Troutbitten

Latest Episodes:

Night Fishing for Trout -- Nymphs, Wets and Pushers Sep 24, 2023

Show notes

In this six-part series we’ve covered locations, water types, weather, water and light conditions. We’ve talked about the gear, about flashlights and headlamps and glow in the dark stuff. We’ve considered what a good night plan looks like, having a strategy and then adapting.
Tactically, we’ve talked about drifting vs swinging flies, about three levels of the water column, about where to expect trout might feed the most after dark, and we’ve walked through top water patterns, emergers and streamers at night.
This week, we’re finishing the series with nymphs, wets and the Harvey Pusher Night flies. We discuss rigging and tactics for each of these fly types, where to fish them and how our presentations might differ at night from what we do in the daylight.
Resources
READ: Troutbitten | Category | Night Fishing
READ: Troutbitten | The Harvey Pusher Night Fly (with VIDEO)
READ: Troutbitten | Find Your Rabbit Hole
READ: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout -- The Wiggle and Hang
READ: Troutbitten | Drop Shot Nymphing on a Tight Line Rig

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Night Fishing for Trout -- Topwater, Emergers and Streamers Sep 17, 2023

Show notes

This is the episode you’ve all been waiting for. Tonight, we talk about fishing the top water. And yes, that means mouse patterns — sometimes. We also dig into a fly style that we feel is often more effective, the mouse emerger concept at night. And we talk about fishing streamers after dark.
We cover the effectiveness of many different top water and streamer styles. And we discuss how the emerger concept combines the best of both fly platforms. We get into our favorite patterns and how we fish them.
Resources

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Night Fishing for Trout -- Planning and Adapting Locations and Tactics Sep 09, 2023

Show notes

All fishing trips benefit from a good plan, and most of us couldn’t stop planning, hoping and dreaming about an upcoming trip if we wanted to. Our night fishing plans are a good beginning. Aimed toward solving the mysteries after dark, these plans are formed around expectations and based on the conditions.
Where are the trout, and how are they feeding?
Building flexibility into our plans helps solve these questions. It’s our willingness to adapt, to walk around the bend, to work upstream instead of down or to clip off the top water pattern and rig up for wet flies -- that's what helps answer questions and put trout in the net. Trusting our instincts is the first part. And following through — making the changes — is the second.
Resources

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Night Fishing for Trout -- Swinging and Drifting Sep 03, 2023

Show notes

We night fish with many different fly types: surface patterns, mouse emerges, streamers, wet flies, nymphs and Harvey Pushers. And all of these flies can be presented in two very different ways — drifting and swinging.
There’s a lot of variety within these two categories. There are many ways to do both. And every fly type may seem to have its best or most effective presentation, drifting or swinging, but when that’s not working, the first and easiest thing to do, before changing the fly type, is to simply change the direction the flies are fished, from swinging to drifting or vice versa.
Drifting is fishing the flies with the current. Swinging is fishing the flies against the current. In this episode, we consider the differences between the two and the advantage of each.
Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Night Fishing
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- The Death Drift
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- The Deadly Slow Slide
READ: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout -- Drifting and Swinging Flies
READ: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout -- Backstory: Drifting and Swinging Flies
PODCAST: Troutbitten | An Introduction to Night Fishing for Trout -- S3, Ep14
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Night Fishing for Trout: Lights -- Natural and Artificial Aug 27, 2023

Show notes

In this second part of the Night Fishing for Trout Skills Series on Troutbitten, we consider light. First the naturals, like moonlight and starlight, then we discuss city lights and other artificials, like our own flashlights and headlamps. Lastly, we’ll discuss the use of glow-in-the-dark stuff, like fly lines, indicators and more.
I'm joined by my night fishing friends, Austin Dando, Trevor Smith and Josh Darling.
Night fishing always comes down to what we can see and what we can’t. Of course we use our other senses. And yes, those senses are heightened, and we often rely on feel more than our limited sight in the relative darkness.
But it is not pitch black out there, especially when we attain and then preserve good night vision. So we navigate the evening from shadows and outlines, pitching unseen flies beyond the visible perimeter and tracking those flies through the feel of a line in our hand, by sensing the load on our rod tip and by sometimes following something that glows in the dark.
Light affects the fishing, but it also affects the fish. And while trout seem to prefer darker nights, they might also feed better with a few stars in the sky for a nightlight.
Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Night Fishing
READ: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout -- Moonlight, Starlight and City Light
READ: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout -- Headlamps, Flashlights and Glow in the Dark Stuff
PODCAST: Troutbitten | An Introduction to Night Fishing for Trout -- S3, Ep14

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Night Fishing for Trout: People, Places and Things Aug 20, 2023

