Another great video Dom! One of the rivers I fish has the green algae/moss and when tight lining it can be a pain taking off the green stuff all of the time, but patience is the key.
I seriously love that you show what fishing is really like in your videos! You capture the serenity and the beauty of being alone on the water! I also love that you show all the fish, not just the hogs! I get frustrated with some UA-cam videos that only show 20 in trout, and that's just not reality
Thanks. I appreciate that you, and really most viewers here, get that. In all honestly, if someone's catching whiskeys every time they go out, it's a set up, or it's a very unusual location. To us, stocked trout, club trout, fed fish, etc. just don't mean as much as a wild trout. Day to day trout fishing is rarely about big fish. I do like chasing big ones, but that's it's own thing. And I sincerely believe that good tactics are what catch big trout, so we can refine them on any rive, and then we're ready when we encounter bigger fish. Thanks again for your support.
Thank you for the Time you spend making your fantastic vidios I’ve been fly fishing and tying for over 20 years and always learn something from them. Thank you
I appreciate this series. The links to the articles is helpful and hearing your thought process is fantastic. I’m hoping to get out tomorrow and try to apply some of these concepts then! Thank you.
Fantastic film!! River knows how to warm his paws by lying on the bank with his feet tucked under his body. My Aussie loves the water! He is well behaved. But too much drive to take fishing. He would ruin every hole and chase anything that moves in the woods.
Enjoyed the video. Great job and thanks for talking us along for the ride. On your mono rig is it the standard rig you use for most of your tight line nymph fishing? Is this setup all a single weight mono to a tippet ring, where you charge your tippet? Or are you stepping down from a heavier butt section? Thanks Dom
Thanks. Yes, the Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig is what I use most because it allows me to get better drifts than thinner leaders. Gotta cast it though. Can't lob it and expect the best drifts. That's why I pointed it out in this video. I guess I preach that a lot. No, it's not just a straight line to the tippet ring. Not at all. There are some very important elements that happen before the tippet ring. Too much to get into here. I have literally hundreds of resources for you about it though. Start here: Design and Function of the Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig troutbitten.com/2021/03/14/design-and-function-of-the-troutbitten-standard-mono-rig/ Remember, it's a hybrid system, built for taking combining the advantages of multiple different styles into one. Works great. Gotta take time to understand it and learn it. Have fun out there.
Beautiful work, gents! Sure makes a feller homesick for the PA home waters. AK is nice, but we’re walking on top of the water pretty much from Nov to April.
THANKS very much. Also, year round wild trout feeding is one of the reasons we live here. It's also why they're so damn picky. No rush to eat, honestly.
@ it’s a gem! I got back this summer and had a great time fishing North/Central PA with the bro in law, but haven’t been back for winter fishing in a few years. Love the connection to the home state that the podcast and videos provides.
I was fishing a local stream today and had similar results. I caught a few on a #14 hot pink slush egg. Go figure. I got a couple in the slower, deeper stuff using a small indicator. I had some pretty nasty wind to deal with blowing upstream that was messing with my drifts. Adapt, improvise, and overcome. I ended up with 5 in about 2 hours. All wild rainbows. It was a good day.
Dom, great video and I was out with a buddy this morning. Egg was hot the entire session. Unfortunately, they heavily stocked upstream and a bunch of them came downstream and they were everywhere and hungry. Had fun catching them, but, sure missed the wild browns that I think got the heck out of there.
Happy holiday and thanks for sharing! I took quite a few mental notes… Fishing through the winter months presents SO many challenges. I have found that a small drop/rise in temperature or water really can affect the outcome, so I keep a detailed journal to help me remember what happens during these times. I’m 100% with you on the use of light tippets - I only go super light when the fly dictates. I’ve noticed a difference in catch rate for sure. Lastly, is the green mono that you’re using here just a green version of the Sufix mono or is it something else? Thanks! 🎣 PS. Your pup is the best… 🐶
Thanks very much. Here's an article about hi vis butt sections for leader builds: troutbitten.com/2024/02/15/hi-vis-leader-material-for-mono-rigs/ In short, I don't think they're a great idea, but they're useful once in a while. I only use hi vis for filming. I knew when I started this Fish and Film series that it would create confusion between what I say and what I do. But if I wasn't filming, I'd use a Chameleon butt section for sure. The green in this video is OPST Lazar Line, 30 lb. Remember that poundage means nothing for our purposes. It's diameter and stiffness that matters. The 30 Lazar Line is slightly thinner than Chameleon 20 lb. Cheers.
