Ep 174: Fly Fishing Across the Lower 48, with Ryan Burch
Ryan Burch is working on a project called Tales of the 48, during which he is driving across the country with the goal of catching a fish in each of the lower 48 states. At the time of recording, he is mid-trip, having just passed through Colorado on his way west. In this episode, we talk about where the idea came from, the planning process, what he has experienced so far, his most memorable catches, the most challenging states, and much more.
Instagram: @talesofthe48
Email: talesofthe48@gmail.com
Website: talesofthe48.com
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Katie
You're listening to the Fish Untamed Podcast, your home for fly fishing the backcountry. This is episode 174 with Ryan Burch on fly fishing across the lower 48. All right well I start every episode by getting a background on my guests and how they got into the outdoors and specifically into fishing I know we'll tackle the the project itself after that but first, I'd just love to hear how you got introduced to fly fishing.
Ryan
A good question. I think like many people that fly fish was introduced to fishing through conventional gear. So my dad at a very young age kind of like put a spinning rod in my hand and I bait fished, I don't know, until I was like eight or nine years old and then did a ton of kayak fishing through my teenage years. Once I got my license, I like, you know, always had the kayak on top of my first car. And then I moved out West. I'm from Vermont, moved out West to Colorado for an internship right after college and kind of like have the spinning rod politely taken out of my hand. I'm like, Hey, like, try, try this. And the rest is history. So that was like, I guess, 12 years ago now. But in general, I mean, I love the outdoors. I'm a very curious person. Anytime I drive by a body of water, you know, since I was two or three years old, I was like, what's the biggest fish in there? You know, what kind of animals live in there? So I think fishing is kind of just like a logical way to explore aquatic ecosystems for me. And fly fishing in particular really checks that box.
Katie
When you moved out to Colorado, did you literally have somebody kind of politely take the rod out of your hand and get you into fly fishing? Or was it more of kind of like a vibe like, I'm just picking up that most people out here fly fish and I should probably like pick that up if I want to fit in?
Ryan
I would say it was some somewhere in between. But the guy that I moved out to work with, he's a potter and I was kind of his, you know, helper assistant for the year. And he's a big time fly fisherman, has a drift boat. And it just, it became kind of quickly obvious. I'm like, we don't, you know, we're not catching trout with treble hooks. You know, take this instead. And once I realized that I could catch even more fish, you know, after I honed my skills a little bit, I had no complaints whatsoever. I was happy to make the switch.
Katie
Yeah, I've talked to a couple of people about that and how, you know, for certain species, I feel like it's absolutely like conventional gear. is the way to go to catch them. And I feel like for trout, people talk about, you know, fly fishing is a harder way to do it. I want to make it more challenging myself. And I'm like, I legitimately think that fly fishing is like the easier way to catch trout. Like you are working with them instead of against them and working with the kinds of things they want to eat. Like they want to eat bugs. So I would have a harder time taking a spin rod out and trying to catch trout, I think, than I would taking a fly rod out. It just seems like it was built to catch trout.
Ryan
Yeah, yeah, absolutely. I just, I'm like 30 feet from the lake I was fishing today, actually. And there was a kid with a spin rod who was, you know, throwing all different types of flashy lures. And I don't think he had any luck all day. And I could see, you know, I try to just like, it's not an us versus them thing. I still spin fish quite a bit, but I could see him out of the corner of his eye. What the heck is this guy doing? What bug is on there that's catching all these trout?
Katie
So I completely agree with you. So let's talk a little bit about the project you're working on. I'll let you kind of take it away here and tell me about how you came up with this idea and where you are and what you've been up to for the past. I actually don't know how long it's been going on, but I'll let you fill me in on all that.
