Many fly fishers have dreaded the thought of visiting their favorite trout streams after wildfires devasted many areas over the past few years.  As threatening as they are to human lives and property, wildfires are not all that bad for trout stream ecosystems, as you'll discover after listening to this week's podcast.  Becky Flitcroft [interview at 39:03], a fisheries biologist with the US Forest Service and an expert on disturbances to trout streams, presents some surprising results in the wake of fires.  Not only are they not horribly destructive, they are actually beneficial in many cases.  Should you visit a trout stream that was in a burned area next year?  What will the future look like?  Although every stream is different, Becky tells us what to expect over the coming years.

In the Fly Box this week, we have the following questions and tips:

I have trouble seeing my dry flies on small streams.  What patterns do you recommend, and how can I spot them better?

Do you think it's necessary to replace nylon and fluorocarbon leaders each year?

Can I extend the length of my 7 1/2 foot leaders to 9 or 12-feet by just adding tippet?

Should I use my Clearwater Reel in salt water?

Can I use shorter or longer hackles than the traditional length on my dry flies?

What techniques would you recommend for fishing after dark during the winter?

A good tip on how to practice specific techniques in fly tying.

What would be a good rod for both salmon/steelhead rivers and bass lakes?

How can I practice my fish-fighting technique in the off-season before I go salmon fishing?

[This week's podcast is in two sections. This sections contains the interview with Brittany. The listener-questions section, or the Fly Box, is in part one.]

This week, I have a very special guest for my interview--Brittany Howard, the frontwoman for the wildly popular band Alabama Shakes, who also has a new (2019) album out, "Jaime", a solo effort that explores a wide range of musical styles. Brittany has performed with Sir Paul McCartney and at the Obama White House, and her albums with the Alabama Shakes have won four Grammy Awards. Her first love is music, but her second love is fishing, and she is a passionate fly fisher. Unlike some celebrities who have taken up fly fishing because it's a "thing", Brittany has the soul of an angler and has been fishing all her life. She ties her own flies, modifies her kayak for fly fishing, and when she is on tour she always prioritizes sneaking away to do some fishing. She's the real deal and a great storyteller, and I know you'll enjoy her tales of fishing on the road and her encounters with gender and racial bias while fly fishing. And as a special treat at the end of the podcast, we've included one of my favorite songs, "Future People."

We have some great questions, and some helpful tips from listeners, including:
A suggestion from a listener on the benefit of bootfoot waders for cold weather fishing
Can I catch shoal bass on a fly rod?
My 8-weight rod is not quite up to the task of surf fishing. Can I put a 9-weight line on my rod?
Why do some rods come with aluminum tubes and others with nylon-covered cases?
A suggestion from a listener that maybe I missed the point when asked about how I organize my fly-tying materials.
What is the best line for my 7-foot, 3-weight glass rod?
A suggestion from a listener on why some anglers fishing a Euro technique for steelhead lose fish on the jump.
Can I tie a Pat's Rubber Legs with dubbing instead of chenille?
I got a bunch of pheasant feathers from a hunter friend in a plastic bag and they stink. Can I salvage them?
Where should I half-hitch my bead head nymphs--behind the bead or in front of it?
I decided to take the plunge and buy good quality hackle capes. I have brown, grizzly, light ginger, medium dun, and cream. What other colors might I need?
Why are some wild trout streams with spawning fish open year-round and others closed?
How do I avoid getting hooked on the river?
How should I do the naked nymphing technique?

[This week's podcast is in two sections. This is the listener-questions section, or the Fly Box. The interview with Brittany Howard is in part two.]

This week, I have a very special guest for my interview--Brittany Howard, the frontwoman for the wildly popular band Alabama Shakes, who also has a new (2019) album out, "Jaime", a solo effort that explores a wide range of musical styles. Brittany has performed with Sir Paul McCartney and at the Obama White House, and her albums with the Alabama Shakes have won four Grammy Awards. Her first love is music, but her second love is fishing, and she is a passionate fly fisher. Unlike some celebrities who have taken up fly fishing because it's a "thing", Brittany has the soul of an angler and has been fishing all her life. She ties her own flies, modifies her kayak for fly fishing, and when she is on tour she always prioritizes sneaking away to do some fishing. She's the real deal and a great storyteller, and I know you'll enjoy her tales of fishing on the road and her encounters with gender and racial bias while fly fishing. And as a special treat at the end of the podcast, we've included one of my favorite songs, "Future People."

