Loop to Loop

Born and raised in the upper Midwest, Erik Johnsen's first connection to fishing was with panfish and bass. He found his passion for fly fishing chasing wild and native trout in Wisconsin's Driftless Region. He studied geography and graduated from the University of Wisconsin, which led to him becoming a member of the TroutRoutes team. TroutRoutes is a fly-fishing app that gives anglers a powerful tool backed by onX Maps to find access points, map out your next adventure, download offline maps, and even find specific species to chase with a fly rod. Erik lives in Southwest Wisconsin with his wife Cally, and two sons, Arlo and Frankie, on their homestead property.

Tiki Furimsky is an avid fly fisher and skier from Crested Butte, Colorado. He hails from the legendary Furimsky family. His grandpa, Chuck, started The Fly Fishing Show, and his dad, Ben, is the president and CEO.  Tiki and editor Ross Purnell discuss how to get kids into fly fishing, gear for kids, cutthroat trout or brook trout, striped bass on the fly, and why the shows are great for learning. From shredding the ski slopes to fly fishing the Salmonfly hatch, Tiki and friends are on the water and becoming the next generation of fly fishers and conservationists.

Shawn Combs got started as fly fisher in Kentucky, got a degree in mechanical engineering, and started with Orvis in 2011. He was the designer of all of Orvis's very successful Helios rods, and was most recently responsible for the development of all of Orvis tackle including waders, reels, boots, and packs. After 15 successful years at Orvis, Combs announced was leaving Vermont to take on a new role as vice president of Scott.  We had the chance to sit down with Shawn in the Montrose, Colorado, Scott Fly Rods factory to find out what inspired the move, how he feels about his former employer and co-workers, how he will collaborate with Scott President Jim Bartschji, and what the future holds for fly rod design. You won't want to miss this inside look at two of the biggest brands in fly fishing.

Dusty Wissmath is a fly-fishing instructor, author, and travel host who lives in Pennsylvania's trout-rich Cumberland Valley. He teaches through TCO fly shops, is an Orvis instructor for Allenberry Resort in Boiling Springs, and is an instructor at the Wulff School of Fly Fishing in Livingston Manor, New York. He's a climber, mountaineer, fly fisher, and has spent a lifetime outdoors. He has over 30 years of experience instructing new to advanced anglers, and is working on a new book that teaches proper body mechanics in fly casting.

Joshua Caldwell is the director of the Netflix hit "Mending the Line" starring big names like Brian Cox, Sinqua Walls, Perry Mattfeld, Patricia Heaton and Wes Studi. He's also passionate fly fisher who directed the documentary "Legacy: The Story of Cathy and Barry Beck." Both films deal with loss and grief—and also on the soothing joy that can come from fly fishing. His conversation with Ross Purnell focuses on his experiences catching huge brook trout in Labrador, working with veteran groups like Warriors and Quiet Waters, the difficulties of making films with live animals (trout), and his next projects on the horizon.

George Daniel is the director of the Joe Humphreys Fly Fishing Program at Penn State University. George sits down with editor Ross Purnell to discuss fly fishing in extreme conditions, from low and clear conditions to fishing rising water, Daniel explains how adjusting your approach and tactics can lead to a successful day. In the second part of this special podcast, students who are currently enrolled at PSU become the "Loop to Loop" hosts and ask George about everything from fly-fishing careers to special moments on the water. You do not want to miss this one!

Colorado guide Landon Mayer grew up in Colorado Springs and was mentored by his local fly shop (shout out Angler's Covey) and local fly tier John Barr. He became a pro fly tier and one of the leading experts on sight-fishing for trout. In this episode of Loop to Loop Landon explains how to look for telltale trout signs—a hint of color, the noticeable  "potato chip" of a brown trout's pectoral fin, or the giveaway of a ghostly shadow. He also explains why he is crazy about leeches, how he prepares for every day of fishing by tying at least a dozen flies as part of his routine, and how a golden dorado in Argentina changed his life. Ross and Landon also dive into the Clean the Dream project started by Landon and his friend Brandon Kramer 10 years ago. The annual event in 2025 had 300 volunteers that included 100 different families and 75 kids picking up trash from Colorado public lands.

