Secrets of an Award-Winning Guide, with Antoine Bissieux

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

James Hathaway

Bass, Fishing, Bonefish, Wilderness, Flyfishing, Trout, How To, Steelhead, Bluegill, Fly, Orvis, Sports, Salmon, Panfish, Education, Rosenbauer

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 1 July 2025

⏱️ 92 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

My guest this week is Antoine Bissieux [38:28], Orvis-Endorsed Guide of the Year for 2025. Antoine, otherwise known as The French Fly Fisherman, regularly fishes with and communicates with the top French competitive fly fishers, and has developed methods of fishing nymphs and dry flies as well as dry/dropper setups adapted from what he has learned from these world-class anglers. You'll learn some new techniques to make your fly fishing more effective and more interesting no matter where you fish.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some questions that I think will help many other fly fishers solve problems they may have, including:

How can I tell what line is on my old reel?
Should I get a 3-weight or 4-weight rod for small streams?
Do those devices to remove flies from fish quickly really work?
I have seen carp opening up their mouths and taking repeated gulps of food from the surface. Is this common and what do you call it?
A fly shop told me that using tippet rings is not a good idea because I would break off fish. Is this true?
A listener reports on conditions on the rivers in western North Carolina after the floods.
I put a nick in my fly line and have to cut off the last 12 inches. Can I still use this line?
My foam flies keep landing upside-down. How can I correct this?
How should I fish streamers in clear pools where you can see right to the bottom?
How should I cast to a fish that is directly below a branch trailing in the water?
A suggestion from a listener on using a room dehumidifier to dry out waders and boots.
Can I rig two flies on a blood knot, using both sides of the knot, one longer and one shorter?
Would a 9-foot, 9-weight rod be the right one for fishing in Chesapeake Bay? And can I use the same rod for steelhead in Michigan?
I see a lot of goose feathers on my local golf course. Can I use these for biots on flies and which part should I use?
What can I do with saltwater flies where the hook has gotten slightly rusty?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	Hi, and welcome to the Orvis Fly Fishing podcast.
0:14.2	This is your host, Tom Rosenbauer.
0:16.0	And my guest this week is Antoine Bissu, also known as the French fly fisherman, and winner of the
0:25.1	2025 Orvis Endorse Guide of the Year. And what we're going to talk about today is some techniques
0:33.8	that Antoine uses that he has learned from the French competitive fly anglers,
0:40.8	who are some of the best in the world, that he's modified himself.
0:45.5	Most notably, a dry dropper technique that he uses that he says just works like magic. And I can't wait to see how he does this. I'm going to
0:57.7	fish with Antoine sometime this summer. He also talks about whether to make a plan for the day or
1:03.9	whether to let the river tell you what to do and lots of other cool stuff. So I hope you enjoy the podcast.
1:10.6	I always enjoy talking to Antoine So I hope you enjoy the podcast.
1:15.1	I always enjoy talking to Antoine, and I think you'll learn quite a bit, and you'll get some new ideas for new stuff to try on the water the next time you go out.
1:22.5	But first, let's answer a few questions.
1:25.6	The flybox is where you ask me questions or you maybe share a tip
1:31.5	with listeners and I try to answer your questions and share your tip. And you can send me a question
1:41.6	too. You can send it to podcast at orvis dot com you can either just type it in
1:48.0	your email or you can attach a voice file and maybe i'll read it on the air so um i don't get too
1:53.9	many questions people think i'm overwhelmed with questions but i don't so don't be shy if you've
1:59.6	got a question you want to ask me uh go ahead and send me an email i read them all i don't. So don't be shy. If you've got a question you want to ask me, go ahead and send
2:02.9	me an email. I read them all. I don't answer them all, but I do read them all. And the first question
2:09.8	in the fly box this week is from Noah. First of all, I want to thank you for everything you do
2:15.4	for the fly fishing community. Your podcasts have been invaluable in helping me on my fly fishing journey.
2:21.4	I have a couple of questions about fly rods and fly line.
	...

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