Classic Podcast: Joe Humphreys and the Fountain of Youth

Editor’s note: Tom is on vacation this week, so here’s one of our favorite classic podcasts, featuring an icon of the sport.

This week, I interview one of my fly-fishing heroes, Joe Humphreys. He’s been an innovative angler all his life (he was “Euro-nymphing” before the Europeans), but even more impressive is his love of life and fly fishing, and his energy on the river in his ninth decade. Joe talks about how to stay young on the river, how to fish nymphs at night, and about the inspirational new film about his life called Live The Stream: The Story of Joe Humphreys. I highly recommend this film to anyone who enjoys the fly-fishing world and its history and traditions—and who wants to learn how to retain the enthusiasm of a 12-year old on the water.

The film is now available own and rent wherever you get videos–iTunes, Prime Video, Google Play, Vimeo, Youtube, etc. Or you can go to www.livethestreamfilm.com to buy the film on Blu-ray, DVD, or as a digital download. 

In the Fly Box, we have many interesting questions and suggestions:

• What is the best way to manage fly tying both at home and in the office?
• I broke my Tenkara rod when I got my fly snagged.  What is the safest way to try to retrieve a snagged fly when using this type of rod?
• Why won’t my clinch knots tighten properly?
• How can I get over my reluctance to fish emergers?
• A suggestion from a taxidermist on how to handle raw deer hides for fly tying.
• Do trout take Perdigons in unnatural colors out of curiosity or do you think they resemble food?
• What is an easy way to learn fly-fishing entomology?
• Why do the trout I take in mountain streams carry parr marks even into adulthood?
• What do I tell people who berate me for torturing fish?
• Are there circumstances when I should set my indicator shallower than 1 ½ times the water depth?
• I can’t seem to get away from the crowds no matter how far I drive.  What should I do?
• If I find lots of creek chubs in a stream, does that mean it won’t also hold trout?
• If you are not certain how to pair two streamers together, does it make sense to fish just one?
• Can I use split shot to get my nymphs deeper when Euro-nymphing instead of tying my own flies with varied weights?
• Do you have some tips for casting a Depth Charge line?
• Do you have some suggestions on how to swing flies for Great Lakes steelhead?