2 Guys and a River

Like all of life, fly fishing has become increasingly complex: Just try to sort through the dizzying array of fly fishing rods before you purchase your next one. In this episode, we discuss our aspirations to simplify our fly fishing experience. What might that look like for you? LISTEN NOW TO “SIMPLIFYING YOUR FLY FISHING … Continue reading "240: Simplifying Your Fly Fishing Experience" The post 240: Simplifying Your Fly Fishing Experience appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fishing a new creek or river for the first time is exciting. But there’s also an intrigue of fly fishing a familiar place, a stretch that you’ve fished for years. In this episode, we recount a recent fly fishing trip to a spring creek that we’ve fished many, many times. There’s an intrigue of fly … Continue reading "239: The Intrigue of Fly Fishing a Familiar River" The post 239: The Intrigue of Fly Fishing a Familiar River appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

The best all around fly rod is up for debate. The answer is, of course, it depends. Many fly fishers have more than one rod, but if you had to choose, which would be the best all around fly rod? In this episode, we make a case for the nine-foot, five-weight or nine-foot six-weight rod … Continue reading "238: Best All Around Fly Rod for Normal Folk" The post 238: Best All Around Fly Rod for Normal Folk appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fly fishing success means different things to different people. For many of us, just a day on the river is success. In this episode, we identify six lists from our book “The Fly Fisher’s Book of Lists” and discuss their merits. One list that we discuss is “8 Adjustments to Make When Fishing Spring Creeks.” … Continue reading "237: 6 Lists for Fly Fishing Success" The post 237: 6 Lists for Fly Fishing Success appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Stalking trout is a basic concept of fly fishing, but yet it’s often not part of the curriculum of new fly fishers. In this episode we identify six practices for stalking trout and tell a few stories when we found success for our efforts. Stalking trout is especially important on smaller freestone rivers and spring … Continue reading "236: 6 Practices for Stalking Trout" The post 236: 6 Practices for Stalking Trout appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Flies that work anytime and anywhere are essential to your fly box. Yes, there may be some specialty flies that work only during specific hatches, but more often than not, the basics are pretty much all you need (most or at least much of the time). In this episode we discuss two dry flies, two … Continue reading "235: Flies that Work Anytime and Anywhere" The post 235: Flies that Work Anytime and Anywhere appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Your next fly fishing trip may seem like years away in this moment in history, but soon enough, it will be time to plan. In this episode we discuss four questions to help winnow your options to make the best decision about time of year for your next fly fishing trip. We also discuss our … Continue reading "234: 4 Questions for Your Next Fly Fishing Trip" The post 234: 4 Questions for Your Next Fly Fishing Trip appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Landing bigger fish is impossible if you simply try to rip in the fish like you would if you were spin fishing. In this episode we identify several tips that have helped us increase our catch rate when Moby Dick hits our streamer or nymph. One tip is a different mindset, which comes only after … Continue reading "233: Tips for Landing Bigger Fish" The post 233: Tips for Landing Bigger Fish appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fishing emergers during a hatch is as fundamental as it gets. And yet, most new fly fishers rarely hear about this approach early on. In this episode, we start off with a couple great stories from recent trips when the stars were aligned, and we hit a hatch perfectly. But the fish were not hitting … Continue reading "232: Fishing Emergers during a Hatch" The post 232: Fishing Emergers during a Hatch appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Soft river bottoms pose a unique risk to wade fishers. In this episode, Dave recounts a winter fly fishing experience in which he got stuck in the mud while trying to wade to a run. It was 31 degrees. Dave had no cell coverage. He had gotten wet. And his fly fishing partner was about … Continue reading "231: The Wading Risk of Soft River Bottoms" The post 231: The Wading Risk of Soft River Bottoms appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Safe wading is rarely the first thought on a fly fisher’s mind as he or she plans for a day on the river. It should be. In this episode, we interview Dave Kumlien, a Montana outfitter for 40 years, former fly shop owner, and coordinator of Trout Unlimited’s Veteran Service Partnership. We start out this … Continue reading "230: Montana Outfitter Dave Kumlien on Safe Wading" The post 230: Montana Outfitter Dave Kumlien on Safe Wading appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

The hope of fly fishing is a day in the not too distant future when our fears have been suspended and we make our way upstream with only the next run on our mind. In this episode, we focus not on the present moment but days gone by when we endured hardship while also making … Continue reading "229: The Hope of Fly Fishing in the Waiting" The post 229: The Hope of Fly Fishing in the Waiting appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Friendship makes the outdoors better. At least that’s our perspective, given that our outdoors friendship has lasted four decades. In this episode, we discuss the makings of friendship and how certain kinds of competitiveness can prevent friendship from forming. We also discuss how “idle” friendships can be reinvigorated or restarted again. The old advertising line, … Continue reading "228: The Makings of an Outdoors Friendship" The post 228: The Makings of an Outdoors Friendship appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Yellowstone runners are the big brown and rainbow trout that move up from Hebgen Lake into Yellowstone National Park’s Madison River each fall. In this episode, we discuss Chester Allen’s delightful book, Yellowstone Runners: Chasing a dream fish in Yellowstone National Park during the Madison River’s Famous Fall Run. Allen is a terrific storyteller while … Continue reading "227: A Conversation about Yellowstone Runners" The post 227: A Conversation about Yellowstone Runners appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Every day on the river is the chance to grow in your understanding of how to fish. Every item of gear that you purchase gives you some information about what to buy (or not buy) the next time around. In this end-of-the-year episode, we offer up our top 10 fly fishing lessons from a year … Continue reading "Episode 226: Top 10 Fly Fishing Lessons of the Year" The post Episode 226: Top 10 Fly Fishing Lessons of the Year appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.