Podcast

Duane Hada joins Chad Johnson for a thoughtful conversation on what actually creates trophy trout fisheries—and why stocking alone isn’t the answer. Duane breaks down the importance of catch-and-release regulations, managing pressure, and letting fish live long enough to reach their full potential. Drawing from rivers like the White River and the San Juan, he explains how conservation-first thinking shapes not only fish size, but the long-term health of entire fisheries. Beyond fishing, Duane opens up about his life as an artist and how creativity, patience, and observation carry over from the studio to the river. He talks about seeing fisheries as living “gardens,” the influence of Dave Whitlock on both his conservation mindset and artistic outlook, and why mentorship—on the water and off—matters just as much as catching fish. This episode is about legacy, restraint, and approaching both art and angling with intention.

Today, we take a look back at 50 years of Henry’s Fork Anglers with Mike Lawson and hear about some great stories from the...

Episode Show Notes Some fly-tying skills come quickly. Others only show up after thousands of flies, years behind the vise, and a lot of mistakes...

Episode Show Notes In this episode of Hunting with a Fly, Rick Kustich sits down with Vince Tobia of Cattaraugus Creek Outfitters to talk about...

Some of the best water you’ll ever fish is the water most people never reach. In this episode, Christiaan Pretorius joins us to share stories from a life spent guiding and traveling across some of the wildest fisheries on the planet—from Seychelles GTs and Kamchatka rainbows to giant Golden Dorado deep in the Bolivian jungle. We dig into what makes remote fisheries so special, the tradeoffs between helicopter access and earning it on foot, and why the journey itself often matters just as much as the fish. Christian also shares lessons from decades of global travel, how pressure changes world-class fisheries over time, and why the best trips are ultimately about people, culture, and connection—not just catching fish.

James Frakes and Jackson Birrell break down what they’re doing with the Salmonfly Project, a nonprofit focused on tracking aquatic insect populations across the...

Episode Show Notes A music producer doesn’t usually end up building a fly fishing podcast—but that’s exactly how Pablo Signori got started. What began as...

I recently sat down with Erik Johnsen from TroutRoutes and did something we’ve honestly never done before on the show. Instead of just talking...

Episode Show Notes In this episode, I sat down with John Hunt from Moccasin Fly Club to dig into what these trips actually look like....

Today, we’re digging into what’s happening right now across Alaska, from the fight over West Susitna and Alaska public lands to bycatch, mining, and...