Show notes

This season is a skills series about fishing for trout after the sun goes down. And for the next six episodes, we’ll break down the night game into an outline that roughly follows the topics of a series that I published on Troutbitten, titled, Night Fishing for Trout.
My night fishing friends are joining me for this episode -- Josh, Trevor and Austin. These are the only night fishing companions I’ve ever had. Because the truth is, most anglers simply will not fish in the dark very often. But these guys do. And it takes a certain kind of angler to pursue trout into the night.
What kind of angler fishes after dark? What are their motivations and rewards? That's our first topic in this episode.
Where does night fishing for trout happen? Where are the best places to catch trout after dark? That's our second topic in this episode.
And lastly, what kind of gear and tactics will we cover in this series? What are some of the odd things about night fishing we might encounter?
This season, the six-part Night Fishing for Trout Skills skills series from Troutbitten, is an in depth look into the game of fishing for trout after dark. We hope you enjoy it.
Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Night Fishing
READ: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout -- Fight or Flight
PODCAST: Troutbitten | An Introduction to Night Fishing for Trout -- S3, Ep14
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Night Fishing and the Mouse Emerger Concept -- S1, Ep3
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Summer Catch Up '23 -- The Fishing, The Shop, Videos and More Jul 29, 2023

Show notes

We’re in between podcast season, and it's time for an update about what’s going on with Troutbitten. My wife, Becky, joins me to talk about the past, the present and the near future.
The summer Troutbitten Shop leader sale launches on Monday morning, July 31st. All Troutbitten leaders will be back in stock: Harvey, Standard, Thin and Micro Thin Mono Rigs, Full Kits and Standard Sighters. Also in the shop are new hats and tee shirts in collaboration with New Trail Brewing Company.
My Guide Schedule for fall of '24 has been full for a while now. And my spring season is a little over half booked up. I will open dates for fall '24 on September 20th, next month. Bill and Austin will have available dates for this fall pretty soon. So if you are still looking for a date this fall, be in touch.
The Troutbitten YouTube channel continues to grow fast. I've spent a lot of time learning to film and edit, and I'm working on a Fish and Film series that should be out by the beginning of October. These are first-person-style videos that also mix in other camera angles. These are videos that simply show the fishing and the experience of being on the river, highlighting the decisions made to be versatile and to meet fish on their own terms. Josh Darling and I will continue to publish videos every other week. Those videos are in one of these categories: Troutbitten Tips, Fish and Film, Troutbitten Fly Box, Fishing the Mono Rig.
The Troutbitten Podcast continues with Season 8, beginning on August 20th. This is a six part Skills Series covering Night Fishing for Trout. After that, we’ll take a couple weeks off until Season 9 of the Troutbitten Podcast begins on October 15 and runs until Christmas time.
Resources

SHOP: Troutbitten | The Troutbitten Shop
GUIDE: Troutbitten | Troutbitten Guided Fishing Trips
VIDEOS: Troutbitten | Troutbitten Videos
PODCASTS: Troutbitten | The Troutbitten Podcast

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The One With Sloop - Stories With a Troutbitten Friend Jul 02, 2023

Show notes

Every Troutbitten regular knows about Sloop. We’ve referred to our friend on nearly every podcast, especially in the last few seasons, as it’s become a running contest to see how we can sneak in a Sloop John B reference.
So we’re excited to have John here. Because what we all find so rewarding about this life on the water are the friendships. We form deep bonds with people because they are . . . fishermen. Because they too are captivated by the trout, by the places trout take us and by the refinement of tactics required to catch a wild trout.
Our friends are at the heart of it all. And really, that’s what we’re adding in tonight — another friend, and possibly the deepest friend to Troutbitten, if we consider how all this started. Sloop tied it all together from the beginning.
Here are good stories and fun with our friend, John Burgos (Sloop).
Resources

READ: Troutbitten | How It Started
READ: Troutbitten | Fishing With Friends
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The Airing of Grievances 2 Jun 25, 2023

Show notes

We're back for the annual airing of grievances, here to call out what's wrong in the fly fishing industry.
Some of our grievances are lighthearted silliness that doesn't really matter, but it’s fun to roast or to call out. But there’s another kind of grievance too. Because a lot of the stuff going on in the fly fishing industry isn’t really good for anyone — or maybe it’s only good for a few. Because the industry — and by that I mean you, me, the fly fishing companies, and all the media around it — picks up trends. Then it pushes and pulls anglers in that direction. And sometimes, what is served up doesn’t benefit the average angler. It’s not helpful.
So there are problems. And this episode is for highlighting some of the worst. Because it's fair to call balls and strikes, and because it helps to acknowledge that things could be better and try to make a change.
Resources
PODCAST: Troutbitten | The Airing of Grievances, S3, Ep13

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Why We All Love Big Trout Jun 18, 2023

Show notes

This episode is about big trout -- what they mean to us, why we chase them, and how catching a top tier wild trout often leaves a bookmark in the story of our fishing lives.
We love big trout because they give us the shakes. Because they elude us. Because they are rare. And because fooling a top tier trout serves as an accomplishment that we know comes from persistence and from knowledge gained over seasons of fishing.
Time. That’s what it always comes down to. Because big trout don’t show up every day. The rarity of the occasion often puts the capstone on a special trip, and these fish serve as icons in our history. They’re something to look back on, to share with trusted friends, or divide part of our life into what occurred before a big fish and what happened after.
Because pursuing legendary fish takes us on a journey like none other, leading us into places unimagined and providing moments that bring a vibrancy to our daily life.
READ: Troutbitten | The Shakes, and Why We Love Big Trout
READ: Troutbitten | What Does It Take to Catch a Big Trout?
READ: Troutbitten | Some Days Are Diamonds, Some Days Are Rocks
READ: Troutbitten | Wild vs Stocked -- The Hierarchy of Trout in Pennsylvania

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