Troutbitten

For Season 19 of the Troutbitten Podcast, we're adding the video component, with the same conversation on both the audio and video side. So you'll still find the audio version of the podcast on Apple, Spotify and every other platform, and now you'll find a video of the podcast conversation on the Troutbitten YouTube channel.
The new video format is full of creative possibilities, and we're excited about the future of the podcast.
Incidentally, podcasts will now publish on Mondays at 3:30 p.m. EST, instead of Sundays. (YouTube hates Sunday evenings.)
Our conversation for episode one is all about luck. And we want to talk about how luck plays into things out there. Do we rely on it? Do we surrender to it? Do we look for it?
From the beginning, luck and fishing were intertwined. It became part of our anglers’ lore. And while good luck has surely saved countless fishing trips, bad luck continues to doom the best laid plans of a fisherman.
Great trout fishing is rarely the result of good luck. And if the experience was up to the fish and to fate, I’d hardly pick up a fishing rod. Success on the water is not a slot machine. It’s more like a game of poker, where you play the hand you’re given and try to fool your adversary. Sometimes the cards you’re holding almost guarantee success. Then the next day Mother Nature might deal you a hand, where pulling a couple of fish is a grand achievement.
My good friends Trevor Smith, Josh Darling, Austin Dando and Matt Grobe join me to begin Season 19.
Resources
READ: Troutbitten | It's Not Luck
READ: Troutbitten | Waiting On Luck
READ: Troutbitten | Fish It Anyway
Visit

Troutbitten Website

Troutbitten Instagram

Troutbitten YouTube

Troutbitten Facebook
Thanks to TroutRoutes:
Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
https://maps.troutroutes.com
Thanks to Skwala
Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
https://skwalafishing.com/

This Troutbitten Skills Series and these platforms are an effort to pass along the idea that fly selection doesn’t have to be regimented or complicated. Instead, see flies for what they have in common. Find their similarities rather than their differences. Choose the elements that matter most to you. Find the components of a fly that create enough of a distinction to be the keys to a platform, and build around that idea.
I do think some things are undeniable, and almost every angler is going to classify a parachute the same way. That might be true for upright hackles and down wings too.
But I’m sure you’ve noticed that the further we got into this season, the less specific each platform became. And again, that’s just because there are only so many things you can put on a dry fly and still have it be successful.
Most of the more recent flies designed take their cues from what came before them. Honestly, I assume that will hold true going into the future too.
My friends Bill Dell, Austin Dando and Matt Grobe join me for the conclusion of Season 18.

Resources
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Fly Tying - Essential Tools and More (S17 Ep9)
READ: Troutbitten | Pattern vs Presentation
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Fishing Dry Flies - Dry Fly Skills Series  (S12)

Visit

Troutbitten Website

Troutbitten Instagram

Troutbitten YouTube

Troutbitten Facebook
Thanks to TroutRoutes:
Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
https://maps.troutroutes.com
Thanks to Skwala
Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
https://skwalafishing.com/

It's time for the big-meal dry fly platform: hoppers and stoneflies.
When we open our fly boxes, we’re looking for a solution. If trout are sipping tiny olives in a soft tailout, we probably reach for the low-riding, vulnerable look of a Comparadun or a Parachute. And if we see trout slashing at hovering, skittering Grannoms in a riffle, we probably choose an Elk Hair Caddis or similar.
But what do we pick when the trout food is bigger — when trout are eating hoppers, stoneflies, cicadas or other big bugs on the surface that are twenty times the size of a Blue Winged Olive? Those trout aren’t looking for snacks. They’re hunting for dinner — for the main course. And we need a platform or a style to match the moment.
The hoppers and stoneflies platform is a major departure from the delicate mayfly imitations we’ve covered in this series. This platform isn't about perfectly matching the wing of a Hendrickson or the subtle flutter of an October Caddis. It’s about presenting a substantial, high-calorie meal that gets attention. Whether it’s a Golden stonefly clipping across the hoppy water of a bouldered run, or an unlucky grasshopper blown onto the surface from a grassy bank, these are not subtle bugs. They make a splash. They struggle. And in the best moments, they draw explosive strikes.
With this platform, we substitute subtlety for buoyancy. Hackle is traded in for rubber legs, and dubbing is often replaced by closed-cell foam. In this episode, we break down this big-meal platform. We’ll look at a parts list, cover some pros and cons about material choices, and look at the particulars of the platform itself.
My friend, Matt Grobe, joins me for a detailed look at another of our favorite dry fly platforms.

