Fly Guides Podcast

Some of these episodes are too hard to believe! This week we speak with Matt Thornton of The Wilderness Calling, who is RF tracking salmon and Steelhead in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest to find out where these incredible species migrate to. It's a wide-ranging conversation about Matt's background in music and fly fishing and how guiding made him into a conservationist.

Today, we talk about the good that fly fishing can accomplish for the world! We talk with Heather Harkavy of Fish For Change; An organization that exists to "empower young people to become global citizens through experiential learning. Our one-week international fly fishing camps for high school and college-aged students blend cultural exchange and environmental stewardship. Our goal is to use fishing as a platform to build empathetic, curious, passionate, and confident young adults. 40% of our students join us on financial need-based scholarships thanks to our donor community. We also partner with local communities, inviting at least one local student each week to join as a guide apprentice - creating authentic connections, mentorship, and friendships that span cultures." It is an awesome conversation about how a sport we all love so much is helping change the youth of the world. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

https://www.fishforchange.org 

We have had the privilege of interviewing over 75 guides in our three years of doing the show. It's been one of the great pleasures of our lives. We never dreamed that when we started this, we would have the chance to talk to a fly-fishing czar from the kingdom of Bhutan, or a world-renowned guide in Chile, or find new and up-and-coming people from all over the world who have found their peace and joy in the sport of Fly Fishing — but we have, and it has truly been incredible. To hear the stories of people who are passionately pursuing the guide life has been inspirational and thoroughly rewarding. 

This past weekend, I had the chance to fish with one of the guides we interviewed in season 3. Scott and I joke every time we finish an episode about how much we want to go fishing with the guide we just spoke with. In many ways, it’s a running theme on the show that we would love to quit our jobs and just be on the water every chance we get. But life and work get in the way of being out there as often as we might hope. But the planets aligned this past weekend when I took a trip to Greenville, South Carolina, to visit my youngest son at his college. We were there to watch his swim meet, but I reached out to John Conits, our first guide from the Deep South, and asked if we could take him up on the offer to go fishing together. 

In this week's episode, we speak with John Ashley from Palapas Ventana on Mexico's Baja Peninsula. This is a fantastic conversation about the aquarium of the world and the amazing fishing in this special spot. We talked about how Baja is like California from 100 years ago, and how the slow pace of life is completely refreshing for those of us coming from the fast-paced world of the United States. Listen and enjoy this adventure, south of the border!

https://www.palapasventana.com

Today, we talk with Rob Aitken about the North Carolina mountains and his journey to guiding! We also touch on the Maggie Valley Fly Fishing festival that happens over Memorial Day weekend. This is a great conversation about what fly fishing means to a community and how a young person discovers their passion for the sport. We hope you enjoy the episode as much as we did! Here are a few links if you want to check out the event or go fishing with any of their amazing team of guides!

https://www.maggievalleyflyshop.com

We take a midseason saltwater journey to the Baja with John Ashley from Palapas Ventana. We talk about the amazing Sea of Cortez and the aquarium of the Pacific. John's journey from school teacher to fly-fishing guide is also a highlight of this episode. If you want to learn more about John and Palapas Ventana, take a look at the link below! We found John's description of Baja as a California from fifty years ago incredibly compelling. If there were ever an episode that made you want to pack up what you're doing and become a guide, this is the one.

https://www.palapasventana.com

Have a listen!

We take a midseason saltwater journey to the Baja with John Ashley from Palapas Ventana. We talk about the amazing Sea of Cortez and the aquarium of the Pacific. John's journey from school teacher to fly fishing guide is also a highlight of this episode. If you want to learn more about John and Palapas Ventana, take a look at the link below! We found John's description of Baja as a California from fifty years ago incredibly compelling. If there were ever an episode that made you want to pack up what you're doing and become a guide, this is the one.

https://www.palapasventana.com

The sport of fly fishing is often accused of being an "old man's" sport. But this week's episode will turn that misconception on its head. We had the privilege of speaking with Emory Stanton about his fly-fishing club in Grand Junction, Colorado, and how his ambition to meet new fly-fishing enthusiasts has grown into one of the school's largest clubs. You will feel really encouraged when you listen to his passion and excitement for the sport. From finding sponsors for gear to getting people who have never fished before out to experience this beautiful sport, Emory is helping the sport continue — and frankly, in better hands than those of us who are older could have imagined.

We are back in the Smoky Mountains again this week with Maggie Valley Fly Fishing's head guide, Taylory Farfour. We talk about her love of the region, the amazing fishing, and what it is like to be a guide as a woman in what is often a man's world. We loved this conversation! Taylor was fun and thoughtful and would be a blast to fish with. We hope you enjoy today's episode!

Lost in our vault was a special episode with Captain Johnny Mainero. We talk about chasing fish on the South Carolina coast and what it's like to enjoy this special fishery. We loved our conversation with Johnny and are so thankful that we were able to find this episode that had been lost to technology. If you are interested in finding out more about fishing with Johnny, head to his website:

www.fishingblackwater.com

or follow him on Instagram: @fishblackwater