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

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Riverhorse Nakadate, from Houston Texas. Riverhorse was born in Austin, Texas to a single mother and joyful days playing in the Colorado River and at the public library.  His adopted father was a professor of literature and steelheader, which cemented his love of books and fishing at an early age.  The family spent summers along the Oregon coast, where Riverhorse immersed himself in the ocean… fishing and surfing.   

After traveling the world surfing, playing music, and writing articles for surf and fly fishing magazines, Riverhorse returned to Texas, and fly fishing… in the local salt marshes and lakes around Houston.  Riverhorse is a musician, conservationist, fisherman, surfer, and thoughtful author, whose first book, Waterlines, shares his most treasured stories.  The beautiful and painful ones.

We discuss Texas fly fishing from a canoe for redfish and large mouth bass, Riverhorse’s love of writing and books, and how searching for our own “child’s heart,” can bring meaning and joy to life.

Learn More:
Instagram: @Riverhorse_Nakadate
Waterlines: A Life on Marshes, Rivers, Seas, and in the Rain. By Riverhorse Nakadate
YouTube: It’s All Home Water | A Northern Light
YouTube: Love & Water: Fly Fishing for Redfish and Bass and Redfish with Riverhorse Nakadate 

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with John Duncan, from Telluride, CO. John grew up learning to fly fish in Washington State’s Olympic Peninsula, hiking and backpacking to access fishing in small streams and remote lakes.  His love for the mountains drew him to attend college in Colorado Springs, CO, where he fell in love with the weather, the skiing, and the fishing.  Telluride, became the perfect place for him to grow a life around the fly fishing industry.

John has been a guide, a marketing and sales rep for Scott Fly Rods in the early days of their relocation to Colorado, and been helping people enjoy the fly fishing of his beloved Telluride for years through the fly shop and guide service Telluride Angler. 

We discuss tactics for fishing small freestone streams and high country backpacking in both Southwest Colorado and the Olympic Penninsula.

Learn More:
TellurideOutside.com
TellurideAngler.com
READ: WADEOUTTHERE | We All Have Home Water
READ: WADEOUTTHERE | Six Techniques for Fishing Small Streams
READ: WADEOUTTHERE | Seven Reasons to Fish Small Streams

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Mark Raisler, from Craig, Montana.  Mark grew up in Washington State’s Skagit Valley, in an outdoors family where fishing was a distant third priority, behind skiing and hunting.  

He first came to Montana for something to do when he wasn’t skiing, but quickly found the Missouri River and fly fishing.  When he realized summers were nowhere near enough time to try to catch all the wild trout in the river, he moved to the banks of the Missouri full time.  That was 1997, and he’s been working on figuring out those fish ever since.

Now, Mark is a co-owner of Headhunters Fly Shop in Craig Montana where he has guided for years.

We discuss dry fly techniques, casting accuracy, and why “good drifts, near fish” are the keys to success when fishing to the surface on the Mighty Mo.  Mark and I also wax a little philosophy on how contextual memory is a special part of fly fishing, and life.

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Dax Messett, from Medford, Oregon.  Dax moved to the Lake Tahoe area after college to pursue his love for the outdoors, and immediately found fly fishing as another way to explore.  He started his fly fishing journey on the Truckee River, and later began guiding in the surrounding Northern California streams and lakes.  Next, came year round guiding, winters in New Zealand, and a relationship with adventure that felt more normal with than without.

For Dax, fly fishing became his vehicle for exploring the world.  His vehicle for  traveling to exotic and remote places.  Visiting whatever mountains, lakes, rivers, and oceans that captured his attention and excitement.  Always with a fly rod in hand.

We discuss Dax’s perfect fly fishing year, covering where he would fish every month of the year and why, while Dax also shares stories and lessons learned that he takes from each fishery.  Twelve months. Twelve fisheries.  One passionate angler.  Here comes the Year of the Nomad Angler.