Ryan
Yeah. So I just, I think two days ago was day 100 on the road. So I left home, I left Vermont August 7th. And I'm a big believer that life on the road is, you want to do some planning, obviously, but you kind of want to let the story tell itself. Meet someone on the river, they say like, hey, go try X, Y, and Z places. And I knew if I scripted it out too much, I'd kind of not be able to allow for that serendipity. So my basic plan was to try to fish the northern 24 states on my way to the Pacific. So get through the Pacific Northwest in four-ish months. So that would be mid-December. I'm on pace to do that. And mainly the goal with that was just to stay out of the super cold weather, avoid snow as much as possible. And also avoid runoff in the West in the spring. So yeah, just passed day 100 and done 20 states so far. It's been really good. It's been humbling. A lot of the fishing has been really humbling. But I'm still, I wake up every morning excited still. So I think that that's a good sign. And yeah, this project was about four years in the making between kind of when I came up with the idea and when I hit the road. I did a lot of traveling and traveling to fish in my 20s at a bunch of different vehicles and camping setups in the back of Tacomas and a Subaru Impreza. And I just, I'm kind of an all or nothing person. And after a trip down to Brazil, I fished with a guy down there, a good friend of mine now. And it just kind of, you know, sparked this question in me of like, what water is out there and what people can I meet through fishing it? And that all or nothing nature just kind of, it's like, I got to do all 48. So that's where it kind of brought me and spent three or four years kind of like fundraising and planning things out and building out my truck and camper. And yeah, hit the road in August.
Katie
And by 48, you mean the lower 48 states of the US. So you are trying to fish all 48 of them. And was the goal ever to try to do it in a single trip? Or has that kind of evolved as the plan has developed? What was your initial vision? And maybe we'll talk about how it's gone compared to what you initially thought it was going to be.
Ryan
Yeah. So I'm 32 now. So when I first came up with this idea, it was 2020. I was, I guess, like 27 or 28. And the original goal was to do it in 48 days. Whoa, okay. Yeah, which is a very, I don't know, a very 20-something.
Katie
Yes, that's a young person idea.
Ryan
Yeah, so just through kind of coming to my senses a little bit, reaching that third decade of my life, I was like, oh, there's no need to rush it. And the project had been happening, kind of existing during my summer vacations. I'm a high school teacher when I'm employed, generally. And so I had been doing a couple of states per summer the past three or four years. And then this past spring, I got laid off from my job and was presented with this opportunity of like, you know, dude, go for it. You know, here, you got, you've got nothing. So definitely it was, you know, that's rough news to hear, but the silver linings kind of quickly emerged and it's, yeah, it's been a blessing in disguise to really be able to take my time. And, you know, I caught like, I don't know, 15 cutthroat today. And like, I don't need to leave Idaho tomorrow. I can stay here for three more days and catch more fish. So I've really been enjoying the pacing in terms of doing it all in a single trip.
Katie
So you said you had done some states like kind of scattered in your breaks between school. Are you redoing those states as part of this kind of like, let's do it all together project? Or is your goal just to have checked off all 48 states at some point in your life?
Ryan
No, I've been redoing them. Okay. Yeah, because I think if I did my entire life, I've already fished about, I don't know, maybe two-thirds, maybe 20 to 30 of the states. I traveled a ton as a kid. Okay. Mainly just conventional gear. But no, the goal is to do it kind of in a single trip and for this project. I don't need much convincing to fish a place twice, you know?
Katie
Sure. Yeah. And you can go back to that. Like if you found a good place before, you can always go back and hit it again. Thinking about your original plan of trying to do it in 48 days, it just, it makes me think of just kind of the evolution of fishing that a lot of people go through where when you're young, it's just kind of all about the like, let's just hammer things. Like I just want to catch as many fish as possible. And like, as you get older, it becomes more about, you know, the experience of it, like who you're with, you know, the beautiful places you go. And I could see it being a really fun goal to try to chase when you're young. But I think this type of project probably lends itself better to doing it when you're older and taking the time to enjoy it. Because I could just see you getting back after 48 days and being like, yeah, I knocked that goal out. But then you're like, I spent so much of my time driving, like I caught one fish and then it was on to the next state to like, you know, check a box. And I just feel like this is going to be such a like a more lasting and positive memory than it would have been had you just like knocked out a really insane and cool goal but maybe at the expense of the actual experience of it
Ryan
absolutely I like to think um not only am I more just like knowledgeable about you know navigating these different situations that I find myself in um but I think I'm also just like kind of wiser in that way. And yeah, really, it's about the fish, but the story itself and the end result, which will be a film, is really about the people that I'm meeting and the places that I'm going and all of those things that you need time and space to appreciate. And someone invites you back to their house for dinner or, you know, wants to show you their farm, like being able to say yes to those invitations has made all the difference. Preventing burnout as well has also been like I'm burnt out in a different way than I would have been had I tried to do it in 48 days. And I think that it's like a more sustainable burnout that I have now. It's a slow burn, you know.
Katie
Yeah, I was going to ask about burnout later, but since you brought it up, is there any part of you that is like sick of this and is like, oh my God, I still have to, you know, do the rest of this trip? Or is it because you're switching things up so often going to different places and different species and meeting different people, is it still fresh and exciting and, you know, you're not sick of the fishing or the traveling yet?
Ryan
There's things that are getting old for sure. I do, I have a beautiful camper that I'm inside that does have heat, you know, so I'm very grateful for that. But being in the cold all the time, because I'm outside, you know, I'm outside like from the moment I wake up until if I'm on a podcast, I come inside early, but generally like till the moment I go to sleep and it's pretty grueling just living in the elements. I've done a couple pit stops with friends and family where I've stayed inside for three or four days. And not to sound like cheesy, but like I having a roof over my head and just being warm and in a climate controlled space, I could like just sit in a chair all day in a warm space and it would be like an amazing, amazing day. It's really like shifted my perception of kind of like what I need. But I would say like, other than that, I don't know, I guess we're doing a ton of filming. And that's kind of always a, you know, you're lugging gear and every couple days backing up footage and that stuff I'm kind of burnt out on. But no, most days I wake up pretty pumped to fish. I love to drive. Driving is kind of like my time to clear my mind, my therapy space a little bit. and I've definitely been doing a lot of driving. I think I've probably in two to three days, I'll pass the 10,000 mile mark. So yeah, all the like fundamental parts of the trip, the fishing and the driving and the meeting people, I'm still pretty excited and pumped on.
Katie
It sounds like you're getting something good out of the negative parts though, because on a much smaller scale, I've experienced that where you go out for like a 10 day backpacking trip and you come back and you're just like, oh my God, warm water. Like I, I, I've never been so thankful to have warm water to like wash my hands and face in. And it always fades. I always hope it's not going to fade. And maybe, maybe for you, it'll be kind of like a permanent thing having been at there so long. But I always try to take time to like appreciate those little things and be like, I have this, I have access to this every single day. I should be happy that I have like warm water to wash my face in every single day. But it only really gets highlighted when you've gone without it for so long. So that's kind of cool though, that when you do get access to it, you're, you're able to really like soak in those moments as like wow we're so lucky to have these things
Ryan
yeah yeah absolutely I spent like it was probably like four hours sitting in front of a friend's fireplace the other night and like it was like you know no phone no like no wasn't watching anything wasn't talking to anyone no music it's just like man this is awesome this this thing is so warm and like I'm dry in here. And yeah, it'll be interesting to see because, you know, I've done other long trips where I was really like out in the elements and out of my comfort zone. And you're right, the, those breakthroughs, you know, those like really appreciating things and feeling like you, you made these kind of fundamental shifts in your mind. They do, they do fade once you're back in the comfort of day-to-day life. So it'll be interesting to see.
Katie
Yeah. I'd like to hear a little bit more about the planning process. I know you said you were doing kind of the northern states to get those out of the way with like weather logistics and things, but trying to do all 48 states is just like a kind of a logistical bomb. Like that's so much to tackle and every state's different. I'd love to hear at some point about like navigating all the different regulations and things, but just at like a larger scale, where do you start? Are you like, well, I'm in this state. Let me just like draw a line across states. Was there any sort of logic of trying to connect up different people or anything? Just like, how do you go from this idea to like, I have an itinerary that I'm going to like start, I'm going to get in the car and I'm going to start driving. How do you get from point A to point B there?
Ryan
Yeah. I mean, you're definitely right. It's kind of, I've described this, the trip and the project as kind of a logistic nightmare a little bit. There's like so many different elements to navigate. So I guess where it started is in the past kind of four to five years, I've made some really cool connections, you know, friends, friends of friends, friends of friends of friends. It kind of expands in different states. And so I had, I don't know, maybe 10 states or so where I had kind of like a pin of like, okay, I'm going to go, you know, fish with this person or this species this week or, you know, in the first half of November, whatever. And then from there, I just did quite a bit of research of unique fisheries. You know, as anglers, we all have our bucket list of waters we want to fish, species we want to fish for. And so some of the states I had kind of fleshed out, you know, months and years in advance. But others, I would plan like maybe three states ahead. Like, okay, Vermont, I'm going to go here. New York, I'm going to do this. And then I'll figure out Pennsylvania when I'm in New York. But most of it's been, there's been very little like day of, or, you know, when I'm in the state figuring out scrambling kind of like, where do I go to catch a fish? What, you know, what do I want to highlight here? There's been a few instances of that. North Dakota and Kentucky, I wouldn't say I almost didn't catch a fish, but I, it was really rough. Really, really rough. I yeah I was humbled is an understatement I got my butt kicked pretty severely in both of those places
Katie
well for what reason? like what was it? just, you know weather or you didn't know the technique for the area or something you couldn't pinpoint?
