The Flyfisher's Podcast

Scotty Xanthoulakis from Wilderness Fly Fishing and Jason van Koll join us to talk about River Lab, a new app that turns live river data and Scotty’s guiding knowledge into a daily game plan for northeast Victoria.Jason was a frustrated flyfisher who could cast but couldn’t find fish. After a guided day with Scotty, he built an AI tool to make sense of his notes, started catching fish on his own, and showed Scotty. A year of coffees and development later, River Lab is nearly ready.We cover how the app works, the River Mood gauge, skill level filtering, access maps, the guide Intel feature, the AI podcast that briefs you on the drive up, and whether it’ll push more people onto the same water. Plus an early season report from the Goulburn catchment, including a couple of surprise brookies.Beta testing is planned for December. Register your interest at riverlab.app

Good mate of The Flyfisher, Gus Ingram is on the Upper Sarca near Pinzolo, in the Trentino region of northern Italy, for a day with local guide Paolo. Three rivers, plenty of fish, most of them on the dry, and then a chat in Paolo's family mountain cabin while a rain shower rolled through.The Alto Sarca is an easy fishery to fall for. One permit covers around 300 kilometres of water, so you can nymph the main river for marble trout in the morning and be up a glacial tributary fishing dries after lunch.We cover the marmorata and how big they get in this system, Arctic char caught at 2,700 metres, the flood recovery work the local association has done with Vibert boxes, and what the reserva stretches offer for very little money.Paolo also runs through gear, and it is refreshingly simple. A 9 foot 4 weight, a floating line, and big dries with a small nymph dropper. Waist waders and studded boots most of the year, or wet wade it in summer.Plus a word on why hiring a guide in a foreign country is less about casting lessons and more about not wasting three days in the wrong valley.

Jackson Murray, aka Bending with Muzz, joins us to talk flyfishing off the rocks for GTs, Australian salmon and longtail tuna. We cover the solo island trips, the training, the gear, the danger, and how his film Grasshopper made the RISE F3T fly fishing film tour. A great yarn about doing things the hard way.

Max Vereshaka is one of Australia’s most accomplished competition fly fishers, but this conversation goes well beyond medals, teams and tournament results.Max has now stepped into a new chapter: travelling, fishing full-time, filming his adventures, and chasing everything from Tasmanian trophy trout to permit and barra across northern Australia.In this episode, Max talks through his early days learning to fly fish on Lake Eucumbene, the lessons competition fishing drilled into him, the rise of Euro nymphing, and how trout tactics have shaped the way he approaches saltwater fly fishing.We also get into Tasmania’s backcountry lakes, the Whitsundays, Cape York, Western Australia, moon phases, tides, flats fishing, the Inshore Flats Project, and why Max believes Australia might have the best fly fishing in the world.Raw, funny, technical and full of hard-earned perspective, this is a conversation with someone who has built his life around fly fishing and has no plans of slowing down.As Max puts it: fish till I die.

Peter has just returned from another trip to Bermagui on the NSW Sapphire Coast, and this one had it all.From mahi mahi and kingfish smashing bait around the FADs, to estuary flats packed with bream and flatties, bass in Brogo Dam, surf salmon, and even world-class trout water only a short drive inland, Bermagui might just be one of Australia’s most versatile fishing destinations.In this episode we chat road trips, boats, bluewater current charts, fly tackle for pelagics, overlooked shore-based options, seafood, conservation, and why Bermagui keeps pulling anglers back year after year.If you’re the kind of flyfisher who loves variety, adventure, and figuring things out as you go, this one will fire you right up.

Damo’s just returned from his first flyfishing trip to Tasmania — and it turned into one of those trips that’ll stick with him forever.In this episode of Behind The Counter, we unpack the Tassie mission from start to finish. From rolling into Miena country and getting pointed in the right direction by Jim Allen, to early lessons at Little Pine, time on the boat at Penstock, and a foggy morning on Great Lake where everything finally lined up and the trout started sipping midges everywhere.We also chat about how good the Victorian trout fishing has been lately, give Mick from the Yea store a shoutout for his CFA work protecting the catchments, and run through some new gear that’s landed in-store — including new Sage reels, fresh rod releases and the latest Airflo lines.If you’ve ever wondered what Tassie flyfishing is like for a first-timer, this episode gives you a pretty honest look.

Queensland’s sand flats are one of Australia’s great fly fishing assets — and right now, they’re under real pressure.In this episode, Andrew is joined by Chris Burgess (FlyLife contributor and Inshore Flats Project advocate) to dig into tunnel nets: what they are, how they work, and why many anglers believe they pose a serious threat to flats fisheries from Hinchinbrook to the Whitsundays and beyond.We get into:What a tunnel net actually is — and why it’s so effectiveLocalised depletion: cleaning out a flat and the big question of how long until fish returnWhat’s been observed during trials, including stress, crowding and mortality concernsThe risk to iconic flats species like permit, golden trevally, GTs and queenfishThe broader impact on guiding, tourism and why net-free flats matterWhat you can do right now to help protect these fisheriesIf you love saltwater fly fishing — or you’ve ever dreamed of a Queensland permit — this one’s well worth a listen.Get involved / learn more: Search Inshore Flats Project and follow their channels for updates and ways to support, or head to www.inshoreflatsproject.com.au

On this episode of Behind the Counter, Peter and Damien give an update on the recent fires and the lucky break that saw our key catchments spared — meaning the fishing is still firing and conditions are about as good as you could hope for. They dive into what’s fishing well right now, from Tassie to New Zealand, plus all the chatter from inside the shop. There’s plenty of new gear hitting the shelves, including the much-anticipated Atollas fly boxes, and a few surprises that have the crew buzzing. A solid listen if you want to stay across what’s happening on the water and in-store at The Flyfisher.

In this episode, Peter and Damien sit down for a proper catch-up on everything happening in-store and out on the water. The lads run through the latest gear that’s been working well, fresh products hitting the shelves, and recap a stack of recent adventures — from New Zealand trout missions to Cocos chaos and Hinchinbrook flats sessions.It’s a laid-back wrap of a big year at The Flyfisher, with plenty of stories, laughs, and a look toward more pods (and more fish) in 2026. Thanks for tuning in all year — we’re just getting warmed up.

In this episode of The Flyfisher’s Podcast, we pick up where we left off with Peter Hayes — one of Australia’s most influential flyfishing guides and casting instructors.Peter dives deep into:The importance of line managementHow loop shape ties directly to body mechanicsWhat (and how often) to practice, including the three key stages of practice:Loop controlCasting stroke anglesWater landing effectWe also chat rod design — why Peter has a soft spot for fibreglass and bamboo rods, and how the kinetic whip effect in bamboo could inspire modern rod designs.Plus, we cover:Why slack in your leader is essential for long, natural driftsHow angling pressure and degraded waterways challenge us to become more skilful — and why the harder you work, the more rewarding those fish captures become.If you’re serious about improving your fly casting and fishing, this is one you won’t want to miss.