Chuck Furimsky graduated from Penn State and when he was there, he took fly-fishing courses from the legendary George Harvey. In the 1980s he even filmed an interview with the original Penn State instructor, which you'll glimpse in the video version. From there Chuck went on to start The Fly Fishing Show, a traveling carnival of fly-fishing experts and celebrities that has introduced tens of thousands of people to the joys of fly fishing. Listen to Chuck's stories about "roasting" Lefty Kreh, introducing new fly tiers like Bob Popovics to the world, and many other stories that come from decades and decades of working with the world's leading fly-fishing authorities.

Mark Susinno is a lifelong and classically trained fine artist who resides in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After attending Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY his brother introduced him to fly fishing and forged a path for Mark to focus his creativity. His paintings have graced the fly-fishing world for over 35 years capturing the anticipation and mysterious world of life underwater. An active conservationist, Susinno has donated countless pieces of artwork to many conservationist organizations including Trout Unlimited and Bonefish and Tarpon Trust. To see his artwork, watch the YouTube version of this podcast.

Ben Furimsky is the owner and operator of The Fly Fishing Show, the largest consumer show in the fly-fishing industry. The Fly Fishing Show travels around the United States educating and entertaining anglers from January to March. Furimsky is an accomplished fly fisher who has travelled to the far reaches of the globe, most recently to Mongolia to catch and help implant tracking devices in taimen.  His shows, films, adventures, and connections to all the experts and celebrities in the business make him one of the most influential people in the sport of fly fishing today.

In a matter of just a couple of months, Blane Chocklett caught his personal best striper and then his all-time best redfish on the same fly—his darting, slip-sliding, erratic Jerk Changer. The fly is inspired by jerkbait lures, and it has an action like nothing else in fly fishing. If you want to catch mind-boggling  muskies, smallmouths, pike, jacks, or any other predatory species, the Jerk Changer can trigger a crashing response. In this episode Blane explains why it works, how to tie it, and most importantly how to retrieve it for maximum effectiveness.

Bill Skilton started fly fishing at an early age with tutelage from Limestone Legends such as Charlie Fox, Vince Marinaro, and Ross Trimmer. Learn about the history of Pennsylvania's Cumberland Valley and its impact on fly fishing in North America. Pennsylvania's spring creeks such as LeTort Spring Run, Big Spring Creek, Falling Springs, and parts of the Yellow Breeches were the birthplace of terrestrial fly patterns such as beetles, ants, and the famous LeTort hopper and cricket. Skilton is a Renaissance man. He's the president of the Pennsylvania Fly Fishing Museum, a buyer and seller of historic fly rods, art and flies, and is also an avid chicken raiser for premium hackle. If you ever thought of raising your own roosters, Skilton deep dives into the rigors of raising chickens and how to get varying results for hackle colors and sizes.

One of the most versatile, experienced saltwater guides of all time, Capt. Paul Dixon has spent decades fishing from Long Island to the Upper Keys, throughout the Caribbean and around the world. He caught his first striped bass in the 1970s in Newport Beach, California, he is a pioneer in East Coast sight-fishing for striped bass, a recipient of the 2022 Lefty Kreh Award for Lifetime Achievement in Conservation, and 2021 recipient of the  Izaak Walton Award from the American Museum of Fly Fishing.   One of our favorite stories in this episode is a retelling of when Flip Pallot, Bob Popovics, and Paul Dixon filmed an episode of "The Walker's Cay Chronicles" together. Three legends!   Dixon was also the technical advisor on the fishing scenes in the new movie "Looking Through Water," which is now streaming on Amazon, Apple TV, Google play, DIRECTV, and others. The star of the movie is Michael Douglas, but look for Paul Dixon and a cast of other famous fishing guides.