@ Oh, I see. Understandable. I have plenty of Chameleon on hand. I thought that maybe you were using it as a substitute for that pricey French/Spanish (?) mono?!
The Pierre Sempe? Not a fan of that kind of line. It's stretchy, limp and abrades easily. Also doesn't come in diameters thick enough to build a Standard Mono Rig from. Cheers.
This is for Becky working in the background 🤣 Keeping things going, keeping everyone else alive and the floors dry after the waders hang wherever.. Just enough for a coffee and a muffin maybe.. lol
River deciding to wade across in front of you gave me the perfect opportunity to ask something I've been meaning to ask you as someone who also fishes with his dog. I leave the dog home more in the winter (even though I feel terrible because he can always tell when I'm going fishing without him) because I worry about him getting frostbitten. At what sort of temps do you worry about the dog especially if he gets wet at all? Mine's a bernese/poodle mix with a pretty robust coat. Great river dog but I just worry about his paws in these cold temps as he's far too stupid to know enough to stay dry on the bank.
Cool question. I guess I don't worry much about things like that. I had a Border Collie named Dylan. My Dad always said I should be worried about rattlesnakes biting his paw. Fair. That could happen. He also said Dylan might poke a stick into his eye or break his leg in a groundhog hole because he ran through the woods so fast. Also fair. But that never happened either. And I would have missed SO many memories with Dylan by being too cautious. Your point is also fair. And I'm not educated enough to answer it scientifically. I can just tell you that Dylan fished with me in conditions down into the low teens on a regular basis, with never any trouble. Animals are built differently than we are. Dylan was a tougher dog than River, though. Ha. River whines when he's uncomfortable. Dylan just ran laps and warmed up. On those coldest days, though, I would often carry Dylan to the other side of the creek if he needed to cross early on. Neither of my dogs have ever waded much without a good purpose. River was unusual in this video.
Hey Dom, just wondering if you ever throw wet flies as if they were dry flies, just in the film. I've been getting into wet fly stuff after getting skunked with dries for pressured fish.
Sure. You're talking about using wet flies as floating emergers, or just under the film. Here's a podcast about all that: troutbitten.com/2024/05/05/podcast-whats-the-deal-with-emergers-s11-ep4/ Candidly, you don't need wet flies over pressured fish, you may just need a perfect dead drift -- no motion, no tension, nice long, natural drifts on a low riding dry fly. I'd rather do that than throw a wet fly like you're talking about because you'd give up all visibility. Personally, I have no interest in fishing dry flies when I can't see them -- takes the fun of the whole thing away, and you never really know if you're getting a true drift. If I do use a wet fly for rising trout, then I'm much more likely to trail it off a real dry fly that I can see. We talk about all that in the podcast I linked to above. Make sense? Dom
Dom any thoughts on why all the green algae in this area as of late? This section is amazing and a huge reason I got hooked on fly fishing a few years back, but the last year or two the growth even in the shoulder seasons has sadly made it almost unfishable for me. Thanks for sharing, beautiful video!
I agree. It's become it's own very unique challenge. I've fished this river since the mid-nineties, and it's gotten more technical. In truth, I think it's just been a lot lower in the last few years -- even five years maybe. I wonder if that's too much water extraction (hope not) or it's just a weird weather cycle. But in this video, that's about the lowest I've ever fished it. And when it get's not periods of high water, the algae just builds up -- a lot.
It's not the first time I've fished with my dog. :-) You'll see that I didn't fish anything downstream anywhere close to where he walked through, and I gave up on those sections. River rarely does that, which is why I commented on it in the video. I have a full category on the website full of articles about scared/spooky trout. So I'm with ya. Can't catch a scared fish. troutbitten.com/category/spooky-trout/
Another great video Dom! One of the rivers I fish has the green algae/moss and when tight lining it can be a pain taking off the green stuff all of the time, but patience is the key.
For sure
Looks like a perfect winter day - any fish with that beautiful backdrop would be a win
That's how I look at it too. And many times, when you get things dialed in, winter fishing can be fast.
I seriously love that you show what fishing is really like in your videos! You capture the serenity and the beauty of being alone on the water! I also love that you show all the fish, not just the hogs! I get frustrated with some UA-cam videos that only show 20 in trout, and that's just not reality
Thanks. I appreciate that you, and really most viewers here, get that. In all honestly, if someone's catching whiskeys every time they go out, it's a set up, or it's a very unusual location. To us, stocked trout, club trout, fed fish, etc. just don't mean as much as a wild trout.
Day to day trout fishing is rarely about big fish. I do like chasing big ones, but that's it's own thing. And I sincerely believe that good tactics are what catch big trout, so we can refine them on any rive, and then we're ready when we encounter bigger fish.
