Fly fishing doesn't always get easier as you gain experience. Sometimes it gets heavier. More flies, more gear, more decisions before stepping out on the water. Today's episode pushes the opposite direction. We're talking about fly fishing that fits into real life, fishing close to home, fishing after dinner, fishing with a handful of flies in your pocket instead of going with all the

full Monty. Today we're going to dig into why panfish have quietly become some of the best

teachers in fly fishing, how they help flatten the learning curve for new anglers, and why even

experience flyfishers keep coming back to them year after year. This is the Webfly Swing podcast where I

show you the best places to travel to for fly fishing, how to find the best resources and tools to prepare for that big trip and what you can do to give back to the fish species we all love. Bart Lombardo is here today and we're going to talk about panfish. We're going to talk about warm water fish, including bluegill, pumpkin seed, croppy, and many other great panfish out there. We're going to find out what it takes to get the job done and why he keeps coming back again and again. Plus, you're going to also find out how presentation matters more than pattern, why surface takes are part of the story. We're going to get into the surface fishing these guys and how simplicity can bring it all

back in fly fishing all right here we go you can find bart lombardo at panfish on the fly dot com here

he is bart lombardo how you doing part i'm doing well and you good yeah it's been a little while

since we had our last, you know, chat.

I think we've got to go back to like November or 21.

So, you know, we did on that, I think kind of an intro to Panfish.

You've got obviously Panfish on the fly.

We're going to be talking about some species today, you know, kind of why would people want to get into it?

Why do people love the species?

We're going to get into that. but maybe take us back a little bit. We're not going to go into the full. We'll have a link to the past episode we did. But give us a little update, like where you're at now and kind of what's keeping you busy throughout the year. Well, not a whole lot has changed. I'm still, you know, I've been enjoying retirement now. I think I'm in my

13th year. Wow. There you go. Yeah. And since retiring is, that's when I started my guiding

career. So, you know, I've been at that for well over a decade now and thoroughly enjoying that.

In the last couple years, it's really just been business as usual.

I think the last time we spoke, I had mentioned I was in the process of writing a book.

That book was completed, but unfortunately the project was dropped by my publisher.

So I'm actually in conversation now with some other folks, and hopefully we'll see that book

get published.

Yeah.

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