Mike Dawes is the managing partner of Westbank Anglers in Wilson, Wyoming near the town of Jackson, Grand Teton and Yellowstone National Parks. Dawes has guided for decades, and fly fished the world for species ranging from trout to exotic saltwater fish such as barracuda. He is well-known for his dedication to permit fishing and conservation. Having won multiple permit tournaments, including the Del Brown Permit Tournament and the March Merkin, Dawes sheds light on what it takes to be a permit angler and some strange behaviors. He is also an active board member of the South Fork Initiative of the Henry's Fork Foundation, which conserves and protects the native cutthroat trout in the Snake River. He is also a part of Fish Camp, a collective of fly-fishing educational resources for beginning anglers to advanced. 

Oliver White started as a guide then grew his career as a fly-fishing entrepreneur to build Abaco Lodge. He later co-founded the indigenous empowerment non-profit organization Indifly, and currently is co-owner of South Fork Lodge in Swan Valley, Idaho. He's been featured in many films, most notably the YETI Presents film "A Thousand Casts" that chronicled his adventure in Bhutan while searching for the golden Masheer. An active conservationist and environmentalist, White has influenced the outdoor culture for over a decade with his dedication to protecting wild fish and places while empowering native cultures to build sustainable businesses in their outdoor spaces through Indifly. He is a YETI and Costa ambassador that continues to explore the world wherever fish take a feather and a hook. 

Tom Baltz is an Orvis Endorsed guide and recipient of the Orvis Lifetime Achievement Award in 2023. He guides his home waters in the Cumberland Valley area of Pennsylvania and is a renown fly tier with patterns available through Montana Fly Co. He discusses his most well-known pattern, the Baltz's Paranymph, which has caught trout around the world. Yellow Breeches creek, LeTort Spring Run, and Big Spring creek are an integral part of the nation's fly-fishing history. Baltz dives into Cumberland Valley's rich history and his journey learning from the Limestone legends such as Vince Marinaro, Charlie Fox, Ed Koch, Ross Trimmer, and more. When it comes to fly tying, he is a master naturalist, developing his patterns through keen observation and decades of guiding. 

Yvon Chouinard is a philanthropist, conservationist, climber, fly fisher, co-founder of 1% for the Planet, and founder of Patagonia. He has played a vital role in shaping the landscape of the entire outdoor community for over 40 years. He was named one of the "100 Most Influential People" by Time Magazine in 2023. He has authored numerous books such as Let My People Go Surfing, Simple Fly Fishing, and his latest book, Pheasant Tail Simplicity, co-authored with Craig Mathews, founder of Blue Ribbon Flies, and Italian angler Mauro Mazzo, is available in Octboer 2025. Chouinard finds clarity and a Zen-like perspective on tying flies that are simple in form, such as the Flymph, but are highly-effective with the proper technique and presentation. "For me . . . perfection is achieved through simplicity, instead of complexity. If you can get your technique down to absolute simplicity by replacing all of that material with knowledge, it's really satisfying . . ." –Yvon Chouinard

Bob Rich is the author of five books, his latest "Looking Through Water" has been adapted into a major motion picture starring Michael Douglas and will be in theaters nationwide September 12, 2025.  Like its predecessor "A River Runs Through It," "Looking Through Water" is about family and how fly fishing can tear them apart or bring them closer together. Bob reveals the behind-the-scenes involved with making a movie, and the major difficulties involved with creating realism in a saltwater environment. You will love this conversation with a down-to-earth angler who has fished around the world, caught everything from panfish to 1,000-pound marlin, called President George H. W. Bush his friend, and is fondly known as "Bubba" by his many, many fishing friends. He is chairman and majority owner of Rich Products, a major donor and supporter of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust—we also take a deep dive into BTT, why it is important, and how they are making giant strides forward using science as a tool. Bob hails from Buffalo New York and we also jump into the topic of Buffalo wings. If you dip your wings in ranch, you are doing it wrong, and Bob will set you straight.