Ryan
yeah well so I mean the whole northeast was pretty well what we fished at the northeast we still have a lot of the New England states left to do but we had a pretty big drought the second half of the summer in New England and so So I couldn't fish for trout the first six or seven states. And I can catch a smallmouth if I need to. I can largemouth fish. But Kentucky was really difficult because there was no water. I would go to these bait shops. They don't really have fly shops out there. And I'd say, hey, can you point me towards a creek? And, you know, these are people that like they fish for a living. They give advice, fishing advice for a living. And I would go to these creeks as they suggested and they're just bone dry. No water in them. So I spent like my first three days there just navigating the state, kind of looking for fishable water. And then North Dakota, I found water, but it was there like gusts up to 70 the first three days I was there. It's my first time ever fishing where I literally got blown off my feet. It was pretty, broke a rod. It was pretty rough. And also super low water. I ended up just fishing for panfish in like a state park, a little pond in the middle of North Dakota. So, yeah, I've run into difficulty in that, in those realms, weather and water levels in a couple places. But those were the two that really made me earn it for sure.
Katie
I think that story and how you've described the planning kind of maybe answers my next question. But I'm just thinking about when you're thinking about going to a specific state and maybe you have a connection there. So that's where you're going. And maybe in these states, you're kind of forced to just figure something out because it was going poorly. But for your average state, are you like really trying to do research and find out like what would be a really fun thing to catch here, a really fun place to fish? Or are you kind of just like, where is an easy place for me to like check this off and then keep moving? Or does that vary based on the state you're going to and whether there's like something that you're excited about there? Is it kind of all over the board or do you have a system for figuring out where you're going to go?
Ryan
The like panic, go catch a panfish in a pond usually comes like after three or four days of just, you know, like I usually have to like cry on the water before I'm like, okay, let's go catch a panfish. So, yeah, that's kind of like, I don't know, that's like plan C or plan D. I will say that if I go to a state and I catch a fish, like even if it's, you know, like this morning I caught like a six inch rainbow. It just like my stress level is like, OK, I did it. So it's a little bit of both. Like it's nice to check that box on day one. But I'm not head hunting. I'm not like looking for big fish only by any means. But I'm trying to do a little bit of both. I really want to highlight the fisheries that I'm experiencing. But at the end of the day, if it's not working out, you can only do so much. And the other side of that is if I meet someone or I've connected with a lot of people just through the power of the internet, and they're a cool character with a unique story themselves, that almost trumps the quality of the fishing and the quality of the fish that I'm catching. Because, I don't know, some people would want to watch a dude catch 48 fish in 48 states, but I want to make something that appeals to the general public. And I think, yeah, you need some secondary characters. And that's what this is all about, is documenting who is out there as well as what fish are out there.
Katie
Sure. So when you arrive in a state, you're typically not just like going to the first stocked pond, you can find, catch a fish, hit the road again. Like you're making an attempt to kind of experience like what that state has to offer, the people that that state has to offer. And then if it's not going well, you can kind of like emergency pull out the stops and go find like a stocker rainbow to check that box.
Ryan
Yes, 100%, 100%. And that's one of my biggest pet peeves in the fly fishing world is kind of that purist mentality of like, You know, only these species are worth it only. But I think the most pumped I've been netting a fish may have been this four and a half inch sunfish in North Dakota. And like, that's just what it's all about. You know, like I put my ego aside, like a fish is a fish in those situations. And yeah, I think it just really helps with accessibility for the sport as well. I'm up to, I think, 22 species now. So I'm over a species per state I'm averaging. It's just cool to fly fish all types of water for all types of fish. And I want to highlight that as much as I can, whether they're trash fish or not. I caught a whitefish the other day, my first whitefish of the trip, and I was so sick. I'm pumped on it.
Katie
Yeah, what are some of the more unusual species? Everyone's probably used to rainbows, brooks, browns, things like that. But some of the non-trout species that you've gotten, do you have any interesting ones that you've come across?
Ryan
Probably the sunfish in North Dakota was up there, but probably the second most exciting fish that I caught was a freshwater drum on the coast of Lake Michigan. I caught like a 25-pound freshwater drum.
Katie
Oh, wow.
Ryan
Which was, yeah, it was the biggest freshwater, heaviest freshwater fish I've ever caught. So that was really cool. And then, you know, done smallmouth and largemouth. I caught a huge flathead catfish in Iowa, which was a blast. Was that on fly gear? Yeah, yeah, yeah. On a tarpon fly, actually.
Katie
Wow. Were you going for that? Like, were you trying to catch catfish or was this kind of a happy accident?
Ryan
so I was fishing for largemouth I knew that there were largemouth in there and I caught a pretty sweet one like four and a half pound largemouth um so I was just kind of like you know doing more fishing for largemouth and it's still my heart still races when I bring it up I I hooked a fish it had to have been a catfish um is the biggest fish I have ever been attached to um And for probably 45 seconds, I was like fully like rod tipped to the water, holding on my eight weight, thinking it was a snag. And then realized like, man, this is moving. And over the course of the next five minutes, this fish probably swam like 30 feet to the left, just like dead weight on the bottom, fully bent over, like about to break my eight weight and popped off. And so, you know, I was like, okay, that wasn't a bass. And, you know, I'm in Iowa. Like, it was a catfish. So I made a couple adjustments and kind of looked for some similar structure to where I hooked that one. And like 10 minutes later, it wasn't as big as that first one, but it was pretty big. Probably mid-20s. It was an awesome fish. That was another super unique one. What else? I haven't done any saltwater. this trip, which that's, for me, that's really the apex of fly fishing. I do a lot of striped bass fly fishing up in Maine. So I think once I'm to the Pacific Northwest and circling down around, you know, California and the deep South, I'm really excited to tangle with some of those ocean dwelling species for sure.
Katie
Yeah, I think one of the coolest things about this project, like less so than just, you know, accomplishing checking off 48 out of 48 is you get to see kind of all in one go, just the variety that our country has to offer. Because, I mean, I feel like we all know it, but it's often spread out over a long time. Like maybe you go to the Grand Canyon and, you know, five years later you go up to Glacier National Park or something like that. And it's just like you see the variety of the country, but it's so spread out that you kind of have forgotten the last thing you did when you get to the next thing. And to see the variety of fish species, landscapes, people, cultures around fishing in the country, like all in one go has got to be a pretty cool experience. And thinking of like the saltwater and stuff in the southeast, it's going to be so different than what you experience in like Idaho right now. So that's just really cool.
Ryan
Yeah, 100%. I think like you said that, like the short, relatively short duration of the trip. Like, you know, I'm fishing probably like five times as much water as like a well-traveled fisherman will fish in their entire life. And I'm, you know, doing it in less than a year. And it's like, yeah, it's pretty crazy. I feel super, super fortunate to get to do that. And even just reviewing footage, you know, we're flying the drone in every state and fish pictures in every state. Just looking back through, you know, I started this in a t-shirt and shorts wet waiting in Vermont, you know, and I'm fishing. There's snow outside. That's pretty, pretty cool.
Katie
I noticed you keep saying we. Are there other people there with you that are kind of going along the whole journey with you?
Ryan
So no one is with me. Well, my dog is with me for the entire journey. But I have some different kind of co-collaborators and friends along for different parts of the trip. So my sister has done, she's a photographer. She's done a ton of the shooting so far. And then I have another best friend, Isaiah, who is like our main editor and kind of, I don't know, art director, basically. He like helps with all that kind of social media stuff and reels. And then my friend Harrison does all our logo stuff and merchandise and things like that. So, yeah, we're not a huge team, but a passionate team for sure.
Katie
And will they kind of be with you for the bulk of the trip?
Ryan
I would say I'll probably be solo for like 50% of it. Okay. And with a – yeah. I'm just going to go to Tundra, so I pulled out the back seats of my Tundra. so I only have two seats. So I kind of max out as one collaborator with me at a time, but they'll probably be there for, yeah, I would say maybe four to five of the eight months collectively.
