2 Guys and A River

December 22, 2019April 6, 2023

Episode 225: Late Season Fly Fishing

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Late season fly fishing can be challenging for a variety of reasons.

One is obviously weather. Another is that the hatches are over, with the exception of midges or the occasional baetis. You’re typically fishing nymphs or streamers. In this episode, we reflect on several trips in late fall and what we learned during this gorgeous yet changing time of year.

LISTEN NOW TO “LATE SEASON FLY FISHING”

The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists – The Perfect Book for a New Fly Fisher

Fly fishing is a lot more than simply learning how to cast. There are a thousand techniques and hacks that can help you catch more fish. These accumulated tips and ideas and hacks will make you more proficient and increase your enjoyment of the sport.

This book is a must-read for folks who like to scan lists and find new ways to catch more fish. Read one list, and you’ll read on to the next.

Visit Amazon to buy your copy today!

WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?

We would love a referral from you.

Simply mention our podcast to your TU chapter or fly fishing club or even local fly shop.

If you are a nonprofit, serving the outdoors community, you have our permission to reprint our content in your online or print newsletter with the appropriate credit and links. Thank you for your trust.

October 10, 2019April 6, 2023

Episode 224: One Fine Rainy Day on the Madison

All good things must come to an end, and this was the final day of our fly fishing trip in mid-September. Rain was in the forecast, so we hoped upon hope that there might be some baetis hatching on the Madison River at the mouth of Beartrap Canyon.

Spoiler alert: There wasn’t a mayfly within a state or two that final day. This is the last installment of four episodes from a recent fly fishing trip to Yellowstone Country in Montana and northern Wyoming. We decided to call this episode “One Fine Rainy Day on the Madison.” We had another terrific day on the water, but let’s just say that the fishing was below average. Dave caught a large brown, and that was it. If you haven’t yet listened to the first three episodes in this series, visit the Fly Fishing Podcast Archives page.

LISTEN NOW TO “ONE FINE RAINY DAY ON THE MADISON RIVER”

The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists – The Perfect Book for a New Fly Fisher

This book is a must-read for folks who like to scan lists and find new ways to catch more fish. Read one list, and you’ll read on to the next.

Visit Amazon to buy your copy today!

WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?

We would love a referral from you.

Simply mention our podcast to your TU chapter or fly fishing club or even local fly shop.

October 10, 2019April 6, 2023

Episode 223: One Fine Strange Day on the Boulder

After two terrific days on the Yellowstone River, we changed it up a bit. We headed to the Boulder River, south of Big Timber, Montana. This is the third of four episodes from a recent fly fishing trip to Yellowstone Country in Montana and northern Wyoming. We decided to call this episode “One Fine Strange Day on the Boulder.”

Almost two months earlier, a fly fisher had drowned near the stretch of river we fished that day. And the body was never found. The Boulder is treacherous to wade in places. But it is not a big river; it’s more of a stream. Some think the fly fisher is stuck at the bottom of a 15-foot pool not far from where he fell in. That weighed on our mind as we fished nearby. If you haven’t yet listened to the first two episodes in this series, visit the Fly Fishing Podcast Archives page.

LISTEN NOW TO “ONE FINE STRANGE DAY ON THE BOULDER”

The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists – The Perfect Book for a New Fly Fisher

This book is a must-read for folks who like to scan lists and find new ways to catch more fish. Read one list, and you’ll read on to the next.

Visit Amazon to buy your copy today!

WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?

We would love a referral from you.

Simply mention our podcast to your TU chapter or fly fishing club or even local fly shop.

October 10, 2019April 6, 2023

Episode 222: One Fine Sunny Day on the Yellowstone

Our second day on the Yellowstone this fall was even better than the first. This is the second of four episodes from a recent fly fishing trip to Yellowstone Country in Montana and northern Wyoming. After a terrific cloudy day on the Yellowstone, we had “One Fine Sunny Day on the Yellowstone.”

There is nothing like catching cutthroat trout on a hopper pattern. If you haven’t yet listened to the first episode in this series, visit our Fly Fishing Podcast Archives page.

