The Itinerant Angler Podcast

Episode Two: Streamer Fishing Tennessee's Sad Ditch with Mike Anderson

29:42 (Push play to begin streaming)

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Our second episode of The Itinerant Angler Podcast features an interview with Tennessee guide Mike Anderson. Mike discusses his innovative boat-based trout fishing techniques, including using large streamers and Kelly Galloup's jerk-strip retrieve. Mike also fills us in on some lesser known - but excellent - water in the middle of the flyover South.

After Mike's interview, I'll treat you to a brief audiolog of a typical winter day of trout fishing with myself, Zach Matthews, and Caesar Stair.

“How’s the streamer fishing?” the well-accoutred young angler asked as I waded out of the river.

“Terrible,” I responded, noting that he was oblivious to the dry-and-dropper rig I was reeling in as I flipped my basket around to the rear and grabbed a limb to step onto the bank. “Why do you ask?”

“The basket, man,” he glanced down and looked slightly embarrassed for me. “Surf’s thataway,” he shot over his shoulder as he and his two partners clumsily made their way upriver, snickering.

How to Make Braided Loops

9:35 (Streaming)

9.9MB

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Braided Loops are an amazingly useful thing to have on hand, but unfortunately in order to have good ones, you need to make them yourself. I explain the technique needed in the video. I am much indebted to Dan Blanton for his excellent tutorials and advice on this rare and useful flyfishing skill.

For those not familiar with uses for braided loops, this may seem like an odd video. Let me explain. Braided loops are used to lock shooting heads - and complex spey lines - together. Although they look and sound very rough going through the guides, the knots are amazingly resilient, especially when made with 50# material. I use braided loops all the time now - including on the backs of my trout lines. As I explain in the video, the loop can be any size, and large loops are an excellent way to swiftly switch out lines on a reel on the go.

I hope you'll get a lot of out the video and if you have questions, as always, bring them to the Board.

How to Tie the Davy Knot

0:53 (Streaming)

2.5MB

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Davy Wotton is an Arkansas guide who hails from the UK. His "Davy Knot" is an excellent near-100% knot that works best for small flies on light tippet.

How to Tie John Wilson's Trout Crack

2:56 (Streaming)

6.6 MB

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John Wilson is a well respected and extremely successful Arkansas guide. His specialty is large trout on small flies - and his Trout Crack is among the best patterns ever invented for that purpose. For best results, use Trout Crack in sizes #14-20 with 6x or smaller tippet and the Davy Knot.

Trout Crack
Hook: #14-#20 Scud
Dubbing: Tan Antron
Shell: UTC Vinyl Rib (Small) - Tan or Brown
Thread: UTC Clear Mono

Please watch the video for specific tying intructions.

The Itinerant Angler Podcast

Episode One: Improve Your Flyfishing Pictures

33:30 (Push play to begin streaming)

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The first episode of The Itinerant Angler Podcast features me, Zach Matthews, narrating my slide presentation, "Streamside Photography: Improve Your Flyfishing Pictures." This isn't really the format I expect to continue to use in my podcasts and to a certain extent I'm just warming up, but as a first subject I think it suits and I hope you'll find it interesting. The show runs about a half hour, and to understand it, you'll need to follow along in the slideshow. Hit F11 in most browsers to make this slideshow full screen. This link will open the slideshow in a separate window:

Streamside Photography Slideshow

Casting Lesson #7: The Double Haul

1:43 7.6MB (Streaming)

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Few casts are as downright useful as the roll cast, but it is one area of casting that most people are weak in. The main tendency is to overpower the roll cast.

To make a basic roll cast, lay out some line on the water, then ease it back to you as you lift your rod. Your rod should stop when it is “cocked” over your shoulder, and the line should droop in a big capital D shape behind it. Roll casts rely on this amount of aerialized weight to load the rod, then the surface tension of the water to hold the energy of the cast down and direct it forward. One cannot roll cast on dry pavement; you will “blow your anchor” and all the energy will spill out behind you.

The first demonstration is, for many people, the easiest. The off-shoulder roll cast makes use of the caster’s deltoid and tricep muscles: frequently stronger than the forearm and wrist muscles most casts rely on. This is a good cast to get started on, but be warned that it is harder to aim and shape loops casting off shoulder. Your wrist muscles still must stop the rod in a short path of the tip, just like on a regular cast, and some people need practice to transfer energy from big muscles to small muscles with ease.

