Bass, Pike, Carp Fishing Podcasts

Description: This is a special backcast episode in that we also are posting an accompanying video over on the Orvis Fly-Fishing Video Podcast. Check it out wherever you get your podcasts and subscribe! Here is Tom's summary from when this ran in March of 2011: We have a very exciting podcast for you this week. Many of you have asked for a pike podcast, and we've delivered what I think is one of our best presentations in two parts. Part 1 is an audio interview I conduct with pike expert Drew Price, where he goes into great detail on where, when, and how to catch pike. Also in part 1, we have some tips in the Fly Box section on fishing CDC flies, choosing one rod for bass and trout, and how to get your nymph deep in small plunge pools. Part 2 is a video where we have tips on pike fishing (along with some shots of nice pike caught on a fly), courtesy of The New Fly Fisher TV show. I know I learned a ton from interviewing Drew and watching the video and can't wait to get at the pike this spring.

Description: This week’s podcast is about a relatively rare but also easily accessible fly-rod fish—the Guadalupe bass. I was lucky enough to get Alvin Dedeaux of All Water Guides to talk about these interesting members of the bass/sunfish family. They sound like the perfect fly-rod target, available year-round in central Texas. They are a native species, they eat a lot of small prey, they fight well, and they are readily accessible on smaller rivers on public water. In the Fly Box this week, we have the following questions: What setup do I need for fishing from shore in southern California salt water? Will my 8-weight Encounter rod work? What is fishing in Cuba like? How do I keep from foul-hooking steelhead? How do I play one or should I break it off? And is it ethical to take a photo of a foul-hooked fish? Why don’t more anglers use nets on smaller trout? What tips would you give a younger Tom if you could go back and give yourself advice? Should I use fluorocarbon leaders on small mountain streams? How should I clean my Ultralight Waders? Can you recommend one or two all-around adhesives for fly tying, for someone on a budget? What material is best for tails on parachute flies? Do you wrap shiny-side-up or shiny-side-down on parachute hackles? For bass, panfish, pike, stripers, and bigger trout water, should I buy a 6-weight or 8-weight fiberglass rod? What do I do to emergers to get them to float just in the surface film?

Description: When we think of largemouth bass, most of us either have a vision of a small farm pond or a big wide-open lake. But there are many excellent largemouth bass fisheries in rivers. And the advantage for a fly fisher is that these fish never get into a zone where they are tough to target with a fly rod because they are always in shallow water. Texas has a number of great largemouth rivers, and this week I pick the brain of Winston Cundiff of All Water Guides in Austin, Texas. He shares his techniques for catching these fish, the tackle he uses, and the fly patterns he favors. I think fly-rod bass anglers from around the country will get some solid tips on catching largemouths in moving water. In The Fly Box this week, we explore a number of interesting questions and suggestions: · How are fly hooks tempered, and does bending a small hook in your tying vise weaken it? · Should you approach spooky small-stream trout in still pools from upstream or downstream? · How to make a 4X leader into a 7X leader. · Why do I keep missing strikes when fishing streamers? · What are some tips for catching trout in rivers with high fishing pressure? · Can I fish a soft hackle as a dropper behind a dry fly? · How can plus-size anglers sneak up on trout? · What is a level line? · A tip from a listener on how to avoid pricking your finger on the hook when tying flies.

Description: This week I interview Captain Aron Cascone of Westerly, Rhode Island for his tips on finding stripers on foot along the New England Coast, and then choosing the right fly, the right tide, the right time of day, and the right retrieve. Aron is one of the fishiest guys I know and he’s spent a life on the water. I learned a number of good tips despite fishing for stripers with a fly rod for over 30 years—so I’m sure you’ll learn some good stuff as well. In the Fly Box this week we answer questions on fly reel choices, making a presentation so that the fly passes over the fish before the leader, suggested camera gear for fly anglers, how to keep cleats from coming out of your wading boots, and how to make a simple saltwater leader. Plus suggestions from listeners on lubricating knots with fly paste and how to carry a second rod to the river.

Description: I always enjoy doing podcasts with Dan Frasier. He’s always upbeat, often very funny, and is one of the most insightful carp anglers I know. He’s also the author of The Orvis Beginner’s Guide to Carp Flies https://www.orvis.com/p/the-orvis-beginners-guide-to-carp-flies/2ef7 , which I think is a misleading title because his book is THE authority on carp flies and is a favorite with many expert carp anglers. Dan talks about how potentially the best carp fishing of the year lies ahead of us, something I was not aware of. I always thought carp fishing was best in the heat of summer, but you’ll discover in this podcast that you have a lot more to look forward to—and Dan will tell you how and why. And of course we have an installment of the Fly Box, covering such esoteric topics as fishing with dogs, trout in Mexico, jumping trout, sinking lines for trout, and how to fish a difficult tail of a pool.

