Anchored with April Vokey

Jenna McRae is somewhat new to taxidermy, but she is full of passion and talent. Although she has only been practicing for a year and a half, she has a natural ability for the craft and her artistic talent shows in her work. In this episode of Anchored I find the answers to all of my questions, including how to choose a taxidermist, if there any animals Jenna won’t work with, and how to field dress a deer if you want to mount it?

Have you ever wondered if freediving and spearfishing are as peaceful as they seem? My guest today describes them as transcendent. Born and raised in Hawaii, Kimi Werner is a chef, an award-winning artist, motivational speaker, a U.S. National Spearfishing Champion, and most recently, a new mother. Join us for a conversation about life as a new mother, freediving, spearfishing, and hunting. Listen in to hear why Kimi Werner is one of the most inspiring people I have ever met.

Over the last few years, a surprising amount of troll accounts have emerged on social media platforms. While some are humorous and light-hearted, others thrive on the mistakes and misfortune of others. In this episode, I sit down with the person who runs Copper Plated Sixes, an account that focuses on the fishing and hunting industries. We discuss why he feels the need to run such an account, who’s really behind the posts, where to draw the line and whether or not it’s cowardly to hide behind anonymity.

Erin Block works as a librarian and freelance writer. She is the author of countless articles and 2 books including, The View from Coal Creek and By a Thread. But of course, Erin is more than that, she is an angler, hunter, and forager. In this episode, we dive into Erin’s life and she reveals how she got into fly fishing and hunting for food and why she has chosen to step away from fly fishing.

Brita Fordice started tying flies as a kid. Born and raised in Washington state, she grew up fishing for trout, salmon and steelhead. Brita is an accomplished angler and guide in Puget Sound, where her custom patterns are well-known for their appeal to salmon and cutthroat trout. In this episode, we geek out on fly-tying and dive into the nitty gritty of material modifications, hook strength, fly tying thread, dying feathers, tip and tricks and more.  This episode is brought to you by OluKai!

Hoagy Carmichael is a producer, director, author and bamboo rod builder. Growing up as the son of one of America’s most cherished songwriters, Hoagy is no stranger to the pressures of passing on legacies. In 1968, he met bamboo rod builder Edmund Everett Garrison, where he would eventually chronicle the work of one of fly fishing’s greats. You can find this video in the Members section of AnchoredOutdoors.com This episode is brought to you by Norvise!

Keep Them Wet Fishing is a science-based movement that encourages anglers to focus on their fish handling practises while catch-and-release angling. In this episode of Anchored, I meet up with Dr. Andy Danylchuk and Sascha Clark Danylchuk to discuss the movement they started, and to learn about the data they’ve collected over the last few years.  This episode is brought to you by Cross Current Insurance, the fishing and outdoor industry's insurance company!

Captains For Clean Water started out as a group of fishing guides who were fed up with Florida’s water management practices. The organisation advocates for the elimination of harmful, large-scale freshwater discharges from Lake Okeechobee to the east and west by restoring the natural flow south into the Everglades and Florida Bay.  In this episode of Anchored, I meet with captains Chris Wittman and Daniel Andrews, the founders of CFCW, to try to wrap my head around the issue.

Kirk Deeter is the vice president of media at Trout Unlimited and the editor of TROUT Magazine. He’s also an editor-at-large for Field & Stream and the editor-in-chief of Angling Trade. The workload isn’t new to Kirk—he’s been working in the fly fishing industry since 2000 and is no stranger to the long hours of journalism. In this episode of Anchored, I meet with Kirk to get the inside scoop on his industry magazine, his thoughts on diversity, and whether we’re loving our fisheries to death.

Daniel Galhardo was born in Brazil, but came to the States as an exchange student, where he fell in love with trout fishing. When Daniel accidentally stumbled on the topic of Tenkara fishing, he was immediately intrigued. Tenkara is an old form of fly-fishing that uses only a rod, line and fly, but no reel. In this episode of Anchored, we talk about how it’s done, its advantages, disadvantages, and how it compares to other forms of fly fishing.

Josh Niland is quite possibly the hottest chef on the scene right now. Owner of the Saint Peter restaurant and fish butchery in Sydney, he has risen to fame for using of an average 91% of every fish he buys. In this episode of Anchored, we discuss why fish should be dry-handled and kept away from water, as well as how and why to age fish, the best method to gut them, the differences between farmed and wild-caught fish, and whether fresh fish is really best.

Meredith McCord is a keen angler, professional trip host, and world traveler. Today she holds 180 records through the IGFA, and she shows no signs of slowing down. Meredith has worked her entire career to make it so that she can fish as often as possible. In the second part of this two-part episode of Anchored, we wrap up Meredith’s timeline and discuss tipping guides, mellowing out, being lonely and the real reason she continues to chase records. 

Meredith McCord is a keen angler, professional trip host, and world traveler. Today she holds 180 records through the IGFA, and she shows no signs of slowing down. Meredith has worked her entire career to make it so that she can fish as often as possible. In Part One of this two-part episode of Anchored, we discuss chasing records, how she got into the fishing industry, and the rumors she’d like to address.

Land Tawney is the President and CEO of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers. The organisation is a non-profit sportsmen's group based in Montana.  In this episode of Anchored, I sit down with Land to get a better understanding of what he and BHA do. We discuss public land, taking action, handling criticism and more!

John Gierach is one of the most iconic fishing writers of all time. Having published 20 books and countless articles, it’s been said that John may be the only fly fishing writer who’s made a decent living at the craft. In this episode of Anchored, I meet with John for the first time at his home in Colorado. He lets me pick his brain about his upbringing and life as an author, as well as his thoughts on staying passionate about fishing, being a trout bum, climate change, and the use of profanity.