LISTEN NOW TO “ONE FINE SUNNY DAY ON THE YELLOWSTONE”

The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists – The Perfect Book for a New Fly Fisher

This book is a must-read for folks who like to scan lists and find new ways to catch more fish. Read one list, and you’ll read on to the next.

Visit Amazon to buy your copy today!

WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?

We would love a referral from you.

Simply mention our podcast to your TU chapter or fly fishing club or even local fly shop.

October 10, 2019April 6, 2023

Episode 221: One Fine Cloudy Day on the Yellowstone

We are not good at quitting. This is the first of four episodes from a recent fly fishing trip to Yellowstone Country in Montana and northern Wyoming. In August, after four wonderful years, we stopped publishing a weekly episode and writing a weekly article. We thought we were done. But then we had “One Fine Cloudy Day on the Yellowstone.” And we had to record again.

So we’re baaack! Not in the same way, however. We’re not publishing a weekly episode anymore, but we do plan to publish episodes occasionally, in batches. As inspiration hits us. Thank you for your listenership.

LISTEN NOW TO “ONE FINE CLOUDY DAY ON THE YELLOWSTONE”

The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists – The Perfect Book for a New Fly Fisher

This book is a must-read for folks who like to scan lists and find new ways to catch more fish. Read one list, and you’ll read on to the next.

Visit Amazon to buy your copy today!

WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?

We would love a referral from you.

Simply mention our podcast to your TU chapter or fly fishing club or even local fly shop.

August 25, 2019August 27, 2019

Steve and Dave’s Tips for a Most Excellent Fly Fishing Adventure

The past four years of podcasting and writing articles (weekly for both!) have been a terrific fly fishing adventure in its own right. We announced in our last podcast that we’ve come to the end of our run. We are feeling a bit sad. But the time is right, and we’re excited about what’s next.

That includes more fly fishing. You can listen to our last podcast to hear the reasons behind our decision. So in honor of four wonderful years, we thought we’d pontificate even more to make your next fly fishing trip a most excellent fly fishing adventure:

1. Now is urgent. [Dave]

You’re not getting any younger. Even if you’re only 25.

It’s tempting is to kick the can down the road. Don’t. Pick up your fly rod now. And go fish. Pick a date on the calendar. Put it all on a credit card. And save your regrets for later, when you’re paying it all off one month at a time for two years.

2. Pack carefully. [Steve]

I am still shaking my head about the time I grabbed the wrong rod tube on the way to catch a flight to Colorado.

I meant to take my 4-weight rod. I spent the week in small mountain streams casting a 4-weight line with an 8-weight rod! Actually, it handled better than I anticipated. But it’s best not to forget your rod, reel, flies, waders, and boots — or to grab the wrong fly rod.

3. Find a Fishing Partner Who Is a Planner. [Dave]

Steve is so organized that he pulls his socks from the bottom of his carefully stacked clean pairs in his tidy drawer. He wants to wear each pair of socks out equally.

I like that in a fishing partner.

Steve would happily plan what I have for dinner after a great day on the water, if I let him. God bless planners. They design great fly fishing adventures.

4. Don’t bring your family along on a fly fishing trip. [Steve]

You’ll be disappointed. So will your family.

In fact, they might leave you. At least they will be mad at you. If you insist on trying to fly fish, agree on a set amount of time you’ll be gone. If it’s 3 hours, you’d better get back on time. We’ve learned this the hard way.

So do as we say, not as we’ve done.

5. Go easy on the guide’s new Orvis rod. [Dave]

Guides for the most part are warm, kind, and generous.

They bring a 3,000-calorie lunch for you even though you won’t burn even 179 calories casting from the drift boat. They might roll their eyes as you snap off another fly, but they do it behind your back. They might silently mock you when you can’t cast farther than 20 feet, but they wait to laugh uncontrollably until later that evening with their fellow guides at the local bar.

But the generosity ends when the guide warns you not to let the big rainbow dart under the drift boat, yet you still do. And the $1,000 fly rod that the guide most generously lent you snaps in half. It’s all fun and games until you break the fly rod.

