About this episode
My guest this week is one of fly fishing's best writers and storytellers Monte Burke [31:35], whose writing you may have seen in Garden & Gun, Forbes, or The Drake—or perhaps you've read his book, and one of my favorite fishing books, Lords of the Fly . To discover who Monte, and many other people (including me) consider the finest fly-fishing guide who ever lived, you'll have to listen to the podcast. You'll also learn about his new book of stories, Rivers Always Reach the Sea . 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: A listener informs us about the different grain weights in standard fly lines, and how there is a much bigger percentage difference in lighter lines than heavier ones. What do you think about hooks that get left in a fish's mouth? What would you look for in an ideal brook trout spot? How can I keep panfish from grabbing my carp flies? Is there an advantage to silicone fly boxes over ones with foam strips? If I practice casting with my 4-weight fiberglass rod, will that affect my casting on other rods? How do you use a dubbing loop and when do you use one? The solid metal eyes on my redfish flies sink too quickly. Should I use bead chain or plastic eyes instead? What is it about CDL feathers that make it worth using?