New Tips on Playing and Releasing Trout, with vs Jim McLennan

The Orvis Fly-Fishing Podcast

James Hathaway

Bass, Fishing, Bonefish, Wilderness, Flyfishing, Trout, How To, Steelhead, Bluegill, Fly, Orvis, Sports, Salmon, Panfish, Education, Rosenbauer

4.8 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 20 January 2025

⏱️ 84 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I often get questions about the proper way to play and release trout and I invited Jim McClennan [42:51] to talk about his tips and his philosophy on bring trout to hand. Jim has been a guide, fly shop owner, writer, and star of fishing films for as long as I have been in the business. He gives his tips on how to play trout quickly, how to land them, and shares a new trick I hadn't heard about for releasing fish without ever touching them with minimal stress to the fish. You'll have to listen to the podcast to find out this trick.

In the Fly Box this week, we have some unusually great tips from listeners as well as some interesting questions, including:

Is there a performance difference between a hand-tied knotted leader and a knotless leader?
A tip from a listener on the best way to begin your life as a fly tier.
Do trout lose the rods and cones in their eyes when they get to be about 17 inches long?
Are there any colors you would avoid when fishing a Sparkle Minnow?
As a beginning fly tier, what tools and materials should I get first?
What is the effect of major floods on small brook trout streams?
A great tip from a listener on exactly what type and size of nitrile gloves are best for winter fishing.
Can you give us a history of Superfine Graphite rods, and what is the new release like?
If I use a 12-foot leader with a 9-foot rod, how can I easily land fish?
If my waders end up frozen, will that hurt them?
How can I fish in a river where everyone else is fishing indicators? I don't like fishing indicators.
Can I keep my fly rods in the trunk of my car over the winter?
A listener has a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that trout can learn and that trout in rivers with a lot of fishing pressure have learned to avoid certain flies. Is there any scientific research on this topic?

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, and welcome to the Orvis Fly Fishing Podcast.
0:13.4	This is your host, Tom Rosenauer.
0:15.6	And my guest this week is Jim McClennan from Alberta.
0:20.4	And Jim is a longtime fly shop owner, guide, musician,
0:25.2	writer, star of fishing films, and an all-around great guy with a lot of experience in the
0:33.0	fly fishing business. And the topic this week is playing and releasing fish. Not only how to do it
0:43.1	efficiently, but how to do it quickly with a minimum of stress to the fish and a minimum of
0:50.3	stress to you and getting those fish back in the water quickly. I know this is a common
0:56.1	topic playing and fighting and landing fish and I get a lot of questions about it. And Jim
1:01.5	relays a very interesting, new, at least new to me way of releasing fish from a barblous hook without touching them at all.
1:13.5	And it's one that I haven't seen before or heard of before.
1:18.1	So I think you'll enjoy that.
1:19.7	Jim's always a great guest.
1:21.9	And as I said, he's a wealth of knowledge.
1:25.3	Now, before we get into the flybox, I wanted to give you some ideas on
1:30.2	places to fish in the coming year. If you're making some plans to take a fishing trip, I'm going to
1:37.8	let you know about an Orvis and Ors Lodge, an outfit, or in a guide. Before I do that, I probably should, I probably should
1:46.8	explain the difference to you between a lodge and outfitter and a guide in case you, you
1:51.5	aren't aware of that. So a lodge is an operation that provides full service. So usually they
1:58.4	give you transportation to and from the airport.
2:01.4	You get there.
2:02.6	They often have rods and reels and waiters you can use.
	...

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