In Episode 178 we WadeOutThere with Rick Hafele, from Salem, Oregon. Rick grew up on a farm, with a fascination for the outdoors and his surroundings, including bugs. He began fly fishing in Missouri at the age of twelve, and fell in love with the trout he caught in the Ozarks.
When the time for college came, Rick headed west and to Western Washington and later Oregon State where he earned a masters degree in aquatic entomology. He is the author of several fly fishing books, including The Complete Book of Western Hatches, which he co-authored with Dave Hughes.
We discuss how understanding the stages of life of aquatic insects can help you catch fish, the timeline of fishing a hatch, and some of Ricks favorite flies for fishing around his home waters in Oregon.
In this episode we WadeOutThere with Dave Stewart from Oregon. Dave started fly fishing at an early age. His father, who was a guide, and one of the earliest fly fishermen on the Deschutes River, would often leave him alone to fish and explore on the river for two to three days in between guide trips. Dave’s love of the outdoors and fly fishing led him to start The Wet Fly Swing Podcast, which initially focussed on steelhead, but eventually branched out to all things fly fishing.