This is no fly fishing adventure for the guide, trust me.

6. Now mend your line. [Steve]

Those words from my mentor, Bob Granger, still ring in my ears every time I cast a fly on the water.

Trout will ignore your fly if they spot the slightest bit of drag. So mend your line. Add small mends (stack mends) as you go. Consider a “C” loop while your fly line is in the air. Do whatever you can to avoid that dreaded drag on your fly. Water skiers leave wakes; dry flies should not.

7. Use a landing net. [Steve]

You may not need a net to land a trout; but the trout will thank you.

The rubber netting is a lot easier on their bodies than your hands. Besides, a good net will keep you alert. As you’re sneaking through the brush, the net will get caught in a pine branch or a bush. Then, after you walk five more paces, it will snap back and slap you square in the back. At this point, you’ll be a lot more alert as you approach the river.

Plus, you’ll remember that you brought your net. Win, win.

8. Bring ear plugs. [Dave]

Now I’m not saying that I have never snored.

Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t.

But if you’re on a trip and the two beds in the hotel room are only five or six feet apart, then you need to bring a pair or two of ear plugs. Ear plugs are as basic as hopper patterns in mid August. Essential.

You need to be fully rested for the hard day of fishing ahead of you.

9. Stay safe. [Steve]

Yeah, we’ve hammered this point to death.

But that’s because a modicum of prep can keep you from death, or at least from serious injury. Bear spray. Wading staff. Fishing buddy. Caution. Quality wading boots. You know the drill.

And if you’re in Yellowstone on your fly fishing adventure, don’t pet the bison. Seriously.

10. Grab your rod tubes from the overhead bin. [Dave]

It’s always a win when the case you make to your spouse for a new fly rod is based on the fact that you really need a fly rod.

You forget to mention to your beautiful wife that you lost your two favorite rods on the last fly fishing trip. It’s hard not to imply that someone “stole the rods,” even if the stealing probably happened after you forgot them in the overhead bin as you made your way off the plane in Chicago.

Go on a Fly Fishing Adventure Now!

Life is short. Catch more fish.

August 25, 2019May 6, 2023

S5:E12 The Last Run of the Day

Every day of fly fishing has a beginning. And an end. There’s often a sense of sadness right before, and certainly, after the last run of the day. Not every “last run of the day” is packed with emotion, but we’ve had several experiences when the final moments of the day felt thick with meaning. In this episode, we recount several memorable days on the river – and how we felt as we made our final casts.

LISTEN NOW TO “THE LAST RUN OF THE DAY”

Great Stuff from Our Listeners. At the of every episode, we reflect on a comment from one of our listeners. We’ve learned so much through the years from the insights and stories of our listeners.

We’d love to hear about some of your most poignant moments from your favorite last run of the day. What were you feeling? What made it so moving? Please post your comments below.

The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists – The Perfect Book for a New Fly Fisher

This book is a must-read for folks who like to scan lists and discover helpful hacks and tips.

Fly fishing is a wisdom sport. The more you fish, the more you accumulate tips and ideas and hacks – that make you more proficient and increase your enjoyment of the sport.

This book is just that – lists of wisdom that we’ve accumulated through the years. It has come from guides, fly fisher friends, from our reading, and from watching videos.

This book is like a plate of hors d’oeuvres. You simply can’t have one. Read one list, and you’ll read the next. Visit Amazon to buy your copy today!

WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?

We would love a referral from you.

Simply mention our podcast to your TU chapter or fly fishing club or even local fly shop.

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019

Fall Fly Fishing Tactics

Fall is approaching. It is a fantastic time of the year to fly fish. The air temperature moderates, the leaves begin to turn color, and the pressure lessens. That’s because some fly fishers pick up their shotguns, rifles, or bows and leave their fly rods home. The trout fishing can be exceptional, but it does require some fall fly fishing tactics.

Here are are a few worth remembering when you head to the river or creek this fall:

Adjust to lower water

Rivers and creeks will be at their lowest. So the trout will be spookier – especially in smaller creeks and streams.