We have some great questions, and some helpful tips from listeners, including:
A suggestion from a listener on the benefit of bootfoot waders for cold weather fishing
Can I catch shoal bass on a fly rod?
My 8-weight rod is not quite up to the task of surf fishing. Can I put a 9-weight line on my rod?
Why do some rods come with aluminum tubes and others with nylon-covered cases?
A suggestion from a listener that maybe I missed the point when asked about how I organize my fly-tying materials.
What is the best line for my 7-foot, 3-weight glass rod?
A suggestion from a listener on why some anglers fishing a Euro technique for steelhead lose fish on the jump.
Can I tie a Pat's Rubber Legs with dubbing instead of chenille?
I got a bunch of pheasant feathers from a hunter friend in a plastic bag and they stink. Can I salvage them?
Where should I half-hitch my bead head nymphs--behind the bead or in front of it?
I decided to take the plunge and buy good quality hackle capes. I have brown, grizzly, light ginger, medium dun, and cream. What other colors might I need?
Why are some wild trout streams with spawning fish open year-round and others closed?
How do I avoid getting hooked on the river?
How should I do the naked nymphing technique?

In this week's podcast, I interview Jess Westbrook, co-founder of The Mayfly Project. This organization, a winner of an Orvis Breaking Barriers award, brings the joys of fly fishing to foster kids through individual, one-on-one mentorship throughout the country. For obvious reasons their programs have been put on hold for this year (I was looking forward to being a mentor myself last spring), but the organization moves forward, making plans for a time when we can comfortably get together in person. Jess has some heartwarming stories to tell of past successes that will make you smile and feel good about the fly-fishing community.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and I hope my answers are helpful to you. They include:
I recently got a new fly reel and when it's filled with line it's too tight.
What can I do to solve this?
A story from a listener on catching a channel catfish on a fly tied for swinging for trout--a Montana Intruder that he tied during one of our Monday live fly-tying sessions.
Why do the eyes on my saltwater flies keep coming off?
What feathers on grouse and woodcock can I use for fly tying?
Can you recommend some books so I can learn more about how watersheds work?
Why does my fly line keep catching itself on my forward cast and how can I fix it?
Can I use weighted streamers to catch walleye?
Why would a bunch of large trout be holding in slow, shallow water during a hatch?
What is the best saltwater floating line for Northeast fly fishing?
I have some fly materials with bugs in them. Would repeated thawing and freezing kill them?
What is the difference between a sink tip and an intermediate fly line?
Why does anyone ever use flies smaller than size 18? I can't see them on the water.
Why do I keep losing steelhead when they jump?

This week I interview Greg Vincent of Grand Bahama Island and co-owner of H2O Bonefishing [40:13]. Greg shares his tips for what distinguishes a great bonefisher from someone who just goes fishing for bonefish and permit. There's a big difference. Greg is the only person I know who has gotten a Super Grand Slam (bonefish, permit, tarpon, and snook) in just four casts. He also tells a great story and I am sure you'll thrill to his tales of chasing these fish on the flats.

In the Fly Box this week, we have these questions and tips:

I have a random assortment of grouse feathers from a hunter friend. What patterns can I tie with them?

If there are only a few good holes in an area, how long should you fish a spot before letting another angler try their luck?

I am a new fly fisher and have been fishing just with a tenkara rod and doing OK on panfish but not trout. What is a mistake that new fly fishers often make that prevents them from catching fish?

I want to fish the Charles River in Boston and Long Island for saltwater species. What two rods should I get?

How should I treat my waders if I move from one state to another?
Have you ever made your own amadou?

Havaard from Jazz and Fly Fishing wants to fish in Montana next May and wants advice on what town to base his travels out of. And is May a good time to fish in Montana?

What leaders and tippets do I need for salmon in the Pacific Northwest?

A great idea from a listener on using a streamer as an indicator when dead-drifting a nymph/streamer combo