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The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

Winter fishing tips from an award-winning guide, with Chip Swanson

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

James Hathaway

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

4.81.9K Ratings

🗓️ 27 January 2023

⏱️ 90 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

This week, since we have not had any hard-core fishing podcasts in awhile, I thought I would give you all some tips on winter fly fishing with Chip Swanson [40:09] of Breckenridge Outfitters in Colorado. Chip won the Orvis-Endorsed Freshwater Guide of the Year in 2019 for good reason. He's fun, patient, superbly knowledgeable, and a terrific teacher. He also does a lot of fishing and guiding throughout the winter, no matter what the weather. He has some great tips on staying warm, techniques to use, and what conditions are best for winter fly fishing.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some especially helpful tips from listeners as well as some questions that will be helpful to many fly fishers, including:

Is using a scented fly for sturgeon not fly fishing? And do you have any tips for catching these giants on a fly rod?

I am having trouble casting a double nymph rig plus split shot and an indicator. What casting advice do you have?

When is water too cold to try a dry dropper rig?

Some good advice from a listener on kneeling instead of sitting in a canoe for easier casting

A fly shop owner told me not to fish a local river because the flows were too low. Why is this bad in the winter when oxygen levels are higher?

How can I use online product reviews to inform my tackle purchases?

Which ones are the most reliable? What should I look for in a pedestal for my vise?

What are Tom's top 10 fly tying materials for fresh and salt water? What is Tom tying right now?

Great advice from a listener on kayak fishing and first aid kits for fishing trips

How long will it take my local river to recover after severe wildfires last year?

What can I use to hold those tippet scraps I want to dispose of?

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi and welcome to the Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast.

0:15.4

This is your host Tom Rosenbauer and this week we're going to talk about winter fishing.

0:20.8

We haven't done a lot of hardcore, how-to geeky podcasts and quite a few podcasts and we've

0:28.7

been concentrating on some other issues but I wanted to get back into the stuff that I

0:35.9

know a lot of you love.

0:37.4

So I've asked Ward Winning Guide, Chip Swanson of Breckenridge Outfitters who does a lot

0:45.3

of winter fishing, Wade Guiding and Winter Fishing in Colorado, I've asked him on the show

0:51.6

to share his tips and Chip is a really articulate, thoughtful and innovative guide.

0:58.5

So I know that you're going to get some good tips on this podcast if you fish in the

1:04.0

winter or just if you fish in cold water in general, I think you're going to enjoy this

1:09.8

podcast.

1:12.3

But before we talk to Chip, let's do the fly box.

1:16.3

The fly box is where you ask questions and I try to answer them for you.

1:23.0

If you have a question for me or a comment or a criticism, whatever, love criticism,

1:30.0

you can send me an email at podcastatorvest.com.

1:34.7

You can either just type your email in the, just type it into your email or you can attach

1:41.2

a voice file and perhaps I'll read it on the air.

1:47.1

So let's start the fly box with an email from Kevin.

1:52.1

Hey Tom, I have been targeting Sturgeon on the fly in Alberta's Muddy Rivers for the

1:57.4

past two years.

1:58.4

I do this with a fast sinking 10 weight line and scented flies.

2:03.0

The fly pattern is a crawdaddy tied with lots of yarn and a small tungsten rod from the

...

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