Dangerous Fly Fishing Podcast

Episode 79 - Early Musky Season. We discuss musky spawning and the upcoming post-spawn season. We cover fly selection, how to fish, and where to find them.

Episode 78 - Eastern Gray Drake/March Brown. We discuss the upcoming hatches.  Under Ross's tutelage, his nephew catches his first trout on the fly.  Cooper and Ross find limited success in local waters.  Matt performs truck repairs as he remains on the disabled list.  Provide review to a listener on their fly tying.

Episode 77 - Black Quill/Hendrickson. Not many adventures to report as Hobbles and Wobbles earned their nicknames. Ross had some success on Friday.  Met the manager of Precision Fly and Tackle for State College at Fisherman's Paradise. Weather ruined the remainder of the weekend.

Episode 76 - Opening weekend of PA trout. Not ideal conditions but we persevere. Todd shows Cooper and Matt up.  We discuss the next hatches coming up. 

Episode 75 - Fare thee well Archer - Quill Gordon/BWO.  We mourn the loss of a fishing buddy and best friend.  We get down and dirty regarding the first two major hatches of the trout season. Get distracted with fishing stories.

Episode 74 - Eastern Fly Hatches. We discuss the timeline of hatches for the upcoming trout season and highlight important flies.  Try some new adult drinks and dissect Cooper's shiny new reel.

Special Episode 1 - Jim Crawford and Sean are in town for the TU banquet.  We get some back history from Jim and hear some solid fishing stories.

Episode 73 - About Fly Rods. We give you a breakdown of fly rods to help you pick the perfect rod for you.  Offer some recommendations for the game you are chasing. Some technical difficulties almost burn the studio down. 

Episode 72: Casting Tips.  We all need to work on casting whether we are tossing size 14 nymphs or half a deer and a full chicken.  We provide casting tips to aid you in being a better caster so you can get the fly where you need/want. At a minimum, we help you figure out what you are doing wrong.

Episode 71 - Kentucky River Musky Classic 2026. We discuss the Kentucky River Classic. Expensive weekend due to lost flies. Good time as always though. Cooper got a new rod and is excited to try it out.

Episode 70 - Common Beginner Mistakes.  In preparation of trout season and as most begin their fly fishing journey trout fishing, we discuss the most common beginner mistakes in fly fishing.  To be fair, even we still make some of these mistakes.

Episode 69 - Building Fly Rods. Special guest in studio. Discussed Ross's experiences and techniques building a fly rod.  May be a new winter hobby.  

Episode 68 - Since there is not much fishing to be done in the current frozen tundra, reading seems a good way to advance your knowledge of the sport and become a better fisherman.  We discuss some of our favorite fly fishing books.  A lot of these books directly made us better fly fishermen.  Ross and I also tell the tale of the ghost lady deep in the woods of Pennsylvania on a fishing adventure.

Episode 67 - Favorite Trout Flies.  We discuss our favorite trout flies for the upcoming trout season as it's time to order or tie. Solid list for those getting in. Stories are included for those flies. We get slightly distracted by the recent "snowmageddon" or "snowpocalypse". We also have been distracted by auto upgrades and repairs, mainly repairs for stuff we broke doing upgrades.

Episode 66 - Scouting New Waters. Trial run of video podcast is a fail. Equipment issues abound.  Discuss how to scout new waters both near and far. Real world examples and mishaps included.

Episode 65 - Basic Streamer Tactics.  We discuss the basics of what, where, when, and why regarding streamers.  Further information on the kayak cheater.  Jim discusses the development of robin flies. Snake stories galore.

Episode 64 - Being Productive in the Offseason. What can you do to advance your fishing in the offseason? Boy, do we have answers for you! Check your gear. Learn stuff. Don't suck.   

Episode 63 - Big Jim returns. Discuss the holiday break. New gifts and gear.  New Year's fishing resolutions and planned trips.

Episode 62 - Adventures on Ice. Discuss the Amish and hunting. Weekend adventures in ice fishing. Ice fishing strategy.

Episode 61 - Intro to Fly Tying. Discuss the basics such as tools, materials, etc.  Get into the weeds a little bit regarding fly tying tools, materials, and techniques. Deeper to come in the future. Discuss the modern fear of the dark and adventures in the quest for fly tying materials.

Episode 60 - Intro to Ice Fishing. Not the same sport, but we find some overlap. Considering the cold weather and upcoming coming polar vortex, when the lakes, rivers, and creeks freeze, what do you do?  You can fly tie...or you can learn to fish the hard water.  You could do both (just saying).  Turns out if you can fly tie, you can tie your own custom jigs for ice fishing.  We cover the basics regarding safety, equipment, strategy, and tackle.  Discuss the weekend's PA opening day of deer (rifle; please bring back the Monday so we can have our unrecognized and unofficial state holiday back) and our failures to obtain fly tying materials.

Episode 59 - Bit of a train wreck due to the holiday season, plus lots of guests. Apologies.  Gift ideas for the fly fisher in your life.

Episode 58 - How musky perceive their world. Discuss fly selection and how they may be perceived by the fish. Ross goes all scientific regarding musky vision. New fly tying materials acquired over the weekend.

Episode 57 - How to Raft. We discuss raft set up and how to fish from a raft. Gear and pointers provided. New bourbon tasting. Disucss the weekend's fishing, and why Matt's never fishing with Ross again. Archer is apparently a scuba diver. Also, case study in musky fly fishing provided for consideration.

Episode 56 - Steelhead season. Guest star Jim Kearney.  Discuss the basics of steelhead fishing. Cover gear, lines, flies, etc.  Prepare you for the worst shoulder to shoulder fishing and spinfishermen.  Discuss the week's adventures.

