Fish Untamed – Details, episodes & analysis

Cody McLaughlin is an Alaskan angler and salmon advocate. He recently released a new project, Salmon Wars, that focuses on threats to salmon and what can be done to mitigate population declines. In this episode, we discuss his attempts to complete state fish slams, the threats facing Alaskan salmon, why robust salmon populations matter, and what people can do to help. Salmon Wars: link Trout Stream Studios: link Facebook: /troutstreamstudios Instagram: @mclaugh1985 Twitter: @mclaugh19 Waypoint TV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

McKenna Hulslander is an avid backcountry angler and the owner of Outcast Adventures, an outfitter dedicated to getting women out into the backcountry to fish, raft, and explore the beautiful Montana wilderness. In this episode, McKenna and I talk about how women’s backcountry trips differ from co-ed trips, what she has learned working with anglers of all skill levels, the gear she uses when she’s on personal trips in the backcountry, and her experience getting into a bush plane crash. Outcast Adventures: link Instagram: @mckennahulslander  Waypoint TV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bryon Powell is an ultra-runner, Vice President of Running Rivers, founder and former editor-in-chief of iRunFar.com, and the most decorated Flyathlete out there. In this episode, Bryon shares how we went from strictly a runner to a runner and angler, and how he fish-slapped one of the hardest trail races in the country: the Hardrock 100. We also talk about his trip to Alaska, during which he did a DIY packrafting trip down the Togiak River.  Instagram: @bryon_powell Facebook: /bryon.powell Strava: https://www.strava.com/athletes/1408349 Waypoint TV Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sam Ayres is a hunter, podcaster, and most recently, a new fly fisherman. Sam grew up catching fat stocker rainbows on a spin rod but always wanted to try fly fishing. After picking up his first rod a year ago, he has slowly started building up his knowledge and skills. And in the past few months, he’s had more time to seriously devote to it. Since he recently passed through Colorado after an Arizona elk hunt, we decided to hit the water together and get him on his first cutthroats and brown trout. After our day on the river, we sat down to record an episode about our day of fishing, what he has learned and been surprised by during the process, and other thoughts as a new angler. Also, check out Sam’s podcast, The Wild Initiative (which may sound familiar to those of you who have listened to Fish Untamed since the beginning).    Website: www.thewildinitiative.com Apple Podcasts: Podcast page Instagram: @thewildinitiative GoWild: Samuel Ayres Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Darrin Schenck is an avid fly fisherman and head coach of the Arizona State University racquetball team. We had originally planned to talk mostly about his recent fishing trip to Utah and Idaho. When the fishing success turned out to be less than expected, we decided to switch gears a bit and branch out more in the conversation. What followed was a discussion of what happens when the fishing is lackluster, some of the better trips Darrin has been on, and how he makes the most of the time he has left to fish with his father. I also got to hear about how his favorite fish isn’t the biggest one he has caught, and why the best memories don’t always correspond to the measurements of the fish itself. Near the end, we also get into the pros and cons of trying to turn fishing into a career. All in all, it was a rich and thought-provoking conversation that took some really enjoyable turns.   Website: darrinchatter.com Email: darrin@darrinchatter.com Instagram: @darrinchatter Twitter: @darrinchatter Linkedin: Darrin Chatter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

April Vokey is the host of the Anchored Podcast and founder of Anchored Outdoors. On her podcast, April captures the stories, thoughts, and passions of our elders within the fly fishing and outdoors worlds, bridging the gap between generations and ensuring that these stories are able to live on for years to come. Anchored Outdoors is her newest venture, a membership website covering fishing, subsistence hunting, foraging, and homesteading. Rather than sharing the knowledge secondhand, April has sought out the experts in each field to demonstrate their skills directly via articles, webinars, and MasterClasses. These topics range from tanning hides to using the whole fish, and much more. In this episode, I got to hear about how the Anchored Podcast and Anchored Outdoors came to be, April's experience making fish leather with human urine, and how she dealt with her first experience feeling bored on the water. To sign up for April's membership site, follow the link below (and use the discount code if you're getting in before November 15, 2020!)   Discount code through Nov. 15, 2020: loyaltycode20 Website: www.anchoredoutdoors.com Instagram: @aprilvokey Instagram: @anchored_outdoors Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kip Vieth is the owner of Wildwood Float Trips out of Monticello, MN, and also the author of the Orvis Guide to Muskies on the Fly, set to be released October of 2020. In this episode, Kip walks me through all things musky fly fishing. Having never cast a single fly for muskies, I’m a complete newbie, and as Kip describes, it’s somewhat night and day compared to fly fishing for other species like bass and trout. He goes into flies, rod choice, casting, where to find fish, and much more.   Video of record musky on the fly: Record Musky   Instagram: @wildwoodfloattrips    Facebook: /Wildwood-Float-Trips-120782057940619/  Website: www.wildwoodfloattrips.com   Email: kip@wildwoodfloattrips.com Book: Orvis Guide to Muskies on the Fly Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Brian Barney is a hunter, angler, and all-around outdoorsman. He is the host of the Eastmans’ Elevated and Eastmans’ Fly Cast podcasts. This episode was a bit of a grab bag of topics, as Brian and I met up on Zoom to have a virtual campfire chat. We went in without any specific topic in mind, and ended up having a great conversation about everything from chasing grayling in Alaska, to our favorite styles of fishing, and much more. Instagram: @eastmans_flycast Eastmans’ Fly Cast webpage: https://www.eastmans.com/fly-cast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Chad Williams is a guide and manager of Total Outfitters, a fly shop and guide service in SW Montana. Total Outfitters works with anglers of all skill levels and has recently been focusing more on introducing trout spey to the areas they fish, particularly the Bitterroot River. In this episode, Chad walks me through trout spey, a technique I’m familiar with in theory but have never tried. We cover why someone would want to use trout spey tactics, different fly options and how to fish them, lines and leaders, how to move through the water, and much more. Near the end, we also discuss one of Chad’s favorite topics: what it means to be an angler. Outside the guiding world, Chad is a 7th grade Montana history teacher, wrestling coach, and avid fly tyer.    Website: www.total-outfitters.com Email: info@total-outfitters.com Instagram: @totaloutfitters Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Jason Rieke is an engineering student turned trout bum. He spends his summers guiding in the Rockies, and when he’s not with clients, he’s most likely fishing himself. Because of the sheer amount of time he spends on the water, Jason’s become skilled in a wide variety of tactics, but his go-to flies are streamers. As someone who has relatively little experience fishing streamers, I was eager to pick Jason’s brain about how he has such consistent success with them. Toward the end, we also get into mousing at night for large fish, something he does frequently during the summer. If bigger, bulkier flies are a bit outside your comfort zone, this is the episode for you.   Instagram: @jrieke21 Blog: www.trouttravels.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices