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.