Education Episodes

Episode Overview On this episode of The Articulate Fly's Casting Angles series, fly casting instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, joins host Marvin Cash to take apart one of fly fishing's most persistent misconceptions: that a faster rod is a better rod. With North Carolina's Delayed Harvest stocking running late and low fall flows limiting the fishing report, Mac and Marvin devote the conversation to rod action and why medium-action rods often outperform ...

Episode Overview On this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash and Mac Brown, fly casting instructor at Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, unpack the biggest light bulb moment from Mac's recent casting mastery workshop: casting arc and applied power are inseparable, and many loop problems blamed on "too much power" are really a mismatch between the two. It is a practical lesson for any angler who wants cleaner loops at varying distances, and it arrives...

Episode Overview How do you time a haul so it actually adds line speed instead of working against your cast? On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, break down the single biggest mistake anglers make when hauling: starting the pull too early. Recorded during the late summer trout doldrums, before delayed harvest waters reopen in early October, th...

Episode Overview How do you build a roll cast good enough to effectively fish tight, brush-choked mountain streams where there's no room for a backcast at all? On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, break down what actually separates a "world class" roll cast from one anglers only think is dialed in. Mac frames the roll cast as the ultimate get-...

Episode Overview How much gear does it actually take to fish effectively for trout in the Southern Appalachians? On this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish make the case for stripping gear down to the essentials rather than chasing every new product on the market. The conversation was sparked by both hosts equipping their youngest sons with fly fishing gear, which got them talking abo...

Episode Overview How can anglers turn a slow, hot summer on the water into long-term improvement? On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish and Fly Fishing Guide School make the case for using the dog days of summer to build better habits rather than force uncomfortable and unproductive trips. With trout fishing tough across the region during the summer heat and low water, and...

Episode Overview With freestone trout streams across the Southeast pushing into the upper 60s and low 70s by mid-morning, serious anglers need a plan for beating the summer heat. On this Casting Angles installment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish and Fly Fishing Guide School in Bryson City, North Carolina, break down how to keep catching trout — or productively wait it out — when peak summer temperatures ...

Episode Overview How 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 expl...

Episode Overview In 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 fishi...

Episode Overview The 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 H...

Episode Overview In 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 technica...

Episode Overview In 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...

Episode Overview In this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash reconnects with Master Casting Instructor and veteran Western North Carolina guide Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City for a timely mid-May conditions update on the Tuckasegee River. With the delayed harvest season winding down and roughly three weeks left to fish the DH water, Mac and Marvin break down exactly what anglers are up against — and how to read it correctly. The T...

Episode Overview In this Casting Angles segment of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown discuss how to adapt when an unusually warm, drought-driven spring upends normal seasonal fishing expectations across the mid-Atlantic and Southern Appalachians. It's a candid, practical conversation for anglers dealing with conditions that have scrambled hatches, compressed water temps and pushed trout into summerlike stress months early. Mac ...

Episode Overview In this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish tackle the science behind low-water trout presentation — the kind of technical adjustment that separates consistent anglers from frustrated ones. With drought conditions pushing Western North Carolina rivers to July-like flows in early April, Marvin and Mac deliver a timely primer on two interconnected concepts: Snell's window (the physics gover...

Episode Overview In this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash and Mac Brown of Mac Brown Fly Fish cover the spring fishing picture in western North Carolina just ahead of the Easter and spring break rush. The conversation is a candid, practical guide for anglers planning a trip to the region — with an honest assessment of current stocking conditions on delayed harvest water and a strong case for pursuing wild trout in the backcountry instead. Mac and Marvin addres...

Episode Overview In this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash and Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown close out the fly fishing show season with a candid debrief on what happens after students leave the classroom. Recorded immediately after both Marvin and Mac wrapped up their teaching schedules at the Lancaster Fly Fishing Show — the final show of the year — the conversation digs into one of the most practical and underexplored questions in fly f...

Episode Overview In this episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash sits down with Master Casting Instructor Mac Brown for another installment of Casting Angles — a wide-ranging conversation on the philosophy of continuous improvement in fly fishing and fly casting. Recorded just before the Lancaster Fly Fishing Show, the episode centers on one of the most practical yet underappreciated principles in skill development: approaching your craft with a beginner's mind, no matter how many yea...

Episode Overview In this episode of The Articulate Fly podcast, host Marvin Cash catches up with master casting instructor Mac Brown for another installment of Casting Angles — a recurring segment dedicated to fly casting education and the business of fly fishing instruction. Recorded just after Mac returned from back-to-back appearances at the Denver and Bellevue stops of the Fly Fishing Show, the conversation covers his experience on the road, a spontaneous three-day steelhead spey fishing ...

Episode Overview Mac Brown joins host Marvin Cash for this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, a fly fishing podcast focused on practical instruction and technique refinement. With winter weather keeping many anglers off the water across the mid-Atlantic and southern Appalachians, Mac and Marvin discuss how to use this downtime productively by organizing gear and preparing equipment for the upcoming season. The conversation covers essential off-season maintenance tasks including lin...

Episode Overview Casting instructor Mac Brown joins host Marvin Cash on The Articulate Fly for another Casting Angles conversation, this time focused on the upcoming Edison Fly Fishing Show and the casting education landscape. This episode offers serious fly anglers essential insights into proper casting fundamentals, debunking common myths about distance casting and the overemphasis on double hauling in favor of loop control and efficiency. Mac and Marvin discuss their collaborative teaching...

Episode Overview In this Casting Angles episode of The Articulate Fly, host Marvin Cash and casting instructor Mac Brown discuss strategies for maximizing educational value at fly fishing shows nationwide. With the 2026 show season approaching, they share tactical advice on how to approach casting and tying demonstrations, turning entertainment into genuine skill development. Mac Brown, who teaches at major shows from Marlborough to Lancaster, explains why focusing on the caster's hand moveme...

The Articulate Fly's final Casting Angles segment of 2025 delivers essential cold weather fly fishing strategies from host Marvin Cash and fly fishing expert Mac Brown, owner of Mac Brown Fly Fish in the Great Smoky Mountains. As winter conditions settle across the country, Mac shares decades of hard-earned wisdom on layering techniques and gear selection that keep anglers comfortable and effective on the water when temperatures drop into the 20s and below. Learn Mac's counterintuitive foo...

In this episode of The Articulate Fly fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash connects with Mac Brown from Mac Brown Fly Fish in Bryson City, North Carolina, for another Casting Angles segment exploring an often-overlooked winter fishing strategy: dry fly fishing in cold weather conditions. Mac reveals why winter dry fly fishing deserves more attention, particularly in the Great Smoky Mountains where low, clear water and selective trout make stealth presentations with dries surprisingly effecti...