The Good Fly Fishing Guide Life

I’m a fly fishing guide.

I’m not licensed or insured. I’m not formally endorsed by any  fly fishing brands. I’m not listed in an online directory or affiliated with a shop. You’re not going to see a section on this website with  random smiling sports holding trophy fish.

I do have experience, though. Not only have I guided professionally in the past with all the aforementioned bona fides; I have the kind of resume that matters most. There are the years of working at each and every aspect of fly fishing. Through trial and error, I feel like I have a functional grasp on the basics of angling. Equally as important, I can communicate some of the fundamental principles of the sport at a level that my clients can understand.

I know when clients can’t make the cast that they need to make. So, it is my job to get them into position so that we can then work through that together. I try to ensure that there is still excitement when they miss a rising fish, because we talk about how fooling trout is more than half the battle. I can help them feel good about themselves if they don’t allow slack when a bass jumps and throws the hook. We can hopefully laugh about it, since I will share that it is a problem I have as well. Most critical, I know when my clients are tired and just need a break.

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Podcast Ep. 344: Panfish Fly Gear, Part II

You can catch so many panfish with the flies in your trout fly box. So many. In fact, give me a well stocked trout fly box over a typical panfish fly assortment any day.

But… having some of those poppers helps. And make sure there are a few leggy nymphs. Oh, and a couple of crayfish-looking streamers.

Today I round out a two-part series of panfish fly fishing gear ideas. They’re such a fun group of fish to pursue, and for many that fun is amplified when you have gear that works and works well. If we’re honest? Rods, reels, and flies are fun.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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VIDEO: Believe in Good Fly Fishing Stories

David Coggins does something really impressive with The Believer. He makes a globe-hopping, non-stop year of fly fishing come across as relatable.

Whether your travel schedule is thick or thin, this 2024 title is sure to capture your interest. Coggins is a wordsmith, and his writing is just as compelling as the angling adventures he describes.

In a time when the fly fishing adventure narrative is well-saturated, it is worth celebrating works that are objectively good. The formula is tried and true, but the execution is often what sets  books apart. On the heels of The Optimist, The Believer and its stories deserves your attention.

Watch what else I have to say about the book, and find out where you can pick it up, below:

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Sunfish Synchronicity

Some folks are convinced that the Loch Ness monster  is just a sturgeon or a catfish. Such people are plagued by the chronic condition of being unimaginative. Devoid of whimsy or wonder, they suffer from the kind of hyperrealism that leads them to tell children that Santa is made up. And, I’m confident they begin their statement with a condescending “actually…”

That said, if Nessie was and is a catfish I’d want to catch it.

This  ambition has nothing to do with busting myths or slaying dragons like a 21st century St. George. It is all about catching that fish. The outlier. The exception. The anomaly. I’m all in on catching the fish with the reputation.  There are certainly larger catfish elsewhere. There are plenty of larger and harder fighting fish, for that matter. But catching the (a?) Loch Ness monster on a fly? There is something about pursuing the eccentric that aligns so well with the enterprise of fly fishing.

Case in point: I’ll spend an inordinate amount of time targeting certain panfish.

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Podcast Ep. 343: Panfish Fly Gear, Part I

You absolutely can (and should) fish for panfish with whatever gear you own. Fish for trout, stripers, and peacock bass  with whatever gear you already own, for that matter.

Of course, you’ll have a slightly easier and more enjoyable time if you have equipment that is either specifically designed for the particular pursuit or within a relatively appropriate spectrum. And while panfish  have a low bar for angling entry, a focused effort benefits from some wise gear choices.

In this first part of a two-part  podcast, I explore what some of the considerations should be as you pick fly fishing gear for bluegill, sunfish, and their friends.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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VIDEO: The Two Fly Fishing Books You’ve Seen Everywhere

Coffee table books have a reputation; so too do books that are ubiquitous. How could something so popular and so prevalent be that good?

