of fly fishing changes everything for us. Most of us...
Fly Fishing Through the Fall Season
02 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The Troutbitten Podcast is back for season five. My full crew of friends returns, joining me for some great conversations about fly fishing for river ...
Roundtable Review and Wrap Up -- Dry Dropper Skills Series #5
09 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This is our full crew review of dry dropper styles. And it wraps up this Troutbitten Skills Series on dry dropper fishing. Because, as we’ve seen, w...
Tight Line Dry Dropper -- Dry Dropper Skills Series #4
04 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode covers an extremely effective style for presenting both a nymph and a dry fly -- I call it tight line dry dropper, and this may be favori...
Standard Dry Dropper -- Dry Dropper Skills Series #3
28 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Standard Dry Dropper is the industry standard for a reason. Because it’s what you get when you simply add a nymph on behind the dry fly. Sometimes, ...
Light Dry Dropper -- Dry Dropper Skills Series #2
21 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Fishing a nymph under a dry fly is rarely as simple as adding a nymph and casting it out there. Some forethought into what your objectives are, measur...
Three Styles of Dry Dropper -- Dry Dropper Skills Series #1
13 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
With season four of the Troutbitten Podcast, we're back to the Skills Series format, with tightly packed, tactical episodes that cover one topic ...
The Troutbitten Project -- Past, Present and Future
24 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We’re in between podcast seasons and on a bit of a summer break. But I wanted to keep in touch here. I’d like to tell you more about the Troutbitt...
Feed Drop -- Troutbitten on the Wade Out There Podcast
17 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hey Troutbitten friends, Season three of the podcast is finished, and season four begins in just a few weeks. But in this time off, I have something ...
The Versatile Angler
03 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Versatility is a Troutbitten mantra. It’s the way we fish. In fact, it’s why we fish a fly rod, because whatever way the trout wish to feed, we ca...
An Introduction to Night Fishing for Trout
26 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
I've been building the Night Fishing for Trout Series here on Troutbitten for many years. It's an ongoing series of chapters that cover some...
The Airing of Grievances
18 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
So, you know how you see something from far away and it looks really great? It’s almost perfect. But if you look a little closer, even from a long d...
What's the Deal With Junk Flies?
12 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
What might commonly be referred to as a junk fly makes its way to the end of my line pretty often. And for certain times of the year, through the summ...
Why Do We Miss Fish, and Why Do We Lose Fish on a Fly?
05 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We all miss fish and lose fish on a fly. Why does it happen? Is it an accident? Is it avoidable? And how can we improve our hookup and landing ratio o...
Learning a River and Discovering Its Secrets
29 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
You can’t really learn a river until you’ve learned to fish. You need some confidence in your skills to cover a section of new water, to fish it w...
A Fly Fishing Life, and Doing the Hard Things
21 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Living a fly fishing life, being Troutbitten, is something that you can’t shake off. Your mind always churns over something tactical, like a fresh...
Rude on the River, Front Ended and the Golden Rule
15 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In the last podcast, episode 7 of season 3, we talked about finding your water and finding space. And we acknowledged that everyone wants this. Everyo...
Find Your Water -- Find Space
08 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Every angler wants to fish somewhere new — someplace untouched. We want novel experiences. Something about trout fishing, about catch and release an...
Why It Always Comes Down to Fly Casting -- And What Matters Most
01 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about fly casting — why it matters more than anything, and how we can improve our accuracy and control over the system with just a f...
Find Feeding Fish - Exploring Water Types and More
24 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This episode is about exploring the water types of a river to find hungry trout. And we’re thinking beyond just fast water, slow water, riffles, run...
How to Fight Bigger Trout
17 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Something electric happens when we hook into the fish of the day, the fish of the season or maybe the fish of a lifetime. Our hearts beat faster. The ...
Hatches and Strategies
10 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
One of the greatest attractions to fly fishing can also present one of the biggest barriers.It’s the bugs.The aquatic insects that make up the bulk ...
The Inefficiencies That Waste Your Fishing Time
02 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Casting, drifting, swinging and stripping -- everything else is downtime. As Paul said, “Brother, there are no flying fish in Montana” — or anyw...
Secrets and Spot Burning
27 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Season Three begins with a round-table discussion about fishermen's secrets and what happens when we give up the most sensitive of them -- spot b...
Feed Drop -- Troutbitten on the Wet Fly Swing Podcast
21 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Hello, friends.Season two of the Troutbitten podcast is finished, and season three begins soon. So in this off week, I have something a little special...
Bonus Round Q&A with Full Panel -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #10
13 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Season Two concludes with a round table discussion for answering the most common questions about tight line and euro nymphing skills. My full panel of...
