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 his neck out, so you may agree with what he says or you may not, but you’ll learn some important biology in the process.   In the Fly Box this week, we have a host of interesting questions and some great tips from listeners, including: A plug for Trout Unlimited’s “Trout in the Classroom” projects What is your favorite rod for small streams, what size flies do you use, and where do I find the biggest trout in small streams? Can I use nymphs in small streams?  They have not worked for me. How do you test water temperature?  Do you need to suspend the thermometer deep in the water? How can I catch walleye on my fly rod? At what water temperature should I fish for bass? How long do you stick with one fly before changing it, and what do you look for in new water? Have you found any difference between painted and unpainted flies on streamers? I want to do some writing about fly fishing.  How do you handle criticism when you do this? What is the best practice for tipping guides? Do you recommend studs for rubber-soled waders, and how often can you remove them and then put them back? On cloudy days I can’t see as much with my polarized glasses?  What should I do? How long does it take for trout to get back into their normal positions after a flood? Should you present streamers differently in the early season than you would later in the spring? The dry fly on my dry/dropper rig keeps twisting.  What can I do to avoid this? How do you get your fly to fish in deep water running along the bottom? I keep breaking my tippet where it connects to my tippet ring even though I am using a lighter tippet to my flies.  What can I do?

Veteran guide BJ Gerhart shares expert tips on early season trout fishing, addressing challenges of cold water and high flows. Topics include UV materials in fly tying, dry dropper fishing, bead colors on nymphs, casting issues with beadhead flies, and differences in fly rods. Listener insights cover wading safety, Great Lakes salmon fishing, and proper fish handling practices.

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 us ordinary anglers.  This is a fascinating podcast and Jason does a great job of explaining trout vision.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions but also a bunch of great tips from listeners, including: When water is low and the sun is bright, what tactics do you recommend for Great Lakes steelhead? Four great fly-tying tips from a tier in the UK I am looking at the 10-foot Helios rods.  For all-around fishing, should I get the 3-weight F model or the 4-weight D model? A guide from the mid-Atlantic shares tips on targeting snakeheads A young fly tier asks for advice on a moderately priced vise for tying bass flies Why do my 9-foot 6X knotless leaders keep breaking? A new fly fisher from Ohio recounts a wonderful experience he had on the river A listener provides some great tips on rooftop rod carriers A listener asks for suggestions for a book on the history of trout in North America

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 roundup of questions and tips from listeners, including: What is the advantage of a 9 ½-foot rod over a 9-footer or 10-footer? A great tip from a listener on how to remove salt water from flies you have fished When would you use a Tenkara rod over a traditional Western rod?  And do you have a favorite Tenkara rod? Does Tom Rosenbauer actually tie the flies in the Orvis Tom Rosenbauer fly selection? What is the history of the famous Orvis Far & Fine graphite rod, and what line would you put on it? For small creeks, is it better to use a 2-weight or a 3-weight line? What can I substitute for goose biots on the tail of a stonefly nymph? Can you explain the pros and cons of polyleaders vs. sink-tip fly lines? What are the best fly lines on the new Helios 7 ½-foot 3-weight rod and the new 8-foot, 5-inch 7-weight rod? A listener talks about how he uses the new Orvis wading staff as a hiking staff as well. Will the heat inside a car in summer hurt my Orvis raincoat? A call from Captains for Clean Water with some great news from the Everglades

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, which you can learn about in the podcast.  This is a tough subject to listen to, but we learn that we can never give up on environmental issues, even when it looks like we've won.  (To sign a petition in support of Trout Unlimited's position preventing the mine from expanding onto public land, click here https://montanatu.org/protect-the-smith-sign-the-mineral-withdrawal-petition/   In the Fly Box this week, we have some more fun and positive topics, including: What is a tailing loop in fly casting? To practice casting for a saltwater trip, should I just use yarn or should I use a hookless fly similar to the size I will be casting? What is the purpose of a wing on a wet fly? Does the loop at the end of a fly line cause energy loss? How can I photograph striped bass beneath a bridge? Can I keep fly rods in my cartop quiver in hot weather? A great tip from a listener about using white poster board on the surface of an old rolltop desk. Another tip from a listener on using inexpensive drill gauges to size hunks of deer hair and beads. Would a one-piece rod be better than a four-piece rod? How do I keep debris from drifting downstream when fishing the top of a riffle? What is a good all-around fly line for bonefish and redfish? I had a fishless day and then a guy with a spin rod caught a trout right in front of me.  Should I have switched to a streamer earlier?