Thanks again for your support.
Great work Domeneek
Ha. Thanks, buddy. I stole some of your water shot styles.
Thank you for the Time you spend making your fantastic vidios I’ve been fly fishing and tying for over 20 years and always learn something from them. Thank you
Love it. Cheers.
geez I love a new drop after that holiday madness..
Cheers. Thanks for watching.
I always love to get out deer hunting after a fresh snow. There’s just something magical about it. Cool video.
Right on.
I appreciate this series. The links to the articles is helpful and hearing your thought process is fantastic. I’m hoping to get out tomorrow and try to apply some of these concepts then! Thank you.
That's super cool. Glad to hear it.
Fantastic film!! River knows how to warm his paws by lying on the bank with his feet tucked under his body. My Aussie loves the water! He is well behaved. But too much drive to take fishing. He would ruin every hole and chase anything that moves in the woods.
Nice. Yeah we've had more mild winters in River's young life. He'll be challenged more this winter I think.
Another great video, Dom. Never fished PA in the winter while I lived there. Seeing this video makes me with I had!
Enjoyed the video. Great job and thanks for talking us along for the ride. On your mono rig is it the standard rig you use for most of your tight line nymph fishing? Is this setup all a single weight mono to a tippet ring, where you charge your tippet? Or are you stepping down from a heavier butt section? Thanks Dom
Cheers.
Thanks. Yes, the Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig is what I use most because it allows me to get better drifts than thinner leaders. Gotta cast it though. Can't lob it and expect the best drifts. That's why I pointed it out in this video. I guess I preach that a lot. No, it's not just a straight line to the tippet ring. Not at all. There are some very important elements that happen before the tippet ring. Too much to get into here. I have literally hundreds of resources for you about it though. Start here:
Design and Function of the Troutbitten Standard Mono Rig
troutbitten.com/2021/03/14/design-and-function-of-the-troutbitten-standard-mono-rig/
Remember, it's a hybrid system, built for taking combining the advantages of multiple different styles into one. Works great. Gotta take time to understand it and learn it.
Have fun out there.
Been humbled on that stretch a few times. Nice to see you pull a few out. Happy holidays.
Cheers. Ultra low water complicates things for sure. I like it.
Beautiful work, gents! Sure makes a feller homesick for the PA home waters.
AK is nice, but we’re walking on top of the water pretty much from Nov to April.
THANKS very much.
Also, year round wild trout feeding is one of the reasons we live here. It's also why they're so damn picky. No rush to eat, honestly.
@ it’s a gem!
I got back this summer and had a great time fishing North/Central PA with the bro in law, but haven’t been back for winter fishing in a few years.
Love the connection to the home state that the podcast and videos provides.
I was fishing a local stream today and had similar results. I caught a few on a #14 hot pink slush egg. Go figure. I got a couple in the slower, deeper stuff using a small indicator. I had some pretty nasty wind to deal with blowing upstream that was messing with my drifts. Adapt, improvise, and overcome. I ended up with 5 in about 2 hours. All wild rainbows. It was a good day.
NICE
@@Troutbitten The giant tumbleweed that floated into me was a fun surprise as well!
Dom, great video and I was out with a buddy this morning. Egg was hot the entire session. Unfortunately, they heavily stocked upstream and a bunch of them came downstream and they were everywhere and hungry. Had fun catching them, but, sure missed the wild browns that I think got the heck out of there.
Right on.
Great video, is this PA? I have a strong feeling I recognize this creek and trail. Great water and fishing up there
Happy holiday and thanks for sharing! I took quite a few mental notes…
Fishing through the winter months presents SO many challenges. I have found that a small drop/rise in temperature or water really can affect the outcome, so I keep a detailed journal to help me remember what happens during these times.
I’m 100% with you on the use of light tippets - I only go super light when the fly dictates. I’ve noticed a difference in catch rate for sure.
Lastly, is the green mono that you’re using here just a green version of the Sufix mono or is it something else? Thanks! 🎣
PS. Your pup is the best… 🐶
Thanks very much. Here's an article about hi vis butt sections for leader builds:
troutbitten.com/2024/02/15/hi-vis-leader-material-for-mono-rigs/
In short, I don't think they're a great idea, but they're useful once in a while. I only use hi vis for filming. I knew when I started this Fish and Film series that it would create confusion between what I say and what I do. But if I wasn't filming, I'd use a Chameleon butt section for sure.
