The Orvis Fly-Fishing Video Podcast

Hooking a big trout in heavy cover is one thing; landing that trout on a fly rod adds another set of challenges. In our latest Master Class Monday video, there’s some amazing footage of a very large trout hooked in shallow, snag-filled water. Dave Jensen walks us through the process of making the right presentation and employing the right fighting strategies to land it. You’ll get some good tips in this one.  

Trout often feed in tricky eddies on the other side of the current. Many fly fishers don't even notice these places, and those that do often have difficulties catching trout in them. Fish in these places can be tough to catch with dry flies or nymphs, and Dave Jensen gives us tips on how to fish these difficult spots in trout streams.

In this excellent video, Flagler walks us through the deceptively simple steps for creating the Brass Ass, which uses just three materials and a whole lot of UV-cure resin. The keys to creating an attractive, clean Ian’s Brass Ass are to get the wire wraps tight, position the cheeks correctly, and layer the resin. Flagler’s techniques shown here should be useful for creating many other flies, as well.

There are many ways to use dubbing to create bodies, thoraxes, and such on a fly, and each creates a different effect. Here, Tim demonstrates a technique called “touch dubbing,” which allows the individual hairs of the fur to splay wildly, resulting in a really buggy effect. The keys are to properly prepare the dubbing, use the right wax, and add the dubbing a pinch at a time.

You won't find numerous trout feeding every time you fish a trout stream, but when many fish are feeding there are ways to find the one that is more likely to take. Dave Jensen gives us some clues of finding the trout most likely to eat your fly, and It's a great fly-fishing lesson to learn.

Fall is a time when many anglers get excited about casting big, meaty flies to trout that are gorging before the long winter. Here’s a very useful video from Sean Visintainer of Washington’s Silver Bow Fly Shop, in which he explains basic streamer-fishing tactics for fall.

This is a great time of year to fine-tune your fly-fishing terrestrial game. In this week’s Master Class Monday, Dave and Amelia Jensen (http://flyfishalberta.com/jensenflyfishing/) share some tips on making a realistic, subtle presentation with ants, beetles, and hoppers. It’s one of the most exciting forms of dry-fly fishing for trout.

Fishing streamers is not always casting large flies in deep water and heavy cover with a sinking fly line. Sometimes streamer flies are effective in shallow riffles and edges, especially when you use smaller flies and a floating line. Dave Jensen walks you through how to go about using a short line to prospect a riffle with your streamer.

Conway Bowman shows how to catch largemouth bass in "bad neighborhoods"--using sinking lines to get down to where bass may be hiding. Catching bass in rocks and downed trees when they are in deeper water does not mean you have to resort to spin tackle. It's all about covering water and making brave, accurate casts.

In both lakes and rivers, Trout will sometimes cruise the water to feed rather than hold in one area and wait for food to come to them. While this is a difficult situation, it can also be very rewarding and visual. Follow with Dave and Amelia Jensen as they describe the tactics and tips for helping you to make the best of this special scenario. While this can sometimes be a tough situation to fool a trout, patience and methodical fishing can pay of hugely!

Drifting nymphs in the middle of the water column can be very tricky to dial in. Trout often feed in the middle of the column as insects hatch rather than deep along the bottom. Even when there are insects hatching, fish will feed just below the surface on nymphs and emergers. Dave Jensen explains how to fish a nymph mid-depth and why this is an extremely valuable and useful skill for any trout fisherman to have in thier arsenal.

For 16 year-old Joey Maxim, the way back to life after a near fatal car accident started with a fly rod in his hand.

Fly fishing can often be spectacular when the water is slightly dirty, so don’t give up just because conditions aren’t crystal clear. In this great video, Dave Jensen gives us some solid tips on how to find trout when you think the water is too dirty to see them clearly. There are some very perceptive tips on finding trout in rivers, some of which you may have never thought of or heard about. So when rains bring rivers up and you lose clarity, have some confidence that you still may be able to spot feeding trout.

Learn how the host of the Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast, Tom Rosenbauer loads up for the river. You may not want to carry as much as he does, but you can see how one experienced fly angler loads his sling bag, and what kind of stuff he carries when trout fishing.

Back in June, a group of nineteen Orvis Associates took part in the 27th annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod & Gun Club Fly Rod Striped Bass Catch & Release Tournament (https://www.mvrodandgun.org/catch-release-tournament). The group ranged from expert anglers–say, Tom Rosenbauer and Pete Kutzer–to some who are relatively new to the sport, and all had a great time. Everybody hooked fish, but the real value of the trip was the time spent together, sharing the passion for fly fishing and the outdoors.