Loops are just as important on a roll cast as on a regular cast. Small loops go further. Small loops are caused by a short path of the tip of the rod, just like before. Stop your rod tip forcefully and aim the cast at a point on the water, just as if you were casting normally. Shooting line on the roll cast is possible, especially with more backcast room than seen in the video. Consult a spey caster about the “switch” cast to learn more.

This clip ends with a cast borrowed from spey casting: the Snake Roll. Snake rolls are really useful for turning a cast 90 degrees, as you can see. When a fly is on the dangle after the drift, try tracing a lower case letter “e” in the air, with the leg of the “e” being the start point. This cast works like flag twirlers with their ribbons. The line will follow the tip of the rod as the tip circles back around, aerializing enough weight to load the rod when it cocks back (the crossbar of the “e”) and lays out a traditional roll cast.

Casting Lesson #6: The Double Haul

0:51 3.7MB (Streaming)

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The Double Haul, in all likelihood, is what you’ve been waiting for. This is the clearest line of demarcation between the intermediate and the advanced caster, and it is being good with the double haul that sets good casters apart from great casters.

The Double Haul is more than a way to add distance to your cast. Get that out of your head right now. The Double Haul has two primary effects: #1 it removes any slack that may happen to be in the line; #2 it increases line speed.

Line speed is critical to developing a deeper load on the rod and to casting further. What the haul does is pull the line back to the angler. Whether in the forward or backward cast, pulling line in to you rapidly increases its speed. Thus, you should haul “down through the guides.” You want to hear the line snicking downwards just as the rod reaches its maximum point of load, usually right about when it goes by your ear in either direction. Hauls should begin short and sharp, speeding up to the stop just like the power phase of the cast. A haul mirrors the power application on the rod.

The trickiest part of the double haul is timing. This is where videoing yourself might really help you. The sharp forward tug should come before the rod has unloaded (that is, unbent), but not so early that it spikes the rod and drags the tip out of plane or causes a tailing loop. When you nail it for the first time, you will feel it, because the line will leap out of your hands into the shoot. Pause in that moment and visualize what you have done; then try to repeat.

Remember that the double haul has many applications besides distance. It can be used to add enough power to turn over an ugly cast. A third, quick yank, after the cast has lost power, will flip the fly over almost on top of itself – saving a cast that might have piled up. The Double Haul is especially useful for developing enough line speed to control a cast that starts out bad, either because the angler misapplied power or because he tried to pick up and carry too much line. Do not be afraid to use the double haul on short casts – it will help load a stiff modern rod. Most anglers who learn to double haul use both hands at all times, regardless of the distance of the cast, because of the added control.

Casting Lesson #5: Tip Tracking

0:40 3.8MB (Streaming)

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The number one element distinguishing the intermediate from the advanced caster is the caster's ability to control the path the tip of the rod takes.

This clip demonstrates the Belgian or elliptical cast and the over-the-shoulder or traditional cast. Both are effective means of presenting the fly and you should learn both.

The Belgian cast differs only in the backcast. Instead of moving over the shoulder, here the rod is brought back at approximately a forty-five degree angle. This allows the angler to adopt an "open stance," it allows him to keep his backcast below underlying trees, and it permits him to exploit a much longer stroke length for some low-power distance casting.

However, there are disadvantages. The rod must be rotated into the vertical plane at the end of the backcast. Pay attention to how the reel goes from face-up to face-sideways. Failure to complete this move will result in a sidearmed forward cast and a sideways loop, which will turn over to the side (an "easy curve" cast).

Also, the tendency is to draw the rod around the caster in an arc as the angler rotates his hips back forwards. This results in a circular path of the tip top, and imparts a sideways loop. In order to successfully cast in the Belgian style for distance, the angler must learn to have his "wrist on a swivel" - meaning the wrist and hand must maintain a straight line path on the forward cast regardless of the swinging motion of the caster's torso and arm. This is a style of casting that also imparts flawed habits that can be very hard to break.

Casting Lesson #4: Basic Hauls

1:07 4.6MB (Streaming)

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Casting Lesson #3: The Tailing Loop

0:51 3.8MB (Streaming)

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Casting Lesson #2: Loop Size

0:38 2.85MB (Streaming)

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Welcome to the Itinerant Angler Online Casting Lesson!

These lessons work best with Windows Media Player. For best results, review them in order and read the accompanying descriptions. If you have any casting questions, please feel free to bring them to the Bulletin Board or to email them to me here.

Casting Lesson #1: Original Sin

0:27 2.04MB (Streaming)

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