The Articulate Fly
The Articulate Fly Fly Fishing Podcast regularly releases interviews with national and regional personalities covering fly fishing, fly tying and fly fishing travel. We also regularly release fishing reports for the novice and experienced fly angler. Whether you just loved a River Runs Through It or you are a streamer junkie, a dry fly addict, a swinger or a nymph head, we have you covered! To learn more, visit www.thearticulatefly.com.
Chasing Musky in Clear Water: Matt Reilly on Retrieve Speed and Seasonal Shifts
Episode Overview
In this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly, guide Matt Reilly explains how early-season musky are behaving in low, very clear water as an abrupt cold front brings Indian summer to an end. Recorded in mid-November, the episode is a practical guide to where river musky concentrate when flows drop, why water clarity should drive your retrieve speed and how to tell when the river has truly shifted into winter.
Matt notes that conditions across Southwest Virginia's rivers are normal for the season, with water temperatures still in the mid-50s...
Fewer Fish, Smarter Fishing: Mac Brown on Moving, Reading Water and October Caddis
Episode Overview
On this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash checks in with Mac Brown, fly casting instructor at Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, on the start of the Delayed Harvest season in western North Carolina. With the main hatchery in Brevard offline and fish kills at the other hatcheries, stocking started a month late and at roughly a third of normal numbers, which changes how anglers should find and fish stocked trout this fall. Mac explains what he is seeing on the Tuckasegee River around Bryson City and...
A Season in Patagonia: Steve Ramirez on Writing, Radical Empathy and Hope in Action
Episode Overview
On this episode of The Articulate Fly, author Steve Ramirez returns to talk about why he writes and to introduce his fifth book, A Season in Patagonia: An Angler and Naturalist's Journey to a New World. Recorded on October 6th, the day the Kindle edition dropped, this fly fishing podcast conversation explores seeing, doing and the real cost of living with purpose.
Marvin Cash frames the discussion around two practices: the practice of seeing and the practice of doing. Steve, a former U.S. Marine and Texas master peace officer who spent 35 years...
Fall Fishing Forecast: George Costa on Conditions, Caddis and Catching Fish
Episode Overview
On this Central PA Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly, George Costa of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, breaks down what late-October trout fishing looks like as cold mornings set in and the spawn approaches. With overnight lows in the low 30s, low and clear water and little rain in the forecast, George explains why timing and patience matter more than ever right now. He also makes a strong case for leaving spawning trout and their redds alone as the season turns.
George reports that the fishing has been okay but...
From Bass to Big Sky: Eric Hurst on Boat Tunes, Big Flies and Keeping It Real
Episode Overview
On this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash sits down with Eric Hurst, the fly designer behind the Umpqua-produced Thrasher and Agent Scully streamers, fresh off his first season in Montana. It's a candid conversation about guiding burnout, building a name from scratch and designing streamers that actually swim. For serious streamer tiers and anglers weighing a move from Southeastern tailwaters to big Western trout water, Hurst's perspective is unusually raw and practical.
Hurst grew up bass fishing in Alabama and came to fly fishing self-taught, learning to tie largely from...
From Smallmouth to Musky: Matt Reilly's Guide to Southwest Virginia's Fall Fishing
Episode Overview
On this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly, guide Matt Reilly of Matt Reilly Fly Fishing explains how to approach the opening weeks of fly fishing musky season and the final stretch of fall smallmouth fishing. Recorded as Southwest Virginia rivers recovered from heavy hurricane rain, the episode breaks down why October and early November musky fishing produces far more sightings than hookups and how to adjust when clear water makes fish spooky. Matt walks host Marvin Cash through his musky calendar, which starts with scattered trips in October before he commits fully...
The Truth About Rod Action: Mac Brown's Guide to Better Casting Techniques
Episode Overview
On this episode of The Articulate Fly's Casting Angles series, fly casting instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, joins host Marvin Cash to take apart one of fly fishing's most persistent misconceptions: that a faster rod is a better rod. With North Carolina's Delayed Harvest stocking running late and low fall flows limiting the fishing report, Mac and Marvin devote the conversation to rod action and why medium-action rods often outperform fast rods for casting, line control and fighting fish.
Mac frames the discussion around a...
Autumn Angling Insights: George Costa's Tips for Central PA's Changing Waters
Episode Overview
This Central PA Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly, a fly fishing podcast, catches up with George Costa, manager of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for an early-fall look at trout conditions across the region. Falling leaves, wind and dropping flows made for a slower week, but rain in the forecast should freshen things up just as the streamer bite and the first redds of the season approach.
Costa explains how leaves turning and falling into the water, pushed along by steady wind, have made clean drifts difficult as flows ease...
Pennsylvania Smallmouth Wrap-Up: Captain Brian Shoemaker on Low Water and Stingy Fish
Episode Overview
In the final Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report of the season on The Articulate Fly, Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides explains how to keep putting smallmouth bass in the boat as Central Pennsylvania's rivers drop to low, crystal-clear fall levels. It's a timely fly fishing podcast segment for anyone chasing smallmouth late in the season, when the fish get stingy and every presentation mistake gets punished.
Two weeks after a healthy shot of rain, a nor'easter that came up the East Coast delivered far less precipitation than hoped, and both the Susquehanna and...
REDUX: The Fight for Our Future: Land Tawney on Grassroots Advocacy and Public Lands
Episode Overview
This award-winning episode of The Articulate Fly, which took 1st place in the 2026 Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) Excellence in Craft awards (Radio/Podcast: Conservation), features outdoorsman, conservationist and grassroots organizer Land Tawney on how hunters and anglers can protect America's public lands and waters. Recorded in Fall 2025, the conversation pairs Land's nearly 30 years of conservation advocacy with a candid assessment of what he calls the most serious threat to public lands he has seen in his career. Raised in Missoula, Montana, Land traces his conservation ethic to childhood float trips during the Big...
Casting Essentials: Mac Brown's Guide to Power and Arc
Episode Overview
On this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash and Mac Brown, fly casting instructor at Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, unpack the biggest light bulb moment from Mac's recent casting mastery workshop: casting arc and applied power are inseparable, and many loop problems blamed on "too much power" are really a mismatch between the two. It is a practical lesson for any angler who wants cleaner loops at varying distances, and it arrives just as Western North Carolina anglers face a delayed start to the fall delayed...
Fall Fishing Forecast: George Costa on Streamers, Hatches and Safety Tips
Episode Overview
George Costa, manager of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, returns to The Articulate Fly for another Central PA Fishing Report as the region shifts firmly into fall. Recent rain has pushed creeks across Central Pennsylvania's limestone country well above seasonal flows and off-color, but George reports everything is on the drop and should be fishable again this weekend, with cool water temperatures keeping trout active and comfortable. Fall hatch activity is picking up, with Isos (Isonychia), tan caddis and October caddis all showing well, and George notes a recent streamer bite that produced...
REDUX: Nomadic Waters and the Allure of Amazonian Peacock Bass
Episode Overview
In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash sits down with Michael Williams, owner and host of Nomadic Waters, to explain how anglers catch Amazon peacock bass on the fly and what makes a Brazilian jungle expedition work. Williams runs Orvis-endorsed trips on the Rio Negro, Rio da Lua and Rio Tatuagem, where guests chase Temensis and rare Vazzoleri peacock bass from Bass Tracker boats and floating cabins. It is a practical roadmap for trout and saltwater anglers weighing a first Amazon trip.
Williams traces his path from a shared fly...
Navigating the Transition: Captain Brian Shumaker on Smallmouth Behavior and Fishing Techniques
Episode Overview
On this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for an early fall conditions update as the smallmouth bite makes its seasonal shift from bugs to streamers. With surface temperatures dropping into the 60s ahead of an incoming rainy, cooler pattern, Shumaker explains why the region's smallmouth bass are moving off the shallow flats and staging in deeper pockets, and why the topwater bite has effectively shut down for now. The conversation centers on the tactical adjustments that come...
The Fall Transition: Matt Reilly's Insights on Bass Behavior and Bug Fishing Strategies
Episode Overview
On this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide Matt Reilly of Matt Reilly Fly Fishing for a late summer update on the New River system. After weeks of stable weather, low water and daytime highs in the mid-80s to 90s have kept conditions consistent, though Reilly notes this year's annual cicada hatch has behaved differently than usual, peaking early and sporadically rather than settling into the typical seasonal pattern.
