Panfish are easy to find and catch in the spring and early summer. But later in the season, not so much.  Panfish are still around, but we need to look for them in different places and use modified techniques. Bart Lombardo [33:40] is an expert on all things panfish, and he gives us his secrets for finding and catching these delightful fly-rod targets as we approach late summer and fall.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a healthy assortment of tips and questions from listeners, including: A suggestion from a listener on a way to spot small dry flies if you have trouble seeing them on the water Do you ever fish under bridges?  Is it worth it? When tying in palmered hackle, what is the point in tying hackles in tip-first? What is your philosophy for selecting a dry fly when using a dry/dropper rig? I recently caught some nice fish on the edges of strong whirlpools.  Have I been missing something, and what suggestions do you have for fishing this kind of water? If trout aren't actively feeding in higher water temperatures, what difference does it make if we stop fishing at 68 degrees? I fish two different streams and the fly size recommendations for each one is different.  Why such a discrepancy? What knots do you suggest for tying a 65-pound fluoro shock tippet to a 20-pound class tippet for pike? Do you think construction a half mile upstream of a spot has scared all the trout away? Is it OK to move the fly when you mend?  Is it OK to mend when fishing a dry fly? Should you come in from the top of the eye or from the bottom when tying a knot to your fly? I am only catching smaller smallmouth bass in a spot.  How can I find the bigger ones?

What are the pleasures and pitfalls of running a successful fishing lodge?  What's it really like behind the scenes?  And how did a couple kids from New Hampshire end up running one of the most successful fishing and hunting lodges in Montana?  (Hint—it wasn't due to trust funds or investment banker money).  This week I interview Tim and Joanne Linehan [39:39], two of the nicest people on the planet and legends in the fly-fishing industry.  Their story is a heartwarming success story of a lifelong partnership in love and life. And in the Fly Box this week we have some great questions and helpful tips, including: Do you have any tips for fishing really muddy water or is it just not worth it? Does a fish's sense of smell work better in warm water or cold water? A great story about a listener breaking off a big rainbow and then coming back later in the day, catching the fish, and getting his fly back. Any tips on a fly rod for a 6-year-old kid? I have been nymph fishing with a fluorocarbon leader.  Should I switch to a nylon leader when dry-fly fishing? Do you have any tips for setting the hook when fishing dry flies? Should I use side pressure when playing Atlantic salmon? Can I use Water Shed on my floating fly line? Any tips on catching smallmouth buffalo on a fly? My line and leader won't go straight at the end of the cast and end up curling in on the cast.  Any tips as to why this is happening? I'm taking my first saltwater fly-fishing trip.  Will the Battenkill Disc reel give me enough retrieve speed?

Joe Bibbo [32:10] has a great back story and is a wonderful storyteller himself.  He's done a lot of DIY fishing, mainly from his home in the East to the Rocky Mountains and has some great advice on where to go for information as you plan your trip.  He also has some wonderful advice on what not to do, based on mistakes he's made over the years.  I get many questions from listeners about DIY trips so I am sure this podcast will be a popular one.   In the Fly Box this week, I had no phone calls to answer (hint, hint) but some good e-mail questions, including: I get conflicting advice on how close I can get to fish when tightline nymphing.  Can you give me some guidelines on how close I can approach them? Any tricks for seeing small flies in low light? I bought some Stimulators and see they have wire wraps on them.  Can I fish these as wet flies? I struggle to get a bite from river smallmouth bass in July and August and I could consistently catch them in spring.  Any suggestions? How can I avoid creek chubs in a small weedy stream when I want to target the larger brown trout? Would it be a good idea to put a small length of sighter material between my fly line and my leader? Any tips for solo fishing from a raft? I have been wading with old neoprene waders and Crocs as wading shoes.  Do you think I would benefit from modern waders and wading shoes? I live in Great Lakes steelhead country but sometimes want to avoid the crowds during the winter and fish for smaller trout in inland streams.  Do you have any advice for late fall and winter fishing in these streams?

