Anchored with April Vokey

Gary Loomis is more than just a name on a fishing rod. Gary’s been at the core of the fishing industry for over fifty years, and he’s still going strong. Gary is the founder and previous owner of G. Loomis rods, but after selling the company to Shimano, he launched his new rod company, Edge. In this episode of Anchored, I meet with Gary at his home in Woodland to learn more about his success story.  

Murray cod are one of the most remarkable fish on this planet. Found only in Australia, Murray cod are a large freshwater fish that can grow over one hundred pounds. In this episode of Anchored, I meet with Cameron McGregor and Dr. Katie Doyle to learn more about this remarkable fish. 

Wil Flack is a Belizean-Canadian who splits his year between two countries. Wil is a steelhead and permit guide, a retailer, and the product developer who invented cloud camouflage for flats fishing. In this episode of Anchored, I meet with Wil to discuss permit and tarpon fishing, fly presentation, moons and tides.

The Wooldridge family has been making boats for over 100 hundred years! I’ve been a Wooldridge fan since my guiding days on the Fraser river, so I was excited to have Grant Wooldridge on the show to learn more about his family history. In this episode of Anchored, Grant and I discuss the construction of Wooldridge boats and why they're so special.

At almost ninety years old, Joan Wulff is still instrumental in fly-casting, instruction, demonstrations, competitions and more. In this episode of Anchored, Joan and I walk through her timeline and I finally get to ask her some of the many questions I’ve always wanted to ask her.

Kevin Feenstra is a long-time Muskegon river fishing guide. He was one of the first people to swing flies for steelhead in the midwest, and his adaptations of the west coast’s swinging tactics are revolutionary. In this episode of Anchored, I meet with Kevin to learn more about him and his guiding tricks.

Dean Butler's recognition extends far beyond the Southern Hemisphere. A famed off-shore captain, Dean has been at the heart of more fly-fishing world records than most. From Australia, Panama, Niugini and the Florida Keys, Dean holds some serious credibility in the saltwater angling community. In this episode of Anchored, I meet with Dean at his home in Australia to sit down with him for his first ever podcast. 

Jim Rissling is the field program coordinator for the Fraser River Sturgeon Conservation Society.  A retired conservation officer, Jim now devotes a great deal of his time training volunteers to tag sturgeon (which is how I met Jim years ago when I was a sturgeon guide).  In this episode of Anchored, I meet with Jim at his home in Chilliwack, BC for a quick coffee and chat about Fraser River sturgeon.

You’ve likely seen his Greg Senyo’s name printed on fly-tying packages hanging on fly shop walls around the world—Senyo dubbing, shanks, brushes and streamers... the man seems to be everywhere. Greg is a fishing guide, outfitter, fly tier and author. He recently published his first book, “Fusion Fly Tying”. In this episode of Anchored, Greg and I discuss guiding burn-outs and the dangers of social media.

Rick Kustich is a fly-shop owner, guide, instructor, and the author of five fly-fishing books. Over the years, Rick has been instrumental in the midwest fly-fishing scene.  In this episode of Anchored we talk about Great Lakes steelhead and what we can expect in his latest book.

In this episode of Anchored, John and I continue our talk about steelhead behaviour. We discuss fish memory, sensitivity to sound, and their behavious underwater.   

John McMillan has devoted his entire life to the protection of the West Coast’s wild steelhead stocks. John has lead multiple conservation projects, and he’s not showing any signs of slowing down any time soon.  In this episode of Anchored, I meet with John at his quiet home in Port Angeles to discuss steelhead biology, the gene pool and a bunch of other questions that I've been eager to ask him.

Gary Borger has been in the industry since 1971. He’s an accomplished author, instructor, presenter and overall wealth of knowledge. In this episode of Anchored, I sit down with Gary to learn more about his history, the movie “A River Runs Through It” and advanced fly fishing techniques.

Tyler van der Meulen is an incredibly talented fly-tier. Tyler left me speechless when I heard his story at a trade show in Alberta.  In this episode of Anchored, I sit down with him for an inspirational conversation about overcoming obstacles.

In this episode of Anchored, Jerry and I continue our conversation about fishing in the Pacific Northwest.  We discuss Skagit lines, Skagit casting and whether anglers should regulate their own fishing.