Katie
Okay, cool. I wanted to ask about navigating the different state regulations, because this is something that I feel like would be like low on the list when you're thinking about the planning. You're like, where do I want to go? What do I want to catch? Who do I want to meet up with and then it hits you that you need to buy a license in every state and navigate the laws about what you can fish for where what has that been like and has there been anything that's like caught you off guard or been like more challenging than expected trying to navigate that
Ryan
um yeah it's I mean you're you're definitely right it's a lot to keep track of and and it's just another layer of the logistics of actually like taking a road trip up you know because if you can't fish for trout after X date in, you know, you might have to reorient. So I haven't run into any huge issues yet. I definitely have been pushing it on a couple states. The cutoff was, you know, October 15th, and I got to town like the 11th or something like that. So, I mean, mainly what I've done is I spend about five days per state. And once I know what my next state is, that's when I kind of deep dive into the research about regulations. I did, I would say the most hurdles I've had to jump through have been around with the government shutdown and parks being closed. I did a huge road trip as a kid with my parents, and Yellowstone was the most amazing place I'd ever been. And Yellowstone's just close. You can't go in there right now. So I've had a couple similar situations with that, but that was probably the biggest one. I was planning to spend a whole week fishing in the park and couldn't even go in. So there's been some stuff like that, but for the most part, it's gone pretty smooth.
Katie
Yeah, I saw in the document I sent over beforehand that one of the topics you wanted to cover was doing this trip in the current climate. And I'm not sure if that's specifically what you meant, but if not, it seems like it's probably relevant to what you were talking about. So I was going to ask about that later, but might as well bring it up now since you just mentioned the shutdown. What have you experienced in the current climate?
Ryan
Yeah. Well, so I guess, you know, one of my favorite things about fishing is that you just like, you know, you don't really take your phone out when you're fishing and you don't really talk about politics when you're fishing. And that just, you know, to like be able to avoid those things is, I appreciate that. Just to kind of have a hobby that's external from those. But being from Vermont, you know, it's like Bernie Sanders is my senator, you know. I was born and raised in a climate where kind of like not everyone thinks the same way, but like it's kind of an echo chamber in many ways. And politically right now, things are so divisive, you know. And you like my narrative going into this trip was that people that think differently than me, like hate me and wish bad upon me. And that's kind of like what my side thinks of them. You know, whatever. And it's been so refreshing to go to these places that are so couldn't be more different from Vermont. And just have people be so incredibly kind. Like, I've just, the amount of things that I needed that I've just had given to me, I couldn't list them all. You know, people like guides inviting me out on their boats for free day trips, just random strangers that I meet in Walmart parking lots. Like, oh, I'll take you out on my boat tomorrow. And these are people that, you know, like I fundamentally couldn't disagree with more about political type things. So it's really been eye opening to, you know, we need to draw our lines in the sand somewhere. But just to realize that like 99% of the people out there are pretty damn nice. And we may disagree on what the people with power are doing, but we can at least wet a line together and enjoy one another's presence. And so I think that's what I was kind of hoping to share. It's been so refreshing because, yeah, you watch the news and you're told what's going on out there and what these people are like. some of it's true of course but I don't know I love like go out and find out for myself
Katie
I've heard that from a lot of people and it seems to be yeah like you said the news telling you what to think about different people and what they think about you and also people who can't get offline and I find the people who spend that much time online yelling about this stuff are the people who you know they're talking about in the news and they're telling you about the other side or whatever but most people I've talked to have had a similar experience to you where they're like yeah But anyone I talk to in person, it's like a totally pleasant experience. I mean, there's people of all kinds of political beliefs in my neighborhood. And I talk to them all when I'm walking my dog. And like that doesn't come up. It's just not a thing. And I feel like it's got to be nice to be able to turn that off and just remind yourself that most of the people you're going to meet on a day-to-day basis have a lot more in common with you than not, especially if you're both into fishing. You've automatically got something to talk about. You've got something to bond over. You don't have to worry about diving into something that you might not agree on because like you have no reason to. You've got plenty to agree on. Might as well just stick to that. So it's just, it's really nice to hear that that's the experience you've had and that everyone's been like welcoming to you. And I'm sure you've made relationships that you wouldn't have guessed you'd make.
