Welcome to the fourth annual Airing of Grievances on the Troutbitten Podcast. Buckle up. Because it’s time to clear the air about a few things, to complain about some other things and get all the frustrations out in the open.

We look forward to this episode every year, because honestly, it’s a lot of fun. I know that listeners anticipate this one as well, and just like last year, we have a bunch of guest grievances to add to the mix.

We’re here to complain. Why? Because acknowledging the absurdity of some stuff in the fly fishing world can do a lot of good. And because it’s fun and probably healthy to get things out in the open once in a while. And we start to realize that the stuff that bothers us, seems to bother a lot of other people too.

The truth is, we’ve seen a lot of good changes in our industry in the last few years as well. And some of that is about topics that made it into our grievances podcasts three or four years ago. Most people really are being more discreet about spot burning, for example. I think the message is out there, that hey, spot burning isn’t cool, and it kind of shows your inexperience if you do it.

I honestly see better angler etiquette out there as well — all the way around. Sure . . . I know, not everywhere. But overall, I think the messages about giving other anglers space, about how to hold a trout and other ethical guidelines are starting to hit home. Good things are beginning to stick. This is the best part of social media and the large community of anglers. The truth is, most people really want to do the right things — or at least, they don’t want to harm others or ruin another angler’s fishing experience. And a podcast like this can really help to give voice to some of the supposedly unspoken or unwritten rules of fly fishing.

So yeah, we think that airing of grievances really is beneficial to the overall scene.

This all started because most of us are big Seinfeld fans. And part of Frank Costanza’s Festivus holiday is what he calls the airing of grievances, where the whole family sits around the dinner table and lists what they don’t like about one another.

“I gotta lotta problems with you people, and now . . . you’re gonna hear about it . . ."

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We talk a lot about our frame of reference in fly fishing. Wherever you get into the game, a lot of your baseline is set by whatever is popular or widely accepted at that moment in time. My friend, Matt Mickey, recently argued that Gen X anglers are uniquely positioned, that this generation has experienced development and had a wide variety of influences that will never be duplicated.

We’ve learned through every form of media. We grew up in a time where good information was sparse, and most of us are largely self-taught. So it makes me wonder, will that kind of experience ever happen again? Meaning, fifty years from now, when the twenty-somethings are seventy-something, will they have the same depth of experience? Sure, they’ll have time on the water, but will they be missing some important things? And if, let’s say, modern anglers new to the game are missing some things, is it possible to go back and get them?

That's what this episode is all about.

My friends, Trevor Smith and Matt Mickey join me for a great discussion.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | How To Stay in the Fly Fishing Game for a Lifetime
READ: Troutbitten | Life On the Water

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So . . . how was it? How many did you catch? This is always the question for every fisherman, right? Whether I’m talking to my friends about a fishing trip from last week, or as I walked in the door this evening, my wife asked the same question — how many fish did you catch?

It’s a fair question. Because that’s the goal out there (usually). We go fishing to catch fish. But the answers we give can also reveal a different story.

“Well, I caught eight this morning, but I missed another handful underneath. And when I was fishing dry flies, I had a few refusals. While fishing streamers, another three fish slammed my fly but didn’t eat it. And I lost the biggest trout of the day when he popped off during the fight.”

Every angler has these same kinds of stories.

So I think we’d all agree that the primary goal out there — the first and most important goal of fishing — is to fool a fish. To make that trout believe that what you’re offering is worthwhile — to trick a trout. Honestly, I think that’s a large part of why most of us choose trout fishing in the first place — because as a species, they're picky and hard to fool.

So we convince a trout or make them curious enough to eat the fly (or at least almost eat it). But then . . . as we all know, what happens next is variable. Sometimes we’re late on the hookset, sometimes trout reject the fly at the last second, or maybe the fish wins a quick battle and spits the fly. But all of those incidentals don’t change the fact that we fooled a fish, even though it didn’t end up in the net. We achieved that primary goal.

I think everyone here counts fish to some extent. But what are we really keeping track of, and why? I like to say that every fisherman counts. I mean, you know if you catch zero, one or two trout, right?

I keep track of things as a measurement of what’s working and what is not. And to me, the stats are a lot more detailed than just fish to the net. What a trout ate, where he ate it, how he took the fly and how was I fishing the fly when he ate it? Those stats matter too.

Long ago, while night fishing, I started keeping track of trout caught, trout lost, and trout missed. I still do this, and as I said a few minutes ago, I think most anglers do this to some extent. The count doesn’t need to be perfect or precise. But when we miss a trout, that’s good information, because we fooled a fish. And when we lose a trout, we can be even more sure that we gained their interest.

So caught, lost and missed. Why do we catch ‘em. And why do we miss or lose some trout? More importantly, what does that tell us, or how does it inform our next change?

That’s what we’re here to talk about tonight.

My friends, Matt Grobe, Bill Dell and Josh Darling join me for a great discussion.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Nobody Home, Nobody Hungry
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Why Do We Miss Fish, and Why Do We Lose Fish on a Fly? S3, Ep11

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When you fish long enough, things break. That’s the nature of life, really . . . things fall apart. But if you're resourceful, you put them back together.

Sometimes it’s out of necessity. Honestly, a couple decades ago, I simply couldn’t afford to go through gear as fast as it was wearing down, so I learned to patch waders, fix a fly rod, mend a fly line, resole my boots, sew tears in my fishing vest and fix my landing net.