The green in this video is OPST Lazar Line, 30 lb. Remember that poundage means nothing for our purposes. It's diameter and stiffness that matters. The 30 Lazar Line is slightly thinner than Chameleon 20 lb.
Cheers.
@ Oh, I see. Understandable. I have plenty of Chameleon on hand. I thought that maybe you were using it as a substitute for that pricey French/Spanish (?) mono?!
The Pierre Sempe? Not a fan of that kind of line. It's stretchy, limp and abrades easily. Also doesn't come in diameters thick enough to build a Standard Mono Rig from. Cheers.
This is for Becky working in the background 🤣 Keeping things going, keeping everyone else alive and the floors dry after the waders hang wherever.. Just enough for a coffee and a muffin maybe.. lol
Very kind. THANK YOU.
Curious about your rod holder, is that a custom thing or something that you purchased? Great Video btw!
Smith Creek Rod Rack. Can't beat it. Here ya go. ua-cam.com/video/CETlTQm0YcM/v-deo.html
7:44 simple. He's helping you. My dog does it all the time 😂
Ha. Right on.
River deciding to wade across in front of you gave me the perfect opportunity to ask something I've been meaning to ask you as someone who also fishes with his dog.
I leave the dog home more in the winter (even though I feel terrible because he can always tell when I'm going fishing without him) because I worry about him getting frostbitten.
At what sort of temps do you worry about the dog especially if he gets wet at all? Mine's a bernese/poodle mix with a pretty robust coat. Great river dog but I just worry about his paws in these cold temps as he's far too stupid to know enough to stay dry on the bank.
Cool question. I guess I don't worry much about things like that. I had a Border Collie named Dylan. My Dad always said I should be worried about rattlesnakes biting his paw. Fair. That could happen. He also said Dylan might poke a stick into his eye or break his leg in a groundhog hole because he ran through the woods so fast. Also fair. But that never happened either. And I would have missed SO many memories with Dylan by being too cautious. Your point is also fair. And I'm not educated enough to answer it scientifically. I can just tell you that Dylan fished with me in conditions down into the low teens on a regular basis, with never any trouble. Animals are built differently than we are. Dylan was a tougher dog than River, though. Ha. River whines when he's uncomfortable. Dylan just ran laps and warmed up. On those coldest days, though, I would often carry Dylan to the other side of the creek if he needed to cross early on. Neither of my dogs have ever waded much without a good purpose. River was unusual in this video.
Hey Dom, just wondering if you ever throw wet flies as if they were dry flies, just in the film. I've been getting into wet fly stuff after getting skunked with dries for pressured fish.
Sure. You're talking about using wet flies as floating emergers, or just under the film. Here's a podcast about all that:
troutbitten.com/2024/05/05/podcast-whats-the-deal-with-emergers-s11-ep4/
Candidly, you don't need wet flies over pressured fish, you may just need a perfect dead drift -- no motion, no tension, nice long, natural drifts on a low riding dry fly. I'd rather do that than throw a wet fly like you're talking about because you'd give up all visibility. Personally, I have no interest in fishing dry flies when I can't see them -- takes the fun of the whole thing away, and you never really know if you're getting a true drift. If I do use a wet fly for rising trout, then I'm much more likely to trail it off a real dry fly that I can see. We talk about all that in the podcast I linked to above.
Make sense?
Dom
@@Troutbitten Yeah I get it. Just some of my wintertime reading and contemplation. Thanks
Dom any thoughts on why all the green algae in this area as of late? This section is amazing and a huge reason I got hooked on fly fishing a few years back, but the last year or two the growth even in the shoulder seasons has sadly made it almost unfishable for me. Thanks for sharing, beautiful video!
I agree. It's become it's own very unique challenge. I've fished this river since the mid-nineties, and it's gotten more technical. In truth, I think it's just been a lot lower in the last few years -- even five years maybe. I wonder if that's too much water extraction (hope not) or it's just a weird weather cycle. But in this video, that's about the lowest I've ever fished it. And when it get's not periods of high water, the algae just builds up -- a lot.
Dude, you are leaving fish on the table. 8x or nothing.
:-) I'm sure you're right, Matt.
More fishing, less talking
Dude,
Seriously scared fish don’t bite.
Make the dog stay by your side and out of the water you’re gonna fish.
Can’t watch this!
It's not the first time I've fished with my dog. :-) You'll see that I didn't fish anything downstream anywhere close to where he walked through, and I gave up on those sections. River rarely does that, which is why I commented on it in the video. I have a full category on the website full of articles about scared/spooky trout. So I'm with ya. Can't catch a scared fish.
troutbitten.com/category/spooky-trout/