Resources
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Fly Tying - Essential Tools and More (S17 Ep9)
READ: Troutbitten | Pattern vs Presentation
PODCAST: Troutbitten | What's the Deal With Emergers? S11, Ep4
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Fishing Dry Flies - Dry Fly Skills Series  (S12)

Visit

Troutbitten Website

Troutbitten Instagram

Troutbitten YouTube

Troutbitten Facebook
Thanks to TroutRoutes:
Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
https://maps.troutroutes.com
Thanks to Skwala
Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
https://skwalafishing.com/

In this Riverside episode, I share an article that I published a few years ago, title, The Order of Everything. I also share some Troutbitten updates about my upcoming book, about the Troutbitten Shop, about the live podcast on March 28th at New Trail Brewing Company and the Troutbitten film festival happening later this year, in October. There's an order to everything to keep this Troutbitten project moving forward, and the work of these first weeks of 2026 had me thinking about one of my favorite concepts for a day on the water . . .
A lot goes into a good fishing trip. It’s a flexible framework of pieces and parts mixed in with a little fortuitous intuition. That first trout to the net is rarely luck. And when you start to lose count of how many fish have come to hand, you can be sure that luck has had very little to do with it. 
The overarching principles of how to catch a trout — the headers of the outline — are these:
Find Trout
Don’t spook them
Have a Solid Presentation
Choose a Reasonable Pattern
Fight Fish Fast
For me, when the day is tough, if it’s lunchtime and I haven’t yet touched a fish, if I’m losing faith in my strategy and I’m wishing more than fishing, I often gather my wits around this checklist of five.
Here's the full article:
READ: Troutbitten | The Order of Everything

The LIVE Podcast
Also, Tickets are on sale for the Live Podcast on March 28th at New Trail Brewing in Williamsport, PA.
BUY TICKETS HERE

Visit

Troutbitten Website

Troutbitten Instagram

Troutbitten YouTube

Troutbitten Facebook

Thanks to TroutRoutes:
Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
https://maps.troutroutes.com
Thanks to Skwala
Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
https://skwalafishing.com/

A dry fly emerger is one that has part of the fly underneath the surface. It’s a highly effective form (meaning tout eat it) because it matches the most vulnerable state of things that trout see.
In this episode we cover the dry fly platform of emergers. We look at what they are, how and why to use them and the differences in styles within this platform. We cover some history about how emerger design got to this point and what the future might hold.
Once the emerger platform really caught on in the fly fishing world, I’d say it has almost replaced many of the traditional, more high riding patterns as the average flies in the average angler’s box. Maybe that’s just my perception, but there’s no doubt, emergers are more popular than ever, and new ideas and turns of thread keep pushing the concept further.
My good friend, Austin Dando, joins me for a thorough look at another of our favorite dry fly platforms.

Resources
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Fly Tying - Essential Tools and More (S17 Ep9)
READ: Troutbitten | Pattern vs Presentation
PODCAST: Troutbitten | What's the Deal With Emergers? S11, Ep4
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Fishing Dry Flies - Dry Fly Skills Series  (S12)

Visit

Troutbitten Website

Troutbitten Instagram

Troutbitten YouTube

Troutbitten Facebook
Thanks to TroutRoutes:
Use the code TROUTBITTEN for 20% off your membership at
https://maps.troutroutes.com
Thanks to Skwala
Use the code, TROUTBITTEN10 for 10% off your order at
https://skwalafishing.com/