The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

This week I interview Dave Perkins, one of the members of the family that owns Orvis and Executive Vice Chairman of Orvis.  Dave is one of the most well-traveled and experienced fly fishers I know, but he still enjoys fishing close to home as well.  In this case he is sharing his tips on catching Eastern, lake-run steelhead from smaller Great Lakes tributaries.  Dave has been doing this for many years so his tips are solid and helpful. In the fly box, we talk about the ethics of fishing for spawning fish, how many turns to take on a clinch knot, tips on making dubbed bodies, Mysis shrimp, and use of sinking lines for nymph fishing.

In addition to your questions in the Fly Box, Tom is joined in the studio by Orvis News Editor, Phil Monahan. Tom and Phil discuss what makes a great fly-fishing video, touching on subjects such as the ideal length, the proper use of a GoPro, and considering the amount of profanity in your soundtrack. Phil also introduces the new Orvis fly-fishing video theater, The Tug, which has been completely redesigned and updated, with over three hundred of the best videos online. Check it out at orvis.com/flyfishingvideos.

In this episode, Orvis Vice-Chairman, Dave Perkins and I interview Whit Fosburgh about the impacts on our saltwater fisheries by recreational and commercial fishing and what the Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership is doing to help protect them.    I had a lot of interesting emails this week and a couple of phone calls, so there is a bit of an extended Fly Box  section to answer all of your great questions.

This week I interview Shawn Brillon, the King of Swing here at Orvis.  He’s a master at strategizing on swinging flies for both Atlantic salmon and steelhead, and his strategy works for trout streamers and wets as well.  It should serve to get you jazzed up for steelhead season—I know it did for me.  In the Fly Box, we talk about landlocked Atlantic salmon, best all-around line for a switch rod, a basic saltwater outfit and flies for almost anywhere in the world, plus I get pressed to pick which three fly rods I would pick if I could only have three for all of my fishing. 

Did you know you can catch halibut on a fly rod in the Bay Area?  How about striped bass, surf perch, sand sharks, tiger sharks, and jack smelt?  Nathan Cooke of Orvis Sacramento gives us a great roundup of how to find these fish and how to catch them on a fly rod.  He also has some great tips or fly fishing in the surf that will be helpful in any coastal area.  In the Fly Box, we talk about tags ends for droppers, trout with full bellies, taking fish photos when you are in the middle of a river, how to pick a fly for a One Fly event, and a philosophy for a backup fly rod on trips—as well as a podcast listener who has been having dreams of conversations with Joe Humphreys!

In this week’s podcast I interview my good friend and fishing buddy Aaron Adams on tailing redfish.  As a marine scientist, director of Bonefish Tarpon Trust, and a great all-around saltwater fly fisherman he gives some great tips on finding tailing (or otherwise) redfish and how to select a fly and present it to them.  On this week’s Fly Box we concentrate more on freshwater fly fishing, and cover such topics as cracked fly lines, night fishing for trout, circle hooks for streamers, and pigtails above knots on light tippets.  Then I try, unsuccessfully, to resolve a dispute between two brothers.  

This week we take a break from our typical how-to podcasts (don’t worry The Fly Box is in there this week, with tips on tippet material, keeping hands warm, and a what to pay most attention to in a fly-fishing class) and look at the passions of two very interesting people.  One is Scott Hed, from the Alaska Sportsman’s Alliance, with some really good news on the Bristol Bay issue and what you can do to finally put this to rest.  The other is an interview with the guitarist from a heavy metal rock band, what he gets out of fly fishing, and how he compares it to composing music. Don’t worry, I have several upcoming podcasts in the hopper, with hard-core tips and tricks in them.    

  In this week’s podcast, I interview my old friend Brian O’Keefe, founder of Catch Magazine, on tips for catching warm weather steelhead.  Brian is one of the best anglers and teachers around, and I think it’s a particularly helpful interview full of good solid information.  Plus it’s always fun to have Brian on the podcast.  In the fly box, we talk about “buddy fish”, the utility of stripping baskets, a recommended rod for moving up from trout fishing, plus other short topics. 

In this episode I interview my old friend Reynolds Wolff of the Weather Channel on the impact of weather on fishing conditions. As it usually happens on this show, we get off the main topic quite a bit. I am not sure who was interviewed more here, Reynolds or me, but we cover a lot of ground on various topics. As usual, I answer your questions in the Fly Box.

  After a hiatus for family vacation, a trade show, a tarpon trip, and just plain sloth and procrastination, we finally have a new podcast and it’s a long one, well over an hour.  In the podcast we talk about keeping hold of big brown trout, big browns chasing hooked fish, rusty hooks, broken hooks, and dubbing problems.  Quite an eclectic mix.  The main part of the podcast is “Five Reasons for Breaking Out of Your Comfort Zone” and I think you’ll be surprised at some of the benefits of trying new places and new techniques.  There is a bonus feature of Big Pete Kutzer explain Tom’s big casting mistakes on long casts with big rod—hopefully pointing out my problems will help you as well.