Joe Bibbo [32:10] has a great back story and is a wonderful storyteller himself.  He's done a lot of DIY fishing, mainly from his home in the East to the Rocky Mountains and has some great advice on where to go for information as you plan your trip.  He also has some wonderful advice on what not to do, based on mistakes he's made over the years.  I get many questions from listeners about DIY trips so I am sure this podcast will be a popular one.

 

In the Fly Box this week, I had no phone calls to answer (hint, hint) but some good e-mail questions, including:

My guest this week is Lucas Bissett [38:42], executive director the AFFTA, the trade association for the fly-fishing industry.  Lucas talks about the support they give to small, grass roots organizations for education and habitat protection—organizations that may not be able to apply for larger grants.  One of their current projects, which we discuss in detail, is how ocean fish stocks will be managed due to the changes in migration patterns due to climate change.  Lucas tells us that the federal organizations that set regulations for harvest and size lengths are very responsive to public input, so its something for which you can make a difference.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips, including:

• I was told the river we fished had lots of 15-inch fish but all we caught were fish up to 12 inches.  Could the fish have been in the bottom of deep pools because of the warmer water?

• A tip from a listener, one I'm not completely sold on, for putting stick-on strike indicators on top of dry flies when using heavily weighted nymphs on droppers.

• How do you fish the famous Woolly Bugger in a small, slow moving, turbid stream?

• What two-handed rod should I use for fishing smallmouth bass?

• A listener asks for philosophical advice on whether to enjoy fishing for striped bass in Atlantic salmon rivers.

• A listener has been enjoying fishing for fallfish as trout streams warm and asks for a podcast on fishing for fallfish

• If you are fishing a tandem nymph rig and one fly is not working at all, should you switch out that fly?

• Do you change to a different fly line taper as you go up or down in line sizes?

• Why is there a cutter on tippet spools?  Doesn't everyone carry snips?

• Does Tom have a succession plan for the podcast?

 

I take guilty pleasure in hearing horror stories from guides about their worst clients or other crazy things that happen on the river.  Orvis-Endorsed Guide of the Year for 2019 Chip Swanson [41:00] is a great storyteller and has had some wild and funny incidents on the river over the years.  I think everyone will enjoy these stories but just a warning—although not R-rated, some of his stories mention sensitive body parts so if your kids listen to podcasts with you, you may want to preview them first.  Nothing very raunchy but you have been warned!  Rated PG-13.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some great questions and tips including:

 

There's no doubt that casting a size 6 weighted streamer is more difficult than a size 14 Parachute Adams. The physics are different, no way around it. But casting guru Pete Kutzer [37:17] has some tricks that he shares to make casting big streamers, nymph rigs, and poppers easier by adjusting your casting motions. This is a frequent question on the Fly Box so I figured there was a need for an entire podcast on the subject.

 

In the Fly Box this week, surprisingly I did not have any questions on casting big flies. But I did have these tips and questions: