We love to talk about the destinations and the gear.

The rivers we travel to, the rods, we carry, the flies in the box.

But the heart of fly fishing lives in the bugs drifting through the current and the small

changes happening along the riverbank because when insects disappear, the fishing changes.

And when the rivers change, the insects are usually the first to tell the story.

Today's episode goes deeper into that connection,

the relationship between bugs, water, and the health of the rivers we care about.

Salmonfly project is working across the west, studying aquatic insects,

and helping anglers understand why bugs like salmon flies, stoneflies, and mayflies,

are more than just patterns in the flybox.

This is the Wet Fly 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.

James Frakes and Jackson Burrell are here, and they're going to talk about the salmon fly

project.

This is a program and a nonprofit they created to help discover population levels of insects.

We're going to find out why insects are one of the most important indicators of river health,

what salmon flies and other stoneflies

can tell us about changes in western rivers that are currently happening, how the connection

between habitat restoration, water quality, and insect populations can affect fish, and how you,

as an angler, can play a role as a conservation citizen scientist, and we're going to show

you how you can get involved

...