Best Domenick Swentosky Podcasts (2025)

1
The Spawning Process of Trout 1:01:38

1h ago1:01:38

1:01:38

The spawning process is arguably the most important event of a trout's life. The best trout in the system spawn every year. And as long term anglers, we should understand the process -- not only because we then know how to give trout their space, but because the process is a fascinating look at a fish that we spend so much time chasing. We do not a…

1
What Flies Catch Big Trout? 1:09:26

3h ago1:09:26

1:09:26

Sometimes, the goal is to catch the biggest trout in the river. In those times, what's the best fly to choose? In this conversation, we talk through big trout situations, and we focus on the flies. If you’re really targeting a big trout, when does a streamer seem like the best choice, and what qualities in that streamer help not just get a trout’s …

1
In Deep - Fishing Simply, With Craig Matthews 1:09:03

4d ago1:09:03

1:09:03

Craig Matthews is one of the most prominent figures in fly fishing, with a career spanning half a century and an influence that is immeasurable. Making his home in Montana, Craig's fly shop, Blue Ribbon Flies, became an icon as he educated and helped generations of anglers find their way with a fly rod. Craig's many fly creations, like the Sparkle …

1
Back to Spot Burning - Evolution? 1:22:44

24d ago1:22:44

1:22:44

With this conversation, we're going back to spot burning. In Troutbitten Podcast Season 3, Episode 1, we talked through Secrets and Spot Burning ( March, 2022). And in that conversation we spent a lot of time on the first part — on what fishing secrets really are, whether they’re valuable, fun or just gatekeeping. (They’re valuable, by the way.) An…

1
Big Flies for Big Trout - Cicada Wrap Up 1:17:51

1M ago1:17:51

1:17:51

We begin Season 17 with a conversation about fishing the 17 year periodical cicada this past summer. We talk about big flies, big water and big trout. For so many of us, it was the rarity of the event -- there’s no other chance for this kind of fishing, right here, in our home waters, for another seventeen years. That’s a big marker in time. Becaus…

1
Riverside -- Fighting Big Fish -- Keep 'Em Down 14:15

1M ago14:15

14:15

A top-tier river trout is a beast. The inherent nature of a river, with the endless obstacles, rocks, tree parts, current breaks, high gradient runs and undercut banks challenges the angler at every bend. So when you finally hook up with a Whiskey, a new game begins. It’s a match up between trout and fisherman. Who will win that fight? Bringing a t…

1
In Deep -- Dry Fly Leader Design with John Shaner 1:22:32

2M ago1:22:32

1:22:32

In Deep is a video podcast series for conversations that dive into the details of focused topics -- no fluff, just concentrated, sometimes technical talk from experienced anglers and industry professionals. Our first In Deep guest is my friend, John Shaner. With a career spanning five decades, Shaner has worked for influential companies like Hardy …

1
The Blue Liner's Bible - Questions and Stories 1:16:58

3M ago1:16:58

1:16:58

Here we are at the end of the Blue Liner's Bible series. And we saved this one for listener questions and some of our own stories. This episode ties up some loose ends and brings it all back home. Because, I think we ended up right where we started, realizing that small stream fishing leads us into everything there is to love about fishing, and may…

1
The Blue Liner's Bible -- Bigger Trout, and Streamers on Small Streams 1:01:58

3M ago1:01:58

1:01:58

This one's about using streamers to find the biggest trout in the smallest waters. In previous episodes we worked though locating the right water for small streams. We've talked about dry fly tactics, nymph fishing and now, with episode five in this series, we’re ready to tackle streamer fishing on small streams. Our job for this episode is to high…

1
The Blue Liner's Bible -- Nymphs On Small Streams 53:27

3M ago53:27

53:27

In this fourth episode of the Blue Liner's Bible, we talk about nymphing on small waters. We discuss when and where we might turn to nymphs, and then we break down the adaptations for different styles. We cover dry dropper, mostly as a nymphing tactic. Then we discuss indicator nymphing and tight line nymphing with a Mono Rig. My friend, Austin Dan…

1
The Blue Liner's Bible -- Dry Flies On Small Streams 57:16

3M ago57:16

57:16

We’re here to break down small stream dry fly fishing. We’re tackling dry flies first in this series, because fishing dries on small water puts you in a great position, with the necessary skills, to fish the other disciplines of nymphs, streamers and wets. In this episode, my friend, Austin Dando, and I walk through the gear, the approach, the cast…

1
The Blue Liner's Bible -- Finding the Right Water 1:00:21

4M ago1:00:21

1:00:21

We're back with Season 16, with episode two of the Blue Liner’s Bible. This one is all about finding the right water. We mean this in two different ways. First, you need to find a small stream that has public access (or you have private permission). But the stream also needs cold water and a good population of trout (hopefully they’re wild trout). …

1
The Blue Liner's Bible --The Good and Bad of Small Stream Fishing 1:08:40

4M ago1:08:40

1:08:40

With cold flows and eager trout, mountain water and small stream fishing can provide the perfect setup, the perfect escape, if you’re willing to put in the effort. There are some truly wonderful things about small stream fishing, and learning to work these waters teaches us everything we need to know about fishing any trout water. But the challenge…

1
The Airing of Grievances -- Four 1:18:23

5M ago1:18:23

1:18:23

Welcome to the fourth annual Airing of Grievances on the Troutbitten Podcast. Buckle up. Because it’s time to clear the air about a few things, to complain about some other things and get all the frustrations out in the open. We look forward to this episode every year, because honestly, it’s a lot of fun. I know that listeners anticipate this one a…

1
Is Gen X the Greatest Fly Fishing Generation? 59:48

5M ago59:48

59:48

We talk a lot about our frame of reference in fly fishing. Wherever you get into the game, a lot of your baseline is set by whatever is popular or widely accepted at that moment in time. My friend, Matt Mickey, recently argued that Gen X anglers are uniquely positioned, that this generation has experienced development and had a wide variety of infl…

1
Caught, Lost and Missed Trout -- Keeping Track 54:13

5M ago54:13

54:13

So . . . how was it? How many did you catch? This is always the question for every fisherman, right? Whether I’m talking to my friends about a fishing trip from last week, or as I walked in the door this evening, my wife asked the same question — how many fish did you catch? It’s a fair question. Because that’s the goal out there (usually). We go f…

1
Gear Fixes 1:07:23

6M ago1:07:23

1:07:23

When you fish long enough, things break. That’s the nature of life, really . . . things fall apart. But if you're resourceful, you put them back together. Sometimes it’s out of necessity. Honestly, a couple decades ago, I simply couldn’t afford to go through gear as fast as it was wearing down, so I learned to patch waders, fix a fly rod, mend a fl…

1
Our Most Important Breakthroughs 1:06:59

6M ago1:06:59

1:06:59

This episode is all about breakthroughs. For each of us, as a personal account, what have been the biggest changes, or the biggest steps forward, in our fishing? I call these breakthroughs because they're the landmarks or discoveries or changes, along the way of learning, where we can look back and say, “Now that, really made a big difference.” We …

1
Season Fifteen Intermission -- Catching Up With Leader Sales, Books, Beers, Videos and Plans 36:50

6M ago36:50

36:50

For our Season 15 Intermission, my wife, Becky, joins me for a lighthearted look at what's going on in the Troutbitten world. We talk about the upcoming leader sale in the Troutbitten Shop (May 23rd). We talk about the New Trail Troutbitten beer, the upcoming book on Fly Fishing the Mono Rig and a bunch of videos on the Troutbitten YouTube channel.…

1
Why Are Some Trout So Selective? 1:08:39

6M ago1:08:39

1:08:39

The trout is prized as a gamefish because it’s picky. It’s selective. Often, it requires a refined presentation to fool a wild trout. And in large part, that’s the draw toward fishing for them. In every region, in every stream, trout habits can differ from others in neighboring watersheds. And across the fishing landscape, we find places and even m…

1
Riverside -- A Fisherman's Thoughts On Spot Burning 24:01

6M ago24:01

24:01

There are two ways to tell the experience of an angler: how he holds a fish and how he keeps his secrets. The latter is probably more important. A seasoned angler intuitively understands the vulnerability of a river. Spot burning is a real thing with real consequences. Good anglers understand this concept. Good people understand this concept. Every…

1
Fishing Big Rivers-- Thoughts, Tips and Strategies 1:02:31

6M ago1:02:31

1:02:31

Let’s talk about fishing big rivers. For the most part, all of us here at Troutbitten are river anglers, meaning not much stillwater. Furthermore we’re mostly wade anglers. We spend most of our time wading rather than floating, because we enjoy it, and because in a lot of cases, wading gives us the best chance for success. But over the years I’ve n…

1
Learn to Read the River Like a Trout 1:21:50

7M ago1:21:50

1:21:50

We spend a lot of time thinking about tactics and working on techniques. We devote our energies toward finding fly patterns, tying up our confidence flies and testing new flies. We research new waters and explore unfinished sections in familiar waters. We spend a lot of time doing fishy things. This is a life on the water. The guys and I have been …

1
Know the River or Know Your Tactics? What Puts More Trout In the Net? 1:13:17

7M ago1:13:17

1:13:17

Here's a topic that starts with an interesting question: What puts more trout in the net? Is it knowing your water or knowing your tactics? Of course, the easy answer is . . . both. Refine your skills and learn your rivers. Then put all of that together, and you have a great formula, not only for catching trout but for having a lot of fun. The trut…

1
Riverside -- Twelve Small Stream Fly Casting Tips 30:03

7M ago30:03

30:03

Here are twelve tips for delivering a fly into waters that are heavily canopied, with greedy branches, ready to grab your fly and make life difficult. The best small stream fishing happens in these places. We call it brush fishing. Learning to cast a fly on small streams forces an angler into proper form. There is no forgiveness, and every error co…

1
Strategies For Stocked Trout 1:14:02

7M ago1:14:02

1:14:02

Across the country, there are rivers, creeks and streams stocked by the state, often referred to as put and take (they put trout in, you take them out). And especially early in the season, opportunities for stocked trout can be a solid choice. Other places stock fish under catch and release regs or delayed harvest. Also, some rivers, for various re…

1
Riverside: The Best Fly Rods for the Mono Rig, Tight Line and Euro Nymphing 43:09

7M ago43:09

43:09

What's your favorite fly rod? This most frequently asked question now has its answer in the Troutbitten Riverside Series. Riverside is a place for sharing and presenting stories and articles from the Troutbitten website. And one of the most popular articles at Troutbitten has been about the qualities to look for in a rod well suited for the Mono Ri…

1
Streamer Presentations #10 -- Strategies, Tips and Scenarios 1:00:58

8M ago1:00:58

1:00:58

This season has been all about options for moving the streamer. Our focus has been on the animations available to attract and then sell the trout on the streamer presentation. In this season finale, we talk about river scenarios and share some tips and strategies that help tie all of the previous episodes together. We discuss the following: How dif…

1
Streamer Presentations #9 -- The Tight Line Dance 49:37

8M ago49:37

49:37

The tight line dance is another collection of movements to the streamer loosely grouped together into a system or framework for covering many water types and gaining reactions from the trout. It's all about taking the advantages of a tight line, Mono Rig system to the streamer game and using contact to control every aspect of the streamer's course …

1
Streamer Presentations #8 -- The Crossover Technique 1:08:41

8M ago1:08:41

1:08:41

With episode seven of this Troutbitten Skills Series, we’ve finally come to the point where we’ve covered all the different ways to move a streamer and give it some animation. Now it’s time to put all of that together. This whole series has been about what motions might sell the presentation. Because how we move the streamer fools the next trout. A…

1
Streamer Presentations #7 -- Speed Leads and Lane Changes 34:54

8M ago34:54

34:54

Speed leads happen mostly in one lane, and they go faster than their parent current. Lane changes are exactly what they sound like — the fly is traveling in one lane, and then we deliberately bring the fly over to a nearby lane and travel down that one. The speed lead is a term coined by our friend, Josh Stewart. Way back in 2017, I published a few…

1
Streamer Presentations #6 -- Jigging Styles (Slack, Contact and Pendulum Jigging) 50:44

9M ago50:44

50:44

We've covered many animations in these series. We’ve talked about the streamer head position and its direction, about cross current movement vs holding one lane. We've covered jerk strips, glides, slides, fast, slow, quick or smooth, we talked about drop rates and a lot more. And now, we're here to talk about one of the most basic movements perform…

1
Streamer Presentations #5 - Give Swings a Chance 47:35

9M ago47:35

47:35

This steamer presentation is what streamer anglers probably do most — swinging the flies. From what I see on the water, what I read in articles and watch in videos, I think it’s fair to say, swinging is a pretty popular look. But it’s also fair to say that swinging is what we do the least. I think part of that is regional. Swinging streamers is a g…

1
Streamer Presentations #4 - Glides and Slides 41:47

9M ago41:47

41:47

For us, streamer fishing is best when we actively and intentionally move the fly. But with glides and slides, our animations are often subtle, because sometimes these are the most natural or convincing looks. Rolling the bottom, gliding mid-current along a knee-deep riffle or slow-sliding off the bank — all of these maneuvers are just as enticing, …

1
Streamer Presentations #3 - The Head Flip 41:43

9M ago41:43

41:43

The Head Flip is a pivot. It’s a simple change of the streamer's head angle, from down and across to up and across, or from upstream to downstream. This pivot doesn’t necessarily move the fly out of its area, but the motion might seem pretty dramatic to a trout. The Head Flip shows trout an opportunity for an easy meal, and it might signal a moment…

1
Streamer Presentations #2 - The Jerk Strip 44:44

10M ago44:44

44:44

The ability to move the fly with the rod tip and not just the line hand is a fundamental skill that opens creative options for the streamer angler. Almost two decades ago, Kelly Galloup’s first streamer book changed the way anglers thought about moving a streamer. All these years later, the jerk strip isn’t just one way to move the streamer. It’s a…

1
Streamer Presentations #1 -- What We Control 44:20

10M ago44:20

44:20

This season is a ten-part Troutbitten Skill Series, all about Streamer Presentations. We've been looking forward to this one for a long time. We spend a lot of our time dead drifting dry flies and nymphs. But with streamers, we’re trying to make them look alive. Instead of no motion, we move the fly. And this is exactly why we love to fish streamer…

1
Pre-Trip Efficiencies 59:06

11M ago59:06

59:06

We're talking about how to shorten your time at the tailgate or the trunk. Just get your waders on, your boots laced, and get to the river. It should be as simple as that, but it’s not uncommon for anglers to waste a half hour or more just getting ready to go fishing. Most anglers hate this wasted time. In fact, all of this preparation just to go f…

1
Ten Years of Troutbitten 1:38:47

11M ago1:38:47

1:38:47

We're here to celebrate ten years of Troutbitten. December 8th was the tenth anniversary of the first article ever published on Troutbitten. All those years ago, I never expected this Troutbitten business — this media company — to become what it is. Honestly, I had no intentions other than to write and publish stories about fishing, simply because …

1
Brown Trout, Rainbows, Brook Trout, Cutthroat -- What's the Difference? 1:03:06

12M ago1:03:06

1:03:06

This discussion is about the differences between trout species. How are the habits of brown trout different than rainbow trout? Where do brook trout tend to hold and feed vs brown trout? What about cutthroat? Do they have different tendencies or habits than their counterparts? Because the habits of these trout are different, our target water change…

1
Season 13 Intermission -- Leader Shop, Videos, Podcast Plans, Books and More 37:20

12M ago37:20

37:20

For our Season 13 Intermission, my wife, Becky, joins me for a look at what's going on in the Troutbitten world. We talk about the upcoming leader sale in the Troutbitten Shop (December 6th). We talk about upcoming podcast and video plans, books, fly rods and more. Resources SHOP: Troutbitten | Category | Leaders Visit Troutbitten Website Troutbitt…

1
Why Do Some Rivers Hold Big Trout? 1:11:40

12M ago1:11:40

1:11:40

I fished for two decades before I finally realized that not every river, not every creek or stream has big fish. For most of my early days of fishing, I thought there was a different class of fish in some of my favorite waters that I simply never encountered. And I liked to think that if I fished certain ways at certain times, I would finally catch…

1
Why We Fish 1:09:53

12M ago1:09:53

1:09:53

Tonight we’re here to talk about why we fish. It’s a simple question. Why do we commit so much of our free time and efforts, our thoughts and our daydreams . . . to fishing? Why, after all these years, do we keep coming back? Why, when we could do hundreds of other things — with three hours on a weekday evening or every daylight hour on a Saturday,…

1
Barbed Hooks or Barbless? Does It Really Matter? 1:05:44

1y ago1:05:44

1:05:44

We’re halfway through Season 13, and tonight we have a discussion that’s been on our backburner for quite a while -- barbed hooks or barbless, and does it really matter? Should we always fish barbless? Maybe not. The answer isn’t that simple. So the Troutbitten guys are here for a conversation and a few thoughts about barbs on hooks. Each one of us…

1
Finding Your Confidence Flies 1:06:07

1y ago1:06:07

1:06:07

Every angler needs a set of flies to call their own. Among the thousands of patterns, options and choices out there, eventually, we sort out a handful of confidence flies. Our faith in these flies gives us conviction when choosing them and tying the knot. We’ll fish THIS fly in THIS water. That’s what will catch the next trout. And if it doesn’t, t…

1
The Ethical Angler -- What Does That Mean? 1:01:57

1y ago1:01:57

1:01:57

What's right and wrong? That's what ethics really boils down to. Certainly, there are nuances about how much space to give other anglers on the river or how long we should hold a trout out of the water for a picture. But doing the right thing and being an ethical angler is probably best achieved by asking ourselves one question: Does this action ma…

1
The One or Two Fly Debate, Across Fishing Styles 1:01:57

1y ago1:01:57

1:01:57

The Troutbitten guys are here to talk about two flies. Why do we fish two dry flies, two streamers, wets or nymphs? Why don’t we? Why might we fish with just one fly instead? Multiple fly rigs are a common solution to fishing problems, but extra flies on the line can certainly create more issues than they solve. The one or two fly debate, across fi…

1
Why Do We Catch Trout In Patches? 1:08:58

1y ago1:08:58

1:08:58

The full Troutbitten crew is back for season thirteen. In this fall and early winter season, our theme is casual conversations. After three years of podcasting, we've recorded many episodes that go deep into the weeds on one specific topic. We've also dedicated full seasons to the Skills Series format, where a topic like night fishing or tight line…

1
Fishing Dry Flies -- Dry Fly Skills Series #7 58:32

1y ago58:32

58:32

For this final episode in the dry fly skills series, we work through some scenarios that anglers frequently encounter. Because, just like nymphing, fishing streamers and fishing wets, we fish dry flies for many different reasons and in many different ways. We addressed some of this in episode one, and in this final episode, we complete the bookend …

1
Rise Forms and Hook Sets -- Dry Fly Skills Series #6 47:11

1y ago47:11

47:11

In the last couple of weeks we talked a lot about choosing the next fly, when to change, and what informs our decision about what to change to — basically, how do we develop that next theory about what fly, water type and presentation style we want to test. Last week we talked about watching how trout are rising to naturals, how they are taking our…

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