The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

OK, get ready for this—it’s a long one! I figured since I had not done a podcast in a couple weeks I would give you your money’s worth, and this podcast includes a long interview with Will Benson, noted permit guide and film maker. As you’ll hear, Will has strong passions for many things—permit, guiding, people, and the environment—and I had trouble cutting this one off. But it was a fun and educational interview, and very inspiring for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. And furthermore, it’s a longer Fly Box than usual, with questions on finding a guide school, big fish getting off the hook, Clouser Minnows riding sideways, catching big stripers form shore, remembering Mel Krieger, catching carp in North Dakota, a recommended outfit for Atlantic salmon on the Gaspe peninsula, fishing caddis egg-laying events, and where and how to go fly fishing in the Greek Islands (spoiler—I have no idea).

This week I have an interview with an old friend, Joe Demalderis, of Cross Current guide service in the Catskills. Joe knows the Delaware system about as well as any human, and has a common-sense approach to fishing hatches that I love. We talk about how to fish hatches from a drift boat or other craft, which at times can be more difficult than fishing hatches while wading, but at other times can reach fish in water that is too deep of otherwise inaccessible to the wader. In the Fly Box, we range from questions on getting droppers ready before you go fishing, caddis pupa tactics, fish rising to tippet rings, brook trout on streamers, the effect of heat on tippet material, shirt colors on trout streams, and suggested bonefish books.

My guest this week is guide David Mangum, renowned tarpon guide, filmmaker, still photographer, fly tier—and well the guy is just incredibly talented. In the interview he gives us some fascinating tips on presenting a fly to tarpon, and you may be surprised at what this seasoned guide recommends. He also gives tips on presenting the fly to other species—no surprise that accuracy, not distance or power, is the most important factor. And prior to the interview, in the podcast we answer questions on why you don’t need to change leaders every time you hit a different water type, handicapping fly anglers, sunken hoppers, fishing a new landlocked salmon fishery, nymphing for bass, playing fish on Euro-style nymphing rod, setting the hook on the wet fly swing, diversity in fly fishing, stinky hackle, and attaching backing to fly line.

This week I have a more-or-less black diamond podcast with Josh Nugent of Out Fly Fishing Outfitters in Calgary. With the peak of hatches upon us, now is the time to tune up your sight-fishing game, and Josh provides with some meaty tips (As well as The Seven Deadly Sins). In the Fly Box, I have a couple listener follow-ups on questions from other listeners. One is on freshwater drum from James at the Orvis store in Royal Oak outside of Detroit. The other is from gentleman in Canada who relates his experience with using loop knots on dry flies (hint—don’t). And I answer some questions on obtaining feathers for tying soft hackles, best boxes for large bass flies, how to rig for tightline nymphing, leaders for smallmouths, and whether a graphite rod can fatigue after a day catching more than 10 carp from 10 to 20 pounds in weight (no one is feeling sorry for that guy).

I don’t know why redfish have the reputation of being easy to catch. Every one I have ever cast to was spooky and suspicious. I’ve also found that when casting to redfish, especially in the fascinating times when they’re tailing in shallow water, accuracy is key. And I don’t mean in the general area. You need to place the fly in exactly the right spot based on which direction the fish is facing. Want to find out more about gaining accuracy on redfish? You’ll have to listen to this week’s podcast, where I interview Orvis Saltwater Guide of the Year Lucas Bissett of Slidell, Louisiana. In the Fly Box this week, I try to answer questions on tides and currents in salt water, color of leader material, an old fly dressing formula, the Hopper Twitch, feather clippings, and how to reconcile the feeling of getting skunked (my wife and fishing buddies will tell you I don’t do this well).

In this week’s podcast I have the pleasure of chatting with John Gierach, probably the most popular fly-fishing writer in the world (based on the fact that all 18 of his books are still in print!)  It’s likely that most fly fishers have read John’s work, but it’s a pleasure to hear his voice and some of his thoughts on today’s fly-fishing world.  In The Fly Box, we have some thought-provoking questions this week:  whether it makes sense to use a loop knot on a dry fly, whether a three-turn blood knot is enough, how to keep a bass leader from twisting, another cool trick with a rubber band, how to keep your emergers floating properly in the surface film, how to catch freshwater drum, and what kinds of fly lines you need for fishing a Canadian lake in midsummer.

This week’s podcast is a tour of the wonders of the Midwest’s Driftless Region, where small trout streams abound, trout are plentiful, and public access abounds. What could be better? Guide Mat Wagner tells all in this podcast that helped me vicariously enjoy his region (it’s at the top of my wish list). In the Fly Box, we had some particularly interested questions this week: Using night vision goggles for trout fishing, how to keep a record of streamside insects you find, disappearing brook trout, fighting big fish, catching sea trout on a fly, and the effectiveness of fishing bait using a fly rod.

In the fly box this week we have questions on making your own braided leaders, boorish behavior on trout streams, the effect of melting snow on fishing, how to test a new fly, the ethics of using a guide to find a spot and then fishing it on your own (don’t do it), and a mystery caller at the end. This week I also share an interview with Jeff Skelding, executive director of the Friends of the Upper Delaware River (FUDR). This is a very effective regional conservation organization that after years of difficult relations with local public officials, state and regional water authorities, and highway departments, has gradually formed very effective partnerships with them. We can all learn from their advice and experience when it appears that conservation and property seem to be at odds. It does not have to be a zero-sum game.

This week I interview Chris Dombrowski, author, poet, and fishing guide. Chris's book Body of Water is one of my favorite fly fishing books--even though it is more about people than fishing. Learn how a guy with the rough hands of a fishing guide and the soul of a poet thinks about our crazy world. We have all listener email this week as the phone calls I had were not the types of questions I can answer in this podcast (where should I fish, etc). WE do have some great questions on rod and reel maintenance and weather, nymphing, how much are "collectors'" flies worth, chemicals in fly-tying material and more.

This is a bit different from regular shows. This is the audio from a Facebook LIVE video show Tom did last week about Orvis' new snips and he also takes questions on various topics. The sound quality is not as high as other shows. If you want to skip the snips presentation, skip ahead about five minutes. You can see the video version and other videos at https://www.facebook.com/pg/orvisflyfishing/videos