Join Dave from the Wet Fly Swing Podcast on this hosted trip to one of the great salt water destinations in the world for the Big 3 Species.
Click Here for more information on the La Pescadora Fly Fishing Trip
Brian Oakland from Got Fishing was on the podcast in a recent episode to share the love and the great trip with a focus on fly fishing Mexico, Yucatan style.
I do one hosted trip to the Olympic Peninsula each winter with Jack Mitchell and the Evening Hatch Crew. You can get more information on this trip by clicking below.
Click here for more information on the Olympic Peninsula Steelhead Trip
I had a great chat with Captain Rick Lee to talk about Hawaii Fly Fishing with a focus on bonefish. Rick breaks down some great tips if you are heading to Hawaii and more specifically, the island of Maui. We talk about casting tips for the wind, how to strip retrieve and how you can put together a DIY trip of your own.
We also cover the best flies and why dumbbell eyes are key, where bonefish live 80% of the time and how you can maximize the time while you are out there. We dig into the best places to find bones including specific areas where flats are available.
Find the show: itunes | stitcher | overcast
11:22 – Here’s a photo of a Triggerfish which has a unique looking face and teeth that are somewhat human looking from the backwoods.
12:44 – The bluefin trevally and the goatfish are two other species you can find in Maui.
14:00 – Peter Morse was on the podcast in episode 111 to talk about the diversity of Australian fishing. One of my favorite quotes was Peter talking about the biggest challenge being which rod to choose.
31:00 – The AirFlo bonefish lines are discussed here.
43:20 – Rick describes what an Atol is and how it relates to the Hawaiin islands. The lava section erodes over time and leaves more habitat perfectly suited for bones and other species.
50:50 – You can call Pete at SSFlies out of Maine for great salt water flies. Enrico Puglisi flies are another good resource on finding high quality custom flies.
53:20 – Hareline is a great resource for fly tying materials.
1:00:16 – Nervous Waters is a local shop you can check out if you are heading to Hawaii.
1:01:30 – Stick with the Crazy charlie in dark brown or olive or orange. Lead eyes are a must. Terry Duffield came up with the Spam and Eggs along with Puglisi.
1:06:15 – I noted the Landon Mayer episode and the foam noodle tip for holding your rigs.
1:11:30 – FishChristmasIsland.com is another good resource for that area.
You can reach Rick at BonefishHawaii.com
We talked about two great areas to find bonefish including near Kihei and over between Lahaina and Kaanopoli (See maps below).
Red dot marks location at Lahaina
Red dot marks location at Kihei
Bonefish on fly fishing in Christmas Is. /Sony FX-1000 from Masanori Sarai on Vimeo.
Conclusion with Captain Rick Lee
Rick Lee breaks down a ton of tips for fishing Hawaii with a focus on Maui. He also walks us along the rest of the hawaiin islands and christmas island. Rick shares some great tips on places to start, flies to use, techniques and how to find your first bonefish in hawaii.
I had the pleasure of talking to Tom Whiting who is the man behind Whiting Farms, the leader in fly tying hackles. We hear about the history of how Tom built a great company and has taken the lead in producing the highest quality hackles for fly tying.
Tom has had a passion for chicken genetics and shares some cool stories about how he produces ultra high-quality chicken hackles including the spey hackles that are substitutes for heron hackle.
Find the show: itunes | stitcher | overcast
00:20 – The Fly Fish Food guys produced this Video on the Whiting Farms Operation.
We also had Curtis Fry on the Podcast from Fly Fish Food way back in episode #40 of the Wet Fly Swing Podcast.
15:10 – Archaeopteryx was noted as one of the first feathered dinosaurs and how birds evolved from dinosaurs.
18:00 – We talked about the history with Henry Hoffman and the history of how Tom purchased Hoffman’s.
24:23 – We note Metz hackles who was also a big player in the past. Umpqua purchased them in the mid 1990’s and sold many more times.
32:50 – This Clip of the Feather King, plus Tom Whiting – The Real Bird Man, as well as the CBS video that should be out soon.
47:00 – Their spey hackle and how close it is to heron hackle.
47:45 – John Shewey and Spey Cock was a topic that Tom has been working on. John Shewey was on the podcast here.
48:50 – Classic Steelhead Flies by John Shewey
49:40 – The new book on Spey and Dee Flies is coming out soon. Here’s the first run of Spey and Dee Flies.
52:38 – The Predator Packs are great for pike, musky and steelhead.
57:00 – Rick Takahashi was on the podcast here and is a pro team member for Whiting Farms.
1:02:00 – Tom notes Crystal Bowersox who for 2 years blew up Whiting Farms because of her fashion trends. Here’s one of her videos from American Idol.
1:07:30 – Kelly Galloup noted that fly tying is cool in this episode.
1:10:20 – Rare and Unusual Fly Tying Materials: A Natural History, Volume 2–Birds and Mammals has a full chapter on what Tom does.
