“I’ve been fly fishing since I was a wee little grasshopper. Hell of a long time with the fly. To me, the only way to catch a fish really is on the fly. Spinner? Not that exciting. One salmon on the fly is better than ten on the spinner.” –Connie Corcoran, the fishing manager and…
“My sister and my mother were not interested in fishing. So it was my dad and your dad and the boys. And we’d have brandy when we’d catch a fish. My dad would open the big green tackle box and bring out this silver flask and we’d all have to have a snort of brandy. Bill…
“We’re chasing trophy fish and it’s hard. It shouldn’t be easy. It will kick your ass. It’s physical. Big flies hurt more when they go into you and its covering miles and miles of water. But you know, none of us got into this game because flyfishing was easy. We got into it because it…
“You’re going to get your ass kicked, over and over again. It’s gonna tear you apart. You’re sore, you’re bruised, your hands are ripped apart, your shins are ripped apart. Your equipment is destroyed, but you can’t wait to go out the next morning.” -Russ Schnitzer. To find out what he’s talking about, check out…
“I really think it’s important to show the public how these streams can come back so well if we just give them a chance and make them stable and design them correctly. If you build it right, the wildlife will come back.” Sometimes, a stream just needs a little plastic surgery to help it get…
I met James Thull in a stuffy room on the second floor of Montana State University’s library. Shaved head, goatee, Gandhi glasses–he looks as though he just stepped off the set of a white-washed kung-fu flick from the 70s. He would have been cast as the gatekeeper of a secret-holding shrine in some mythical land.…
The other week I spoke with Charlie Piette, the fishing manager at Tight Lines Fly Fishing Co. in Green Bay, Wisconsin. And when I brought up a certain semi-secret river, he gave me this response, “Our biggest rule, for years, has been don’t name the river. We don’t talk about this river, we don’t write…
Episode #6 of The Drake‘s new flyfishing podcast takes a darker turn. We stumble around a mosquito-filled farm field in search of bugs, beers, and big browns. We find most of them. And just a heads up, this episode contains some language that may not be suitable for all audiences. If you’re listening with kids, feel…
Episode #5 of The DrakeCast takes us to a gigantic dam in the great state of Kentucky. While there, we learn about the Cumberland River that flows out of that massive wall of concrete, the trout that call that river home, and the fishermen that chase those trout. This is the story of one dam and…
Episode #4 of The DrakeCast traces the beginning of an infamous car’s adventure from Wisconsin to Texas. We’re going to Ride with Clyde. Along the way we’ll meet a state trooper, a few unique motel owners, and hear some behind the scenes audio recorded on Clyde’s bench seat when no one was looking. We’ll also learn…
Episode #3 of The DrakeCast follows guide Donnie Richards down Michigan’s Pere Marquette River. Along the way, we learn the history of the river, challenge a Michigan DNR fisheries biologist, and discover what makes the Pere Marquette River great.
Episode #2 of The DrakeCast searches through the ashes of the fire that ravaged Great Smoky Mountains National Park this past November. Give ‘er a listen.
Episode #1 of The DrakeCast follows the band S. Carey through Northern Wisconsin as they chase for illusive Wisconsin Wintertrout. Their melancholy music fills the background as we uncover the band’s rise to fame and subsequent quest for solitude.
Frustrated that The Drake Magazine only comes out four times a year? Well now there’s more. Introducing The Drake’s new weekly flyfishing podcast, The DrakeCast. Just like the magazine, we’re bringing you stories–some fun, some serious. Every Friday you’ll get reporting, history, humor, and flyfishing. The first two episodes of The DrakeCast are available below.