Description: This week’s podcast feature smallmouth expert Paul Caldwell with his tips on finding and catching stream smallmouths on a fly rod. Paul is a specialist in the Outfitter area in our Roanoke customer service department, and handles technical questions for guides, dealers, and all anglers who have questions on tackle—or just plain fishing questions. As you’ll hear, we have a talented staff in Virginia with first-rate anglers manning our phone, e-mail, and chat lines. In the Fly Box this week, we talk about spooky brook trout, how much pressure a small stream can take, how to wash your waders, why stocked trout have banged-up fins and jaws, how to decide angling tactics based on habitat or trout species, ways to test your hook-setting abilities, and how to play a trout with a long leader.

Description: In this week’s podcast, I interview Dan Frasier, noted fly-rod carp angler and writer, on tying flies for warm-water species. But don’t miss it if you are not a fly tier because he also gives lots of tips for catching carp, largemouths, smallmouths, pike, walleye, and even gar on the fly. And even if you don’t tie flies for warmwater species, he also offers great stuff on tying bigger baitfish and crayfish imitations in general. In The Fly Box, we range from where to where to go on your honeymoon to recommendations for my favorite brand of stepladder to other questions I can answer like what small-stream trout do in the winter, how to treat your flies in the off-season, clamp vs. pedestal vises, and much more.

Description: This week we have what I feel is one of our best podcasts ever—an interview with Colby Trow of Mossy Creek Fly Shop on his advanced tactics for catching smallmouth bass. I learned a ton in this podcast and it makes me want to head south to chase some right now. And in this extra-long podcast there are plenty of fly box questions: Using a stomach pump on trout, how to keep your indicator from sliding, whether bright silver and gold beads are a thing of the past, how to find secondary feathers on a goose wing, and good substitutes for deer hair on a Comparadun wing.

Description: This week, after a special introduction from my son who visited the studio this week, two self-described carp addicts talk all about carp fishing, from finding them to presentation tactics to tackle and flies. I interview my co-worker Tim Daughton, who is by far the most experienced carp fly fisherman on our staff--to put it more precisely he's obsessed with carp fishing and will pass up trout fishing most times to chase carp. We've had lots of requests to do more podcasts on these very challenging fish, available to most people in urban and rural locations throughout the world. In the fly box, we ramble from how much to spend for a fly rod to when to replace a fly line to fishing in foul weather to a few steelhead tips. And a couple more.

Description: Tom is out of town for a couple weeks, so he asked Pete Kutzer of our Ask a Fly Fishing Instructor video series and Brett Ference from our Double Barrel Podcast series to sit in. We asked our Facebook and Twitter fans to suggest topics for them to cover and received over 130 suggestions! Here are the topics they chose:

• How should a beginner go about choosing waders?
• Tips for fishing from a float tube
• Is 7 years old too young to start a child fly fishing?
• When choosing a new rod, what should I consider?
• How do you best hide new fishing gear purchases from your spouse?

We also had A LOT of questions on fishing warm water, so Brett and Pete spend a lot of time on this topic.

Description: We have a very exciting podcast for you this week. Many of you have asked for a pike podcast, and we've delivered what I think is one of our best presentations in two parts. Part 1 is an audio interview I conduct with pike expert Drew Price, where he goes into great detail on where, when, and how to catch pike. Also in part 1, we have some tips in the Fly Box section on fishing CDC flies, choosing one rod for bass and trout, and how to get your nymph deep in small plunge pools. Part 2 is a video where we have tips on pike fishing (along with some shots of nice pike caught on a fly), courtesy of The New Fly Fisher TV show, the best how-to fly fishing show on TV right now (it's on World Fishing Network and some PBS stations). View the Part 2 video here: www.orvisnews.com/flyfishing/flyfishingforpike.aspx I know I learned a ton from interviewing Drew and watching the video and can't wait to get at the pike this spring.

Description: Tom talks a lot, and it finally caught up with him He has a bit of larygitis this week, but takes one for the team and answers a phone request for a largemouth bass episode. In the fly box: Do fish see color? We also take a phone request for a series on fishing different regions of the United States and beyond.

Description: Countless requests for this one! They fight hard, they're fussy, and they are getting more and more popular. Tom talks fly fishing for carp.

Description: As water starts to warm up around the country, bass fishing is heating up, too. In the most recent episode of the Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast, Tom gives seven tips on catching more smallmouth bass including his favorite fly.

Description: Tom takes another request from our Facebook page and gives some great tips on fishing for bass and panfish.