Reilly explains that smallmouth bass are already showing the classic fall...
Elevate Your Cast: Mac Brown's Expert Tips on Haul Timing and Line Speed
Episode Overview
How do you time a haul so it actually adds line speed instead of working against your cast? On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, break down the single biggest mistake anglers make when hauling: starting the pull too early. Recorded during the late summer trout doldrums, before delayed harvest waters reopen in early October, the conversation is built around a practical off-season drill list rather than an on-the-water report. Mac...
The Roadless Rule Debate: Chris Wood on Protecting America's Wild Spaces and What You Can Do
Episode Overview
On this episode of The Articulate Fly, Trout Unlimited President and CEO Chris Wood returns to discuss the fight to save the Roadless Rule, the 25-year-old policy now facing a full rescission by the U.S. Forest Service. With a public comment period closing September 21st, host Marvin Cash and Chris cover why this fight matters well beyond hunters and anglers. Chris, who helped write the original 2001 Roadless Rule as a Forest Service policy staffer under Chief Mike Dombeck, walks through its origins, the parallel legislative attack led by Senator Mike Lee and why the...
Mastering the Roll Cast: Mac Brown's Essential Techniques for Challenging Waters
Episode Overview
How do you build a roll cast good enough to effectively fish tight, brush-choked mountain streams where there's no room for a backcast at all? On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, break down what actually separates a "world class" roll cast from one anglers only think is dialed in. Mac frames the roll cast as the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free tool for the tight, overgrown trout streams typical of the Appalachians and...
Streamer Strategies: Ellis Ward's Late Day Fishing Tips for East Tennessee
Episode Overview
How should anglers pick streamer color when the light drops out on an East Tennessee tailwater? On this East Tennessee Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide Ellis Ward for a conditions update on the Watauga River and the South Holston River after an unusually wet stretch pulled the region out of a prolonged post-Helene drought. Ellis walks through how the sudden swing from months of low water to near-constant rain has scrambled the normal dam release schedule, turning a predictable one-to-six-o'clock Watauga generation window into...
Seasonal Shifts: Brian Shumaker's Smallmouth Strategies for Late Summer
Episode Overview
Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides returns to The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast for another Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report, breaking down how a fresh round of heavy late summer rain has muddied the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers and reshaped smallmouth positioning heading into Labor Day. Shumaker explains how localized thunderstorm tracks determine which branch of the Susquehanna blows out and which stays clean, meaning anglers who understand the West Branch/North Branch dynamic on the Susquehanna and the Juniata Valley's own storm patterns can often salvage half a river rather than write off an...
Late Summer Secrets: George Costa's Central PA Fishing Report
Episode Overview
On this Central PA Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with George Costa of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for a late summer conditions update. Water levels across the region are running well above the usual late summer norm thanks to a wet summer, keeping trout streams fishable throughout the day even as afternoon action remains the slowest window. Costa reports Tricos are still bringing fish up in the mornings, while evening hatches of caddis, olives and the season's first Isonychias round out the dry...
Smallmouth Chronicles: Matt Reilly's Secrets to Success in SW Virginia
Episode Overview
What happens to a Southwest Virginia smallmouth fishery when storm after storm rolls through a watershed for weeks on end? On this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide and writer Matt Reilly of Matt Reilly Fly Fishing for a late-summer update on a region caught in a relentless rain pattern, with flash floods dumping 6 to 7 inches of rain in an hour on parts of the watershed while the New River holds up comparatively well thanks to its lake-fed flows. Reilly breaks down how...
The Bare Necessities: Mac Brown's Guide to Minimalist Fly Fishing Gear
Episode Overview
How much gear does it actually take to fish effectively for trout in the Southern Appalachians? On this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish make the case for stripping gear down to the essentials rather than chasing every new product on the market. The conversation was sparked by both hosts equipping their youngest sons with fly fishing gear, which got them talking about how little an angler really needs to catch fish consistently in the region's freestone...