Ryan
Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. That's a great, great way to put it.
Katie
What are some of the like highlights of your trip so far? I know we talked about species and stuff, but any states that like stood out to you as, you know, you thought it wasn't going to be very good, but then you were pleasantly surprised at the fishing or maybe vice versa. Maybe you thought oh, this is going to be an awesome experience, then it kind of turned out to be a dud or anything like that?
Ryan
I would say the Driftless region in Wisconsin especially. I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about fisheries around the country and around the world, but I didn't know of the Driftless prior to this trip. And I arrived in Wisconsin and went to the Driftless Angler and got the lowdown, you know, what the scene was like there. And I had probably the most fun week of trout fishing I've ever had in my life. It blew my mind. It's all like spring-fed little creeks that run through pastures. So, you know, you're fishing amongst cows and everything's like basically mowed because the cows are eating all the vegetation. We're fishing for wild brown trout in like four foot wide, one foot deep, beautiful little meandering streams. And you can just, you know, you can back cast for like miles because there's nothing around. And yeah, I fished nothing but dry flies for five days straight and it was pretty sick. I will go back, definitely. Then another highlight, I would say Pennsylvania was pretty magical, both with the fishing and just with like, I don't know, the people. I met this guy, Scott Martin, who's a photographer, who took me out on his boat. And we waited a couple of days on some trout rivers there. And he's originally from South Africa. So he cooked. He invited me back to his place and cooked a, it's called a braai. It's like a South African barbecue. So we just got to sit around a fire and have some, you know, of his traditional food. That was really amazing. And then I was driving out of town the next day, actually going back to the trout stream that I fished with him to fish for a few more days. And I passed a, like an LED sign outside of a church that said like pickleball on Wednesdays. And I, you know, I played pickleball. So I just like, okay, I'm going to go. I'm not like me. I'm kind of a shy person, but I'm going to go. And I'm going to meet these people and see how it goes. I walked in and, you know, they were like, dude, what the heck are you doing? Who is this man? But we played an evening of pickleball and there was this guy there. Ned was his name. And he like invited me back to his llama farm to show me around. And that's how I spent the whole following day. getting like a local tour with this super cool quirky dude um and it just like I don't know it was like I couldn't have even dreamt the couple of days that I had there but it just really that was state number three um and it really kind of like set the set the tone for the rest of the trip just reassuring that like the people that I wanted to meet were out there and that they'd be nice to me when I did bump into them. So yeah, I think those two are probably the most unexpected. I just finished Montana, which was one of the few Western states I hadn't fished. And it blew my mind.
Katie
Obviously. Yeah. I feel like that one's not surprising because you know, it's going to be incredible.
Ryan
Yeah. Yeah. And, you know, even in like mid to late November. Yeah. It's a ridiculous It feels like I've dreamt about this experience before. I didn't know it could be real, but that one's top of the list as well.
Katie
You kind of answered my question, at least with the story about Pennsylvania and the llama farmer and things like that. But where are you typically meeting people? Is it more often like in fly shops and on the river or is it more these like random experiences? You know, you see a pickleball signing, you stop in and you're meeting people who aren't actually fishing, but they're just so intrigued by your story that they connect with you. Like, are you connecting over fishing a lot or is it these other random experiences?
Ryan
I would say it's pretty split. And I have noticed a shift now, but it's cold. Like people just aren't really outside all that much. But I was bumping into people, you know, in Walmart parking lots, at state parks, just like all the time. But I don't know, people are in a hurry to get back to their warm houses. So that's dropped off a little bit. But yeah, I've met a lot of really, really cool people at fly shops. And then as well, just kind of like out there, out there in the world. And I have also been pleasantly surprised about this trip's really showed off like the positive side of the internet for me. You know, we don't have a huge Instagram following, but it's like big enough that, you know, new people are seeing what we're doing and getting wind of what I'm up to. And yeah, I get messages like pretty much every day, like, hey, I've got a friend here. You know, I'm I live here. I've got a boat. I'll take you out. And I don't know, social media is so so gross in so many ways. But it's been it's been a pleasant positive that's come out of come out of the trip.
Katie
I know you mentioned beforehand that you're going to take a break in the dead of winter. Tell me about that and what comes next. What's on the horizon for you?