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 model of an older Orvis rod do you still fish? Do you have any tips from casting a Spey rod from the beach? The head on a fly I tied unraveled.  Was it because I used Superglue and half hitches? A tip from a listener on a product that will sharpen fly-tying scissors. What conditions are best for fishing a bamboo rod? Can I underline a fiberglass rod? Can I cut the taper off an old WF5F line to make a lighter line for small streams? How can I get my fly-tying thread to jump backward so I can tie in tricky materials? What kind of setup do I need for catching snakeheads on a fly rod? Why do smaller streams produce smaller trout and bigger rivers bigger fish? What kind of PFD should I get for wearing under a fishing vest? Why can't I find good brown and grizzly dry-fly hackle in size 12? What do I need to do to switch between conventional nymphing and Euro nymphing? Do most communities have fly-fishing clubs and how do I find them? If I am going from a small stream to a lake, should I lengthen my butt section or lengthen my tippet?

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 good ones, including: Do I need to set the hook in a different manner with a glass fly rod? Is there something about the new Helios rods that is not covered on the web site and catalog copy? Is there a place where I can still pick up a Helios 3 rod? I am going to Cozumel and will be wade fishing from the beach.  What should I know in advance? A listener gives some great tips on fly fishing for trout in Missouri

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 fish while you are wading. Can I put an 8-weight line on my 7-weight Pflueger Medalist reel? A funny story from a listener on another way to break a fly rod As I get older my eyesight and finger dexterity are not what they used to be.  Is there an easier knot for attaching flies to my tippet? Why don't more people fish for chubs, and why are they considered a trash fish? Do you have any recommended cicada patterns? A listener who is also a toxicologist warns that not all fly-tying materials are harmless and gives tips on how to avoid undue exposure to them. I have trouble tying tails on size 18 and smaller flies.  Do you have any tips?

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 salmonids and it's fascinating to get an overview of them.   In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips, including: Why do I have trouble Euro nymphing in slow pools when I have such good luck in faster water? I catch steelhead from Lake Ontario tributaries during the colder months but I don't catch trout there during the summer.  Why? I am having trouble casting a Euro rig.  What tips can you give me? How can I wean myself off my spinning rod when it's so much more successful that my fly rod? What are your thoughts on the Non-Slip Mono Loop for dry flies? Have you ever tired the Australian Braid Knot as a replacement for the Bimini Twist? Which is more important in choosing a line size—the size of the fish or the size of the fly? Can trout spill over a dam into streams below? Can you give me some tips on catching cutthroat trout? How can I tell if there are trout in a small stream? I am 17 and can't afford a hackle cape.  Is there any way to save money on a cape,  and what color would you recommend I start with? Is it so bad if I want to keep a few wild trout to eat?  Why the big emphasis on catch and release? What is that protrusion on the opposite side of the spool from a reel handle?  It can't be a counterweight. If I have a medium-fast 5-weight rod, will a 6-weight line make it more of a medium action? I lost 30-40 fish in the tail of a pool swinging flies.  What was I doing wrong? How do you select deer hair for Comparadun wings?

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, she has fished small streams throughout North America and her tips will help you no matter where you fish.   In the Fly Box this week we have a nice assortment of questions and tips on fly fishing and fly tying, including: Why do you hate hook keepers so much? Is it true that you should not hook your fly onto your stripping guide? A listener recounts his first experience with selling flies he tied himself. A number of people chide me for not using a wading staff—yet. Will it hurt my fly line if I stretch it first before fishing? A listener gives some good advice on how to get out of a dangerous situation while wading, and how to prevent your waders from acting like a sea anchor. A tip from a listener on how he deals with litter during a day of fishing and one on how he carries rods on the back seat of his vehicle. A listener tells me how pleased he was with Orvis reel repair service. Should I wear socks when wearing the new Pro Approach Hikers in salt water? Can I Euro nymph in lakes and ponds? A tip from a listener on making more durable peacock herl bodies. Where should I put the heavy section of mono on a shock leader? A listener shares a tip on playing darts during the winter to keep those casting muscles in shape I used rubber soled wading shoes on slippery rocks and had poor traction.  Should I stud them or just get a pair of felt-soled boots? In a remote lake with an inlet and outlet, will trout move into the outlet as well as the inlet? How can I keep my dropper and tippet from slipping off my barbless hook when fishing with a dry dropper?  And what knot is best when attaching a dropper to a hook bend? I have a 9-foot 5-weight rod and want a rod for fishing for panfish and streamers for trout.  What rod should I get next?