Fly Fishing Experts Tell Their Secrets LIVE!

Charlie Craven is a master fly tier and has figured out the best fly tying techniques for just about any challenge. His latest book Tying Streamers addresses the techniques used to tie both classic and modern streamer patterns. Charlie is always a great source for good tips on tying so join us to find out what he’s discovered about the best way to tie streamers.

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

• How do you make wooly buggers more durable?
• What is the best way to tie in a palmered hackle?
• Are articulated patterns more effective than non-articulated patterns?
• What are your favorite materials for tying streamers?
• What are the three most important triggers when tying streamers?
• Do you prefer streamers that are thick and dense or sparse and thin?
• How do you keep streamers from fouling?
• How do you choose a hook for your streamers?
• What are your considerations for choosing streamers for different water types?

Barry and Cathy Beck have traveled the world fly fishing and photographing their adventures. Learn how their secrets about traveling for fly fishing and how to get the best photographs for youself or your clients.

Mike Kephart gives you the scoop on which Colorado mountain and wilderness lakes and creeks fish well, how to get there, the difficulty of access, and what you can expect to catch. Join us as we explore these lost lakes and secret places.

Gary Borger is a master caster and well-known on the Fly Fishing Show circuit for his simple explanations and fly-casting demonstrations. Gary presents casting development and skill acquisition, from rod grips to highly detailed descriptions of the three core methods of fly casting. He also details the essential Acceleration, Loop Formation, and Energy Transfer (A.L.E.) plus much, much more. Listen in and I know your casting will improve.

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

• What is a Perfect Cast?
• What are the two cardinal rules of fly casting?
• What are some effective ways to practice casting?
• What rod grips are most commonly used?
• What stances should you use when casting?
• What is A.L.E?
• When doing a forward cast, do you break your wrist at the end of your cast?
• How do you control your loop?
• What should your line managing hand be doing when you are casting?
• What is the best way to cast a weighted nymph rig?
• How much line should you have out when casting?
• What is the best way to pick up line out of the water?
• What is the best way to mend your line?
• Why do you need to be able to cast more than 40 feet?

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.

Jake Villwock is a professional guide working in Pennsylvania. He hooks up his clients everyday with big smallmouth bass. Listen in and learn about the flies he uses, how he ties them and how he uses them to catch trophy smallies.

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

• Do smallmouth prefer living in pods or are they a solitary fish?
• Do smallmouth hold in similar lies as trout?
• What is a good weight rod, line, leader and tippet for smallmouth?
• Why do you use swivels in your terminal tackle setup?
• If you could only have one surface fly and one streamer for smallies what would they be?
• What are the trigger colors for smallmouth flies?
• Do you use weed guards on your flies?
• What topwater flies do you use besides poppers?
• What color combinations work best for streamers?
• What crayfish patterns do you like?
• What color is a must have on your crayfish patterns?/li>
• How do you fish crayfish patterns on the bottom?
• When an how do you fish crayfish patterns mid-column?
• Do bigger flies attract larger fish?

Brian Flechsig owns Mad River Outfitters, Midwest Fly Fishing Schools, and Ohio Fly Fishing Guides. He started his fly shop in 1994 with a passion for fly fishing and the will to succeed, but not much more. Today, Mad River Outfitters ranks as one of the top three largest fly shops in the United States. Join us and learn how Brian started his business on a shoestring and how he has grown it through consistent marketing and proper business management.

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

• What inspired you to start a business in the fly fishing industry?
• How has your business evolved from its initial concept to the multi-faceted enterprise it is today?
• How has your passion for fly fishing influenced the way you run your business?
• How do you engage with the local community through your brick-and-mortar shop?
• In creating your product lines, do you select low, medium, and high-cost products to appeal to the broadest spectrum of customers or focus on one price point?
• What is the top-selling or highest-grossing product at the fly shop?
• What are the top 2-3 selling fly patterns in the shop?
• What platform do you use for your e-commerce store?
• Do you use manufacturer’s supplied photos for your products, or do you take your own?
• What types of marketing do you do?
• What marketing has worked the best for you?
• Do you do all your marketing in-house or do you outsource some of it?
• Which advertising channels have you found most effective for your businesses, and why?
• How much luck is responsible for your success?

Aaron Jasper has found through countless hours of testing and practice that European nymphing techniques require an investment in time to learn but are very often unequaled in their fish catching potential. Find out Aaron's secrets as he explains a variety of Euro-Nymphing techniques including short leader Czech methods to longer leader Spanish and French techniques. Find out Aaron's secrets as he explains a variety of Euro-Nymphing techniques including short leader Czech methods to longer leader Spanish and French techniques.

George Daniel has guided clients and fished competitively throughout the world. His desire to learn as much as possible about his craft and adapt his techniques have given him a superb understanding of what it takes to get a nymph to a fish. There are many 'right' ways to deliver your nymphs whether it be contact nymphing or suspension nymphing. Listen to this podcast and learn George's latest strategies and techniques so you can up your game.

Rick Hartman a professional guide on the Texas coast who specializes in redfish. Listen in to Rick's secrets on hooking up with the big ones.

Debbie Hanson, a professional guide in southwest Florida, specialized in getting her clients hooked up with Florida’s strain of largemouth bass. These bass are different than the strains in the north and many consider them the monsters of largemouth bass. Listen in to learn about these bass and how to hook up with what may be your trophy bass of a lifetime.

• What makes the Florida strain of largemouth bass different?
• What is the best place to fish for trophies in Florida?
• Does the Florida strain exist in other states?
• What are the factors that contribute to the growth of trophy-sized bass?
• Where do you look for the larger bass?
• What are the most effective flies to use for largemouth bass?
• How deep do you fish?
• What's the best time of day to fish?
• What fly did you catch your trophy largemouth on?

Want to pit yourself against a mako shark? Conway Bowman tells us about his special techniques to attract, catch, and release mako sharks on the fly. This exciting new approach allows you to sight cast to Makos, see the take, and enjoy one of the most acrobatic and powerful fights of your life.

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?

Steve, started fishing the Bahamas with world famous guide Stuart Cleare and caught the bonefish bug. As time passed, he realized that there was so much incredible knowledge that Stuart shared while fishing that it was a shame not to capture it and share it with others. Join us in the conversations that Steve and Stuart had and learn the secrets to fishing for bonefish in the Bahamas.

Doc Thompson, a professional guide for 15 years, has been taking fly fishers to where the fish are in the wild rivers of northern New Mexico including the Rio Grande, Cimmaron and the Rio Castilla. Listen in to learn about these unique fisheries and how to fish them.