The Articulate Fly

Episode OverviewIn this episode of The Butcher Shop, host Marvin Cash sits down with Mark Sedotti, inventor of the Sedotti Slammer and one of the pioneers of weight-balanced streamer design, to trace nearly 35 years of big-fly development for striped bass and bluefish. Sedotti explains why a lead keel and the right amount of absorbed water can make an oversized streamer cast further and more accurately than a small one, overturning decades of conventional wisdom that heavy flies are harder to throw.Working from western Long Island Sound, where he first tied the Slammer to...

Episode OverviewIn this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a midsummer conditions update on the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers in Central Pennsylvania. Recorded following a stretch of triple-digit heat punctuated by heavy rain, the report finds Shumaker firmly in prime topwater season, with blue damselflies coming off heavy from late morning into the evenings and the white fly hatch on deck for the end of July into early August.Shumaker walks through his day-to-day approach on...

Episode OverviewIn this Central PA Fishing Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with George Costa of TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for a real-time midsummer conditions update. A cooler, wetter stretch of weather has replaced the previous week's heat, giving Central Pennsylvania's limestone streams a welcome break heading into the weekend.Costa reports that Spring Creek, Penns Creek and Fishing Creek are all running a little above average and slightly off-color after a soaking rain earlier in the week, while the Little Juniata took on...

Episode OverviewHow do East Tennessee anglers keep varied, high-quality fishing going through the peak of summer heat? On this East Tennessee Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide Ellis Ward for a summer conditions update covering tailwater trout, musky and an evening-into-night program that few outfitters offer. The answer, as Ellis explains, comes down to water: East Tennessee's cold tailwater releases stay productive for trout even on the hottest days, while nearby musky water holds in the low 70s, giving anglers a rare menu of species and...

Episode OverviewHow do skilled fly casters actually maximize distance by shooting line, and why do most anglers overestimate how well they have mastered it? On this Casting Angles segment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash reconnects with Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, for a deep dive into the mechanics of shooting line.Drawing on college-level research using high-speed cameras and strobe lights, Mac explains why the vast majority of anglers who claim they shoot line well are really only releasing...

Episode OverviewA scorching Fourth of July heat wave is bearing down on Central Pennsylvania, and the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers are about to test every smallmouth angler's heat tolerance. On this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a candid, safety-first conversation about fishing smallmouth bass through triple-digit conditions.With water temperatures pushing into the 90s and a 101-degree forecast on the horizon, Brian breaks down how heat affects both the bite and angler safety on his...

Episode OverviewGeorge Costa, manager at TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, joins host Marvin Cash on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast for the latest Central PA Fishing Report as early summer conditions take hold across the region's limestone streams. Recorded in late June with the calendar almost at July, this report catches Central PA at an important seasonal juncture: stream temperatures have been favorable in the low 60s following a recent shot of rain, but a warming trend is on the horizon that will require anglers to exercise real discipline about when — and whether — to f...

Episode OverviewIn this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide and writer Matt Reilly for a late-June conditions update covering the bug bite, streamer strategy and musky gear. With water running very low and clear across most drainages — and a near-94°F heat spike bearing down on the region for the Fourth of July — Matt explains why the current conditions are still worth fishing hard. Damselflies, dragonflies and terrestrial insects are out in force, and in technical low-water scenarios, Matt argues that surface bug presentations becom...

Episode OverviewIn this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish joins host Marvin Cash for a focused deep-dive into the reach mend — one of fly fishing's most foundational presentation tools, and one Mac argues has been quietly undervalued since Doug Swisher introduced it to American fly fishing in 1971. The conversation serves as both a how-to for beginners and a useful recalibration for intermediate anglers who have been fishing without it.Mac traces the technique to Swisher's landmark book Selective Trout, which he first read at...

Episode OverviewThe Articulate Fly host Marvin Cash sits down with fly tying guru Allen Rupp, founder of Fly on the Water and Dave Whitlock's hand-selected legacy tier, for a deep dive into the classic fly patterns that built modern fly fishing. Rupp traces his fly tying education back to childhood phone calls with Bob Clouser, in-person mentorship from Lefty Kreh and George Harvey, and decades spent learning directly from Dave Whitlock, explaining why patterns like the Clouser Minnow, the Half and Half, Lefty's Deceiver and Whitlock's Near Nuff Crayfish and Sculpin remain so effective that newer...

Episode OverviewIn this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for an early summer conditions update on the Susquehanna River system in central Pennsylvania. With late spawners still working through a post-spawn funk and a stretch of volatile weather keeping temperatures yo-yoing between the 70s and the low 90s, Shumaker explains why the region hasn't fully transitioned to topwater mode — and what that means tactically for anglers on the water right now. He walks through his two-rod, split-presentation approach: one an...

