Episode 23—The Cascadia Tour 2016 | Portland

In this abbreviated version of the 2016 Cascadia Tour stop in Portland, Oregon, we hear from author Cameron Chambers and writer/guide/badass Kate Taylor. 

Cameron is the author of the book Chasing Rumor: A Season Fly Fishing In Patagonia, published in 2015 by Patagonia Books.  

Kate Taylor owns and operates Frigate Travel, with her husband Justin Crump. Kate and Justin chase the season each year, guiding in Oregon, Alaska, Baja, and beyond. Her pieces featured in this episode were originally published in The Flyfish Journal.

A special thanks goes out to Sage Fly Fishing for their support of The Fly Tapes. Check out the new Backcountry Season feature. 

Music by: Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate. 

Episode 22—The Cascadia Tour 2016: Bend

In today's episode, we're going back to the early days of Writers on the Fly, with a reading in Bend, Oregon, that started off the first ever Cascadia Tour. This reading happened on November 1, 2016, and featured a handful of great writers and featured photographers as well. 

Among the readers in this episode, you'll likely recognize a few familiar voices. Both Amanda Monthei and Steve Duda have been featured on The Fly Tapes previously, so if you'd like to learn more about them, check out their episodes!

New to the podcast today we've got: Copi Vojta, who happens to be the photography editor of The Flyfish Journal, but also a solid writer in his own right. He reads a piece called This Is Us, which was featured in the Journal a while back. 

Following Copi you'll hear from Paul Moinester. Paul is part of the braintrust behind the #KeepEmWet campaign, which you've likely seen around social media, and is also half of the team behind the always entertaining Moldy Chum. 

Finally, after the break, we hear from Brett Gaba. Brett is a writer and East Coast transplant, and the editor of Steelheader's Journal. His book about fly fishing Maryland's Chesapeake Bay is a real treat, and worth checking out. 

Thanks to Sage Fly Fishing for their support of the Fly Tapes.

Music, as always, by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate. 

Episode 21—A Southern Wish with Riverhorse

Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate swung through the homestead in June, and we sat down to chat about what he's been up to this summer and do a reading of his piece, A Southern Wish, from Issue 8.2 of The Flyfish Journal. 

This episode is sponsored by Sage. Check out the recent Trout Season feature at https://www.sageflyfish.com/experience/seasons/2018-trout-season. 

Music by Riverhorse. 

Episode 20—Chris Dombrowski

In today's episode, I chat with writer Chris Dombrowski. Chris' most recent book, Body of Water, was published by Milkweed Editions in 2016, though he has been writing and publishing poetry and prose for quite some time. 

His work has been featured in Orion Magazine, Terrain.Org, Outside Magazine, and Angler's Journal, to name a few. Most recently, The Drake Magazine featured a profile of David James Duncan, Chris' friend and fishing partner, in the Summer 2018 issue. 

To learn more about Chris and his work--including the Beargrass Writing Retreat which takes place each summer--visit his website.

This episode is sponsored by Sage Fly Fishing. Check out the new Trout Season feature.

Music by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate. 

Episode 19—Will Rice

In today's episode, I chat with Will Rice, an East Coast native and Pacific Northwest transplant by way of Colorado. 

Will's work has been featured in The Denver Post, The Drake Magazine, The Flyfish Journal, and Angling Trade, among other publications.

Will sums up his fly fishing and writing philosophy pretty well: "I have always had one guiding philosophy for my outdoor writing: I am not alone," says Will. "If I think something is cool or have a kick ass experience, there are a ton of other folks who will be interested in hearing about it and best case entertained - and possibly even inspired to get out and do something new. Pretty simple stuff."

This episode sponsored by Sage Fly Fishing—Check out the Trout Season Feature here!

Music by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate.

Episode 18—Chris Santella

In this episode, I chat with author Chris Santella about his early life, his ventures into writing about flyfishing, and the challenges of writing a book like Fifty Places to Flyfish Before You Die. We also chat about his most recent book publication, The Tug is the Drug, published by Stackpole Books in 2017. 

During the episode, you'll hear a song from Chris's upcoming conservation inspired album recorded with his band, Catch and Release. And of course you'll get a fishing story, this one called 'The Karma of Broken Trailers,' from The Tug is the Drug. 