Episode 55 - How to find musky. We cover how to find musky in rivers and lakes. Cover structure, strategies, water temps, and fish finders.  Matt fishes in an aquarium, and Ross fishes for lunkers.

Episode 54 - Semi-auto fly reels are a thing. Learned things from the new guy.  Apparently, need to dive deeper into the fly box and buy some new flies. The greatest musky fishing day (ever without catching a fish).  Ross's missed fish from the Beast eludes another.  Archer wants a jet boat.

Episode 53 - Beast of the East. Minor tragedy and heart break.  Tricked by pike. Monster bass caught. Finding muskies scouting, but unable to find them in the tourney. Saw the largest musky of our life to no avail. Broken equipment and hearts.

Episode 52 - Winter is coming.  Discuss winter fly fishing and essential gear. Try some new cocktails. Beast preparation (a little over a week out!). Accidentally stumble upon some weird fetishes Todd may have.

Episode 51 - Continue with education regarding musky fly fishing. Ross reviews his new Chippewa River.  Knocks the jinx off it on Sunday. Matt & Chris visit the fly shop. Weird weather as it was raining squirrels.

Episode 50 - With the Beast coming up, it seems a good time to share knowledge and encourage others in their pursuit.  We discuss the basics such as equipment and techniques.  Also discuss the adventures of the week. New waters, new adventures.

Episode 49 - Wedding bells. Mike & Tami tie the knot.  Wedding weekend stuff. Cooper reviews new kicks. Matt breaks his Yeti chair (hoping warranty claim is accepted), and he does a little fishing with his neighbor.

Episode 48 - Tim catches his first fish in over two decades. Matt and Cooper forget how to launch a boat. Cooper finds some success fishing with his go to fly for success. 

Episode 47 - Sean fly fishes for the first time in a few years. Mishaps occur. Tangled leaders. Falls in the creek. Broken fly rods. Little bit of electroshock therapy. It was a good weekend and week!

Episode 46 - Grizzlies don't like mascots. Made a new friend.  New musky flies. Actually went fishing for a change.  Lot of looks, but no takers. Sean sets up a Gofundme. Operation Viking Ship update. Bruce Willis has dementia, or something (movie credits reflect it).

Episode 45 - Cooper is back! I know you all missed him. We catch up on his vacation. Apparently, everything failed this week: SUP pump, truck, boots, gout, etc. 

Episode 44 - Matt in studio. Mike and Tami in studio. Brothers call in. Bit of a mixed bag content wise. Tim rehashes old wounds. Bit of historical discrepancy. Plans for the future, wedding bells included.

Episode 43 - Chris and Matt in studio. Matt goes for a swim.  Meat-a-palooza!!! Great food, great company, great time. Chris and Ross win Pickleball championship. Tim fought Battle of Baden Hill.

Episode 42 - Cooper in studio. Matt phones it in, figuratively and literally. Tim almost joined, but he was unable due to the coma from heat stroke. Discuss the week's adventures, fishing, and Meat-a-palooza preparations. Apparently, radioactive sludge tastes like Jolly Rancher Green Apple.   Cooper also forgot he was lactose intolerant.

Episode 41. Chris and Matt in studio. Discuss nature. Blind taste test of beer. Matt's cool axes. Cooper gets a SUP. Oil change disasters. 1st for the Beast!

Episode 40 - New Viking ship toys. Free wood. Lots of poison ivy. Boys finally get out fishing. Ross catches a good one. Can cross getting caught out in a thunderstorm while on the raft off the list.

Episode 39 - Chris, Matt, and Ross in studio. We catch up with Ross because it feels like we haven't seen him in forever. As always, things get out of hand and time flies.  Don't actually discussing fishing until the third segment. Sorry.  Weather sucks.  Fishing is borderline impossible with temperatures. We persevere via alcohol and memories.

Episode 38 - Weather continues to suck. Some fishing was had with minimal success. Cooper discusses his weekend.  Operation Viking Ship commences (Cooper's belief shockingly diminishes). Boat trailer breaks again.

Episode 37 - Cooper brings hard teas, disappointing.  Matt fishes mini-Beast, disappointing. Weather, disappointing. 

Episode 36 - Matt and Chris in studio. Discuss the week's fishing. There is a minor side tangent about new shows that may be worth a watch. Cooper's anger management problems. Teaching new anglers to fly fish. Discuss questionable parentage and possible adoption.

Episode 35 - Chris and Matt in studio. Sean calls in. Shirts are in! Discuss the adventures and misadventures of the holiday weekend with family. Family time is quality time despite resulting expletives. Cooper does charity. Matt attempts fishing with Sean and their father to no success and equipment failure.  

Episode 34 - Chris and Matt in studio.  Why are sailboats still a thing?  Mexico fucks up and the boys almost got into a boating accident (almost hit by a sailboat).  Fishing sucked this week due to the weather but made it out anyway dodging rain clouds. Discuss fly tying and tenkara fishing. 

Episode 33.  Matt tries an inadvertent type of dangerous fly fishing (the not good kind).  The boys discuss the first musky tournament of the year at Lake Arthur.  As the saying goes, the best days of owning a boat are the day you buy and the day you sell.  Boat, and operator error, pose issues for the tournament.

Episode 32. Matt runs the Pittsburgh Marathon. Absolutely no fishing was done due to inclement weather. Discuss upcoming musky tourney. Progress on viking ship.  Essentially, a show about nothing due to the weather.

Episode 31 - Matt informs the world he is building a viking ship.  It's out in the world so he has to do it now.  Cooper has no faith.  Place your bets!  Cooper provides review of his Lively Legs Net Holder.  Minimal fishing due to work and weather, but Cooper has a great day. Ross makes it out to the streams and fishes with Cooper and Matt.