You can Find Tom at Whiting Farms.
Rare and Unusual Fly Tying Materials: A Natural History, Volume 2–Birds and Mammals
Classic Steelhead Flies by John Shewey
Tom Whiting – The Real Bird Man
Crystal Bowersox Midnight Train to Georgia
We hear the full Whiting Farms story and how Tom Whiting has created one of the best fly hackle supplier in the world. We get into steelhead hackles and different methods he has used to create amazing hackles.
I sat down with Rainy Riding, the founder of Rainy’s Flies, to hear the story of how she created one of the largest fly distribution centers in the country. We go in deep to the history of how she created the company given plenty of setbacks along the way.
Find the show: itunes | stitcher | overcast
06:00 – Fly Fishing the West was the first magazine that Rainy placed an ad in for Rainys Flies.
30:50 – The Snakehead is one species Rainy notes for SE Asia. Here’s a interesting video on snakehead.
33:10 – Here is the Joan Wulff interview. Rainy notes the impact from Joan to woman in fly fishing.
34:40 – The Grand hopper is one of Rainy’s favorite patterns.
36:00 – Big Y Fly Shop and the Grand Hopper. Rainy notes that she doesn’t agree with others selling or tying their patterns. Leave a comment below if you have more clarification here.
40:00 – The Letort Hopper vs the Grand Hopper fly pattern. We talk about innovation and how Rainy tries very hard to do a lot of fact checking before selling a new fly.
50:20 – Montana Flies and Umpqua are two big players in the space as well as Rainy’s.
51:00 – Jesse Riding has some fly tying videos here.
53:00 – The DVD set through Rainy’s can be found here.
56:30 – Click here to listen to the Frank Sinatra Christmas Alblum.
You can find Rainy at Rainy’s Flies here.
Rainy shares the story of how she created Rainy’s Flies which is one of the big distributors of flies in the country. We hear a little bit about the patterns she ties and developed and what building a business in fly sales is like.
I finally sat down and had a great chat with Frank Amato, from Amato Books, who is the brains behind Salmon Trout Steelhead magazine, the Fly Fishing and Tying Journal and about 300 books relating to fishing.
We hear how Frank was a key player in protecting the Deschutes River. We also hear about the Blue Jetboat Frank has had since 1980 and how he saved my butt after flipping int he river.
Find the show: itunes | stitcher | overcast
Show Notes with Frank Amato
08:10 – Field and Stream was one of the only fishing magazines at the time in the country and the Fishing and Hunting News was the only magazine in the west at the time.
10:37 – Salmon Trout and Steelhead was started in the summer of 1967. Now over 60 years going strong.
11:10 – I had Craig Schuhmann, the editor of FTJ – The Fly Fishing and Tying Journal, on the podcast in episode 101.
12:56 – Fly Fishers International influenced the creation of FTJ. Frank started by publishing the FFI magazine at the time and that morphed into FTJ.
16:00 – Fly Fisherman magazine started in 1968 and was the only real competition at the time.
19:45 – Steelhead Drift Fishing and Fly Fishing was the first book ever published by Frank Amato publishcations.
29:20 – We talked about Little Leaf who guides on the upper Deschutes River.
29:40 – Curtis Creek Manifesto is the highest selling book for Amato over the years.
36:10 – Frank noted the one man boat he loves. I believe it’s probably a watermaster?
1:01:00 – The Night Dancer is Frank’s goto steelhead fly. He also love the Renegade for trout.
You can reach Frank at AmatoBooks.com.
Steelhead Flies by John Shewey
The Night Dancer Tied by Dave via Piscator Flies
I had a great conversation with Frank Amato who is the founder of Salmon Trout Steelhead, the Fly Fishing and Tying Journal and tells us how it all evolved over the last 60 years. Frank also had a big impact on protecting my home waters back when I was a kid. Frank is the real deal so enjoy this one.
And if you’re interested in the right spey rod for steelhead, Click here to see the Echo Spey Rod that has helped me improve my spey cast and find more steelhead at a super reasonable cost. By the way, this 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.
Brian Bennett, the founder of Moldy Chum, one of the biggest and oldest fly fishing websites is on the podcast to describe what the moldy chum is all about and where it’s going. The slab of the month, the chumion, and suction dredging are all discussed today.
We get into the Dirt Bag Diaries, Reel Pure Radio and other podcasts that inspired Brian to keep on moving. Suck my Fly Blog, The Hopper Talk Blog, Mini Chubby and many other blogs of yesteryear.
Find the show: itunes | stitcher | overcast
03:38 – The Mt. Smith Tour Pack is one of my great goto pieces of gear.
04:42 – The Piton was a blog prior to Moldy Chum.
06:46 – Peter Morse was on the podcast in this episode and covered Australia fly fishing.
15:10 – April Vokey was on the podcast in episode 30 and talked about the #metoo movement.
