We're talking about  how to shorten your time at the tailgate or the trunk. Just get your waders on, your boots laced, and get to the river. It  should be as simple as that, but it’s not uncommon for anglers to waste a half hour or more just getting ready to go fishing.

Most anglers hate this wasted time. In fact, all of this preparation just to go fishing puts a lot of anglers off in the first place. And the colder it is, or the longer you plan to be out there fishing, or the more tactics you plan to use the more all of this pre-trip prep is required.

We want a system for minimizing the time between cutting the car engine to walking away from the vehicle with our fly rod in hand.

Basically, we all just want to go fishing. And the other stuff holds us back.

The full Troutbitten crew is here with me tonight. I’ve fished a lot with every one of them, and I know first-hand that they get out of the starting blocks pretty fast.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | All The Things
READ: Troutbitten | Tip - Don't Rig Up at the Truck
VIDEO: Troutbitten | Splitting The Rod

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We're here to celebrate ten years of Troutbitten.

December 8th was the tenth anniversary of the first article ever published on Troutbitten. All those years ago, I never expected this Troutbitten business — this media company — to become what it is. Honestly, I had no intentions other than to write and publish stories about fishing, simply because I love the process of writing and I enjoyed fishing. I like being creative.

In this episode, we talk about history and upcoming plans. Where has Troutbitten been, and where are we going? We’ reflect on the past, take a look at where we are in the present and talk about some ideas and plans on the horizon.

This whole project has defined my life and career for the last decade, and I know that each of the guys here has their own connection in their own way.

The Troutbitten guys join me, along with the Troutbitten OG, Sloop John B.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | The Last Good Island
PODCAST: Troutbitten | A Troutbitten Glossary
PODCAST: Troutbitten | This is Troutbitten



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This discussion is about the differences between trout species. How are the habits of brown trout different than rainbow trout? Where do brook trout tend to hold and feed vs brown trout? What about cutthroat? Do they have different tendencies or habits than their counterparts?

Because the habits of these trout are different, our target water changes too, as do our fly patterns and our approach.

The guys from the Troutbitten crew join me for a great conversation.


Resources

READ: Troutbitten | How To Handle A Trout
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Strategies for Fishing Low and Clear Water

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For our Season 13 Intermission, my wife, Becky, joins me for a look at what's going on in the Troutbitten world. We talk about the upcoming leader sale in the Troutbitten Shop (December 6th). We talk about upcoming podcast and video plans, books, fly rods and more.

Resources

SHOP: Troutbitten | Category | Leaders

 
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I fished for two decades before I finally realized that not every river, not every creek or stream has big fish. For most of my early days of fishing, I thought there was a different class of fish in some of my favorite waters that I simply never encountered. And I liked to think that if I fished certain ways at certain times, I would finally catch those fish.

But many years later, after more experience and after finally fishing all of the ways that are supposed to help you find the biggest fish — night fishing, streamer fishing, etc. — I also met many like minded anglers and became friends with enough obsessed fishermen whose stories and accounts I could trust. And I realized, no one catches big trout out of some of these waters.


Why do some rivers hold big trout? This is a topic that has come up between all of us on long drives, around the tailgate, and on long walks along the riverbank. Why is it that some rivers just do not have any size to the fish, and then, maybe just the next valley over, not only is the average size larger, but the top tier fish is bigger too?

We're here to talk about it . . .

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Wild vs Stocked -- The Hierarchy of River Trout
PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Hierarchy of River Trout
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Why We All Love Big Trout

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Tonight we’re here to talk about why we fish. It’s a simple question. Why do we commit so much of our free time and efforts, our thoughts and our daydreams . . . to fishing?

Why, after all these years, do we keep coming back?

Why, when we could do hundreds of other things — with three hours on a weekday evening or every daylight hour on a Saturday, from dawn to dark — why do we choose to lace up the boots and string up the fly rod?

In all the seasons of this Troutbitten podcast, we’ve often said that fishing, for us, isn’t about hoping to get lucky out there. It’s about making something happen. And surely, the act of fishing is a wonderful draw. But as I talked with the Troutbitten guys a few days ago about this topic of why we fish, it was clear their most important answers really didn’t have that much to do with the actual fishing.

So what we’ll talk about tonight are more of the intangible qualities of fishing. It’s what I think many anglers imagine when they decide to pick up a rod and venture into the woods. Yes, all of us are quickly captivated by the details, the flies, the flows, and the tactic necessary to catch trout. But perhaps for most anglers, it’s that elusive, almost transcendental experience that draws us in today, yesterday and tomorrow. And it’s the same natural pursuit that brought us all down to the water from the beginning.

