The Wadeoutthere Fly Fishing Podcast

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Travis Luther from St. Augustine, Florida.  For Travis, the art came long before the fly fishing.  While working night shifts at a mental health facility, Travis spent his downtime constantly drawing and sketching. When he got home, art became a creative release from the demands of his work. But it wasn't until he started painting fish that his artwork began to give him a new sense of artistic direction and purpose.

Looking for a place to showcase his paintings, Travis walked into the local fly shop. There, he found more than a place to display his art. He found a community of friends who would eventually introduce him to fly fishing.
Today, Travis is a full-time artist and part-owner of a fly shop, where his art is displayed and sold, and his love of fly fishing continues to grow.

We discuss the importance of observation and trusting the process in both art and fly fishing, as well as stories and tips for chasing redfish on Florida's flood tides.

Learn More:
TravisLutherArt.com
IG: @travislutherart
OldCityFlyShop.com

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Mark Andrews from Charlottesville, Virginia. Mark’s father introduced him to fishing, but it was his brother who ended up being a professional guide in Michigan, who got him hooked on fly fishing after he caught his first steelhead. Mark’s love of fly fishing was further cemented after he moved to Virginia, where he and his brother taught their children to fly fish together.

Mark moved to Virginia to take a job in elementary physical education and adaptive education, and later worked as a graduate student at the University of Virginia working with individuals with traumatic spinal cord injuries. He quickly set up a non-profit adaptive program called Therapeutic Adventures which helps disabled people through skiing, snowboarding, and fly fishing at the base of the Shenandoah Mountains.

We discuss Mark’s journey towards helping people with disabilities participate in and improve their functional independance through fly fishing, raising children that are passionate anglers, and Mark shares the themes behind his childrens books addressing disabilities and fly fishing.

Learn More
Therapeutic Adventures | TAOnline.org
Mark's children book: Blind Faith. Ian’s Quest to Catch the Enchanted Fish

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Betha Cochran, from Fort Smith, Montana. Betha began fly fishing in Colorado when she started dating her future husband, who was a passionate angler.  Fly fishing brought Betha the confidence and passion she was looking for. In time, her and her husband both became guides, and when kids arrived, they became a fly fishing family.

A job opportunity at the Bighorn Angler, brought them to Fort Smith, Montana, where Betha’s husband continued guiding, and Betha became the managing director of the fly shop’s social media.

Betha also continued her love of childhood education, writing a children’s fly fishing book, with her daughter as the main character, called The ABC’s of Fly Fishing.

We discuss the pros and cons of social media in fly fishing, how fly fishing can build self esteem, and Betha shares the stories and lessons she’s gathered working and raising a family on the Bighorn.

Learn More:
IG: @bethawentfishing
BighornAngler.com
The ABC’s of Fly Fishing, a children’s book by Betha Cochran

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with five thoughtful and passionate anglers about the tactics and techniques they use to fight and land big fish. Specifically… big trout.  

When you have the fish of a lifetime on, you want every advantage you can get.  Sure, some of that comes with time on the water.  Maybe most of it?  But having a few tricks up your sleeve and knowing what to practice when you are catching fish doesn’t hurt.  So here’s the line up: 

Domenick Swentosky, from the trout streams of central Pennsylvania and creator, host, and author of Troutbitten. Danny Lane from Idaho and the Henry’s Fork River.  Daniel Bragg, from Cameron, Montana and the Madison River. Colby Crossland, from Dutch John, Utah, and the Green River, and Jack Kingsborough, from New Zealand.

This is a fun one folks.  Five deep dive tactical discussions, with some of my favorite guests, about one of the most exciting parts of fly fishing.

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Mike Wilson, from Florence, Montana.  Mike was born and raised in Indiana.  Unable to afford college tuition during the Vietnam War, Mike dropped out.  He was drafted into the Army, and served three years, including one combat tour as a rescue helicopter pilot. When he came home, he and his new bride left Indiana, determined to find a new home and make a life.

They moved from spot to spot… searching.  Canada, Montana, California, Las Vegas.  Eventually, they landed in Boulder, Colorado where Mike bought his first fly rod and learned to cast in a mud puddle in front of their apartment.  

The streams and lakes of Colorado became Mike’s fly fishing classroom, until he decided to try his luck at college again.  They moved back to Montana, where Mike studied forestry, and worked for the forest service. He built a life surrounded by nature and continued to enjoy the therapeutic and challenging nature of fly fishing over the decades he has since lived in the Bitterroot Valley.

We discuss the pros and cons of complicating fly fishing versus keeping it simple, lake fishing in southwestern Montana, and the crossroads between pressure, restrictions, blame, and empathy when it comes to protecting our natural resources.

Learn More:
READ: How two exploratory mining projects could shape the headwaters of iconic Montana rivers

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In this episode, we WadeOutThere with Christopher Teas from Bal Harbor, Florida.  Christopher was born in Wisconsin, where he was introduced to fly fishing, before moving to Colorado at an early age. He eventually began guiding as a teenager to make money before attending college in Oregon, where he continued guiding for steelhead as well.