25:20 – The Tailer Trash Podcast
26:30 – The first blogs in the space when Moldy Chum started included. Mid Current, Trout Underground and FlyFisherman Magazine.
27:00 – Reel Pure Radio is the new Moldy Chum Podcast that’s out now.
27:30 – Tom Sadler who was on the show here is part of a second Moldy Chum Podcast that is launching soon.
30:20 – Tom Sadler was on here and Hacks on Tap is similar to what the Blue Plate Special Podcast is all about.
31:20 – The Dirt Bag Diaries inspired Brian to start the podcast.
33:20 – Let my people Go Surfing is Yvon’s book on building a conservation minded company.
49:20 – Scott McGarva was on the podcast in episode 17 and talked about the closing of the skagit and impacts to closing and opening the rivers with low run returns.
1:04:28 – Watershed Watch up out of BC is huge along with Columbia Basin Bulletin are the blogs Brian follows.
1:09:30 – You can see the entire Artifishal movie now on youtube here.
1:15:15 – I noted Martin Joergensen again and the loss of blogs like West Fly when the author calls it quit.
1:19:16 – Yeta Panga Backpack will be Brian’s first review. Plus Yeti has a Yeti podcast via JT VanZandt.
1:20:00 – The Wool fingerless gloves from REI are one of my goto items for winter steelhead.
You can find Brian Bennett at Moldy Chum here.
Full Film: Artifishal | The Fight to Save Wild Salmon
“Fly Fishing Meets the Onion.”
I sat down with Brian Bennett from the Moldy Chum, one of the long standing fly fishing blogs. They have published 5,299 blog posts just on wordpress. We here about the Friday Pin up, and the vast influences of people and blogs that have influenced the path of the chum.
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.
In this Video 3 of the step x step guide to building your first fly rod I show you how to measure out the tip top and how to wrap a guide. Watch the video below or click on the links at the bottom of this post for additional videos.
Click Here to watch the video:
Subscribe to my youtube channel here
Here’s the graphite rod kit from proof
Here’s the link to the Olympic Peninsula Steelhead Trip
How to assemble the Jig Kit Video
Click here to watch the Gink and Gasoline Rod Building Series that Matt put together in conjunction with G and G.
If you have questions about building a rod or what you get in the other Proof kits, please send me an email and I’ll get back to you.
Video 1: Unboxing Video for Proof Fly Fishing
Video 2: Placing the Spey Rod Handle
We dig into fly fishing for shad, alligator hunting and the Ritz-Carlton with Mark Benson. Mark walks us through the steps to catching shad along with some other shenanigans including the alligator hunt. Shad fishing has a lot of similarities to steelhead fishing so let’s dig into it.
This episode is another level with our chat on the Ritz-Carlton 18 hole Greg Norman golf course and bass course. You can do it all in one trip including the alligators that are out and about.
Find the show: itunes | stitcher | overcast
05:03 – Flip Pallot was on the podcast in episode 70 and told the story of how he lived through the hurricane in 1992.
08:50 – Mark is the head guide for the Ritz Carlton and for bass fishing on the Ritz’ properties.
16:30 – We talk about the shad’s life history here and what a good run and day of fishing is like.
17:40 – The best flies look like an anemic crazy charlie. Here’s the standard Crazy Charlie video.
37:00 – Mark notes the Delaware River and shad fishing. There are a lot of fly fisherman using sinking lines in this area with the deep and heavy water. Quite a bit different than the St Johns that we cover.
41:40 – I noted the John McCloskey episode and how John puts together the pre trip in Georgia for Alaska.
45:55 – The Founding Fish by John McPhee is a great resource to check out for Shad.
50:40 – Shingle Creek is the headwaters of the Florida Everglades and Mark’s primary stream he fishes.
51:10 – We talk about the golf/bass fishing or fish and chips aka bass and birdies. This is pretty cool. The course is open to the public so if you are into golf and fly fishing this is the spot.
1:01:10 – The Beatles over Elvis and Mexican food are Mark’s goto.
1:03:40 – A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle is all about focusing on the present.
You can reach Mark at Mark Benson Outdoors.
The Founding Fish by John McPhee
We get into everything from alligator hunting to the easy steps to getting into some amazing shad fishing action. This one was one of the fun ones as we get into some random topics including golf and bass fishing
I show you how to put a handle on a fly rod today in our How to Build a Fly Rod Series. This video focuses on a 13′ spey rod. Watch the entire series on youtube here. You can send me an email or leave a comment if you have any questions.
Click Here to watch the Video:
Here’s the graphite rod kit from proof
Here’s the link to the Olympic Peninsula Steelhead Trip
How to assemble the Jig Kit Video
Click here to watch the Gink and Gasoline Rod Building Series that Matt put together in conjunction with G and G.
If you have questions about building a rod or what you get in the other Proof kits, please send me an email and I’ll get back to you.
Unboxing Video for Proof Fly Fishing
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