My guest this week is Lucas Bissett [38:42], executive director the AFFTA, the trade association for the fly-fishing industry.  Lucas talks about the support they give to small, grass roots organizations for education and habitat protection—organizations that may not be able to apply for larger grants.  One of their current projects, which we discuss in detail, is how ocean fish stocks will be managed due to the changes in migration patterns due to climate change.  Lucas tells us that the federal organizations that set regulations for harvest and size lengths are very responsive to public input, so its something for which you can make a difference. In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips, including: I was told the river we fished had lots of 15-inch fish but all we caught were fish up to 12 inches.  Could the fish have been in the bottom of deep pools because of the warmer water? A tip from a listener, one I'm not completely sold on, for putting stick-on strike indicators on top of dry flies when using heavily weighted nymphs on droppers. How do you fish the famous Woolly Bugger in a small, slow moving, turbid stream? What two-handed rod should I use for fishing smallmouth bass? A listener asks for philosophical advice on whether to enjoy fishing for striped bass in Atlantic salmon rivers. A listener has been enjoying fishing for fallfish as trout streams warm and asks for a podcast on fishing for fallfish If you are fishing a tandem nymph rig and one fly is not working at all, should you switch out that fly? Do you change to a different fly line taper as you go up or down in line sizes? Why is there a cutter on tippet spools?  Doesn't everyone carry snips? Does Tom have a succession plan for the podcast?

I take guilty pleasure in hearing horror stories from guides about their worst clients or other crazy things that happen on the river.  Orvis-Endorsed Guide of the Year for 2019 Chip Swanson [41:00] is a great storyteller and has had some wild and funny incidents on the river over the years.  I think everyone will enjoy these stories but just a warning—although not R-rated, some of his stories mention sensitive body parts so if your kids listen to podcasts with you, you may want to preview them first.  Nothing very raunchy but you have been warned!  Rated PG-13. In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips including: I fish a lake that is stocked with rainbows and has a small tributary stream.  Do you think the rainbows will run up into it? Do you have any tips for being stealthy on a trout stream other than not stepping right into the water? Can I use a sinking Salmon Poly Leader for trout? When do you extend the butt section of your leader? I am using a switch rod for distance in warm water fishing and have tried all kinds of lines but am not happy with my casting.  Do you have any tips? Any tips or tricks on how to travel; with waders and wading boots?  I am concerned with my wet wading boots. Can trout smell us and should I worry about it? Do Zero-weight fly rods exist and what are they used for? A tip from a listener about learning to cast at all angles to your body without moving your feet. I fished a cold Colorado tailwater in the morning and a local angler told me I was on the water too early.  Why? All the hoppers I see have green, brown, or black wings.  So why do we put white wings on many of our hopper patterns?

There's no doubt that casting a size 6 weighted streamer is more difficult than a size 14 Parachute Adams. The physics are different, no way around it. But casting guru Pete Kutzer [37:17] has some tricks that he shares to make casting big streamers, nymph rigs, and poppers easier by adjusting your casting motions. This is a frequent question on the Fly Box so I figured there was a need for an entire podcast on the subject.   In the Fly Box this week, surprisingly I did not have any questions on casting big flies. But I did have these tips and questions:  I have been looking for brown trout redds on my favorite wild trout stream but have not seen any.  When and where do they spawn? Does it make sense to look at my dry flies from underneath, getting the same view as the fish?  I have discovered a way of projecting my flies on the ceiling to look at them. My fly line lands OK, but my leader and fly curl off to one side and don't go where I want them to.  What am I doing wrong? Why do trout in my river prefer Golden Stonefly nymphs over the bigger Salmonfly patterns? How do I know where to place studs on my Orvis felt-soled wading boots? I fish dry droppers on small streams, but in really shallow streams my nymph keeps snagging on the bottom.  Do you still fish dry /dropper on very shallow streams? What is a good foreign language to learn if you travel to fish internationally? Do trout in cold tailwaters migrate closer to the dam in summer? I fish a trout stream where the channel was recently put back into an old stream bed.  How long will it take for insects and crayfish to repopulate this area? I kept missing strikes on a weedless Sneaky Pete.  Do you think it was the weed guard, or was it just bluegills pecking at my fly? How do people get their car to the take-out when fishing from a raft?

A couple months ago I did a podcast with Jason Randall [36:39] on trout vision, and it was so popular that I asked him to come back on the podcast to do one on a trout's sense of smell and hearing.  Can trout hear your metal studs on the bottom when you wade, or the tip of your wading staff?  Can they hear you talking?  Can they smell your flies, and does it make sense to add scents to your fly?  Can they smell hatches coming?  I explore these and other topics with one of our foremost experts on what trout perceive in their environment.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a great assortment of questions and tips from listeners, including: What could I tie with size 16 and 18 Keel Hooks? When working the same pool, should the nymph or streamer angler cover the pool first? Where should you park when you see a stretch of unposted land? A listener relates a fun story of his first carp on the fly What would make me choose the more expensive textured Pro fly line over the Smooth version? What is your rod, leader, and fly setup when fishing a small stream? Is there a difference between a dubbing loop and the split thread technique? Do Recons and Clearwaters go through the same process of improvements that Helios rods do? I saw a lot of bugs but no trout rising.  Do you think they were overwhelmed by too much food? If trout in the East don't eat adult stoneflies much, why does the Chubby Chernobyl work so well? I find sunglasses in the evening a hindrance.  What should I do to protect my eyes after the sun goes down?

