[Interview starts at 42:39]
Swinging wet flies, specifically soft-hackle flies, is an often misunderstood method of fishing, and although many people try it, they frequently give up when it doesn’t seem to work. But it’s an elegant, relaxing, and fun way to cover a lot of water and probably the oldest way to fish for trout. Wet-fly expert Steve Culton shares some great tips for rigging and fishing Soft Hackles.
In the Fly Box, we have some interesting questions and great tips from listeners, including:
- With the high water in Utah this spring, should I try to fish rivers or stick to lakes? And what flies should I use?
- For float fishing smaller streams for bass, should I get a small raft or a kayak?
- Would it be better to use a double-taper or weight-forward line for small streams?
- Are fly-rod actions and recommended line sizes consistent across manufacturers?
- Two great tips from listeners for getting the fly line out of your guides when you start fishing.
- At what point should I give up repairing my waders?
- How should I fish a river that alternates between rocky rivers and slow, mucky pools? Should I change techniques when going from one type of water to another?
- When should I switch from a nymph to a dry in early season?
- How can I prevent fish taking streamers from getting foul hooked?
- Should I fish a pool with a nymph or streamer first?
- Why did I see few fishing rising in an afternoon hatch and many more fish rising in the evening?
- Where should I go to catch bonefish, tarpon, and roosterfish from shore without a guide?
- I want to start guiding for striped bass. Where should I start?
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Tom,
That was a very informative and interesting interview with Steve Culton. Lots of useful information and entertaining as well.
I had the privilege of a “lesson” with Steve a few years ago. It is hard to visualize his technique on a podcast. Highly recommend you do a video with him. BTW that day we had a fantastic day as I learned his techniques.