Phil Rowley is a master at fishing stillwaters for trout. Stillwaters are one of the most challenging opportunities for today's fly fisher. They offer a long active season with numerous hatches and presentation challenges. Fish grow big and fat and many fishers find this appeal hard to resist. But the transfer from rivers and streams is often difficult, especially if a prolonged trial-and-error approach is adopted. Listen in to hear Phil’s approach to Stillwater fly fishing and learn a few secrets along the way.

Kirk Deeter answers those nagging questions you always wanted to know about fly fishing for trout including casting, presentation, bugs, reading water and more.

Pat Dorsey has guided on the South Platte for more than eleven years. He spends at least 200 days per year on the stream so he knows the water intimately. Join us on this podcast to learn everything you need to know about fly fishing one of the most challenging trout streams in the United States.

Master guide Kevin Feenstra reveals his proven techniques for targeting bass, musky, pike, and carp using baitfish patterns the fish love. Drawing from over two decades of guiding experience on Michigan's mighty Muskegon River, Kevin shares his expert strategies for reading water and presenting flies to these hard-hitting fish.

Just a few of the questions asked and answered during the interview:

• You recently published Matching Warmwater Baitfish. What inspired you to write it and how did it come about?
• What makes baitfish patterns so effective for targeting predatory fish like smallmouth and largemouth bass, muskie, and others?
• How important is fly size when imitating baitfish for different predators?
• What are the key differences in how smallmouth and largemouth bass hunt baitfish?
• What are your go-to baitfish patterns for smallmouth bass, and how do they differ from those for largemouth?
• What are some effective retrieves when fishing baitfish patterns for bass?
• What makes muskie such a challenging species to catch on the fly?
• Can you explain the "figure eight" technique and when to use it when targeting muskie?
• What is your goto pattern for musky?
• What is your favorite throwback fly to convert muskie that follow but won't eat?
• What are some effective techniques for fishing baitfish flies in heavy cover or structure?
• How do water clarity and light conditions affect baitfish fly selection?
• Is there a searching baitfish pattern that you prefer to use when fishing new water?
• What are some key materials for tying realistic and effective baitfish imitations?
• What advice do you have for anglers looking to improve their success with baitfish imitations?

Simon Gawesworth shares his techniques on using casts adapted from two-handed spey casting to one handed casts that enable you to fish the most challenging spots that most anglers pass by.

Steve Ramirez has been traveling thousands of miles in pursuit of native gamefish in salt and brackish water habitats. Join us as Steve tells his stories of adventures in the salt that weave fish, people, and nature together and how humanity impacts the world in many ways.

Just a few of the questions asked and answered during the interview:

• What made you look seaward for your latest book?
• What is Casting Seaward about?
• How did you pick the places and people you want to fish with?
• Do you make notes on site (or en plen aire) or does the writing come from recollections at a later date?
• How do you view your purposeful work in writing about our natural world along with your personal journey?
• What as the most exciting experience you had?
• What experience was the most challenging?
• What species was the hardest to target?
• What experience did you learn the most about fishing?
• Which experience did have that helped you to grow the most personally?
• How do you think the coastal waters are doing?
• What factors are at issue with managing the striped bass and bluefish fisheries on the east coast?
• What can we do as fly fishers to help conserve and preserve?

Matt Snider says fly fishing for wipers is like hooking up with a strong saltwater fish only you're in freshwater. Learn Matt's techniques for finding and hooking up with this exciting fish.

Marty has hiked and backpacked into many high mountain lakes and streams and discovered that it requires a few different skills and techniques to master fly fishing for trout at altitude. Listen in to hear Marty share what he's learned.

Barry Reynolds has a knack for catching big fish and carp are no exception. Listen in to find out the tactics Barry uses to hook into monster carp.

Tim Jacobs is a guide and FFI Certified Casting Instructor who fishes both the warm waters of the midwest and the cold waters of the Rocky Mountains. Tim will be sharing tactics including rigs, techniques and fly patterns that you can use to catch more bass. panfish, pike, and other warmwater species. Join us and learn Tim's secrets to warmwater fly fishing.