Captain Drew Rodriguez [27:23] is the only Orvis-endorsed freshwater guide in Florida and specializes in largemouth and peacock bass in the canals near Miami and also the Everglades. In summer, peacocks are his main target as they just love hot weather, the hotter the better. He discusses how to find them, what flies to pick, and what tackle he recommends. They are a year-round target in the Miami area and, according to Captain Drew, a 30-fish day is a slow one.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some interesting questions and great tips from listeners, including: Can I fit my fly boxes, lunch, and a raincoat in the standard Orvis Sling Bag? A tip from a listener on how college fly-fishing clubs can get involved with the Trout Unlimited Five Rivers program A tip for taking notes on your phone to remind you of podcast questions A tip for using desiccant packages in your fly boxes Should I tether myself to my 7-year-old daughter when we are wading together? A tip from a listener on "urban blue lining". If I fall in, what steps should I take to dry out my gear? What would be a recommendation for a basic surf fishing outfit for the East Coast, Florida, the Caribbean, and Central America? How can I manage the fly line around my feet when it gets stuck on obstructions in the river? Why don't they make longer fiberglass rods? If I am catching more whitefish than trout, should I move? What is the best way to fish nymphs without an indicator? Is dry fly fishing on a lake better in calm or riffled water? A hot tip from a regular listener on a great fly pattern

Brandon Dale [43:32] is a licensed New York State guide who specializes in fishing, of all places, Central Park in the middle of The Big Apple. You may not be interested in fishing for carp in Central Park, but Brandon offers some valuable tips on carp fishing in murky water, and has developed some innovative techniques that all carp fanatics will want to learn.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a wide variety of questions and tips from listeners, including: Any tips on finding places to fly fish close to home? A tip from a listener on how to get studs in wading boots to mount properly What about kapok dubbing and wing burners?  What are your thoughts on using them? How can I fish a small mountain stream when it gets murky? Should I wear my wading jacket inside or outside of my waders? How should I read the water in rivers for bass? Is there an advantage to shorter rods when fishing for bass in rivers? I caught two rainbows that looked exactly the same.  Could it have been the same fish? Do graphite rods get slower over time? What advice do you have for getting a fly rod for a 5-year-old? How do fish get rid of flies when you break them off? I fished a river and all I caught was creek chubs.  Is that a good or bad sign, and is it worth going back to that river? I have problems when I cast bigger flies.  What should I do to practice with big flies? Are prescription progressive polarized glasses worth the extra cost?

I feel that European stillwater anglers are far more sophisticated in their approach to stillwater trout fishing and have studied it in more detail than most North American lake anglers. As a result, they use some techniques that are unlike what you see on most trout lakes and ponds in North America and both the flies and methods they use are worth experimenting with. My guest this week, Chad Critchley [48:21], is a guide and stillwater angler (and a lapsed competition angler) who shares some of these methods with us.   In the Fly Box this week, we have these questions and more: How should I retrieve Woolly Buggers for bass and panfish? My knots to my flies are always slipping.  What am I doing wrong? Do you have any tips on fishing larger rivers? Any reason, when fishing a popper/drop[per rig for bass, that I can't tie my popper on a separate dropper instead of tying to the bend of the popper hook? If daytime water temperatures are around 70 but night time temperatures when I fish are 65 degrees, do you think it's safe to fish for trout? Why don't fly anglers use braided line for tippet—it's very supple. Do you take fly tying materials with you on a fishing trip?  How do you decide whether to take them or not? We saw huge schools of striped bass on a flat but they would not take any fly we presented to them.  Do you have any tips? How do you recommend I clean my polarized sunglasses, and what to you recommend to keep them from fogging up? What kind of mayfly spinner patterns should I carry in the Northeast? What is the best way to keep trout hooked when fishing downstream with wet flies? I am young but I still have trouble seeing small dry flies on the water.  What tips do you have for seeing them?