Monte Burke is one of the leading writers of this century and author of the new book "Rivers always Reach the Sea." Monte has fished all around the world with some of the most eclectic and influential people in the sport of fly fishing, people like Yvon Chouinard, Andy Mill, and Lefty Kreh—but he says one of his greatest privileges in life is spending a day each year fishing with "the greatest guide who ever lived" Capt. Steve Huff. In this episode of Loop to Loop, Monte spins fishing tales that range from midnight excursions with the denizens of a New York City jetty to fishing the tundra rivers of Russia's Kola Peninsula. Burke is also the author of Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World Record Tarpon; Sowbelly: The Obsessive Quest for the World Record Largemouth Bass; and the New York Times bestseller, Saban: The Making of a Coach, a biography of Alabama head coach, Nick Saban. After a 14-year stint as a reporter, staff writer and editor at Forbes, he is now a contributing editor at the magazine. He is also a contributing editor at Garden & Gun and The Drake. 

Dave Zielinski stumbled into a periodic cicada hatch more than 20 years ago and has been chasing these massive emergences—as well as annual cicada hatches in the West—ever since. In this episode we recap the Brood XIV feasting that happened in 12 states in 2025 . . . and we look to the future. While there is no Magicicada hatch anywhere in 2026, the following year begins a 12-year "age of cicadas" where there is a periodic 13-year or 17-year cicada hatch somewhere every year for 12 years in a row! Zielinski is the author of the book "Cicada Madness," author of the Fly Fisherman magazine article "When Broods Collide," and is the world's leading Magicicada expert when it comes to finding where fish feed on these giant insects. We discuss his strategies for lakes and open water, his favorite flies and how to fish them, and the threats to the survival of the Magicicada genus. They feed on sap from tree roots for 13 or 17 years before they emerge, they depend on old forests for survival, and that's the first place you start looking when you want to take part in this incredible angling event. We also discuss swinging for steelhead, making your own wooden drift boat, and adventure DIY trips to B.C., so if you like chasing hatches, chasing steelhead, tying really cool flies, or building your own boat, tune into this one.

Mike Komara grew up competitive trout fishing, first with the US Youth Fly Fishing Team and most recently with the adult Fly Fishing Team USA where the team won a bronze medal at the 2025 world championships in the Czech Republic. But trout are only one piece of the puzzle for this young guide, educator, and owner of Innovative Angling. Mike also chases snakeheads in the Chesapeake, muskies in big rivers, and he's traveled all over Argentina on a DIY adventure for golden dorado. In this episode, Mike shares his dry-fly secrets, how he never uses rooster hackle, and how he made his CDC dry fly flies bounce, hop, and skitter at the world championships.

Josh Miller is author of the best-selling book "Euro Nymphing: Tips, Tactics, and Techniques" (2024), guide and owner of the Trout Yeah Guide Service, and head coach of the US Youth Fly Fishing Team that won gold medals in Bosnia (2023) and in the Czech Republic (2024). In July, 2025, the world championships are on the team's home turf in Idaho and the youth team is going for a three-peat. In this episode, coach Miller discusses his introduction to fly fishing, his journey through the ranks of competitive fly fishing, and digs into his simplified nymphing system. Josh carries only a few fly patterns indifferent sizes, weights, and colors. In his mind there's often no need to change the fly pattern, the better choice is to make a better presentation.

A lot of fly fishers like to occasionally drop the Latin names of insects, and some of them are amateur entomologists with a layman's knowledge of aquatic insects. But Eric Naguski is a trained, professional scientist with a BS in biology from Millersville University with a focus on aquatic entomology and ecology. He's studied these bugs for more than 30 years and is one of the most meticulous fly tiers alive today. He knows that insects of the same species can vary in size and in color from stream to stream, and a lifetime of research has led him to some very precise conclusions. If you want to know more about insects, and how to elevate your game in terms of matching the hatch both at the surface and below, there's a lot to learn from Naguski, who is the author of Favorite Flies for Pennsylvania: 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts, and a guide and owner of Riseforms Fly Fishing in Boiling Springs, Pennsylvania.