Ryan
Yeah, it's a good question. It's a question I should be asking myself. My plan is to try to get back to Vermont for a couple months this winter. I have my dog with me, which airplanes and dogs are tricky since COVID. So I've been quite navigating that. There's a chance that I might just put my head down and drive the 3,000 miles back across the country, go see the family and rest and recoup a little bit. And what that will also allow me to do is to fish my way back east starting in probably February as things warm up. Because if I were to kind of just like stick through um i'd basically just be fishing winter all the way until i'm back in new England um and I really want to fish the straight bass migration um you know in may and June and July and yeah I just I think i'll i'll be happier and warmer if I if I wait a couple months so that's that's kind of built in bonus, get to spend things or get to spend the holidays at home, which will be nice.
Katie
And what's your timeline? Like, do you have a goal of when this is supposed to be wrapped up?
Ryan
I believe I will go back to my teaching job next August. And I'd like a little time. I know I'm kind of on vacation right now. You know, that's how it seems, at least. It doesn't feel that way so much, but I'd like a little vacation from my vacation before I return to work. So I'm hoping to be back home for good, I don't know, early July, something like that. So the whole thing will be roughly 10 months since I left June or July would be 10 months, eight months of which I'd be actively on the road.
Katie
Gotcha. Well, and I know you said too ahead of time that fishing with people that you you meet is a big part of this. And you mentioned like listeners and other people that you meet on social media. Are you like looking for folks to, I don't want to say invite you in, like you're just trying, you're like waiting for a handout, but like, are you kind of on the hunt for people to say, hey, come fish like this part of my state and highlight what they have to offer?
Ryan
Yeah, 100%. No pressure, of course. But if, you know, if you are out there in anywhere, really, And you, I mean, even if you don't fish, you know, even if you just want to like hang out, play checkers, like whatever, I'm in. But especially if you, you know, if you have a fishery that you know well and, you know, I'm not going to spot burn anywhere or anything like that. But you want to just share it with someone and, you know, kind of invite me in, show your home waters. I would love to hear from people in that boat, especially if it's a unique fishery. But even if it's just, you know, like I've got a bluegill pond in my backyard. Like if you're in wherever, Nevada, and you don't catch anything at Pyramid Lake, like you can come over and cross out Nevada, anything like that. Or if you just want to follow along with a trip, we have an Instagram and then also my email as well. It's a great way to reach out.
Katie
And what are those for people if they want to come find you?
Ryan
So the Instagram is talesofthe48, no spaces. And that's like a story tale, T-A-L-E-S, Tales of the 48. And then the email is just talesofthe48@gmail.com.
Katie
Yeah, I feel like the more exciting thing to receive from people would be like a unique fishery. But maybe the more important one is, hey, if you haven't caught anything, you know, I've got a farm pond that you can like guarantee yourself a fish out of. So there's like two different avenues that people could be extremely helpful for you, it sounds like.
Ryan
Exactly, exactly. And even if like the dream would be like, hey, we're going to go, you know, I don't know, catch leopard sharks at this place. And then if that doesn't work out, we'll go catch a bluegill. Perfect. So any or all of that would be amazing.
Katie
Awesome. Well, Ryan, this is a really fun conversation. I just I love your kind of idea with this and how you're pulling it off so far. I'd love to catch back up when you've done the second half of your trip to hear how those go, especially because I feel like the states you fished so far are the ones that would be the most, I guess, familiar to me. Like I'm from Pennsylvania. A lot of the northern states are kind of like trout states, but I don't have much experience at all fishing down like the Texas to the southeast and that kind of stuff. So I'm actually really curious to hear how that part of the country goes for you. So I'd love to catch back up in a couple months and hear how things are going. But I just appreciate you taking the time to do this. It was fun to meet you and I wish you the best of luck.
Ryan
Absolutely. Thanks so much. I really enjoyed the chat as well.
Katie
All right, that's a wrap. Thank you all for listening. If you want to find all the other episodes as well as show notes, you can find those on fishuntamed.com. You'll also find the contact link there if you want to reach out to me. And you can also find me on Instagram at fishuntamed. If you want to support the show, you can give it a follow on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcasting app. And if you'd like to leave a review, it would be greatly appreciated. But otherwise, thank you all again for listening. I'll be back here in two weeks with another episode. Take care, everybody. you
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