The DrakeCast - A Flyfishing Podcast

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#28 Montana's Bighorn Feb 05, 2018

Show notes

Montana’s Bighorn River is known throughout the world as a blue-ribbon trout stream. The fishery below Yellowtail Dam holds some of the most robust tour-per-mile numbers in the nation. But in the last decade, the river has changed. There’s more water, skinnier fish, and some say it’s just not the way it used to be. This episode of The DrakeCast takes a float down the Bighorn in search of why this river is experiencing these negative results. While we’re on the water, we’ll hear from ranchers, fisheries biologists, and the happiest fisherman in the world. As with every episode of The DrakeCast, this chapter would not be possible without the generous support of Yellow Dog Fly Fishing Adventures and Scott Fly Rods. If your planning a trip, make sure to check in with the folks at Yellow Dog (www.yellowdogflyfishing.com). To make sure you have the correct tools for that trip, take a job down to your local fly shop and try out a handcrafted, made in the USA, Scott fly rod (www.scottflyrod.com). Many thanks to the folks at the Bighorn River Alliance (www.bighornriveralliance.org) for all of the work they have done on that fishery and for allowing us to use the audio from their recently released film, A River at Risk. While recording this episode, we were lucky enough to stay at the Bighorn Angler (www.bighornangler.com). They helped us arrange a shuttle and let us soil one of their cabins. We also need to thank Mike Ruggles with the Montana’s Fish, Wildlife & Parks Department for sharing his data with us. For more information on this episode and its predecessors, visit www.drakemag.com.

#27 Fish on the Brain + The DrakeCast: A Collaboration Jan 19, 2018

Show notes

Last week, we had a chance to catch up with Tim Evans. He's a salesman that lives in Casper, Wyoming but you most likely to know him as the man behind the Fish on the Brain podcast. We got out with Tim to throw bobbers at wary trout on a Front Range tailwater. As soon as we realized the fish weren't interested in our flies we put our rods down and got to chatting. We discussed fishing, conservation, storytelling, and podcasting in general. We've spliced in some choice sound clips from both The DrakeCast and Fish on the Brain to give listeners some context as well as potentially expose our audiences to some of the other great flyfishing-related audio that's out there. Listeners will receive a behind the scenes look into the completely unorganized world of sticking microphones in the faces of anglers and what flyfishing means to all of the people we talk to. Many thanks to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures and Scott Fly Rods for their continued support of The DrakeCast. For more information about this episode, visit our website: www.drakemag.com

#26 Heavy Metal Flyfishing Through the Ice Jan 12, 2018

Show notes

A few weeks ago, I found myself in Duluth, Minnesota and the forecast was rather dicey. As you probably know, it’s pretty darn difficult to flyfish when it’s -20 degrees outside. But with the help of veteran guide Lucky Porter and photographer Hansi Johnson, we were able to make a day out on the frozen water with our eight weights and musky flies. In addition to our normal flyfishing gear, we also had several pitchforks, a couple saws, a propane tank, the worlds largest set of tongs, a fish whistle, and a little bit of optimism. This episode explores the hyper-localized world of dark house spear fishing in Northern Minnesota. Throughout this show, we learn the history of the sport, try our hand at stabbing a few fish, and figure out how to better target pike when the ice leaves in the springtime. As always, The DrakeCast is made possible thanks to generous support from Scott Fly Rods and Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures. For more information on this story and many others, check us out at www.drakemag.com

#25 Horseshoes & Carp Grenades Jan 05, 2018

Show notes

Carp aren't native to the US, but at this point, they're here to stay. This episode follows the meteoric rise of the nation's number one trashfish and how folks with flyrods began targetting them. During this story we'll hear the musical stylings of the carp loving crew that makes up the string band, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. Many thanks to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures and Scott Fly Rods for their continued support of The DrakeCast. "My first introduction to carp was definitely bowfishing with buddies in college. We’d go out, grab a case of beer, load up the boats, grab an old car battery and headlights and we would takeoff out into the backwaters as soon as the ice was out. We would just spend all night out there chasing them around with bows. And it was awesome. I have fond fond memories with good buddies through college doing that. And that kind of taught me where the fish were. I just have realized that flyfishing for carp is even harder than stalking them with a bow and its a lot more gratifying when you actually can land a nice 20 pound carp off the fly and release it back in without a hole through it." -Russell Pedersen, carp enthusiast and banjo player for Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. "I had not heard of anybody else chasing carp with a fly." -Flyshop owner Steve Hilbers talking about flyfishing for carp with cottonwood seed flies on the Verde River as a kid. For more information about this story, please visit our website: http://www.drakemag.com/drakecast/1897-the-drakecast-fly-fishing-podcast-25-horseshoes-and-hand-grenades-carp-fishing.html Additionally, The band Horseshoes & Hand Grenades is about to hit the road with The Infamous Stringdusters. For more information please follow this link: http://www.hhgmusic.com/

#24 The Drake, Winter 2017 Preview feat. Tom Bie, Dave Karczynski & Michael Graybrook Dec 19, 2017

Show notes

In this episode of The DrakeCast, we get a quick preview of the Winter 2017 issue of the Drake Magazine. Right off the bat we hear Drake Editor, Tom Bie, tell us about his favorite parts of the recently released issue. Later on, author and frequent Drake contributor Dave Karczynski tells us about two books that he just published, the first of which is titled, "Smallmouth: Modern Fly Fishing Methods, Tactics & Techniques." His second book is a transitional text called, "From Lure to Fly: Fly Fishing for Spinning and Baitcast Anglers." Later on we chat with architect and author Michael Graybrook about his book, "Cutthroat: A Journey Through The American West." And finally, we hear Graybrook read a chapter from this book. Many thanks to Scott Fly Rods and Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures for their continued support of The DrakeCast. For more information on the magazine and all of the aforementioned books, visit our website: www.drakemag.com Here's a quick synopsis of what you can expect from the Winter 2017 issue of the Drake Magazine: Illinois carp, Argentine brookies, Texas redfish, New York stripers, Colorado cutthroat, Oregon steelhead, St. Lawrence pike, Honduras permit, speed-guiding in Alaska, those bird-eating GTs, three great books, white flies in Wisconsin, backcountry in the Smokies, winter on the Madison, and the tragic loss of one blue jacket.

#23 Musky with a Y Dec 08, 2017

Show notes

This week we head to the rivers of Northern Wisconsin in search of the illusive River Nazi. While blindly casting for these toothy critters, we talk to a few folks about the history of musky fishing and how anglers began targeting these fish with flies. Many thanks to Steve Wisner of Eau Claire Anglers, Larry Mann of Hayward Flyfishing Company, Tim Simonson with the WI DNR, and Joe Flater of Flater's Resort in Holcombe, Wisconsin for helping us tell this story. And of course, many thanks to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures and Scott Fly Rods for their continued support of The DrakeCast. For more information, check out our website: http://www.drakemag.com/drakecast/1880-the-drakecast-fly-fishing-podcast-23-musky-flyfishing.html

#22 A River Runs Near It Dec 01, 2017

Show notes

In the early 1970s, Don Wisner learned how to flyfish. It was around this time that his life began to parallel a certain flyfishing story. When Don's son, Stephen, came of age, the two spent hours together fishing the brook trout streams of Western Wisconsin. As the men grew in both age and skill, their interests took them in separate directions - Stephen wandered the world while Don embraced religion. But whenever the two were in the same place, they always made sure to spend an afternoon on the water, and this part of their relationship kept them close. These days, Don and Stephen live in the same town and are fortunate enough to share a love of the same river. "I'm at an age right now, I'm 77 years old, and I can't cast all day anymore. But I can still row the boat. And to be able to row for somebody that can really fish it's kind of an intimate thing. You have to know somebody to be able to do that well. To be able to read their mind and we kind of function that way together." -Rev. Don Wisner Many thanks to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures and Scott Fly Rods for their continued support of The DrakeCast. For more information on this episode, as well as Stephen's guide business, Eau Claire Anglers, check out our website: http://www.drakemag.com/drakecast/1875-the-drakecast-fly-fishing-podcast-22-a-river-runs-near-it.html

#21 Armistice Day Nov 24, 2017

Show notes

This week, we have a story of tradition and remembrance, and it’s actually connected to an episode that we put out a few months ago called Dresses & Can Cans. If you haven’t heard this story, definitely pause right now, go back in the feed, find episode #12, listen to it. At it’s core, it’s the story of this woman named Patti and how the wilderness saved her life. But episode #12 is also the story of how Patti’s Dad and my grandfather became friends and how fishing helped forge that relationship. Each Veterans Day, the men would load their john boat and drive to the Mississippi river where it separates Wisconsin from Minnesota. They did it to honor the friends that didn’t make it through the war. They did it because the courthouse was closed. They did it because the fishing was good. But there’s another reason that these men came back to this exact stretch of the Mississippi River every year on Veteran's Day. Make sure to listen to the episode to find out. If you missed Episode #12, you can find it here: http://www.drakemag.com/drakecast/1836-the-drakecast-flyfishing-podcast-12-mississippi.html Many thanks to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures and Scott Fly Rods for their continued support of The DrakeCast.

#20 The DrakeCast Presents: Dylan Tomine & The Fly Tapes Nov 10, 2017

Show notes

This week's episode of The DrakeCast features another flyfishing podcast that has recently hit the airwaves. Jason Rolfe is a guide at Emerald Water Anglers in Washington State, but when he's not on the water he's sitting in front of legendary flyfishing writers asking them about their history with the sport. He has coupled these interviews with live readings in his new podcast, The Fly Tapes. We take a few select sound bites from Rolfe's podcast and ask him about how this project started and where it is going. This episode also focuses on the upcoming tour of "Writers on the Fly," which is a traveling show featuring some of the great writers that Rolfe interviews. They'll be making their way up the West Coast starting on November 14 in Bend, Oregon. If you love flyfishing and storytelling and live in the Pacific North West, make sure to check out Writers on the Fly at a venue near you. If you don't live on the West Coast, make sure to find The Fly Tapes wherever you find podcasts. Many thanks to Scott Fly Rods and Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures for their continued support of The DrakeCast.

#19 Crossroads: Social Media & Flyfishing Nov 03, 2017

Show notes

A lot of people claim social media has killed flyfishing. But has it? In this episode of The DrakeCast we chat with parties on both sides of the divide as we suss out the positive and negative impacts social media has had on flyfishing. The backbone of this episode traces the experience of an Idaho fishing guide as well as the growth of a flyfishing company. Through these experiences of these separate groups, we are able to see a fuller picture of how social media has impacted flyfishing. We also have a great chat with the great Kelly Galloup, who is always reliable when it comes to giving a good quote or two. Additionally, this is the episode that the ever-flippant Tom Bie makes his inaugural appearance. I couldn't have been happier to shove a fuzzy microphone in my boss's face. Many thanks to Yellow Dog Flyfishing Adventures and Scott Fly Rods for their continued support. For more information on this episode, check out our website: http://www.drakemag.com/drakecast/1866-the-drakecast-fly-fishing-podcast-19-social-media-flyfishing-instagram.html

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