In this episode John and Nick discuss and untangle five adages common to winter steelheaders. Such as: A short rod and Skagit line is all you need. You don't need to cast far, or wade deep, and your fly should be ticking bottom to have success. Last, don't set the hook, you'll just yank it from the fish's mouth, and always use a bright fly on a bright day, and a dark fly on a dark day. They take a deep dive and breakdown their experience with these beliefs and discuss which of them, if any, hold truth, and how their approach differs. Tune in for all of this, and more, if you are interested in improving your knowledge about fishing for winter steelhead with two-handed rods.

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This week, we repost an episode from the former Barbless podcast where I interview my father, Bill McMillan. We discuss the hardcore history of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and take listeners back in time to the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. how many salmon and steelhead were in the Columbia back then? How large were they? How early were they depleted? Tune in for answers to those questions, and more, to learn why those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

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In this episode John and Nick kick off The Deep Wade with a discussion about their background in science, fishing, and conservation, and what makes different species of salmon, trout, and char stand out from one another. They take a deep dive into each species' strengths and how those evolutionary traits undergird their success in Nature -- such as diversity in steelhead, large body size in Chinook salmon, and body shape and swimming capacity in coho salmon. John and Nick close it out with some interesting observations on bull trout, such as why they are classified as "gorgers" and how such behavior might influence the long held adage that brown trout are more difficult to catch because they are "smarter" than other species. Tune in for this, and more, to better understand your favorite fish and why their traits are important to fishing and conservation.

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