Well, the late Chris Santella did some great work in his 50 Places to Fly Fish Before You Die series. The two books, which respectively came out in 2004 and 2011, catalog 100 locations from around the globe into which anyone would gladly wade. As you read these titles, you’ll realize that the information is not a copy/paste from Wikipedia. The intel comes right from some of the most well respected voices in angling over the last 50 years.

Both books are worth reading, either in long sessions or in 100 bits and pieces.

Watch what else I have to say about the books, and find out where you can pick it up, below:

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Dark Skies Fly Fishing: Summer 25

When I was asked if I would be willing to contribute to a Mid-Atlantic based fly fishing magazine it was a quick yes.

Growing up fishing Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania, I ravenously consumed every page of region-specific periodicals. These free magazines were an essential part of any stop at the fly shop. It was encouraging and exciting to read about waters that I fished and waters that I could fish. The advertisers were largely local, as were the contributors.  The big, glossy fly fishing publications in the rack were great. The stacks of angling “zines” next to the door or the checkout counter were better.

Dark Skies Fly Fishing is an online magazine that carries on the tradition of these great titles. But there are some 21st century perks: ads have links, it fits on your phone or tablet, and rising material costs aren’t a limiting factor. By being primarily digital, their costs are drastically reduced (you can pay for a print version if you choose).

I’m glad to be slated for  a number of their 2025 issues alongside a pool of talented writers. In the summer edition, you can read their words on fishing historical spots in New York, chasing trophy stripers, and tying the spectacular Shenk’s Minnow. Also, you can read what I have to say about fishing in Boston and a recent book on Leonardo Da Vinci.

Interested? See it all below:

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Podcast Ep. 342: Retrieve the Fly… Slower

This episode drifted. And while I’d like to say that is a clever fly fishing pun, it wouldn’t be super appropriate because this week we’re talking about retrieving flies.

The original outline was about all kinds of retrieves, but as I talked about what was most effective I kept returning to one simple truth: slower retrieves usually catch more trout.

Fast retrieves do have a place in the skill set of the angler. But when you’re fishing to animals that are used to seeing frogs, minnows, and crayfish do one thing over and over again there is wisdom in sticking with the routine. I discuss that, along with some tips on what to do with your hands and what not to do with your fly rod.

Listen to the episode below, or on your favorite podcast app.

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VIDEO: Do You Know How & Why Trout Rise?

Trout are  essentially simple creatures. They look for food, they look for security, and (once a year) they look for love.

That said, there is some nuance in how and why they do what they do. Even something as seemingly straightforward as a rise tells the angler a lot more than “the fish is feeding on the surface.”

Vincent Marinaro’s In the Ring of the Rise is many things. Foremost, it served as a deep-dive into the particulars of surface feeding behaviors of fish. The research he conducted in the mid-70’s was remarkable, and the lessons learned have been helping anglers for half a century.

Watch what else I have to say about the book, and find out where you can pick it up, below:

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A Memorial, 2025

For nearly  250 years Americans have fought to gain or maintain the ground of liberty. For the first handful of conflicts that our nation faced, men laid down their lives inch after inch with the prospect of a freedom long in the distance. In our lifetimes, and the lifetimes of our fathers and grandfathers, men died in the breach to prevent the ceding of these precious inches.

This is why Memorial Day is worth observing.

Grilling, baseball, and fly fishing might seem trivial in the grand scheme of things. Then again, these are the joyful pursuits of a civilization benefitting from secured freedom. It is hard to imagine the same figures who made the ultimate sacrifice desiring their descendants living lives characterized by solemnity and austerity.

It is also a great reminder that the trials and conflicts that we are presently enduring within the context of our culture are only  possible because of liberty. Hyperbole is a well in which we frequently drop our buckets. We would do well to remember that the incessant squabbling and criticism  of doesn’t happen in fascist, communist, or other totalitarian settings. This isn’t to say that there arnen’t causes for concern. It is a reminder that our concerns can be voiced; that they can be considered with hope.

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