2 Guys And A River

Scant attention is paid to fly care and presentation. So much of the focus is on fly rods, reels, waders, boots – and every other fly fishing gadget known to humankind. But without the fly itself, there is no catching. In this episode, we concoct a list of aphorisms – short witty statements about how … Continue reading "S4:E45 Fly Care and Presentation" The post S4:E45 Fly Care and Presentation appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fly fishing tends to move from simplicity to complexity. You start out learning to cast. And you have one fly rod. You pick up a couple of attractor patterns. And you have one fly box. You purchase a vest, waders, and wading boots. And head to the river. Over time, however, you wind up with … Continue reading "S4:E44 Simplifying Your Fly Fishing Experience" The post S4:E44 Simplifying Your Fly Fishing Experience appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Spring dry fly fishing is one of the most delightful stretches of the fly fishing year. While there are other hatches, the two most dominant in most streams and rivers, of course, are Blue Winged Olives (BWOs) and Caddis. In this episode, we discuss patterns that we like, the use of an emerger with a … Continue reading "S4:E43 Spring Dry Fly Fishing" The post S4:E43 Spring Dry Fly Fishing appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

It was a great day for skiing in late winter – a fresh foot of powder blanketed the landscape. But we were fishing. Recently, we got up before dawn and drove almost four hours to fish for a few hours on a stretch of the Blue River west of Madison, Wisconsin. The snow was fresh, … Continue reading "S4:E42 One Fine Winter Day on the Blue" The post S4:E42 One Fine Winter Day on the Blue appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fly fishing is truly global, if for no other reason than most fly fishing products are created or assembled in other parts of the world. In this episode, we interview Peter Stitcher, who, along with his wife Jessica, is the co-founder of Ascent Fly Fishing in the Denver area. Peter designed his company with purpose, … Continue reading "S4:E41 Fair Labor Practices for Fly Fishing Products" The post S4:E41 Fair Labor Practices for Fly Fishing Products appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

If we had it to do over again, we’d do a few things differently. In this episode, we ask the question, “What would we tell our 20-year-old fly fishing selves?” One answer is that we’d have spent fewer years as do-it-your-selvers. That is, we’d have pursued more fly fishing instruction in our 20s. We’d be … Continue reading "S4:E40 What We’d Tell Our 20-Year-Old Fly Fishing Selves" The post S4:E40 What We’d Tell Our 20-Year-Old Fly Fishing Selves appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

For many fly fishers, fishing is more than the simple act of catching a fish. It’s not merely the transaction of hooking and landing a trout or salmon or bonefish. In this episode, we reflect on several quotes from Nick Lyon’s wonderful book, “Spring Creek.” The world of fly fishing has a few things to … Continue reading "S4:E39 Nick Lyons, Fly Fishing and the Good Life" The post S4:E39 Nick Lyons, Fly Fishing and the Good Life appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fly fishing wading boots are the undisputed, most important safety purchase you’ll make for the sport. There are felt soles, rubber soles, rubber soles with studs, and rubber soles with aluminum bars. In this episode, we discuss our philosophy of wading boots, given the number of days we fish each year – and make a … Continue reading "S4:E38 Our Simple Guide to Fly Fishing Wading Boots" The post S4:E38 Our Simple Guide to Fly Fishing Wading Boots appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Spring is no where to be seen in the Chicago area. Winter is still roaring like a lion. If spring comes in like a lion as well, then we’re toast. But at least the days are getting longer, and inevitably, spring fly fishing will be in full swing. In this episode, we interview Peter Stitcher, … Continue reading "S4:E37 Peter Stitcher on Spring Fly Fishing" The post S4:E37 Peter Stitcher on Spring Fly Fishing appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Trout Unlimited is a distributed army of passionate conservationists, united by the mission to save the coldwater fisheries of North America. Recently, the Lee Wulff Trout Unlimited chapter invited us to share the story of 2 Guys and a River at one of their monthly meetings. This episode is an edited version of that wonderful … Continue reading "S4:E36 Live at the Lee Wulff TU Chapter" The post S4:E36 Live at the Lee Wulff TU Chapter appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

