Podcast: Late-Fall and Winter Trout Fishing, with Sav Sankaran

Interview begins at 47:28.

This week, my guest is Sav Sankaran, fishing manager at the Orvis store in Asheville, North Carolina. The subject is late-fall and winter trout fishing in the Southeast, and although Sav talks about his rivers specifically, there are many good tips for winter fishing anywhere in the world. You may have enjoyed Sav’s bluegrass music on a recent Orvis Facebook Live event, and he’s also the subject of an Orvis story on his special family holiday gatherings.

This podcast is just the beginning of a series I plan to do on winter fishing throughout North America. With travel still restricted this winter, many of us will need to find fishing close to home, or at least within driving distance. We hope to make those outings more fun and enjoyable by giving you tips to make your time on the water a bit more successful.

In the Fly Box, we explore some great tips and questions from listeners, including:

• Should I get a 10-foot 6-weight or 7-weight for steelhead fishing in the Great Lakes (using a tightline method)?
• Why do my hackles twist when I tie dry flies?
• How can I catch trout rising under heavy foam?
• A reminder from a listener that even though I said nylon tippet eventually breaks down, it takes a long time and anglers should never throw any kind of tippet in the water or on the banks.
• Do I need to tie those really fancy patterns I see to catch pike?
• How do I imitate gill plates on my streamers?
• How common are big, blanket hatches?
• How important is it to make flies realistic?
• A couple great tips from a listener on organizing fly tying materials.
• Is it better to face the sun or have it at your back when approaching fish?
• Why do I keep losing trout when fishing streamers?
• Should I organize my trout fly boxes by size and weight or by insect type?
• What is the best wading combo for hiking into very cold alpine lakes?
• What type of intermediate line should I get for fishing cold alpine lakes?

If you don’t see the arrow above, click here to listen.