Likewise, we’ve all run into those moments on a fishing trip where we need a quick fix for a broken rod tip or a wader patch . . . whatever it is.

We all spend a lot of time, money and effort to get to the river and go fishing. But as we all know, even the simplest gear failure can change the day — it can ruin your trip. But by carrying a few things like zip ties, electrical tape, tension straps, Dacron and maybe a sewing kit, field repair or maybe just fifteen minutes spent at the tailgate can save the day.

Also, part of a life on the water is the maintenance and preparation — doing what you need to do — to keep your fishing gear stocked, functional and ready to go.

Being a versatile angler, like we talk about so much, requires a lot of stuff, and if you don’t think it through and keep on top of it, gear failures can hold you back.

That’s what the guys are here to talk about tonight.

My friends, Matt Grobe, Bill Dell, Dr. Trevor Smith and Steve Sawyer join me for a great discussion.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | All the Things
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Versatile Angler - S3, Ep15

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This episode is all about breakthroughs. For each of us, as a personal account, what have been the biggest changes, or the biggest steps forward, in our fishing?

I call these breakthroughs because they're the landmarks or discoveries or changes, along the way of learning, where we can look back and say, “Now that, really made a big difference.”

We talk a lot about a life on the water. And really, each of us here at Troutbitten has fished for most of our lives. And the truth is, it’s not really been a hobby or a pastime as much as it’s been part of our lives for a long, long time. Fishing fills our thoughts and plans. Other fishermen tend to be our closest friends. All of this means a lot to us.

I’ve written articles and the guys and I have talked about how to stay in the fishing game for a lifetime. And we all agreed that the mystery, the problem solving, that active nature of fishing — of making things happen — rather than a passive way of fishing, has been a main driving force behind our long term interest.

And precisely because we’re always working on improving, we’re often looking for that next big breakthrough — the next tactic, the next style, the next fly, maybe a leader, the influence of a friend, some other piece of gear, some knowledge about the trout themselves, maybe a new river . . . whatever. And I know as I look back on my own years of fishing, I can put my finger on a half dozen landmarks — things that, for me, changed everything.

I’m also constantly searching for that next breakthrough. And that’s where so much of the enjoyment of fishing begins for me.

So these landmarks, or these breakthroughs are surely different for everyone. This is another favorite question I ask of new anglers that I meet. I love hearing their stories. So that’s what we’re here to do with the Troutbitten guys tonight.

We’re just here to talk. There’s no real tactics here, nothing instructional, just a conversation about some moments in time or the discoveries that have kept us fishing and kept us motivated throughout a life on the water.

My friends, Matt Grobe, Bill Dell and Josh Darling join me for a great discussion.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | How To Stay in the Fly Fishing Game for a Lifetime
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Why We Fish - S13, Ep6

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For our Season 15 Intermission, my wife, Becky, joins me for a lighthearted look at what's going on in the Troutbitten world. We talk about the upcoming leader sale in the Troutbitten Shop (May 23rd).

We talk about the New Trail Troutbitten beer, the upcoming book on Fly Fishing the Mono Rig and a bunch of videos on the Troutbitten YouTube channel.

Becky also covers a couple favorite fishing terms near the end. :-)

Resources

VIDEO: Troutbitten | Fish and Film - Tight Line Tracking, Nymphs in the Wind
SHOP: Troutbitten | Category | Leaders

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The trout is prized as a gamefish because it’s picky. It’s selective. Often, it requires a refined presentation to fool a wild trout. And in large part, that’s the draw toward fishing for them.

In every region, in every stream, trout habits can differ from others in neighboring watersheds. And across the fishing landscape, we find places and even moments when trout are more picky — more choosy — about what, where and how they want to eat their food.

We’ve all seen fishing change in just a few minutes. We’ve happened upon bite windows, or periods of time with trout feeding more regularly, where we happen to have the right fly and the right presentation to meet the preferences of those fish. Likewise, we’ve all had a good thing going, where we’re catching trout quickly, and it all just shuts down.

So there’s a lot to this idea of selectivity.

And in this episode, we dig into what makes a trout selective. The quick answer is the theory that angler pressure makes trout more picky. There is no doubt about it. For sure, our fishing, our presentations educate the already picky trout what not eat, where and when.

But many other reasons for selectivity are natural. Meaning, they have nothing to do with anglers fishing for trout. These factors, like low water, stable water temperatures and the prevalence of one easy food form, can also make an already picky, tough to catch fish, even tougher.

This is a good topic.

My friends, Matt Grobe, Dr. Trevor Smith and Austin Dando join me for a great discussion.

Resources

PODCAST: Troutbitten | Angler Pressure ONE - What it Does to the Fish - S7, Ep1
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Angler Pressure TWO- What it Does to the Fishing - S7, Ep2
READ: Troutbitten | We Don't Want Easy Fishing

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There are two ways to tell the experience of an angler: how he holds a fish and how he keeps his secrets. The latter is probably more important.

A seasoned angler intuitively understands the vulnerability of a river. Spot burning is a real thing with real consequences.

Good anglers understand this concept. Good people understand this concept.

Every piece of river is someone else’s favorite place. So we respect the spots — for others, if not for ourselves.

Here's the article:

READ: Troutbitten | Respect the Spots! A Fisherman's Thoughts on Friendship and Spot Burning

Here's the Riverside Video on YouTube

VIDEO: Troutbitten | A Fisherman's Thoughts on Friendship and Spot Burning

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