The best fly fishing advice comes in bits and pieces over a long period of time. One accrues advice. In this episode, the second in a series, we offer up some some bits of fly fishing advice that has helped us catch more fish. Some of this will be obvious to many of you, but … Continue reading "S4:E35 Best Fly Fishing Advice, Part 2" The post S4:E35 Best Fly Fishing Advice, Part 2 appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Steve has fished in Alaska, but other than that, neither of us has gone on a fly fishing trip outside North America. We’ve recently been wondering if it is time. But where to start? We decided to interview Toby Swank, who owns one of the premier fly fishing shops in Bozeman, Montana, and has conducted … Continue reading "S4:E34 Taking an Exotic Fly Fishing Trip" The post S4:E34 Taking an Exotic Fly Fishing Trip appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fly fishing goals may seem like a bit of overkill when thinking about the new year. But life often crowds out the good, so setting some fly fishing goals helps us focus on what, truly, is most important. In this episode, we discuss our goals for 2019, which includes more time on the water (with … Continue reading "S4:E33 Setting Fly Fishing Goals for the New Year" The post S4:E33 Setting Fly Fishing Goals for the New Year appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Success on the river comes in part from knowing your river. There’s an intimacy that forms between the fisher and the river: You know the primary runs on the stretch you fish and the lies where the fish hang out and the time of year it fishes best. In this episode, we offer seven questions … Continue reading "S4:E32 7 Questions for Knowing Your River" The post S4:E32 7 Questions for Knowing Your River appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Our most-read post on this site is the one Steve wrote on “The 10 Commandments of Wading.” Using the phrase “wading commandments” is a good way to talk about a subject that carries with it the great risk of the sport. In this episode, we revisit each of the ten commandments, adding in comments from … Continue reading "S4:31 Wading Commandments Revisited" The post S4:31 Wading Commandments Revisited appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Have you ever had one of those days on the river that transported you to a different dimension? Not every day of fly fishing is a day of mystique, but through the years, we’ve had special moments that are burned into our memory. It’s not merely about catching lots of fish or hooking into a … Continue reading "S4:E30 Days of Mystique on the River" The post S4:E30 Days of Mystique on the River appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

A day on the river always comes with a series of decisions that can make or break your fly fishing day. In this episode, we identify a few of those and discuss how we go about moving from decision to decision. For example, one nagging question is, “How quickly should I move to something else … Continue reading "S4:E29 Decisions that Make or Break Your Fly Fishing Day" The post S4:E29 Decisions that Make or Break Your Fly Fishing Day appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

The East Gallatin River would look like a piece of ribbon candy, if you viewed it from a drone. It’s a slow moving creek that for the most part runs through private property north of Bozeman, Montana. One fall day, Steve found himself in the middle of a BWO hatch. In this episode, Dave interviews … Continue reading "S4:E28 One Fine Day on the East Gallatin River" The post S4:E28 One Fine Day on the East Gallatin River appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

The best fly fishing advice often comes with a small dose of humiliation. Or at least with a palm to the forehead, “Duh!” That’s how we felt when a guide recently said to us, “Why are you trying to cast harder into the wind. It won’t improve your distance. Your mechanics need to be the … Continue reading "S4:E27 Best Fly Fishing Advice, Part 1" The post S4:E27 Best Fly Fishing Advice, Part 1 appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.

Fly fishing burnout seems like a malady for someone with too much time on his or her hands. But there can be too much of a good thing. Some have taken time away from the sport, others have stopped fly fishing altogether. In this episode, we grapple with the topic and try to frame the … Continue reading "S4:E26 Avoiding Fly Fishing Burnout" The post S4:E26 Avoiding Fly Fishing Burnout appeared first on 2 Guys and A River.