In this episode we WadeOutThere with Jon Lee from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Jon grew up in southwest Michigan, just outside of Kalamazoo. He was introduced to fly fishing on the Pere Marquette River as a teenager, spending time with his great uncle, and slowly embracing the value of learning over catching. As a child, Jon would search through magazines depicting distant and exotic outdoor adventures that seemed out of reach, until he combined his love of fly fishing with an una...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Mickey Anderson, from Salt Lake City, Utah. Mickey grew up in Utah, and was introduced to fly fishing on a trip into the Uinta Mountains with his wrestling team in high school. He went on to work in the fly fishing industry as an early fly shop owner with Anglers Den and later Fish Tech. He has been teaching and instructing fly fishing, fly tying, and fly casting in one way or another for nearly fifty years, and he still finds the time t...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Piper Nunn from Fort Collins, CO. Piper grew up in Colorado, spending time alone on the river even before she found fishing. It was after she began working in a local bagel shop in Fort Collins, that her co-workers talked her into giving fly fishing a shot. She loved it from day one, and from then on, much of her spare time in school was spent on the Poudre River, fishing and finding inspiration for her art. She loved fly fishing ...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Eric Naguski from Boiling Springs Pennsylvania. Eric’s earliest memories all involve fishing. He fell in love with the idea of problem solving from the beginning, catching fish from the dock of his father’s sailboat in Maryland. A cousin gave him a fly rod and thus began his lifelong love of fly fishing. After childhood, Eric ended up back in his birth state of Pennsylvania, where he fished for nearly twenty-five years before deci...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Nick Teynor, from Salt Lake City, Utah. When Nick was a child his family road tripped from Maryland to Washington State for his father’s job transfer. Along the way, he was introduced to fly fishing, while watching drift boats out the car window in the Rocky Mountains. A stop at the family’s cabin in Montana sealed the deal. He had a fly rod in his hand for the first time, and from then on it was all he wanted to pursue and learn about in...

In this episode we WadeOutThere for Part 2 of our conversation with Alex Emery, from Livingston, Montana. Alex started fly fishing as a child with his father in New Jersey and continued during school at West Virginia University, becoming involved with the fly fishing club as well. After college, Alex’s search to continue his passion for fly fishing, and build a life and career connected to the outdoors brought him to Sweetwater Travel Company Guide School, on the Bighorn River in Monta...

In this episode we WadeOutThere for Part 1 of our conversation with Alex Emory, from Livingston, Montana. Alex started fly fishing as a child with his father in New Jersey and continued during school at West Virginia University, becoming involved with the fly fishing club as well. After college, Alex’s search to continue his passion for fly fishing, and build a life and career connected to the outdoors brought him to Sweetwater Travel Company Guide School, in Livingston, Montana, where...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Loren Williams from Saratoga Springs, New York. Loren grew up in Pennsylvania fishing with his father from the time he was three years old. At seven, he found an old fly rod, his father’s fly tying vise and a book on how to tie trout flies by George Harvey. Loren transformed these tools into a life long love of fly fishing that spanned from fly fishing small ponds with homespun flies, to long days of fishing and learning from George Harv...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Mike Schultz from Dexter, Michigan. Mike grew up in Michigan fishing conventional gear on small ponds and lakes around his home, until he started driving and found the Huron River. On a trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, he was introduced to fly fishing while being drawn to the rivers’ salmon and steelhead. He continued fly fishing back home on the Huron River while waiting for the salmon seasons up north. Mike played hockey in college and at...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Dallas Eastman from Fountain, Colorado. Dallas grew up mostly bass fishing in Minnesota but when he moved to Colorado in 2019, he quickly made some fishy friends that introduced him to fly fishing. Dallas works full time as a carpenter and is a part time guide for his own outfitter Trouts and Stouts, where he focuses mostly on the tailwater sections of the Arkansas River around Pueblo and back country overnight trips in the Sangre de Cristo Mo...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Jarob Ortiz, from Arlington, Virginia. Jarob started fly fishing in 3rd grade, after being drawn to the delicate cast and presentation portrayed in the popular book and movie, A River Runs Through It. He learned to cast from his uncle from Montana, and when he signed up for the Air Force out of high school, Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska was at the top of his list. When he wasn’t working in the A-10 Warthog’s electronic warfare shop, h...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Bill Dell from Western Pennsylvania. Bill grew up fishing the blue gill pond on his family’s farm in Pennsylvania as a boy, and continued to passionately fish through high school and college. It was his introduction to steelhead fishing in the Great Lakes that convinced him that his future was in fly fishing. Bill takes an analytical mind to fly fishing. Early on, he used his love of numbers to help him organize details about his t...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with MacKenna Stang, from Denver, Colorado. MacKenna grew up in Colorado hiking, camping, and fishing with her family. After multiple knee injuries cut her soccer career short, fly fishing became more and more important in her life, helping her move on from soccer and pour her passion into something new. MacKenna credits her father for teaching her the basics of fly fishing, and for helping to create that passion that she maintains today. &nb...

In this episode we WadeOutThere for part two of our conversation with Frank Landis, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Frank grew up fishing with his father, and used fly fishing when he thought it was the best tactic to catch fish. By college he had completely crossed over and was fly fishing every chance he got. Frank is a middle school teacher and became a part time fly fishing guide at his local fly shop after working on the floor for several years. In Part 2 of our discussio...

In this episode we WadeOutThere for part one of our conversation with Frank Landis, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Frank grew up fishing with his father, and used fly fishing when he thought it was the best tactic to catch fish. By college he had completely crossed over and was fly fishing every chance he got. Frank is a middle school teacher and became a part time fly fishing guide at his local fly shop after working on the floor for several years. In Part 1 of our discussio...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Patrick Kilby, from Western Washington. Patrick’s love of fishing started in Eastern Washington, fishing bobbers with his grandfather. A photo of a rising trout in a magazine inspired a passion for fly fishing that soon had Patrick tying flies and driving from stream to stream as a teenager. After an initial career path in law enforcement didn’t feel like the right fit, he knew that he wanted to try to make a living in the fishing indust...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Brad Petzke from Saint Joseph, Michigan. Brad learned to fish from his father, targeting warm water species in the lakes and rivers around him and catching steelhead off the pier. As part of a college ski program, Brad took an internship in Colorado, driving snowcats at night, skiing during the day, and fishing for trout every chance he got. After three years, Brad moved back to Michigan where he continued to pursue a career in fishing. ...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Martin Gerdin, from Aspen Colorado. Martin grew up fishing with a spinning rig and a passion for fish that bled over into an early introduction to the world of glass art. As Martin began to learn the craft of shaping glass, a fish was first on his list to create. Martin credits his later discovery of fly fishing for helping him maintain sobriety and for bringing clarity to his art and life. Since he began fly fishing Martin has ...

In this episode we WadeOutThere with Chris Gallagher from upstate New York. Chris started fly fishing during high school in Virginia, but it was after he joined the army and was stationed in upstate New York’s Fort Drum, that Chris found a connection that would carry him through his military career and beyond. His love for fishing the Adirondacks and Catskills helped him decide to make New York his home after twenty years of service, during which he was a hard core dry or die fly ...

In this episode we WadeOutThere for Part Two of our conversation with Colby Crossland, from Dutch John, Utah. Colby grew up fishing with his grandfather in Utah’s Uintah Basin. After being gifted a fly rod and vise, Colby took his love of fishing on the road, exploring the small streams in Northern Utah and Southern Idaho through high school and college, where he studied photography. A combination of having no photo shoots and an invitation to stay with a friend, led Colby...