The Best Fly Fishing Podcasts for When I Can’t Be on the Water

When my fly-fishing slows down in the winter, I turn to podcasts and YouTube to get my fix until ice-out.

Putting all the pieces together and ending with a good presentation will lead to success on the river. | Photo by Ken Baldwin

This week, I found myself missing fly fishing before social media existed, when catching fish mattered more than getting recognition for it.

Can We Stop with the Posing and Virtue Signaling

I got pushed into that corner because my social feeds were flooded with “Look at me! Look at me!” and “I don’t need validation—please validate me!” posts. Layer on top of that the virtue signaling and pedestal preaching, and I’d had enough of the desperation for attention.

When I get negative like that, I have to remind myself that we live in a time of excess riches, with instant access to information and learning opportunities. I have more information at my fingertips on this mini computer in my pocket than anyone has ever had in the history of the world.

A Golden Age for Learning to Fly Fish

YouTube and podcasts give me access to some of the best anglers and filmmakers in fly fishing. I regularly study fly casting videos before heading out to the field to practice. I turn to YouTube when I’m stuck on a particular fly-tying technique. And if an explanation doesn’t make sense the first time, I can rewind and go through it as many times as I need. I learn at my own pace.

Before this trip, I’d never fished for tuna and had no clue what gear I’d need. I turned to YouTube to learn what weight fly rods and reels would be best for yellowfin tuna and sailfish. | Photo provided by Ken Baldwin

I also use podcasts and YouTube to prepare for trips. I had no idea what fly-fishing gear to take to Panama. I found the answers online in one sitting.

Binge Watching Fly Fishing Films

In winter, when my fishing slows, I'll spend evenings nursing a bourbon on ice while binge-watching fly-fishing films on YouTube. Back in the day, I had to wait a week to watch anything fishing on television. I’m not going to lie, though; I do miss The Fishin Hole with Jerry McGinnis.

Long-form Fly Fishing Interviews

And podcasts are a constant companion. I’m glad we’ve realized that long-form conversations beat 30-second sound bites, and that people will listen when you give them something worth hearing.

---

Here are the 4 podcast I think are worth listening to.

Anchored with April Vokey. 

I listen to Anchored for the human side of fly fishing. There’s some how-to, along with travel and adventure, but April Vokey is especially good at exploring who her guests are, how they got to where they are in life, and where they are going next. She is skilled at going deeper and peeling back layers of the topic they are talking about, or of the guest themselves.

Her Curiousity Makes Her a Great Interviewer

Too often on podcasts, a guest says something intriguing, and the host moves on without asking them to explain. As a listener, I’m yelling at my phone, “What about that? I want to know more about that!”

April doesn’t let much slide past her. She’s great at asking follow-up questions or stopping guests when they throw out technical jargon — what I call “fly speak” — and asking them to explain what they mean. She can slow down a conversation without losing its momentum.

Her Talent and Professionalism is Bigger Than Her Ego

A quick Google search shows the depth and range of her fly-fishing accomplishments. It would be easy for her to make the podcast about herself, but she doesn’t. I get a sense that what drives her is what drives all great interviewers: an insatiable curiosity, and she feeds that more than her ego.

Worth a Listen

That being said, one of my favorite episodes is Ep. 283: April Vokey on Being Human. It’s a change from the show's usual format: Outside magazine’s Paddy O’Connell interviews April, giving her a chance to tell her story, and it's a great freakin story. She’s funny and candid, whether she’s describing a skinny dip interrupted by a helicopter or how fishing helped her recover after a drunk driver nearly killed her. Hearing her talk about that experience gives me a better understanding of the optimism she radiates.

---

The Orvis Fly fishing Guide with Tom Rosenbauer

I think of Tom Rosenbauer as an educator. He’s an excellent teacher; his knowledge of fly fishing runs deep and wide. Listen to one podcast, and you can tell he is invested in helping listeners learn the hows and whys of the sport.

An Education in Fly Fishing

Tom covers everything from fly tying and casting to understanding fish and how to catch them. If you’re a beginner, scroll through his library, pick an episode, and you'll find a lot of solid instruction. If you’re an experienced angler, he also covers advanced techniques, and his podcast is an especially good source for preparing for an unfamiliar species or destination.

I've listened to him answer questions about an obscure piece of fly-fishing gear from 40 years ago. Or answer a listener’s question about the difference between calf tail and bucktail for tying a Crazy Charlie.

Sensitive to the Student

Tom brings a lifetime of knowledge to his interviews, and balances it with awareness for the beginner listener. He asks guests to explain terms, clarify advice, and describe how to put a technique into practice. That’s not easy: to remember what it was like to be a beginner so you don’t just skip over the "simple" stuff. Because in the beginning, none of it is simple.

