890 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/890

Presented by: Togiak River Lodge, Golden Fly Shop, On DeMark Lodge, Toyota Pacific

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: https://wetflyswing.com/890

#889 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/889

Presented by: Togiak River Lodge

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: https://wetflyswing.com/889

885 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/888

Presented by: Montana Fly Fishing Lodge, Drifthook Fly Fishing, Togiak River Lodge

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: https://wetflyswing.com/888

#887 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/887

Presented By: Yellowstone Teton Territory - Visit Idaho

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 dry-dropper fishing. We dig into boat positioning, reading subtle holding water on technical rivers like the Henry's Fork, and why staying flexible with river choices is often the key to a successful trip in eastern Idaho.

#887 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/887

#886 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/886

Presented by: TroutRoutes, Jackson Hole Fly Company, Smitty's Fly Box

Sponsors: https://www.wetflyswing.com/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: https://wetflyswing.com/886

885 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/885

Presented by: Fly Fish with me Utah, Jackson Hole Fly Company, TroutRoutes

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 that is lighter, easier to work with, and especially interesting for modern and two-handed bamboo rods.

Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/885

#884 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/884

Presented By: Smitty's Fly Box, Montana Fly Fishing Lodge, FishHound Expeditions, TroutRoutes

Sponsors: https://wetflyswing.com/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 you've ever wondered how to fish streamers more efficiently without sacrificing control, this episode gives you a complete system to try.

#884 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/884

#883 Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/883

Presented by: Patagonia

If you've ever wondered why some anglers seem to always be in the right spot at the right time, this episode digs straight into that idea. In this conversation with Simon Chu, we talk about New Zealand fly fishing, spring creeks in Montana, and why slowing down and walking often reveal what boat fishing hides.

Simon spends his seasons split between hemispheres, guiding and testing gear in some of the most demanding conditions on the planet. We get into Patagonia waders, sight fishing big browns, and the mindset shift that comes from hunting individual fish instead of covering water.

Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/883