This requires more stealth. This may have to do more sneaking and make a more intentional effort to stay hidden. Too much false casting can send trout darting for cover. A smaller tippet size than normal might be helpful as well. Some anglers like to use longer leaders (although I confess I’ve never felt the need to go longer than nine feet).

Don’t forget about terrestrials

Keep tying on those hoppers, beetles, and ant patterns you used during the summer. They can still work great in September.

I’ve had some good days using terrestrials on the Yellowstone River in Yellowstone National Park on fall days. I always seem to do better with hoppers, beetles, and ants on sunny days.

Make streamers a priority

You can catch trout on streamers in the spring and summer. But streamers are dynamite in the fall.

Trout are eating bigger meals as they get ready for winter. Plus, the brown trout getting ready to spawn tend to be more aggressive. You don’t have to get fancier than a Woolly Bugger. Go with basic colors like olive, brown, and black. Even white will work well in some rivers.

I’m partial to a JJ’s Special — a Woolly Bugger on steroids. It has rubber legs and a conehead (great to help get them deeper) in a brown/yellow color combination.

Try an egg pattern

If you’re fishing with nymphs in places where brown trout are present, consider an egg pattern as one of your flies. You can even use it either as your lead fly or your dropper — depending on what other fly gives you the most chance for success.

When I fish the Beartrap section of Montana’s Madison River in the fall, I tend to use an egg as a lead fly and then drop a size #18 Copper John (red or copper). Some days I’ll do better on one than the other. However, if I’m fishing the Gardner River inside Yellowstone Park in October, I’ll tie on brown stonefly pattern with rubber legs as my lead fly and then use the egg pattern as the dropper.

Go later than usual

As one of several fall fly fishing tactics, this more relevant when you’re fishing terrestrials. I’ve fished in Montana on September days where the temperatures dip into the high 30s overnight and then rise to the low 80s during the day. It takes longer for hoppers to “wake up” on these kind of days than in the hot days of August.

However, streamers and nymphs will work about any time of day. I remember fishing the Gardner River a few years ago around 7:30 AM – just when it was legal to start the day. I did it to beat the crowds (then realized there were no crowds, let alone any other fly fishers on that stretch of water!). I hooked trout on my first few casts, all before sunrise.

The action was steady all morning.

Seize the bad weather days

As one of the fly fishing tactics, bad weather (rain, snow) is all the more reason to get out on the river in September and October! I’ve had rainy September days on the East Gallatin River in Montana when rainbows seemed to gorge themselves on Blue-Winged Olives (BWOs).

I’ve learned, too, that cold, wet weather gets the salmon moving into the rivers from Lake Michigan in October. It does the same for the runners coming up out of Hebgen Lake into the Madison River in Yellowstone National Park. Yes, the worst weather for fly fishers usually turns out to be the best weather for fly fishing!

Dave, my podcast partner, and I are getting ready for a 5-day fly fishing trip this fall. We hope you’ll get out on your favorite river or creek and enjoy this amazing season of the year. For one of our best fall fly fishing podcast episodes, see S3:E13: The Mystique of Fall Fly Fishing

August 18, 2019May 6, 2023

S5:E11 How Fly Fishers Gain Confidence

Fly fishers gain confidence by fishing for brook trout. Brook trout are forgiving, and there’s nothing like an afternoon of catching 15 brook trout to increase one’s confidence. That’s only one of several strategies that we discuss to help newer fly fishers gain confidence. It’s easy to feel discouraged during a stretch of no fish. We hope this podcast gives you hope for your next time out on the river.

LISTEN NOW TO “HOW FLY FISHERS GAIN CONFIDENCE”

What advice would you give to help fly fishers gain confidence? We’d love your ideas to help newbies stay the course and learn to enjoy the sport.

Please post your comments below, and we’ll consider them for our Great Stuff from Our Listener’s segment.

The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists – The Perfect Book for a New Fly Fisher

This book is a must-read for folks who like to scan lists and discover helpful hacks and tips.

Fly fishing is a wisdom sport. The more you fish, the more you accumulate tips and ideas and hacks – that make you more proficient and increase your enjoyment of the sport.