It’s Not Always Xs and Os

What keeps me listening to Tom is that I'm always learning from his varied subject matter. How to pick a floating trout line? Try the episode from Nov. 10, 2025. The difference between stocked and wild trout? Oct. 19, 2026. An interview with singer Brittany Howard of the Alabama Shakes? Nov. 18, 2020.

Tom has been in the fly fishing game for over 50 years. He is a wealth of knowledge and experience and he is very generous with sharing what he knows.

---

The Mill House Podcast with Andy Mill

I listen to the Mill House Podcast when I need my saltwater fix. The show touches on freshwater fishing, but saltwater fly fishing is its main focus. Andy Mill is a perfect fit for this type of show. He knows the sport’s history because he’s helped make it. The conversations go beyond beginner instruction, but anyone new to fly fishing can still learn a great deal.

The Best of the Best

Tournaments are a big part of saltwater fly fishing, and Andy is one of its most accomplished competitors. Competition was part of his life long before he began competing in fly-fishing. He represented the United States as a downhill skier in the 1976 and 1980 Winter Olympics.

He brought that competitive drive to saltwater fly fishing, winning 14 tournaments, including five Gold Cup tarpon titles. He was inducted into the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame in 2025.

You can still hear him seeking a competitive edge in his questions. He’s eager for any detail that might improve his fishing. When a guest explains a technique or shares something they’ve figured out, the enthusiasm in his voice tells me he wants to try it himself. He’s asking for the listener, but he's taking notes.

Competition In Fishing

Competition helps move fly fishing forward. Much like car racing, the drive to win pushes designers, engineers, guides, and anglers to find an edge through better gear, flies, and techniques. Those improvements can eventually become part of how the rest of us fish.

Fly Fishing Knowledge and History

I learn a lot when I hear how accomplished anglers think through their fishing. Understanding their decision-making process helps me more than knowing which fly caught the fish. Andy Mill is very good at recognizing which details to ask about. His history with many guests also brings out stories about fishing together, learning from each other, and things going hilariously wrong. The podcast is a lesson in fly fishing and history.

Nicky Mill

A note about Andy’s son, Nicky Mill. He co-hosts the Mill House Podcast and is an accomplished angler and guide in his own right. Nicky produces the Mill House Podcast. You can’t have a show of this quality without having a great producer. He gives his father room to lead while adding questions and observations that reflect his own knowledge of fishing. Nicky deserves credit for both what we hear in the conversation and how well the finished show comes together.

---

Cut and ReTie with Joe Cermele 

Full disclosure: I was a guest on Cut & Retie. If you want to hear what happens when Joe and I get talking about fishing, check out Ep. 186 - Yippee-Ki-Yay, Streamer Chucker

Joe Cermele is a creative force, and I listen to his podcast Cut and Retie for the cutting-edge humor, politically incorrect takes, and blue-collar fishing stories, plus the occasional absurdity that comes out of left field and has me laughing out loud. He brings music, movies, and pop culture into his fishing conversations, and the show is funnier and less predictable because of it.

An Authentic Take on Fishing

This isn’t a “fly fishing” specific podcast. Joe is a fisherman first and will fish for just about anything in any way.

Hearing him talk about fishing reminds me of how I grew up and still feel about it today. He doesn’t get caught up in trends or play popularity contests, and he has nothing to prove. The dude is a little off-center; he marches to his own beat and tends to zig when other anglers zag.

A Wide-Ranging Career in Fishing

When I say Joe is a creative force, there is no exaggeration in that. Check out his résumé: he served as fishing editor at Field & Stream for roughly a decade. He also served as fishing editor at Outdoor Life and senior fishing editor at MeatEater, where he hosted Bent and B-Side Fishing.

There's more. He's written several books and designed a mouse fly pattern called Cermele’s Master Splinter, which Orvis sells. 

All Kinds of Fishing, All Kinds of Characters

Joe Cermele is a creative talent worth listening to if you love fishing and the outdoors. He brings a lot to the table, with guests who are always knowledgeable and sometimes characters of the fishing world. Once the stories get going, it's an entertaining and interesting listen.

---

Photo by Ken Baldwin

Four Podcasts, Four Reasons to Listen

I listen to each podcast for different reasons: Anchored for the human side of fly fishing, The Orvis Fly Fishing Guide for instruction and travel information, the Mill House Podcast for saltwater knowledge and firsthand history, and Cut & Retie for humor and creativity. All four hold my attention; their hosts’ curiosity satisfies my curiosity. After all the “Look at me” posts in my social feeds, it’s a pleasure to hear someone take an interest in somebody else. ~ KB

Follow me on Instagram @KenBaldwin7. I share the stories behind my articles, photos from my fly-fishing adventures, lots of Alaskan Brown Bear photography, gear I’m testing, and the outdoor places that inspire them.

---

"Slow down...listen to the hoppers...be patient with yer wife...eat sardines with hot sauce... catch “Gagger” trout!!!" – Flip Pallot