Secrets of an Award-Winning Guide, with Antoine Bissieux
My guest this week is Antoine Bissieux [38:28], Orvis-Endorsed Guide of the Year for 2025. Antoine, otherwise known as The French Fly Fisherman, regularly fishes with and communicates with the top French competitive fly fishers, and has developed methods of fishing nymphs and dry flies as well as dry/dropper setups adapted from what he has learned from these world-class anglers. You'll learn some new techniques to make your fly fishing more effective and more interesting no matter where you fish. In the Fly Box this week, we have some questions that I think will help many other fly fishers solve problems they may have, including: How can I tell what line is on my old reel? Should I get a 3-weight or 4-weight rod for small streams? Do those devices to remove flies from fish quickly really work? I have seen carp opening up their mouths and taking repeated gulps of food from the surface. Is this common and what do you call it? A fly shop told me that using tippet rings is not a good idea because I would break off fish. Is this true? A listener reports on conditions on the rivers in western North Carolina after the floods. I put a nick in my fly line and have to cut off the last 12 inches. Can I still use this line? My foam flies keep landing upside-down. How can I correct this? How should I fish streamers in clear pools where you can see right to the bottom? How should I cast to a fish that is directly below a branch trailing in the water? A suggestion from a listener on using a room dehumidifier to dry out waders and boots. Can I rig two flies on a blood knot, using both sides of the knot, one longer and one shorter? Would a 9-foot, 9-weight rod be the right one for fishing in Chesapeake Bay? And can I use the same rod for steelhead in Michigan? I see a lot of goose feathers on my local golf course. Can I use these for biots on flies and which part should I use? What can I do with saltwater flies where the hook has gotten slightly rusty?
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1:32:23
How to Get Started in Carp Fishing, with Rick Mikesell
I offer no apologies for being a carp evangelist. They live almost anywhere, they are here to stay (they were stocked in many places in North America even before brown trout), and they are the hardest-fighting fish in fresh water. They are also fascinating creatures that can be a challenge to catch—which is why most of us fish with a fly rod. Rick Mikesell [49:05] of Denver is one of the best carp anglers I know and a terrific teacher and he gives us a great introduction on how to pursue these worthwhile fly-rod targets. In the Fly Box this week, we have some interesting requests, including many questions about leaders and tippet. What fly line should I use on my Helios 2 rod for dry-fly fishing? What can I do to prevent my tippet from kinking? What can you do when small stream trout refuse your fly? I have been using heavier tippet and seem to be doing just as well as with lighter tippet. What is your take on this? Is there a big difference between various brands of tippet material? Can I just add a tippet ring to my 9-foot 4X leader to make a nymph leader? Should the butt section of my nymph leader be made from fluorocarbon? What should I take on a multi-day fishing trip that I would not normally think of? Why am I foul-hooking so many trout and whitefish this year? What do you think of furled leaders? What rod should I get for my 8-year-old daughter? What rig should I start her out with? What do you think of Crocs as inexpensive wading shoes? What can you tell me about an older Orvis rod I purchased? How can I tighten the drag on an older spring-and-pawl fly reel? What is the deal with all these multi-fly rigs? Am I missing something by using a single fly? Do people fish for trout with poppers? Do I need sinking agents as well as flotants? At the end of my drift I stripped in a dry fly and got strikes. Should I change my setup and move my flies a bit?
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1:43:37
Back Cast: Twelve Tips for Fishing Dry Flies, with Todd Tanner
This episode was originally published on November 20th, 2023. Todd Tanner [43:02] is a lifelong fly fisher and journalist and spent years as a guide on the Henry's Fork, one of the best (and toughest) dry-fly rivers in the world. He also prefers not to fish nymphs. Todd shares his 12 tips on improving your success with dry flies this week, and they are solid and helpful. In the Fly Box this week, we have a great and varied selection of questions and tips from listeners, including: I don't see any brook or brown trout in the usual places this fall. Are they all upstream spawning? Two great tips from a listener for beginning fly tiers. Is a 10-foot 4-weight a good rod for both Euro nymphing and dry-fly fishing? A great tip from a listener on how to prevent your dry fly from getting too soaked before retrieving it for the next cast. A listener makes the point that watershed-level stream restoration is often not possible. If my stream is stocked with rainbows, will I find them in other parts of the river system and will they survive? Can I use a less expensive spool of fluorocarbon spinning line instead of the expensive stuff sold for fly fishing? If I use only the tip of a CDC feather, can I use the remaining fibers for something else? Kudos from a listener on a wonderful experience he had in the Orvis retail store in Atlanta What kind of insects are most common in infertile streams? Is there a reason Orvis makes a 10 ½ foot and 11-foot H3 rod and not a 10-footer? A great rattlesnake story from a listener I found a whole bunch of trout rising in a seam and tried everything but could not catch them. I tried all kinds of dries and nymphs and changed my tippet and my angle of approach. What do you think the fish were eating?
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1:56:59
Secrets of Trout Fishing in Spain, with Ivan Tarin
Many North Americans would love to catch brown trout in their native environment, and most of us think of the UK or France or Slovenia for wild, native brown trout. But, Spain has a long history of fly fishing in the Pyrenees (Hemingway loved fly fishing in the Pyrenees and called this region "the closest thing to heaven") and for the traveler, there are many rivers with public access. Spain has small freestone mountain streams, lakes, and tailwaters that offer excellent trout fishing and my guest this week, Ivan Tarin [35:59], of Salvelinus Adventures, has spent thirty years exploring these rivers and has many tips to offer. In the Fly Box this week, we have some interesting questions and also a listener who was upset by my attitude in a recent podcast: Do you have any advice to help me catch more trout on dry flies? Does it matter that jig flies ride upside-down? Why can't I catch a fish on a Pheasant Tail nymph? What is the best color for a background on a fly-tying table? How do you keep track of the leader and tippet you have on a fly line? How long with rivers in North Carolina take to recover from the devastating floods? Why has trout fishing been so lousy in the Northeast this spring? What should I do when trout are feeding on tiny flies? Small dries are too small for me to see. Should I work a small bass river upstream or down? I don't do well on dropoffs. How should I fish them? What is the difference between Helios F and D versions, and what is the difference between the 9-foot and 9-foot 5-inch Helios 5-weight models? A listener takes me to task for making fun of conventional bass anglers.
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1:01:08
Back Cast: Secrets of Small-Stream Trout Fishing, with Guide Charity Rutter
This episode was originally published on February 5th, 2024. 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?
The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast provides weekly tips from acclaimed fly fishing author and lifelong fly fishing enthusiast, Tom Rosenbauer. Get the most from your time on the water!
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