This book is just that – lists of wisdom that we’ve accumulated through the years. It has come from guides, fly fisher friends, from our reading, and from watching videos.

This book is like a plate of hors d’oeuvres. You simply can’t have one. Read one list, and you’ll read the next. Visit Amazon to buy your copy today!

WOULD YOU REFER OUR PODCAST?

We would love a referral from you.

Simply mention our podcast to your TU chapter or fly fishing club or even local fly shop.

August 16, 2019August 16, 2019

Getting Your Streamers Deep Enough

I recently fished a productive-looking run in Rocky Mountain National Park’s Fall River. It was the best run I had seen all morning. My sons and I had hiked into a steep ravine in search of water that rarely got fished. It was a harrowing hike, but I was finally rewarded with a long run that flowed out of a deep bend in the river (well, it was really a small mountain creek at that point).

I tied on a size #14 Elk Hair Caddis. Nothing. So I switched to a size #18 Parachute Adams. Same result. I even tried a black ant pattern. Still no interest by any trout.

My go-to approach when this happens is to tie on a streamer. I found a brown Woolly Bugger in my fly box and drifted it into the deep bend. I waited a couple seconds before I started the retrieve. During the first strip of line, I felt that old-familiar tug, and I ended up landing a fat, colorful Brookie.

One of the challenges I’ve noticed with streamer fishing is getting deep enough. Streamers may be the most effective way to catch trout hunkered down in deep pools and runs. But you have to get your streamers deep enough to where the trout lie. So how do you do it? I suggest three techniques. You may even need a combination of them.

Weight them

The most obvious way to get your streamers deep enough is to weight them.

Surprisingly, though, I’ve watched numerous fly fishers neglect this. If you tie your own flies, consider wrapping weight on the hook before wrapping the body. I’d also encourage adding a beadhead or conehead to the front of the fly. If you don’t tie, look for streamers with beadheads or coneheads.

If your fly is not weighted, then by all means, add weight to it before you toss it into a deep run or pool. I’ve even added weight to an already weighted fly! Some fly fishers like sleek line weights. I’m still fine with adding a removable split shot. I’ll typically use only one in a larger size. You can put it a few inches above your fly. Or, you can put it at the head of the fly, immediately in front of the knot that you’ve tied to the eye of the hook.

I’ve caught enough trout on Woolly Buggers with a silver split shot at the front that I don’t worry about a fish laughing at it and retreating to shelter.

If you’re fly fishing a larger river or a lake, then a sink tip line is a great way to go.

Wait to Get Your Streamers Deep Enough

Even if you have sufficiently weighted your fly, you need to give it time to sink.

I wonder how many times I’ve missed trout because I didn’t give my Woolly Bugger time to sink to the bottom of a pool before I retrieved it. Occasionally, you might get a strike as your streamer is sinking. But in my experience, it’s in the first couple retrieves that fish attacks the fly as it heads to the surface.

If you’re using a sink tip line in a lake, you’ll need to wait a few seconds (depending on the weight of the line) to get it to a sufficient depth before you start your retrieve.

Drift Them

This is actually a variation of the previous point. In moving water, the best way to get a fly to the bottom is to cast is well above the spot you expect to hook a trout. If you’re fishing downstream (one of my favorite approaches with streamers), drop it into the current and start feeding line. Give the streamer 10 or 20 feet to sink before it reaches the hot zone, then start your retrieve.

Use the same approach if you’re fishing a run from the side—that is, the river’s edge.

Cast your streamer far enough upstream so that it has time to sink as it floats. Once it reaches the hot spot (below you), start your retrieve. The streamer will swing, and this is when you’ll often get strikes. I experienced this a few years ago in Alaska. I was a few hundred yards up Clear Creek from the spot where it ran into the Talkeetnah River. I found a nice deep run, tied on a Dalai Lama, and started to fish. It took me a few tries to cast the streamer far enough upstream to let it get deep enough by the time it entered the prime section of the run. But once I hit the right depth, I had strikes on every cast.

Streamers are ideal for deep pools on days when trout are not feeding on the surface. But getting your streamers deep enough where the trout lurk is the discipline.