729 | Stillwater Fly Fishing Myths Debunked with Denny Rickards
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
Release Date: 03/10/2025
892 | Rainy’s Flies: Innovation, Foam Flies, and the Business of Fly Tying with Jesse Riding
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
#892 Show Notes: Sponsors: Most anglers never think about where their flies actually come from or how an idea turns into something hanging on a fly shop wall. In this episode, Jesse Riding of Rainy’s Flies takes us behind the scenes of commercial fly tying—from a small home operation started by his mother to one of the largest fly production companies in the world. We dig into how flies are designed, how patterns move into large-scale production, and why materials like foam changed modern fly fishing forever. Jesse also shares insights on fly design royalties, innovation ethics, and what...
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Choosing the Right Fly Rod with Gary Davis of San Juan Rod Works
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
Show Notes: Sponsors: https://wetflyswing.com/sponsors Gary founded San Juan Rod Works in 2020 out of his garage. Today, he’s moved into a dedicated showroom and education space in Rio Rancho, New Mexico — built around community, casting, and conservation. This episode walks through how to actually choose a fly rod without overcomplicating it — starting with species, then flies, then casting style.
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891 | Southern Oregon Steelhead Fishing with James Sampsel of Humble Heron Fly Fishing
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
#891 Show Notes: Presented by: , , , Sponsors: Steelhead don’t wait around long on the southern Oregon coast. They move with fresh water, travel tight to edges, and disappear as quickly as they show up. If you’re thinking about Southern Oregon steelhead fishing, timing and water conditions matter more than hero casts. In this episode, I sat down with James Sampsel of Humble Heron Fly Fishing to talk about winter steelhead on short coastal rivers, fall fish on the middle Rogue, and why Chinook on the swing isn’t always the plan. James lives in Port Orford,...
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890 | John Shewey on the History and Evolution of Spey Flies
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
890 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/890 Presented by: , , , If you’ve ever swung a fly for steelhead and wondered where that pattern really came from, this one goes deep. In this episode, we dig into the history and evolution of Spey flies with John Shewey. Show Notes:
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889 | Bristol Bay Salmon Management with Tim Sands of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
#889 Show Notes: Presented by: Tim Sands is a fisheries management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, focused on the Nushagak and Togiak districts of Bristol Bay. His primary job is managing commercial salmon fisheries — mostly sockeye — while also protecting Chinook, chum, pink, and coho moving through the system. We covered how sonar counts guide daily decisions, what happens when too many salmon return, and why king salmon are struggling statewide. Show Notes:
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888 | Panfish on the Fly with Bart Lombardo
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
885 Show Notes: Presented by: , , I sat down with Bart Lombardo from Panfish On The Fly to talk about bluegill, pumpkinseed, crappie, perch, and all the warmwater species that are often overlooked. We dig into why these fish are some of the best teachers in fly fishing, how they flatten the learning curve for new anglers, and why experienced anglers keep coming back to them. Show Notes:
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Seasonal Fly Fishing Across Eastern Idaho’s Most Iconic Rivers with Brian Berry from Scott Lake Lodge (Traveled #40)
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
#887 Show Notes: Presented By: Not every trout river fishes the same, and eastern Idaho might be one of the best places to see that firsthand. In this Traveled episode, we head back to Teton Valley Lodge with Brian Berry to explore how the South Fork Snake, Henry’s Fork, and the Teton River each bring a completely different challenge depending on flows, seasons, and how you approach the water from a drift boat. Brian walks us through how fishing changes throughout the year—from winter nymphing and streamer tactics to the explosive Mother’s Day caddis hatch and summer...
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GLD #17 | Spey Casting Techniques with Tim Arsenault of Bridge Outfitters - Great Lakes Dude Podcast
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
#886 Show Notes: Presented by: , , Sponsors: Some people fall into fly fishing. Others get pulled in hard and never really come back out. Tim Arsenault fits squarely in that second camp. From skipping school to chase salmon, to designing some of the most thoughtfully tuned Spey lines on the water, Tim’s journey is all about curiosity, obsession, and learning how things really work. In this episode, we dig deep into Spey casting techniques, steelhead rivers, line design, and what happens when you stop accepting off-the-shelf answers. Show Notes: ...
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885 | Rethinking Bamboo Fly Rod Materials for Modern Rods with Peer Doering-Arjes
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
885 Show Notes: Presented by: , , For more than a century, bamboo fly rods have been built from the same bamboo. It was accepted as tradition, rarely questioned, and almost never tested. Peer Doering-Arjes decided to test it. Instead of relying on history or feel, he approached bamboo like a scientific problem. He traveled through Vietnam and China, worked with botanists and universities, and ran controlled tests on hundreds of bamboo samples. He measured strength, flexibility, and durability the same way engineers test modern materials. What he found led to a different bamboo species...