Joe Humphreys was born in 1929 and at 96 years old he is still night fishing, chasing hatches, teaching children how to cast and catch fish, and inspiring fly fishers around the world. Joe is the only person in the world to be in both the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame and the National Wrestling Hall of Fame. He is a coach, teacher, author, presenter, and former director of the Penn State Fly Fishing Program—which is now named after him. In this episode of Loop to Loop he sits down with Fly Fisherman editor/publisher Ross Purnell and reveals how he rode his bike 10 miles to Spring Creek during the Great Depression (minute mark), how he landed his Pennsylvania state record brown trout in 1977 (minute mark), how the Penn State Fly Fishing Program began (minute mark), how George Harvey tested his ability to tell the truth (minute mark), the best fly to use during a Green Drake Hatch (minute mark), and how he learned to "shoot" line with his trademark bow & arrow cast. In this 2-hour interview Joe even brings out his 1940s-era Paul H. Young bamboo rod that has caught thousands of trout in his hands.

Fly tier Jake Villwock grew up the son of a commercial fisherman, and is now a Pennsylvania fly-fishing guide for smallmouth, Great Lakes steelhead, and spring creek trout. Jake is also a fly-tying innovator and author of the book Smallmouth Bass Flies Top to Bottom. Jake and Fly Fisherman editor/publisher Ross Purnell debate the age-old question, "What's better, bass or trout?" They talk about frog patterns for trout and bass, the "Godfathers of Bass" (Clouser, Kraft, and Whitlock), and dive into the creative process behind Jake's match-everything baitfish pattern called The Roamer. Listen to the end and you'll learn some unusual secrets about how to catch muskies on small flies, how to target mudding carp, and why some smallmouths turn black.

Tim Cammisa has been a guide on the Delaware River, a professional fly tier for 30 years, and his hundreds and hundreds of videos on YouTube and other social media platforms have reached around the globe with more than 17 million views and counting. His background as a school teacher makes him one of the most popular presenters and instructors in person at Fly Fishing Shows, on-line, and on the printed page. Tim's latest book is tying Euro Nymphs and other Competition Favorites, and Tim sits down with us in this episode of Loop to Loop to find out how who he talked to in assembling assemble this compendium of competition flies, and how your average trout fishermen can learn from them.

In episode three, editor/publisher Ross Purnell chats with longtime FLY FISHERMAN magazine contributor Blane Chocklett about how he got started in fly fishing, his early influencers Harrison Steeves and Steve Hiner, how he created the Game Changer, new patterns that will be revealed this summer, his new role as a fly-tying entrepreneur, and his decades-long relationship with Lefty Kreh. Blane is also an ambassador for the American Saltwater Guides Association. We dig into their efforts to fund baseline research on false albacore and jack crevalle, and their upcoming Lefty's Tie Fest in Vero Beach, Florida.

Jay Nichols has been an editor, publisher, photographer, videographer, and author for more than 25 years and has produced some of the most iconic and influential fly-fishing books, including "Casting with Lefty Kreh" (2008). In this episode, we sit down with Jay to discuss his directorial debut in the documentary "Lefty: The Greatest of All Time" Premiering March 27 at the Weinberg Center. The conversation starts with his upbringing, education, his journey in fly fishing, and swings into his involvement in publishing much of the great fly-fishing literature of this century. Ross and Jay also explore Jay's decades-long relationship with Lefty, go behind the scenes in the making of the film, and learn about Lefty's "super power." Hint: It wasn't his casting.

Author and fly-casting coach Ed Jaworowski has been teaching and instructing for 45+ years, and before he took up fly casting he was a competitive surf caster. He wrote two seminal books on fly casting: The Cast (2005) and Perfecting the Cast (2021). He is also the author of Troubleshooting the Cast (1999) and co-author with Bob Popovics of the fly-tying masterpiece Pop Fleyes (2014). On today's episode we talk to Ed about his five-part 2025 casting series in Fly Fisherman magazine titled Functional Fly Casting. We also discuss his career as a classics professor at Villanova University, how he approaches his research and his teaching philosophy, and we talk about his long friendship and many collaborations with Lefty Kreh.