This episode is sponsored by Sage Fly Fishing! Check out the Bass II series of rods at SageFlyFish.com.

Subscribe to The Fly Tapes in iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by: Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate.

Episode 17—Selected Readings 2

First up in today's episode, author Langdon Cook reads "Silver Beach," from his first book, The Fat of the Land. Langdon is the author of three books of non-fiction, including The Mushroom Hunters and Upstream. Find out more about Langdon and his work at www.langdoncook.com.

Following Langdon, we've got a reading from author and editor Chris Santella. Chris reads his story, "Nato and the Human Anchor," which can be found in his story collection The Tug is the Drug. Learn more about Chris's work here.

Today's episode is sponsored by Sage Fly Fishing. Check out Sage's specialty rod lineups, including the Bass II, and get out there and rope some hogs!

Music: "The Zepellin" by Blue Dot Sessions, from Free Music Archive under CC BY/NC 4.0; "Blue Highway" by Podington Bear, from Free Music Archive under CC BY/NC 4.0.

Episode 16—Amanda Monthei

In today's episode, I chat with writer, firefighter, ski bum, and former yearbook making wizard Amanda Monthei. 

Amanda's work has been published in The Flyfish Journal, The Ski Journal, The Drake, and others. You can find out more about her work at www.amandamonthei.com.

Thanks to Sage Fly Fishing for their support of The Fly Tapes. Visit SageFlyFish.com to learn more about the Salt HD family of rods built for chasing salty fish, from bones to barracuda to GTs. 

Music by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate.

Episode 15—Casey Underwood / Steve Duda

In this episode, I sat down to chat with artist Casey Underwood about growing in California and his development as an artist in the fly fishing world. 

Casey's work can be seen on the web at CaseyUnderwood.com, and, more recently, on a series of T-shirts designed for Filson. 

Also included in today's show is a reading from Steve Duda of his piece Impossibly Violent and Savagely Fast, which was a contribution to The Flyfish Journal's recent Bahamacon 2018 web exclusive, along with work by Copi Vojta, A.J. Gottschalk, Cameron Scott, and Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate. 

Subscribe to The Fly Tapes in iTunes and Stitcher.

Music by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate.

Episode 14—Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate

In this episode, I chat with Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate about his early years in Texas, chasing waves and dreams around the world, and how he approaches writing about flyfishing, among other things. 

Riverhorse's work has appeared in The Flyfish Journal, American Angler, Surfing Magazine, The Fretboard Journal, and most recently as part of Sage Fly Fishing's "Saltwater Season."

During the episode, you'll hear Riverhorse read "Spring Creek Master" and "Cloudburst," originally published in The Flyfish journal, and "Fine Tuned," originally published in Surfing Magazine. 

This episode is brought to you by Sage Fly Fishing.

Music by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate.

Episode 13—Jay Johnson

Jay Johnson has chased exotic species of fish all around the world, but if you ask him what really gets him stoked, he'll probably start telling you about the trash clean-up/fly fishing clinics he helps organize as part of Pig Farm Ink. 

As a part of Motiv Fishing, Jay helped to bridge the gap between the worlds of competitive bass fishing and fly fishing, and brought adventure fly fishing to a wider audience with Fish or Die, which aired on Animal Planet. 

When he's not touring around chasing black bass in New Guinea or touring with the Pig Farm crew, you'll find him back home in Loveland, Colorado, working on an organic farm and hatching new plans for how to revolutionize the world fly fishing newbies everywhere. 

Visit www.syzygyflyfishing.com for more info. 

Music by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate. 

Episode 12—Kirk Deeter

From AnglingTrade.com:

"Kirk Deeter is the editor of Angling Trade.  He is also an editor-at-large for Field & Stream magazine, and the editor-in-chief of TROUT magazine, the national publication of Trout Unlimited.  He has written and fished throughout the world, and his work also has appeared in other media including WIRED, Garden & Gun, USA Today, London’s Daily Telegraph newspaper, and the full range of fly-fishing magazines and websites.  He is also the co-author of The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing."

In this episode, I chat with Kirk about his beginnings in fly fishing and outdoor writing, the importance of finding and chasing the things you're passionate about, and where he hopes to go next. 

We also get three readings from Kirk: "In Search of the River Gods" from Field & Stream; a selection from Kirk's and Andrew Steketee's book CastWork; and "The Fight of Your Life," from Garden & Gun Magazine.