Christopher went on to build a career in business and investments, but his passion for fly fishing never left. He continues to travel and fish all over the world.

We discuss Christopher’s perspective on the evolution of the fly fishing industry, why he believes water and fly fishing can be the ultimate equalizer, and some of the tactics and lessons he’s developed over a lifetime on the water.

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Tanner and Morgan Barbeau from Buena Vista, Colorado.  Tanner learned to fly fish from his father at an early age on the famed tailwaters of the San Juan river.  Morgan graduated school and took a nine to five job in corporate America having never fly fished before.  The pair met in Buena Vista and fell in love with each other, while Morgan was falling in love with fly fishing.

Tanner had been guiding for several years when Morgan lost her job.  Together they made fly fishing their priority, growing together as anglers and eventually turning their passion for videography and storytelling into their own production company and YouTube channel, Mopfly Productions. 

We discuss how Morgan and Tanner have managed to stay connected to each other, fly fishing and the art of story telling through patience and passion.

Learn More:
MopflyProductions.com
Instagram: @mopflyproductions
YouTube: Mopfly Productions

Visit TacticalFlyFisher.com and use Promo Code: wade15 at checkout for 15% off your next tactical gear purchase.

Sign up for Jason's free email newsletter (WadeOutThere Wednesday) at WadeOutThere.com/Wednesday

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Ben Wilcox, from Essex, Vermont.  Ben was introduced to fly fishing after college when he and his friends traveled to Maine to support a friend going through hard times.  Although he struggled to catch any fish for the first couple years, something  about the process of learning kept Ben coming back. 

Book by book and tactic by tactic, Ben worked his way from novice angler to competitor for team USA.  Now, Ben has a guide service called Maple Country Anglers.

We discuss dry dropper tactics Ben has developed to target trout in his home waters of Vermont, the value of exploring trout waters, and how confidence plays a key role in a fly fishers progress early on.

Learn More:
MapleCountryAnglers.com
Instagram: @benwilcox_maplecountryanglers
AmberRidgeMaple.com

Visit TacticalFlyFisher.com and use Promo Code: wade15 at checkout for 15% off your next tactical gear purchase.

Sign up for Jason's free email newsletter (WadeOutThere Wednesday) at WadeOutThere.com/Wednesday

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Jesse Alberi, from Dillon, Montana.  Jesse grew up dunking grasshoppers for trout in his homewaters around Dillon, and on his family’s ranch in Red Lodge.  After attending school in North Dakota, he took a job in Alaska, where he fell in love with fly fishing and his wife.  They moved back to Jesse’s hometown of Dillon, to raise their young daughter amongst friends and family.

In October of 2008, Jesse rolled his truck on an icy road, and suffered a spinal injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down.  Recovery was a long road, but eventually, with the help of friends and family, Jesse moved forward and began his path to not only break through the limitations that his disability presented, but help bring others hope… through fly fishing.

We discuss Jesse’s journey back to fly fishing after his accident, how friendship and adventure gave birth to his organization Access Unlimited, who with the help of the High Fives Foundation, is bringing the healing power of fly fishing to motivate and encourage those with disabilities to overcome limitations.

Learn More:
High Fives Foundation.org / Access Unlimited
Instagram: @Accessunltd

Mend Documentary Film (Jesse's Story)
Instagram: @mend.film

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Taylor Todd, from Helena, Montana.  Taylor began fly fishing almost immediately upon beginning college at Oregon State.  He was a volunteer firefighter and paramedic there, and his roommates at college and Lieutenant at the firehouse left him nowhere to go where fly fishing wasn’t a source of learning, camaraderie, and fun on the river.  

After school he moved to Wisconsin where he continued to pursue a career as a paramedic until one summer he decided to head west to the Rocky Mountains and immerse himself in his love for fly fishing.  He landed a spot at a guide school on the Bighorn and a job at a fly shop in Montana.  He and his wife made the move and have been living happily in Helena Montana ever since. 

Taylor became a guide and eventually started his own outfitter, Mountain Prairie Guide Service, where he fishes the Blackfoot and Missouri Rivers, among others, and also guides bird hunting and dog training in the fall. 

In this conversation we talk matching the hatch, and no rabbit hole goes unexplored.  We cover how (and why) matching the hatch sometimes plays second fiddle to presentation, when presentation just doesn’t cut it, and of course, we take a deep, DEEP dive into the tactics and techniques Taylor uses to pick the right dry flies on his home water.  We also share thoughts on why fishing with friends is a special part of fly fishing for both of us.

Learn More:
Email: [email protected]
Mountain Prairie Outfitters.com
Instagram: @realtodd
Instagram: @mountainprairieoutfitters

Visit TacticalFlyFisher.com and use Promo Code: wade15 at checkout for 15% off your next tactical gear purchase.

Sign up for Jason's free email newsletter (WadeOutThere Wednesday) at WadeOutThere.com/Wednesday