Steelhead and Chinook Spey Lessons with Floyd Carter: How to Stop Losing Fish

Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast

Dave Stewart

Sports, Wilderness, Leisure, Hobbies

4.7 • 530 Ratings

🗓️ 30 April 2026

⏱️ 62 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

917B Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/917B

Presented by: Togiak River Lodge

Losing fish after a solid grab happens more than people talk about. You feel the eat, the rod loads up, maybe even a head shake, and then it's just gone.

Floyd Carter is back to break down what he's been seeing all season, from the Olympic Peninsula to Togiak. They get into what an actual take feels like, when to stay patient, and when it's time to hit it. They also dig into the loop vs drag debate, how small changes might keep fish pinned, and why even experienced anglers are still figuring this out in real time.

If you've been losing fish and can't quite figure out why, this one will hit close to home.

Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/917B

Transcript

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0:00.0	today we're getting into something that doesn't get talked about enough while you're losing
0:05.3	fish even when you're doing everything right i've got floyd carter back on the podcast and today
0:10.9	we go deep on a pattern that he's been seeing all year from the olympic peninsula all the way up to
0:16.1	toygiac river in alaska fish eating the fly feeling solid for a second and coming unbuttoned. We break down what that actually feels like when a fish just loads up, when it rolls, when it chews on the fly, and when it's time to do nothing at all versus time to hit it with the lumber. 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
0:41.2	fish species we all love. Floyd is back today and we're going to get into what might be happening
0:47.5	and why you might be losing fish this year. We're going to talk about the debate on holding a loop
0:52.4	in your hand versus not, and when it makes sense, what a real take feels like from a steelhead to a Chinook
0:57.9	Chew in the Gum and how to adjust your mindset mid-run so you don't miss your best shot of
1:03.0	the day.
1:03.6	Plus, we get into why even experienced guides are still figuring this out real time and how
1:07.9	to think through the swing instead of just going through the motion. All right, we're back on it. Here he is. Floyd Carter. How you doing, Floyd? Good to be here, Dave. Good to hear your voice, man. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's been, I mean, I think it's been since we left Togiac. I believe we've been chatting on email, but since we've really seen each other and talked and all that stuff.
1:28.9	So, yeah, how you been, man?
1:30.1	How has things been going since the big Togiac trip?
1:32.8	It's going well.
1:35.0	You know, just got back from Togiac, did some trips here, and then went into the Kwejjak season, and then rolled over into the final kind of push in the fall on the Clickitat.
1:51.7	Clicket Steelhead Ranch.
1:55.3	You know, clickitat is pretty hard to beat in the fall.
1:58.7	And then, you know, did some coastal stuff early on here on the north
2:04.4	coast and then headed up to the Olympic Peninsula to do some recon and basically you know
2:11.4	fished OPE from January 22nd to two days ago. Oh, wow.
2:18.2	And then plan on rolling back up and just finishing the season out, you know,
2:24.9	get some different floats under my belt.
	...

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