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884 | How to Combine Tight Line Nymphing and Streamer Fishing with Brian DeLoach
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
#884 Show Notes: Presented By: , , , Sponsors: Progress in fly fishing often happens when you stop treating techniques as separate lanes and start combining them. In this episode, Brian DeLoach shares the hybrid system he’s developed by blending Euro nymphing principles with heavy jig-style streamer fishing to efficiently target predatory fish. Brian explains why stout leaders and heavier rods protect fish during the fight, why drift matters more than tippet visibility, and how changing retrieves—including dead drifts, jig motions, and active strips—can trigger aggressive eats. If...
info_outline#729 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/729
Presented By: Pescador on the Fly, Four Wheel Campers, TroutRoutes
Stillwater fishing has always been close to my heart, but it also comes with its fair share of challenges and misconceptions. I’m excited to have Denny Rickards on today’s episode because we'll debunk some stillwater fly fishing myths.
Denny is one of the most knowledgeable stillwater anglers out there, and he’s here to share his step-by-step approach to finding big fish in lakes. By the end of this episode, you’ll have a solid framework for what to do (and what not to do) when fishing stillwaters.
You're in for a big treat today because you'll learn how to know when fish are moving, when they're not, and when they're feeding. You're also going to find out why you should be casting to the edge of the lake, how to find the exact depth for holding fish, and why fish take on the pause.
Show Notes with Denny Rickards on Stillwater Fly Fishing Myths
It's been six years since we had Denny on Episode 064, where we covered lakes and the history of stillwater fishing. Today, we're going to do another round, and we'll also talk about some common stillwater fly fishing myths and challenges.
Matching the Hatch
03:13 - Denny said many anglers start their day by trying to match what they think the fish are eating. He said this practice of matching the hatch comes from our days when we first started fly fishing on streams and rivers. Denny points out that 90% of a trout’s food is below the surface, not on top.
Just because a fly isn’t working right away doesn’t mean it’s the wrong one. The real question is, did the fish even see it?
Finding Fish on a Lake
07:36 - Denny says there are two things you must figure out first: where the fish are and how deep they are. If you don’t, you’ll fall into the trial-and-error trap.
A common stillwater fly fishing myth is that a fish will hit your fly again if it missed the first time, but Denny’s never seen that happen. Instead of wasting casts on the same spot, Denny said to move. The angler who keeps moving will always outfish the one who stays put. The more fresh fish that see your fly, the better your chances.
The angler who keeps moving will always outfish the one who stays put. Denny Rickards
Where Do Trout Feed?
Denny said that no two lakes are the same. But trout feed in only two places where fish feed anywhere in the world: shoreline edges and the top foot of the surface. If the trout are not in any of those two spots, then that means they're under and not feeding.
If a trout is deeper than six feet, it's not eating; it's just sitting there like a brick. Some anglers think that because they catch fish at 10 feet, that’s where trout are feeding. But that’s a stillwater fly fishing myth. Trout move to eat, and they always go where food is most concentrated—shoreline edges and the surface.
Here's why:
Food gathers in specific areas. Insects emerge from the bottom and stop at the surface.
Shoreline edges are loaded with food because that’s where the proto plankton and zooplankton live.
Big fish don’t share space with small ones. They move shallow when there’s wind or darkness for cover.
18:47 - Most anglers think fish come up from behind and chase a fly. But that's a myth. Fish hit from the side. If you check where the hook lands, it's almost always in the corner of the mouth.
Here’s how to take advantage of that:
Show them the profile view. Fish moving along the shore want to see the whole fly—head, tail, color, and movement.
Don't strip too far. If you pull more than five feet, the fish won’t follow.
If you hook one, stay put. There’s probably more fish nearby.
The Truth About Where Trout Go
22:17 - Some say trout move way out deep when the sun gets high. That’s a myth. Why would a fish waste all that energy just to come back later? They don’t. They move just 8 to 10 feet out, right under where you are!
Why Water Temperature Matters
Water temperature is the number one thing that moves fish. Spring fishing can be tough in reservoirs because the water chemistry is out of sync. When lakes are drawn down in the fall, nutrients and oxygen levels take time to rebuild. That’s why the best fishing often doesn’t start until late summer or fall.
Here are some key things to remember:
In the spring, reservoirs that are drawn down don’t fish well.
Cold water and low oxygen levels stress fish, making them harder to catch.
Fish like a temperature range of 55-62°F for optimal feeding.
The top water layers heat up in warmer months, but fish stay at the cooler, oxygen-rich depths.
Why Fish Take on the Pause
31:29 - Fish don’t always hit when you're pulling. They strike when you pause. Here’s why:
As you retrieve, your fly moves up in the water. When you pause, it drops. That’s when the fish makes its move. But instead of chasing, it simply opens its mouth and sucks the fly in. Denny learned this trick firsthand when he went fishing on Hebgen Lake.
Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/729