Troutbitten Podcasts

[afishinado]

I've been into listening to podcasts from the Troutbitten site lately.

Domenick Swentosky, the owner of the site is from the State College area and is joined by other Central PA FFers and one guy from Montana to get a western perspective on fishing.

While these guys often use mono rigs for nymphing, which is not popular with some on here, they also employ other nymphing styles as well all the other FFing techniques.

I find them to give solid info about many subjects but never name any waters in PA, or anywhere else for that matter.

The site also features many written articles as well as videos which are excellent.

The podcasts are well done, enjoyable to listen to, and often very informative while being entertaining at the same time.

The best way I can describe the podcasts is it's like sitting with your friends and listening to their back and forth with each other while talking fly-fishing.



Here is a podcast on small stream fishing that I really enjoyed:

https://podcast.troutbitten.com/1853651/12841990-what-to-love-about-small-stream-fishing

 

[DomR]

Completely agree. I don't fish the way they do, will probably never use a mono-rig, and use gear they wouldn't touch either (glass, bamboo, medium action graphite) but I love the podcast and site. Their beer recommendations are good as well.

 

[afishinado]

Completely agree. I don't fish the way they do, will probably never use a mono-rig, and use gear they wouldn't touch either (glass, bamboo, medium action graphite) but I love the podcast and site. Their beer recommendations are good as well.

For the most part, I fish a lot like and agree on most of the gear and tackle they use on Troutbitten. Right now use a hybrid tight-line nymph rig with fly line, but after reading/hearing so much about the mono rig, I'm planning to give it a try this winter/spring.

 

[Fish Sticks]

I have arrived at a lot of the same conclusions about night fishing over the years as them and learned some new interesting things from their night fishing series

 

[wgmiller]

For the most part, I fish a lot like and agree on most of the gear and tackle they use on Troutbitten. Right now use a hybrid tight-line nymph rig with fly line, but after reading/hearing so much about the mono rig, I'm planning to give it a try this winter/spring.

I gave a full mono rig a shot, but just couldn't seem to warm up to the feel of mono in my hands over a nymphing fly line. Even though nymphing fly line diameters pale in comparison to regular fly lines, they still feel more substantial than straight mono. Perhaps you'll be able to adapt to it.

 

[silverfox]

I also went full mono rig for a while. It's insanely effective, but so is dynamite. I like flintlocks too.

Several years ago I liked fishing a small, tight quarters limestoner for large brown fish. I was doing the mono rig-tight-line-nymphing thing at the time, but these fish hung out in thick cover and liked big chunky sculpin patterns. I dug out an old oddball size/wt fly rod (7' 4/5wt) and strung up mono on it.

These sculpins I was using are HEAVY. Sculpin helmet + a bunch of lead wraps and sometimes splitshot on top of that. I could shoot those things a quarter mile w/ the mono rig on that short/stout rod. Unspool a bunch of mono, pull the sculpin up to about 8 inches out of the tip-top of the rod, wind up and sling.

Then it occurred to me that I was basically using a spinning rod and lures. I felt like I lost sight of things. Got too wrapped up in the catching part. To each his own though. If ya like putting up numbers, slinging mono is certainly one of the most effective ways to bring troot to the net.

 

[Nocktavius]

I hope someday to have fished enough that I can be in the “I used to fish XX but I found it too effective so I went back to throwing YY bc it’s more sporting” camp.

 

[Broodstock]

I’ve learned a lot from troutbitten as a resource- articles and podcasts. I went from fly line and indicator nymphing/ dries to a thin euro line/leader to a full on mono rig. Now I can choose which method I want, and adjust as needed. I still prefer fly line and 7.5 foot tapered poly leader for most small stream fishing, and tightline nymph larger water. As a Pittsburgher I always get a kick out of Bill Dell’s yinzer accent and the ribbing they give him.

 

[wgmiller]

I still prefer fly line and 7.5 foot tapered poly leader for most small stream fishing, and tightline nymph larger water.

Couldn’t agree more. It’s hard to beat a 7 1/2-8’ rod for small stream fishing. Tightlinging has a time and place and it’s definitely not on small streams.

Silverfox - it sounds like you unlocked the CV limestoner “secret”! 😉

 

[silverfox]

Couldn’t agree more. It’s hard to beat a 7 1/2-8’ rod for small stream fishing. Tightlinging has a time and place and it’s definitely not on small streams.

Silverfox - it sounds like you unlocked the CV limestoner “secret”! 😉

Yeah. It's kind of a hollow victory though. There's no room to play the fish and it's basically just horsing them out of log jams. It was fun figuring it out for a while. Not CV btw.

 

[afishinado]

I also went full mono rig for a while. It's insanely effective, but so is dynamite. I like flintlocks too.

Several years ago I liked fishing a small, tight quarters limestoner for large brown fish. I was doing the mono rig-tight-line-nymphing thing at the time, but these fish hung out in thick cover and liked big chunky sculpin patterns. I dug out an old oddball size/wt fly rod (7' 4/5wt) and strung up mono on it.

These sculpins I was using are HEAVY. Sculpin helmet + a bunch of lead wraps and sometimes splitshot on top of that. I could shoot those things a quarter mile w/ the mono rig on that short/stout rod. Unspool a bunch of mono, pull the sculpin up to about 8 inches out of the tip-top of the rod, wind up and sling.

Then it occurred to me that I was basically using a spinning rod and lures. I felt like I lost sight of things. Got too wrapped up in the catching part. To each his own though. If ya like putting up numbers, slinging mono is certainly one of the most effective ways to bring troot to the net.

^ That's more like "chuck & duck" casting. Back-in-the-day many of the old-timers (old to me at the time) would use fly rods with mono line and bait fish like above.

That's really not what we are talking about. Mono replaces fly line to eliminate the weight and sag using fly line, but the casting and fishing pretty much doesn't change.

It's really short distance fishing since the idea is to hold the line (sighter) above the surface. Fishing 20-25' away is the norm with a 30' +/- would be the max distance.

 

[silverfox]

^ That's more like "chuck & duck" casting. Back-in-the-day many of the old-timers (old to me at the time) would use fly rods with mono line and bait fish like above.

That's really not what we are talking about. Mono replaces fly line to eliminate the weight and sag using fly line, but the casting and fishing pretty much doesn't change.

It's really short distance fishing since the idea is to hold the line (sighter) above the surface. Fishing 20-25' away is the norm with a 30' +/- would be the max distance.

Right. I was fully immersed in the mono rig (as described by Dom @ troutbitten) at the time. 11ft 2wts n all. The boat anchor sculpins on a short 5wt shenanigans were "inspired" by the contact nymphing approach.

 

[wgmiller]

Not CV btw.

You mean there's actually limestoners other than in the CV?!?!?! 😱