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The Articulate Fly

The Articulate Fly

By: The Articulate Fly
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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.The Articulate Fly LLC
Episodes
  • S8, Ep 66: The Roadless Rule Debate: Chris Wood on Protecting America's Wild Spaces and What You Can Do

    S8, Ep 66: The Roadless Rule Debate: Chris Wood on Protecting America's Wild Spaces and What You Can Do
    Sep 7 2026
    Episode OverviewOn 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 rescission would open 44 million acres of backcountry to new road construction. The conversation ranges from Idaho and Utah's grazing and oil and gas leasing inside roadless areas to the outsized role these lands play as cold, clean water sources for the Tongass National Forest, Colorado's greenback cutthroat trout habitat and Idaho's bull trout and Chinook and steelhead runs. Chris also details recent Trout Unlimited conservation wins, including record coho returns from the North Coast Coho Project and a deal to acquire four dams on Maine's Kennebec River to open habitat for Atlantic salmon. The episode closes with concrete advice on how anglers can make their voices heard before the comment deadline.Key TakeawaysWhy the Roadless Rule's rescission would strip protections from 44 million acres of backcountry that provide the coldest, cleanest water for downstream trout and salmon fisheries.How to submit an effective public comment before the September 21st deadline, including personalizing it with a specific roadless area or species that matters to you.Why the "de facto wilderness" argument against roadless areas doesn't hold up, since these lands already permit off-road vehicle use, grazing, oil and gas leasing and mining.When a more deliberate, iterative rulemaking process (like the state-specific rules Idaho and Colorado developed under the Bush administration) makes more sense than a blanket rescission.Why building a broader coalition beyond traditional hunters and anglers is becoming essential to winning public lands fights in the current political environment.Locations & SpeciesThe episode centers on the 58.5 million acres of national forest backcountry protected by the 2001 Roadless Rule, with particular attention to Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Alaska's Tongass National Forest. These roadless areas supply drinking water for more than 40 million Americans and serve as critical, contiguous habitat: 70% of Colorado's greenback cutthroat trout, 68% of Idaho's bull trout and 70-75% of the Tongass' and Idaho's Pacific salmon and steelhead populations depend on habitat found within roadless areas.FAQ / Key Questions AnsweredWhat is the Roadless Rule, and why is it being challenged right now?The 2001 Roadless Rule bars new road construction across 58.5 million acres of national forest. On August 18th, the U.S. Forest Service proposed rescinding it entirely, with a public comment period ending September 21st. A parallel legislative effort led by Senator Mike Lee also seeks to eliminate the rule and bar any future administration from reinstating it.Why do roadless areas matter for trout and salmon fishing specifically?Roadless areas are the source of the coldest, cleanest water for the larger rivers downstream that support wild trout and salmon. They protect outsized shares of at-risk populations, including most of Colorado's greenback cutthroat trout, Idaho's bull trout and the Tongass National Forest's Pacific salmon and steelhead runs.Isn't a roadless area basically the same as a designated wilderness area?No. Unlike wilderness, roadless areas already permit off-road vehicle use (33% of all motorized trails in the 12 Western states are in roadless areas), oil and gas leasing, grazing and mining, so the argument that they're "de facto wilderness" locked away from any use doesn't hold up.How can anglers make their comments count before the September 21st deadline?Personalizing a comment with a specific roadless area, species or memory that matters to you is more effective than a generic form submission. Comments can be submitted through Trout Unlimited, and the goal is to exceed the 1.6 million comments the original rule drew 25 years ago.What happens if the rescission goes through anyway?Advocates expect the rescission to face extensive litigation. Continued advocacy and public pressure are seen as important groundwork for reversing the rescission under a future administration if needed.Submit Your Comment Before the DeadlineSponsorsThanks to TroutRoutes for sponsoring this episode. Use ARTFLY20 to get 20% off of your TroutRoutes Pro membership.Related ContentS2, Ep 40 - Chris Wood of Trout UnlimitedS7, Ep 98 - The Fight for Our Future: Land Tawney on Grassroots Advocacy and Public LandsS7, Ep 105 - Changing the Narrative: Robbie Kroger's Mission with The Origins FoundationConnect with Our GuestFollow Chris ...
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    57 mins
  • S8, Ep 65: Mastering the Roll Cast: Mac Brown's Essential Techniques for Challenging Waters

