I’ve got a special episode today to celebrate launching into season 2. I interview John Smeraglio from the Deschutes Canyon Fly Shop, share a first time on the air fireside chat with Dave and friends.
I also share a short audio clip of a intense experience after a raft dumped in one of the larger rapids on the river and my process in helping them get to shore safely. This is the first time that we’ve had this type of show so enjoy.
Click below to listen to the podcast with John Smeraglio
38:30 – Entomology Class presented by John in coordination with Rick Hafele.
Here’s a short video clip on running whitehorse which is the rapid that dumped the boat in this episode.
51:10 – Don’t fall down or a pig will eat you (advice from Shannon) Here’s a clip from the movie Snatch where the dude describes how a pig would do it.
56:00 – The stimulator and prince nymph were killer patterns.
I wanted to give a big thank you to you, John Smeraglio and my friends who were on the trip. As you can tell from the end of this episode, I always have a good time on the river hanging with my buds.
I hope you enjoyed this episode and will look forward to moving into season 2 of the show. If you are interested in getting the top 3 fly fishing tips from my last guest sent to you on Thursdays, click the link below: https://www.wetflyswing.com/3tips
Doug Stewart, one of my biggest mentors and my dad, is on the show today to talk about some of the history of steelhead fly fishing on the Deschutes River.
Some topics really hit home with me especially as he talked about my grandpa and the comparisons between the two. We talk about some of his big influences and how 30 years of guiding came to be in his life.
Click below to listen to the Doug Stewart Podcast:
That was a lot of fun for me. Especially hearing some of the history of how my dad got started and turned fly fishing into a lifetime love and business. Leave a comment below if you had a mentor in your life that helped you along in your journey.
And if you’re interested in the right spey rod for steelhead, Click here to see the Echo Spey Rod that has helped me drastically improve my spey cast and find more steelhead at a super reasonable cost (You also get a free spey line if you pickup the Echo Spey). By the way, the link above is an affiliate link, which means I earn a commission if you do end up purchasing through that link. It’s at no extra cost to you, and please if you have any questions related to this product, please let me know and I’d be happy to answer them for you.
April Vokey shared her take on a bunch of topics around fly fishing including women in fly fishing, the #metoo movement and she shares a big change in her life and business that’s upcoming this year.
April is also the host of the Anchored Podcast, has guided for years and has made a successful business out of fly fishing. I love hearing her stories in this one and some big things upcoming in her world.
14:50 – You can find April singing songs on the river. She noted Corinne Bailey Rae as someone she follows now as part of her singing passion. See below to a music video clip.
17:08 – Dave was her first mentor and a guy you helped give April a good start to her fishing journey.
20:38 – I noted the Steve Duda interview from the FlyFish Journal where we discussed women in fly fishing among other things.
21:08 – The Orvis 50 50 Initiative is a topic we talk about as April has an opinion big time on this. Here’s a clip of the commercial that we talk about that April noted we should watch and read the comments.
27:38 – The #metoo movement and April’s take on it.
35:31 – April is the host of Anchored, one of the best podcast on itunes.
37:33 – The World Fishing Network has the rights to one of April’s big TV show series. Here’s the link for the show Shorelines with April Vokey.
39:28 – Haig Brown was a huge influence for April and even went to a point where April walked in Haig’s footsteps on the rivers he fished.
I just recently interviewed Pete McBride here where we focused on the Grand Canyon and the big conservations issues there. Pete walked 750 miles of the Grand Canyon to raise awareness for development and impacts on the canyon.
Kanab Point – Grand Canyon overlook Monsoon storm.
I think I’m going to have to listen to this one again! From New Zealand, to meditation to her episode on 60 minutes. We pretty much cover it all including a few great steelhead tips and the Orvis 50 50 Movement. Her take might surprise you.
And if you’re interested in the right spey rod for steelhead, Click here to see the Echo Spey Rod that has helped me drastically improve my spey cast and find more steelhead at a super reasonable cost (You also get a free spey line if you pickup the Echo Spey). By the way, the link above is an affiliate link, which means I earn a commission if you do end up purchasing through that link. It’s at no extra cost to you, and please if you have any questions related to this product, please let me know and I’d be happy to answer them for you.
I had an amazing interview with James Millard, the operations manager for OP Skagit Tactics (aka – Pure Skagit). We get into some great stories about steelhead fishing, products and James’ life getting to work with one of the big names in steelhead.
We talk about the commando head, some new products upcomming, greased line presentation and how jet boat wakes running up the river can help with steelhead fishing.
