Many people think big bugs are about throwing something loud at the bank.

But what if the difference isn't the size of the fly at all?

It's how close you can actually get it and how real it looks when it lands.

Because when fish are tucked in tight, like Ken says, like a tick on a hound, you don't get many chances.

And today we're breaking down the small details, placement patterns, and presentation

that turn a good drift into one that actually gets eaten.

This is the traveled podcast series where we bring you the best places to fish in the West

and the stories of how this region became what it is today.

Ken Burkholder is here to dig into the flies he's designed with folling mill,

his time guiding the Snake River and what actually matters when you're fishing big bugs and

technical hatches. Today we're going to talk about the real reason Ken avoids the dropper

and how this can change your accuracy. We're going to find out about this bear back rider fly

and how it was built from actual insect measurements.

We're also going to get into the subtle difference between goldenstones and salmon flies

and how most anglers miss these key differences and why pressured fish will stop eating big

bugs and switch to something smaller. Plus, we're going to find out how to read that brown

to green transition and how this will help you find feeding trout fast. Today's episode is presented by Visit Idaho's Yellowstone Teton Territory, home to some of the most diverse and wild trout waters in the West. Okay, here we go. Here he is, Ken Burkholder. Let's do it. How you doing, Ken? I'm doing how you doing ken i'm doing great spring is here yeah spring

is here that's good to hear i've heard lots of uh stories around you know this winter about you know

snowpack some place is good some place is not so good but the cool thing is is that you know we're

coming out of winter and fishing's right around the corner right i think people think people are already out there. But, um, but today we're going to talk about folling mill, some of the patterns that you have, some really killer patterns and probably get into some fishing and tying tips and stuff like that. But, uh, maybe take us back on your connection to fulling mill. Have you been with them, with them quite a while? I think it's been about

six or seven years now. Brandon Prince, who I guided with years ago on the snake, is the Fully Mill

rep. And he called me up. He got a hold of, and asked me if I would be willing to submit some

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