Learn More:
Daxfly.com
Namproducts-usa.com

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Noah Dahlke, from Bozeman, Montana.  Noah grew up in an Air Force family, with roots in Wisconsin.  While his father was stationed everywhere from Minot, North Dakota to Oklahoma, to Great Falls, Noah always looked for chances to fish, and tie.  

He also looked forward to the summers, when he could return to his home state and fly fish with his grandfathers.  He often would send them flies he tied to test before his visits, and made the trips home even more special.  One of those flies became the Legacy Leach, which was picked up by Umpqua Feather Merchants as one of their signature flies.  

When his father retired, the family ended up in Bozeman, and Montana State became the obvious choice for a young man who wanted to attend school for engineering, and continue to hunt and fish.  

Now, Noah has found a job, and a new life, in Helena, where his dream of working and fishing in Montana has come true.  

We discuss streamer fishing in Yellowstone National Park, as well as Noah’s thoughts on the importance of fishing with the ones you love with the time you have.

LEARN MORE:

Noah's "Legacy Leech" at Umpqua Feather Merchants

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Andrew Kangas from Cameron, Montana.  Andrew grew up in Michigan, learning to fish with conventional gear and dabbling in fly fishing with a fly rod he picked up at a neighborhood garage sale.  

When a family friend living in Montana invited his family to stay with her for a trip to Yellowstone Park, Andrew saw it as an opportunity to dive deeper into fly fishing.  The trip turned into a wildly fun and productive fly fishing adventure.  So when that family friend offered her basement to Andrew to come and spend summers fishing, he jumped at it.  He also jumped at the opportunity to begin his guiding career at Kelly Galloup's Slide Inn fly shop,  on the Madison River.  

Now Andrew splits his time between Montana and Michigan.  Guiding, hunting, and fishing for himself, all while continuing to challenge himself with new waters and new species.  

We discuss streamer tactics on the Madison River, how different streamers can lend themselves to different styles of retrieves, and how Andrew looks forward to continuing to challenge himself as he grows as a fishing guide.

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Jeremy Nolan from Durango, Colorado.  Jeremy moved to Colorado over twenty five years ago to pursue his passion for skiing and mountain biking while attending college.  One of the texts he picked up was an Orvis book on fly fishing.  Soon he and his friends were fishing the San Juan River and learning as they went, but Jeremy knew his future career would be on the water.  

After graduation he began guiding and eventually started his own outfitter, Headsup Fly Fishing and later a guide service in Honduras, where he has been fishing for nearly twenty years without missing.  

We discuss the solitude that can be found fishing in southwestern Colorado, as well as his multi-day adventure trips that explore mountain lakes and streams, often on horseback.  Jermey also shares his techniques for streamer fishing on freestone rivers and his experience growing his skills and his business in Utila Honduras, teaching new guides while remaining open to growth.  

Learn More:

HeadsUpFlyFishing.com

Flyfishutila.com

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In this episode we WadeOutThere with Tyler Mills from St.Paul, Minnesota.  Tyler grew up gear fishing with his friends and family in upstate New York, spending nearly every day of the summer on the St. Lawrence River.  It didn’t take long for Tyler to find fly fishing, which he took with him to Seattle where he worked in the snowboard industry.  

When he lost his job during COVID, Tyler ended up finding himself learning a new fishery every three months while he visited his then girlfriend, and current wife, who was a traveling nurse.  When they landed in Wyoming, Tyler left his life in Seattle and turned to fly fishing for the presence and peace that it brought him and others, while he supported his wife’s nursing career.  

Tyler’s passion for fly fishing also brought him a new career in Minnesota, where he is a fly fishing guide and jet boat captain on the Upper Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, targeting smallmouth.  

We discuss how fly fishing helps us all be more present, how COVID gave Tyler the opportunity to grow as an angler by learning new fisheries, and Tyler’s two favorite presentation techniques for hooking up with smallmouth on top of and below the water.

LEARN MORE:

Thornebros.com

DavidHolmesGuiding.com

Instagram: @cuffsfullofdustandfeathers

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