Putting It All Together -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #9
06 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Here we are at the finish line. In this ninth installment of this Troutbitten Skills Series, my friend, Austin Dando, and I walk through some of the b...
The Strike -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #8
28 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
The strike is the best part of fishing. It’s what we’re all out there waiting for, or rather, what we’re trying to make happen all day long. And...
Guiding the Flies -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #7
20 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part Seven of this Troutbitten Skills Series focuses on guiding the flies. Once the nymphs are cast and settled into the target seam, it's time t...
Locating the Strike Zone -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #6
13 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part six of this Troutbitten Skills Series is about locating the strike zone. This zone of water -- this cushion near the bottom of the river -- is th...
Finding Contact -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #5
06 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part five of this Troutbitten Skills Series is about finding contact. Because after the tuck cast, after we stick the landing and begin to recover sla...
Recovering Slack -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #4
01 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part four of this Troutbitten Skills Series focuses on recovering slack. To dead drift a nymph, we cast it upstream. And as the river flows downstream...
Stick the Landing -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #3
26 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part three of this Troutbitten Skills Series focuses on sticking the landing. Because after putting ourselves in great position to present the fly, we...
Turnover and Tuck Casting -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #2
19 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Part two of this Troutbitten Skills Series focuses on the tuck cast. A good tuck is a turnover cast -- where the loops unfolds completely in the air. ...
Angle and Approach -- Tight Line and Euro Nymphing Skills, #1
17 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Season two of the Troutbitten podcast comes in a new format. It's a mini-series of connected episodes that build out a set of specific tactics. T...
Memories and Fishing Plans
27 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 15 is for story telling. And I'm joined by my friends, Bill, Josh, Austin and Trevor to share memories and make a few plans.This is the f...
Winter Fly Fishing Tips and Tactics
21 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Episode 14 is a deep dive into winter fishing tactics. And I'm joined by my friends, Bill, Josh, Austin and Trevor.Because the trout have differe...
Big Trout From Pennsylvania to Montana -- With Guest, Matt Grobe
15 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, I get together with my long time friend, Matt Grobe, for a candid, entertaining, fun and technical discussion about wild trout, big t...
Nymphing Tight Line to the Indicator Style -- Contact Nymphing Principles With An Indy
07 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In Episode 12, my friends and I talk about nymphing tactics — specifically, how we take tight line principles and the tight line advantage over to a...
Dealing With Weather and Fighting the Elements
30 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Pushing through the tough times — dealing with bad weather and difficult conditions — puts you one step ahead of most anglers. The rivers and the ...
Reading of "The Kid" -- With Special Guests Joey and Aiden
22 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this tenth podcast, I read a story that I first published with Hatch Magazine in 2016. It’s titled, The Kid, and it’s one of my favorites.My so...
Breaking Down Streamer Presentations
16 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
While fishing a streamer, we’re trying to make it look alive. That's the difference. Because, while fly fishing other styles, we spend so much ...
How Many Trout Do You Catch? Expectations, the Liars and Reality
09 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
We’re out there to catch trout. That’s what brings us to the water. But how many do we catch? And really, how many should we catch? What are the e...
The Freewheelin' Troutbitten -- Junk Flies, Spot Burns, Ethics and More
03 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This is our seventh podcast episode in the first season. And we’ve done this enough now to get into a rhythm. If you’ve listened to previous episo...
Reading Water, and Cherry Picking vs Full Coverage
25 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, my friends join me to share some of their best tips for reading water — seeing a trout stream, recognizing the currents in a river ...
Fly Fishing the Mono Rig -- Versatility and the Tight Line Advantage Taken Further
19 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
After hundreds of Troutbitten articles featuring the versatility of the Mono Rig, now there's a podcast. My friends Josh, Austin, Trevor and Bill...
Wild Trout vs Stocked -- The Hierarchy of River Trout
12 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Keep wild trout wild. Not all trout are created equal, and there are many differences in the trout we catch -- in their appearances and their behavior...
Night Fishing for Trout, and the Mouse Emerger Concept
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Night fishing is a mystery with no resolution. Every other aspect of fly fishing for trout has been written about, understood and expanded upon. Lifet...
How to Handle a Trout | Safe Catch and Release -- From Hooking a Trout to Letting It Go
27 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Fish cold water, fight 'em fast, handle gently, release quickly. In this second edition of the Troutbitten podcast, my friends Bill, Austin, Trev...
This Is Troutbitten | Fly Fishing for Wild Trout -- Family, Friends and the River
15 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In this inaugural Troutbitten podcast, my friends Bill, Austin, Trevor and Josh join me to discuss how fly fishing for wild trout creates a life on th...