    S8, Ep 65: Mastering the Roll Cast: Mac Brown's Essential Techniques for Challenging Waters
    Sep 4 2026
    Episode OverviewHow 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 mid-Atlantic, where casters rarely have the 15 to 20 feet of clearance needed for a conventional backcast. The conversation works through the mechanics of the shallow D loop, the critical role of a properly matched double taper fly line over a weight forward, and the anchor placement drills anglers can run in the late summer off-season before trout fishing picks back up. Mac also covers how to reposition the D loop to neutralize wind and why timing tightens up considerably when casting upstream and downstream on moving water. Whether an angler works small freestone streams in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park or any other tight, overgrown trout water, the episode offers a practical framework for turning a serviceable roll cast into a genuinely reliable one.Key TakeawaysHow to build a genuinely long roll cast by prioritizing precise anchor placement before adding power, since consistent anchor placement handles roughly 90 percent of the battle once the cast becomes dynamic.Why a double taper fly line, not a weight forward, is the right gear choice for roll casting, since a weight forward's short head leaves too much thin running line at the rod tip to load the cast properly.How to throw a shallow D loop that occupies only 3 to 4 feet of space behind the caster, making it possible to fish brush-choked mountain streams with no conventional backcast room.When to set the D loop on the downwind side of the rod to turn wind from a safety and casting problem into a non-issue.Why timing becomes more critical on upstream and downstream roll casts, since moving water pulls the D loop away from its initial placement.How to use late summer off-season evenings to practice anchor placement in knee-deep water before trout season demands the skill on the water.Techniques & Gear CoveredThe episode centers on roll cast mechanics, starting with the shallow D loop: a compact, low-power pickup that occupies only 3 to 4 feet of space behind the caster rather than a full V loop, making it usable in the tight streamside brush typical of southern Appalachian trout water. Mac ties gear directly to technique, explaining why a double taper line outperforms a weight forward for roll casting, since the mass needed to load the cast sits near the rod tip rather than in a short head backed by thin running line. The conversation also covers anchor placement as a stand-alone practice skill, with Mac recommending anglers wade in knee-deep water and repeatedly set the line so the anchor lands close to a rod length away, refining accuracy independent of live fishing pressure. Additional technique notes include adjusting D loop size and forward loop size for distance and control, positioning the D loop on the downwind side of the rod for safer, easier wind management, and the added timing demands of roll casting upstream and downstream where current pulls the D loop after its initial placement.FAQ / Key Questions AnsweredWhat is a shallow D loop and why does it matter for trout streams?A shallow D loop is a compact roll cast that energizes the line but backs off power quickly enough to occupy only 3 to 4 feet of space behind the caster, rather than a full V loop that might need 20 feet or more. It matters because tight, brush-lined Park and Appalachian streams rarely offer enough clearance for a conventional backcast, making the shallow D loop the tool that keeps anglers fishing productively in that water.Why does fly line taper matter so much for a long roll cast?A double taper line carries its mass in the belly of the line near the rod tip, which is the portion doing the work in a roll cast. A weight forward line, by contrast, has a short head followed by thin running line, so attempting a long roll cast with a weight forward often fails because there isn't enough mass positioned where it's needed to load the rod.How should anglers handle wind when roll casting?Mac recommends setting up the D loop on the downwind side of the rod as a simple, repeatable adjustment. This keeps the line moving away from the body rather than into it, turning wind from a safety concern and casting obstacle into a non-issue without requiring any additional technique changes.When is the best time to practice roll cast placement?Late summer, when water temperatures are too warm for productive trout fishing across the Southeast, is an ideal window to practice. Mac suggests wading ...
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    11 mins
  • S8, Ep 64: Streamer Strategies: Ellis Ward's Late Day Fishing Tips for East Tennessee