The Science of Streamers (Pt II): Kirk Klingensmith on Swim Flies
Episode Overview
On this episode of The Butcher Shop fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash welcomes back Kirk Klingensmith for Part Two of their Science of Streamers conversation, this time digging into the physics behind swim flies and the Game Changer platform. Klingensmith brings an engineer's eye to the vise, breaking down why doubling a fly's length doesn't mean doubling its diameter and why that distinction matters more than most tiers realize.
The conversation opens with the geometry of drag: length scales linearly, but diameter drives drag by the square, so a modest increase in...
Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report: Captain Brian Shumaker's Late Summer Strategies
Episode Overview
On this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a mid-August conditions update on the Susquehanna River system in Central Pennsylvania. After a heavy rain event pushed the river up, Shumaker reports flows are now falling and clarity is returning, with roughly two feet of visibility on the edges and more color still out in the main current. That in-between water dictates a two-tier approach: anglers can still pound the banks with poppers where visibility holds, but need...
Central PA Fishing Report: George Costa's Summer Strategies for Success
Episode Overview
George Costa of TCO Fly Shop returns to The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast for another Central PA Fishing Report with host Marvin Cash, checking in on mid-summer conditions across the region's limestone streams. It's a mixed picture: recent weekend rain has pushed the Little Juniata River high and essentially unfishable for the next few days, while Spring Creek, Fishing Creek and Penns Creek remain in solid seasonal shape with manageable flows.
Costa reports classic mid-summer fishing, with mornings through late-morning and evenings producing the most consistent action. Tricos are showing sporadically, especially...
The Power of Habit: Mac Brown's Strategies for Fishing Success
Episode Overview
How can anglers turn a slow, hot summer on the water into long-term improvement? On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish and Fly Fishing Guide School make the case for using the dog days of summer to build better habits rather than force uncomfortable and unproductive trips.
With trout fishing tough across the region during the summer heat and low water, and even bass and panfish uncomfortable in the worst of the heat, Mac...
The Science of Streamers (Pt I): Kirk Klingensmith on Jigging and Wrecking Flies
Episode Overview
On this episode of The Butcher Shop fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash sits down with Kirk Klingensmith, a retired Corning engineer and lifelong angler, for a physics-driven breakdown of why streamers move the way they do. Klingensmith, who wrote the "physics of fly motion" chapter for Blane Chocklett's Game Changer book, brings a scientist's eye to the vise, translating drag, momentum and weight placement into practical tying and fishing decisions. In Part One of this two-part conversation, he and Cash work through jig flies and wrecking or kicking flies, saving swim flies for a...
Topwater Tactics: Captain Brian Shumaker's Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report
Episode Overview
On this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a peak-summer conditions update on the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers in Central Pennsylvania. Flows are running skinny with a stretch of cool mornings and low humidity, with rain in the forecast to bump levels back up. Shumaker breaks down a topwater program built around a heavy blue damsel bite, the arrival of the white fly hatch on both rivers and cicadas working the banks, along with the disciplined casting...
Summer Secrets: George Costa's Central PA Fishing Report
Episode Overview
In this Central PA Fishing Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with George Costa of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for an end-of-July conditions update. Costa reports Central Pennsylvania's trout streams running a touch above seasonal averages after a recent shot of rain, with solid dry fly and terrestrial action across the region.
Water levels are in good shape for late summer, and while overnight temps have cooled into the 50s, Costa reminds anglers to keep checking midday stream temperatures on the region's bigger...
Weathering the Storm: Matt Reilly on Adapting to Summer Fishing Conditions
Episode Overview
What happens to smallmouth bass fishing in Southwest Virginia when a big summer rain event hits after weeks of low, clear water? On this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide and writer Matt Reilly of Matt Reilly Fly Fishing for a real-time look at a region caught mid-storm, with rain hammering areas south of Radford and across northeast Tennessee while the New River itself stays comparatively unaffected. Matt breaks down why the coming days of rising, cooling, discolored water will actually put feeding...
Cool Waters and Hot Days: Mac Brown’s Guide to Summer Fishing
Episode Overview
With freestone trout streams across the Southeast pushing into the upper 60s and low 70s by mid-morning, serious anglers need a plan for beating the summer heat. On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish and Fly Fishing Guide School in Bryson City, North Carolina, break down how to keep catching trout — or productively wait it out — when peak summer temperatures push freestone fishing to its limits.
