This week, we repost an episode from the former Barbless podcast where I interview my father, Bill McMillan. We discuss the hardcore history of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia River and take listeners back in time to the mid-1800s through the early 1900s. how many salmon and steelhead were in the Columbia back then? How large were they? How early were they depleted? Tune in for answers to those questions, and more, to learn why those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

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In this episode John and Nick kick off The Deep Wade with a discussion about their background in science, fishing, and conservation, and what makes different species of salmon, trout, and char stand out from one another. They take a deep dive into each species' strengths and how those evolutionary traits undergird their success in Nature -- such as diversity in steelhead, large body size in Chinook salmon, and body shape and swimming capacity in coho salmon. John and Nick close it out with some interesting observations on bull trout, such as why they are classified as "gorgers" and how such behavior might influence the long held adage that brown trout are more difficult to catch because they are "smarter" than other species. Tune in for this, and more, to better understand your favorite fish and why their traits are important to fishing and conservation.

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In this episode John and Nick discuss whether they set the hook when swinging flies for steelhead and why. There are many facets to hooking and landing steelhead, and setting the hook is one of the more divisive topics. They both agree, however, that they almost always set the hook. They take a deep dive into why they share the same strategy, and as John notes, based on his data from hooking over 2,000 steelhead, the data suggests a clear result: He lands more fish when he sets the hook than when he doesn't. And it's not even close. Tune in and learn more about swinging flies for steelhead and how to improve your success as an angler.

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