    S8, Ep 64: Streamer Strategies: Ellis Ward's Late Day Fishing Tips for East Tennessee
    Sep 3 2026
    Episode OverviewHow 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 something closer to ten-to-six or noon-to-nine depending on the day, while the South Holston has only recently returned to regular releases after the TVA system spent the better part of a year recovering from drought. That inconsistency has made dry fly fishing unpredictable, so Ellis has leaned harder into dirty water streamer fishing, night fishing and mousing to keep clients on fish. The back half of the episode tackles a listener question on late-day streamer selection: Ellis explains that a fly's color has almost nothing to do with how a trout perceives it in low light or off-color water, since a backlit fly reads only as a silhouette regardless of hue. Instead, he breaks down why opacity and water-column position, not color, drive strikes when the sun drops or the water turns dirty, using a four-inch Drunk and Disorderly as his low light standard.Key TakeawaysHow to read Watauga and South Holston release schedules when heavy rain pushes actual generation windows well beyond their posted baseline times.Why a streamer's color becomes irrelevant to trout in backlit or off-color water, since profile and opacity determine what the fish actually sees from below.When to switch to a bigger, opaque streamer fished higher in the water column for low light or dirty water strikes.How positioning a streamer near the surface exploits the same predatory "kill shot" instinct anglers see when a big trout follows a fly up before committing.Techniques & Gear CoveredEllis breaks down a practical framework for low light and off-color water streamer fishing: when light is reduced by cloud cover, a low sun angle or dirty water, color stops mattering because a backlit fly is seen only in silhouette, so the two variables that matter are opacity (how fully the fly blocks light) and where it sits in the water column. He favors densely packed materials such as deer hair or craft fur over sparsely tied bucktail for maximum light-blocking, contrasting a sparse bucktail fly with a Craft Fur Changer to illustrate how much more effectively the denser material blocks light once it's wet and compressed. He fishes that fly higher in the water column so a predatory trout gets a clean, unobstructed shot at it rather than having to hunt it out of deeper, murkier water. His go-to for these conditions is a four-inch Drunk and Disorderly, fished in white, yellow or tan with some flash since color reads as irrelevant to the fish in these conditions.Locations & SpeciesThis report covers the Watauga River and the South Holston River tailwaters in East Tennessee, both part of the TVA's 32-dam reservoir and tailwater system. The primary target species is brown trout, with the discussion centered on dry fly fishing during stable release windows and streamer fishing when water runs high or dirty. Seasonally, the region is climbing out of a prolonged drought that followed Hurricane Helene, with persistent heavy rainfall now producing extended and inconsistent dam releases, flash flooding on Watauga tributaries and a tradeoff between stained water (better streamer fishing) and clearer water (better dry fly fishing).FAQ / Key Questions AnsweredWhat color streamer should I fish in low light conditions?Color is largely irrelevant once light is reduced by clouds, a low sun angle or dirty water, because a fly viewed from below against a backlit sky reads only as a silhouette. Instead, focus on opacity (how completely the fly blocks light) and fish it higher in the water column where a trout can see and commit to it more easily.Why doesn't fly color matter to trout in dirty or backlit water?When an object is backlit or viewed through off-color water, black, white and every color in between look essentially the same dark shape, since there isn't enough light transmission for the fish to distinguish hue. What a trout actually keys on in these conditions is the fly's profile and how much light it blocks, not its color.How should I position my streamer in the water column during low light or stained water conditions?Fish it higher in the water column rather than dredging it deep, since a trout has an easier time targeting prey it can silhouette against the surface than something buried in dark, off-color water. This also mimics how predatory fish naturally corral baitfish toward the surface for an easier, more effective strike.How have this season's dam ...
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    17 mins
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