Just a few of the questions asked and answered during the interview:

• Where do you do most of your warmwater fishing?
• What does a fly fisher need to know about lakes to be productive?
• Is it more productive to fly fishing from a boat?
• How do you dissect an unknown lake?
• What types of rods and lines do you need for warmwater fly fishing?
• Where should you look for largemouth bass?
• What is your primary method for finding fish?
• What types of flies do you use for largemouth bass?
• When fishing rivers for smallmouth bass, how do you work the water?
• What's your go-to fly for smallmouth bass?
• Where do the pike hold in the water column?
• How do you rig up your leader and shock tippet for pike?
• What are your favorite types of flies for pike?
• Where is the best place to find pike?

Colorado professional guide Landon Mayer is well known in the Rockies for putting his clients on to incredible trophy trout. Landon shares tying steps and fishing and rigging tips for several of his signature guide flies for trout and bass. These nymphs, dry flies, and streamers have proven to be effective around the world. Join us and get the lowdown on why these flies work and how you can use them to catch more fish. GoFundMe page for Landon: https://gofund.me/b29b467e

Just a few of the questions asked and answered during the interview:

• How did you get started fly fishing?
• What are the elements of a guide fly?
• What size flies do you typically tie and fish?
• Do you prefer to tie flies for a specific location or general flies that can be used at multiple places?
• In a typical day of fishing, how many different fly patterns do you fish?
• What inspired you to create the Tube Midge?
• Why is the Tube Midge an important fly to have in your box?
• What makes the Trident Tube Midge different from other stillwater midge patterns?
• How do you rig for the Trident Tube Midge, and how do you fish it?
• What was the reason you created Mayer's Mini Leech?
• What colors do you type Mayer's Mini Leech in?
• What makes the Mini Leech Jig Damsel different from other stillwater damsel patterns?
• What are the key elements of the Mini Leech Jig Damsel?
• How did you come up with the Tails Up Trico, and why is it such a deadly pattern?
• What is your most tied fly, and is it the most effective fly in the varied waters and conditions we face in fly fishing?
• Which fly you designed surprised you the most on how successful it was and how popular it became? ...and why?

Tim Lockhart has fished for over 30 years. Over those years he’s developed a practical system for productive fly fishing in stillwaters. Listen in to learn how to find the best lakes and prime water along with his best presentation strategies.

Mike Lawson was born and raised in southeastern Idaho and has fished the Henry's Fork, a classic spring creek, his whole life. Mike worked on his book, "Spring Creeks", for over 12 years producing a comprehensive work about fishing spring creeks and tailwaters. You'll enjoy hearing Mike share his knowledge about fishing spring creeks and tailwaters on this podcast.

Ralph Cutter literally wrote the book on fish food. To write Fish Food he donned his snorkeling gear and studied species underwater. Listen in to learn what Ralph has discovered about the food trout eat and why - it's sure to make you a better fly fisher.

Dave Zielinski has been tracking down annual and periodical cicada emergences in an effort to figure out their mystery and the fish that hunt and devour them for the past 20 years. If you'd like to zero in on one of these epic emergences, tune in and learn from Dave about the timing, fishing techniques, and patterns that you'll need to crack the code.

Just a few of the questions asked and answered during the interview:

• What makes cicada emergences so significant for fly fishers?
• What does a cicada look like?
• How many different species are there?
• What is the life cycle of cicadas?
• What is the difference between periodical and annual cicadas?
• How often do the periodical emergences occur?
• How long does an emergence last?
• When is the best time of day to fish during a cicada emergence?
• What signs are there that an cicada emergence is happening?
• What are the differences between the 13 and 17 year cicadas?
• What color combinations are best for cicada fly imitations?
• Do you have a favorite fly size and pattern?
• What presentation methods work best when fishing with cicadas?
• Is there an online source that tracks cicada emergences?