Click below to listen to the Jason Millard from OPST:
That was awesome right? So many great stories and tips from James Millard in this episode. James is the operations manager for OPST and brings and obvious wealth of knowledge and perspective from a cool guy.
Enter your email below and I’ll send you the top 3 tips from our new expert guest each Thursday.
And if you’re interested in the right spey rod for steelhead, Click here to see the Spey Rod that has helped me drastically improve my spey cast and find more steelhead at a super reasonable cost (You also get a free spey line if you pickup the Spey Rod here). By the way, the link above is an affiliate link, which means I earn a commission if you do end up purchasing through that link. It’s at no extra cost to you, and please if you have any questions related to this product, please let me know and I’d be happy to answer them for you.
I had Barney Wong on the show to go in depth on spey lines and the challenge of identifying the actual sinking rates. We discussed an experiment we conducted on the river and how the outcome might surprise you.
Barney tells his story of how he dropped everything to move out to the northwest to chase steelhead and a job in a local fly shop.
Click the Play button below to listen to the episode
10:54 – RIO’s AFS line and Barney’s experience with the sinking rate. Simon Gawesworth from RIO Products was on the podcast and talked about their spey lines and new products in episode 9.
13:55 – Weight compensated spey lines will help to create all spey lines equal.
15:15 – Experiment on sinking rates of 6 weight vs 10 weight and how they are not created equal.
16:50 – The parachute jumper analogy and how this applies to issues with sinking rate and starving your line.
19:40 – The T series lines are the closest we have to accurate designations for lines.
25:50 – Tim Rawlins episode and the shop that will send you new lines to test at no cost.
27:05 – RIO’s In Touch Scandi line and Barney’s take on how the line weight got pushed to the back to help casting but affects sinking.
30:25 – What line Barney gives his students when getting started with the spey cast.
31:25 – The biggest fault that Barney sees with his students and what he saw as one of my main problems as well – Combining parts of the cast is a big issue.
40:00 – Barney explains what Pimp my Canoe is all about.
This is a photo from PimpYourCanoe.com, Barney’s site where he develops products for canoes.
I wanted to give a big thank you to Barney for coming on the show and sharing his spey line wisdom. If you have any questions please send me a message or leave a comment below.
I have a Free fly tying webinar that I am launching and sharing if you are interested in improving your fly tying game. The first webinar will be for those just getting started or brand new to fly tying.
Click on the link below to join the Free Fly Tying Webinar. I’ll cover all of the steps to find materials and tools, provide a bunch of tips throughout and connect you with resources to tie some great flies.
I will cover topics like how to find materials, how to decide what to tie, how to keep good proportions of your fly, how to not crowd the eye of the hook and more.
I will provide some tips on dubbing and spinning deer hair along with additional tips on finding groups and other resources to help you to go all in on it.
I have been teaching fly tying since I was a youngster in my father’s fly shop and have since moved this vast experience into an online environment to help you.,
Click the social media icons below and ask me any questions you might have.
I was finally able to sit down and have a conversation with Tim Rawlins from Line Speed Jedi dot com. Tim has been documenting his spey casting journey on his youtube channel and website.
Tim not only breaks out some amazing resources for those interested in spey casting but shares some crazy Alaskan stories from his time flying bush planes. I’m excited to get into this one so let’s jump in and get er done.
Click the Play Button Below to Listen to the Tim Rawlins Interview:
Crazy right? Tim pretty much killed it in this one. He dropped huge knowledge bombs and so many great resources if you are interested in spey casting. I listed a few above but didn’t get them all.
He then proceeded to blow us away with some crazy alaska stories. He flies planes too? I’m glad you stopped by. Leave a comment below and let me know what was one big resource you learned today.
If you are interested in checking out Alaska at a fraction of the cost or want to explore other amazing fly fishing destination around the world click on the link below to check out the Fly Fishing Travel Hackers Guide: https://www.wetflyswing.com/DIY
Here’s a brief description of the history from Fly Fishing the Sierra:
The Brassie has it’s origins in the 1960’s along the shores of the South Platte River in Colorado. A number of tiers such as Ken Chandler, Tug Davenport, and Gene Lynch were known to have experimented with copper wire bodies. Click here to read more about the history.
![](https://www.wetflyswing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/No-See-Um-Lodge-Logo--300x300.png"){kind=logo}
![](https://www.wetflyswing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Nomadic-Waters-Logo--300x300.png"){kind=logo}
![](https://www.wetflyswing.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/Logo-Troutroutes--300x300.png"){kind=logo}