Episode OverviewIn this Central PA Fishing Report from The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash checks in with George Costa, manager at TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for a timely early-summer conditions and hatch update. The season is at a pivotal transition: the dominant spring hatches are winding down, the summer hatch calendar is coming online and terrestrial season is officially starting — all critical intelligence for anglers planning Central PA trout outings over the weeks ahead.Costa delivers a full-picture conditions read. Water levels are running a touch below seasonal average, with recent ra...

Episode OverviewIn this episode of The Articulate Fly's Casting Angles series, host Marvin Cash and Mac Brown — owner of Mac Brown Fly Fish and Fly Fishing Guide School in western North Carolina — deliver a timely early summer conditions update for the Tuckaseegee and Nantahala drainages. With the 2026 season running approximately 60 days ahead of schedule, Mac and Marvin unpack what that means for trout anglers trying to calibrate their approach as delayed harvest season closes and technical summer fishing begins.Mac reports that terrestrial activity — inchworms, beetles and ants — is already in full force weeks ahead of...

Episode OverviewIn this episode of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash sits down with Josh Trammell, Head Guide at Mad River Outfitters in Columbus, Ohio, for a candid look at what it takes to build and sustain a full-time, four-season guide career. Josh covers the Ohio multi-species fishing calendar — smallmouth bass, northern pike, steelhead and carp — along with seasonal guiding in Alaska and destination schools targeting musky and trophy trout.Josh traces his path from catching his first steelhead at age 11 on Elk Creek with Tim Hess — a swung fly — through early ye...

Episode OverviewIn this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash reconnects with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for an early-June conditions check on the Susquehanna and Juniata rivers in Central Pennsylvania. Recent heavy rainfall pushed both systems well above normal — the Susquehanna approaching 12 feet, the Juniata topping 10 — and Brian breaks down how he's fishing the receding flows and what anglers can expect as the post-spawn transition plays out through summer.Brian walks through his high-water strategy in practical terms: pounding banks where rising water has pushed smal...

Episode OverviewIn this Southwest Virginia Fishing Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide Matt Reilly of Matt Reilly Fly Fishing for a candid late-spring conditions update covering the post-spawn transition, dirty water tactics and the seasonal arc ahead. Recorded amid rising, stained flows on the New River and surrounding drainages — following months of below-average flows — the episode captures a moment when Southwest Virginia smallmouth fishing is firmly in between patterns, and angler adaptability is the only reliable edge. Reilly addresses the dual pressure facing anglers right now: a post...

Episode OverviewIn this East Tennessee Fishing Report on The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash checks in with guide Ellis Ward for an early-summer conditions update focused on the Watauga River tailwater. After a dry spring that kept anglers grinding through tough conditions, a stretch of rain and rising water has Ellis bullish on what's ahead: bigger flows, off-color water, and the full slate of techniques that make East Tennessee tailwaters unique. He covers the current Watauga generation schedule (six days a week, five hours of afternoon generation), how that release window shapes a full-day float, and...

Episode OverviewIn this Casting Angles segment on The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash and veteran guide and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown tackle one of the most practical — and underappreciated — skill sets in freshwater fly fishing: how to adapt your approach when elevated, stained water follows prolonged rainfall. Recorded against the backdrop of a week of steady rain across western North Carolina, with more forecast ahead, Mac shares a framework for fly selection, water reading and presentation discipline that turns a condition most anglers write off into a genuine tactical advantage.Mac and Marvin walk...

Episode OverviewThis Central PA Fishing Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast finds host Marvin Cash checking in with George Costa, manager at TCO Fly Shop in State College, Pennsylvania, for a late-spring conditions update across Central PA's limestone streams. Recorded in late May ahead of Memorial Day weekend, the report captures one of the most productive dry fly windows of the year: sulphurs, March browns and Drakes are all in play simultaneously, and Costa is emphatic that the Drake hatch on Penns Creek is just now getting started en masse. Stream temperatures are sitting...

Episode OverviewIn this Pennsylvania Smallmouth Report on The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash reconnects with Captain Brian Shumaker of Susquehanna River Guides for a timely late-spring conditions check on the Susquehanna River system. The frog bite has been exceptional — two solid weeks of deer hair bug action — and Brian breaks down exactly how to rig, dress and present deer hair frogs for surface-eating smallmouth before the post-spawn funk sets in. Beyond the fishing report, Marvin turns the episode over to a listener question from Myles, a college angler eyeing a career in guiding, and...