Mac and Marvin agree that the dog days of s...
Castability Unleashed: Mark Sedotti's Journey with the Sedotti Slammer
Episode Overview
In this episode of The Butcher Shop, host Marvin Cash sits down with Mark Sedotti, inventor of the Sedotti Slammer and one of the pioneers of weight-balanced streamer design, to trace nearly 35 years of big-fly development for striped bass and bluefish. Sedotti explains why a lead keel and the right amount of absorbed water can make an oversized streamer cast further and more accurately than a small one, overturning decades of conventional wisdom that heavy flies are harder to throw.
Working from western Long Island Sound, where he first tied the Slammer to...
Hot Days and Night Bites: Brian Shumaker’s Guide to Pennsylvania Smallmouth Fishing
Episode Overview
In this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a midsummer conditions update on the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers in Central Pennsylvania. Recorded following a stretch of triple-digit heat punctuated by heavy rain, the report finds Shumaker firmly in prime topwater season, with blue damselflies coming off heavy from late morning into the evenings and the white fly hatch on deck for the end of July into early August.
Shumaker walks through his day-to-day approach on...
Summer Stream Insights: George Costa on Conditions, Patterns and Upcoming Events
Episode Overview
In this Central PA Fishing Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with George Costa of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for a real-time midsummer conditions update. A cooler, wetter stretch of weather has replaced the previous week's heat, giving Central Pennsylvania's limestone streams a welcome break heading into the weekend.
Costa reports that Spring Creek, Penns Creek and Fishing Creek are all running a little above average and slightly off-color after a soaking rain earlier in the week, while the Little Juniata took on...
Navigating Summer Waters: Ellis Ward on Trout, Musky and the Art of the Evening Bite
Episode Overview
How do East Tennessee anglers keep varied, high-quality fishing going through the peak of summer heat? On this East Tennessee Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide Ellis Ward for a summer conditions update covering tailwater trout, musky and an evening-into-night program that few outfitters offer. The answer, as Ellis explains, comes down to water: East Tennessee's cold tailwater releases stay productive for trout even on the hottest days, while nearby musky water holds in the low 70s, giving anglers a rare menu of species and...
Mastering the Cast: Mac Brown's Insights on Shooting Line
Episode Overview
How do skilled fly casters actually maximize distance by shooting line, and why do most anglers overestimate how well they have mastered it? On this Casting Angles segment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash reconnects with Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, for a deep dive into the mechanics of shooting line.
Drawing on college-level research using high-speed cameras and strobe lights, Mac explains why the vast majority of anglers who claim they shoot line well are really only releasing...
Summer Heat Strategies: Captain Brian Shumaker's Smallmouth Tips
Episode Overview
A scorching Fourth of July heat wave is bearing down on Central Pennsylvania, and the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers are about to test every smallmouth angler's heat tolerance. On this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a candid, safety-first conversation about fishing smallmouth bass through triple-digit conditions.
With water temperatures pushing into the 90s and a 101-degree forecast on the horizon, Brian breaks down how heat affects both the bite and angler safety on his...
Central PA Fishing Forecast: George Costa's Summer Stream Insights
Episode Overview
George Costa, manager at TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, joins host Marvin Cash on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast for the latest Central PA Fishing Report as early summer conditions take hold across the region's limestone streams. Recorded in late June with the calendar almost at July, this report catches Central PA at an important seasonal juncture: stream temperatures have been favorable in the low 60s following a recent shot of rain, but a warming trend is on the horizon that will require anglers to exercise real discipline about when — and whether — to f...
Low Water, Big Bugs: Matt Reilly's Southwest Virginia Fishing Update
Episode Overview
In this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide and writer Matt Reilly for a late-June conditions update covering the bug bite, streamer strategy and musky gear. With water running very low and clear across most drainages — and a near-94°F heat spike bearing down on the region for the Fourth of July — Matt explains why the current conditions are still worth fishing hard. Damselflies, dragonflies and terrestrial insects are out in force, and in technical low-water scenarios, Matt argues that surface bug presentations becom...