We’re here to talk about it.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | How To Stay in the Fly Fishing Game for a Lifetime
READ: Troutbitten | We Wade
READ: Troutbitten | Lost Fishing Friends

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We’re halfway through Season 13, and tonight we have a discussion that’s been on our backburner for quite a while -- barbed hooks or barbless, and does it really matter?

Should we always fish barbless? Maybe not. The answer isn’t that simple. So the Troutbitten guys are here for a conversation and a few thoughts about barbs on hooks.

Each one of us has fished for long enough that we’ve used both barbed and barbless flies. We’ve also used barbs on lures and bait hooks, because we all grew up fishing in different ways. Some anglers who jump right into the fly fishing game — especially for trout — are exposed to a another sentiment. So their reference points are different. And like anything else, what might seem almost outlandish to one person can seem like no big deal to another.

So . . . barbed hooks or barbless? And does it really matter?

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Are We Taking the Safety of Trout Too Far?
READ: Troutbitten | Category | Catch and Release Safely
READ: Troutbitten | Fight Fish Fast
READ: Troutbitten | Nymph Hook Inversion and the Myth of the Jig Hook
PODCAST: Troutbitten | How To Handle a Trout - S1, Ep2

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Every angler needs a set of flies to call their own. Among the thousands of patterns, options and choices out there, eventually, we sort out a handful of confidence flies.

Our faith in these flies gives us conviction when choosing them and tying the knot. We’ll fish THIS fly in THIS water. That’s what will catch the next trout. And if it doesn’t, then we’ll change something — maybe the water type, maybe the presentation, maybe the rig. Or maybe we’ll reach for the next confidence fly.

Some anglers have a dozen go-to flies. Others might have fifty patterns, and some carry just a few. But a good set of confidence flies is adapted for the angler, for their water, for their season and their preferences. Most importantly, these flies catch trout.

But how do we find the right flies? How do you find your confidence flies? That’s our topic for tonight, season 13, episode 4.

The Troutbitten guys join me to break all of this down.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten: Category | The Troutbitten Fly Box
READ: Troutbitten | Troutbitten Confidence Flies -- Seventeen Nymphs
READ: Troutbitten | Pattern Vs Presentation

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What's right and wrong? That's what ethics really boils down to. Certainly, there are nuances about how much space to give other anglers on the river or how long we should hold a trout out of the water for a picture. But doing the right thing and being an ethical angler is probably best achieved by asking ourselves one question: Does this action makes things better or worse? And are you helping or hurting the woods, the water, the fish and other anglers?

The best ethics probably happen when no one is looking. And holding ourselves accountable to do the right thing is a reward based in the satisfaction of self-discipline.

There is no handbook for ethics in fishing, of course. And much has been written and discussed on the topic through the years. In this podcast episode, the Troutbitten crew holds a philosophical discussion about ethics in fishing. It's not a list of concrete examples or rules. It's an interesting, thought provoking conversation.

Resources

PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Ethics of Guiding -- More Harm Than Good?
READ: Troutbitten | Category | Catch and Release Safely
READ: Troutbitten | A Fisherman's Thoughts On Spot Burning

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The Troutbitten guys are here to talk about two flies. Why do we fish two dry flies, two streamers, wets or nymphs? Why don’t we? Why might we fish with just one fly instead? Multiple fly rigs are a common solution to fishing problems, but extra flies on the line can certainly create more issues than they solve.

The one or two fly debate, across fishing styles -- this is our topic. What works, when and why? What’s the upside? What’s the downside?

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Tangle Free Tandem Rigs
READ: Troutbitten | Q&A: Why Do Multi-Nymph Rigs Tangle, and How to Avoid It
READ: Troutbitten | Three Styles of Dry Dropper

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The full Troutbitten crew is back for season thirteen. In this fall and early winter season, our theme is casual conversations. After three years of podcasting, we've recorded many episodes that go deep into the weeds on one specific topic. We've also dedicated full seasons to the Skills Series format, where a topic like night fishing or tight line nymphing is broken into multiple episodes to try and cover it well. But this season, we're ready to hit record and just riff on a topic.


For episode one, our topic is . . . Why do we catch trout in patches? Because when we get to the end of the day, we often look back to remember catching three trout in one spot, then nothing for a while. Maybe we missed two and landed five in another spot. We had three at the best undercut bank and another handful at the tailout . . . but in between, there were often long periods of inactivity. Why is that?

That's our topic for episode one.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Find Feeding Fish
READ: Troutbitten | Cover Water, Catch Trout
READ: Troutbitten | Cherry Picking vs Full Coverage

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