A few months ago a family friend gave me a taxidermied brown trout that had been mounted in the 80s. When I went to the friend’s house to get the story behind the fish I somehow left with the rod and reel that had caught it, plus a whole lot more. This episode is the story of that fish, the rod, and the anglers that came before us.
Music for this episode was written and recorded by Russell Pedersen and appears on his album, Steal from the Rushes. You can see him live with his band Horseshoes and Hand Grenades at a few concerts this summer in Wisconsin. They always put on a heck of a show. https://russellpedersen.bandcamp.com/album/steal-from-the-rushes
This episode was made possible by generous support from The Eleven Experience, Scott Fly Rods, and Howler Bros. If you like the show, give em some of your money and tell ’em we sent ya.
The DrakeCast #75: Clyde Rides Again w/ John Agricola
For those of you who subscribe to the Drake Magazine, you’ll notice it’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about Clyde, the magazine’s 1974 Mercury Marquis that travels the country. This car invites mishaps, cops, and adoration from anyone who sees him. But where has he been, and what’s he been up to? Today on the podcast, we speak with writer John Agricola to check in on Clyde and hear about his latest adventures.
The DrakeCast #74: A Reluctant Cast & Blast
In this episode of The DrakeCast we head to the backwaters of the Mississippi River to attempt a northwoods cast and blast, chasing a dinner of pike and squirrel from my newly refinished Gheenoe. As a committed catch and release angler, this was a new and somewhat uncomfortable experience for me. Later on, we’re joined by outdoors writer Patrick Durkin to contextualize our mission and talk about the fluctuations in hunting and angling participation over the years.
The DrakeCast #73: Fall 2025 Magazine Review
In this episode of The DrakeCast, we sit down with Drake Magazine founder and editor, Tom Bie, to talk through the Fall 2025 issue of the magazine. We’ll provide some background information on the stories we ran, why we ran them, and hear contributor Mike Fitzgerald read his essay that we both thought was fantastic.
The DrakeCast #71: Bristol Bay, Part 2
In this episode of The DrakeCast we return to Alaska’s Bristol Bay with The Lodge at 58* North. This is the second part of a series, so if you missed the first one, go back and listen to Episode #70: A Week in Bristol Bay w/ The Lodge at 58* North.
The DrakeCast #70: A Week in Bristol Bay w/ The Lodge at 58* North
In this episode of The DrakeCast we head to The Lodge at 58* North for a week of fishing Alaska’s Bristol Bay. In between chasing trout, char, grayling and salmon, we chat with the people who add to this already remarkable place.
The DrakeCast #69: Wisconsin’s Locomotive Fishing History
I first met Israel on a steelheading adventure in Southeastern Alaska back in 2018 (a trip we documented in an earlier episode of the podcast). It had been a while since we had seen each other so this past summer he drove sixteen hours north to join me on a search for the best fishing Wisconsin has to offer: smallmouth bass on poppers. It took a couple of days but we eventually found an entire river teeming with willing, surface-feeding fish. But seeing as he had driven all that way, on day three, we decided to shift gears. Or as Israel phrased it, “We absolutely waylaid smallmouth all day yesterday on poppers. So we figured why not kick ourself in the [expletive] and try and go after musky today.”