Subscribe to The Fly Tapes in Apple Podcasts & Stitcher.

Music from Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate.

Episode 11—Geoff Mueller

"Geoff Mueller cut his editorial teeth working the Interior B.C. newspaper circuit. He came to The Drake in April 2010 to head senior editor duties as the magazine transitions into a quarterly publication cycle. He is the former managing editor at Fly Fisherman Magazine and is a frequent contributor at Angling Trade and B.C.-based Kootenay Mountain Culture magazines." (From The Drake Magazine)

In this episode, I chat with Geoff about his work as an editor and writer, and we hear two readings from him: Blood Sport, originally published in Angling Trade; and Bag It, originally published in The Drake.

Subscribe to The Fly Tapes in Apple Podcasts and Stitcher.

Music by Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate.

Episode 10—Amy McMahon / Amanda Monthei

Amy McMahon likes bugs. I mean, she really likes them. When I visited her in Fort Collins, Colorado, I was amazed by her collection of beautifully preserved and displayed butterflies, dragonflies, and even some huge, crazy insect from New Guinea (I think) that someone brought her in a water bottle. 

The great thing about that obsession of Amy's is that she has also translated it into the creation of some of the more striking fly fishing related art you'll see around these days. Her illustrations of aquatic insects, which can be seen at www.amymcmahonillustrations.com, detail the many beautiful and fascinating qualities of the things trout and other fish like to eat. 

Before my conversation with Amy, you'll hear a short reading from Amanda Monthei. Amanda is a writer, skier, fly fisher, and wilderness fire fighter who spends her time chasing her passions all around the Pacific Northwest. 

Today's music comes from the inimitable Nathaniel Riverhorse Nakadate. 

Don't forget to subscribe in Apple Podcasts or Stitcher!

Episode 08—Steve Duda

In addition to being one of the finest writers in fly fishing these days, Steve Duda has devoted the majority of his adult life to the art of editing, helping writers in various genres and disciplines create the very best work that they can. For the past 6 years or so, he's harnessed that drive to curate great writing to make The Flyfish Journal one of the best places in the world to find that writing. 

In this episode, we hear Steve read two pieces from the 2016 Cascadia Tour: "A Frazzled Constellation" and "Make the Sky Better." During our (admittedly) long conversation, we chat about his early days as a music writer, his transition into editing, and the things that make him excited when he sits down to read submissions for TFFJ. 

Music for this episode comes from South Sound Tug and Barge, of which Steve is the lead banjo wizard. Check out their new album, Pt. Defiance, which includes artwork by Jonathan Marquardt and photography from Earl Harper. 

Subscribe to The Fly Tapes in iTunes & Stitcher.

Episode 07—Ann Bodle-Nash

Ann Bodle-Nash lives on a tiny island in northwest Washington State, where for the past couple of years she has been working on earning an MFA in Creative Writing through Pacific Lutheran University's Low-Residency MFA program. 

Life has thrown Ann and her family a couple of curve balls over the past year or so, but through it all she fallen back on fishing and writing as a way to get through it all. 

Her work has been published at SharkReef.org, indieitpress.com, and The Dun Magazine.

Don't forget to join us on January 25th, at Patagonia Ballard, for a special edition of Writers on the Fly, featuring Dylan Tomine, Steve Duda, and Jeff Galbraith. 

Subscribe to The Fly Tapes in iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play Music.

Music: Molly Molly by Blue Dot Sessions, from Free Music Archive under CC BY-NC 4.0. 

Episode 05—Greg Fitz

Gregory Fitz is a lifelong midwesterner recently transplanted to the PNW. He doesn’t work in tech and he isn’t a Seahawks fan yet. Minnesotans wear flannel, too, so he might be grunge. 

After years of chasing migratory great lakes fish with two-handed rods, he is now in the process of getting a beatdown on the hallowed natal steelhead and salmon rivers flowing into the Pacific Ocean. It is an exercise in humility.

His fishing writing has appeared in The Fly Fish Journal, The Drake, This is Fly, Swing the Fly and the Mend Provision blog. His art can be seen at www.gregoryfitz.net.

You can subscribe to The Fly Tapes in iTunes and Stitcher.

Music: Singing in the Rain (Instrumental) by David Mumford, from Free Music Archive, under CC BY 4.0.