Untamed Pursuits
Embark on a wild adventure like never before with the groundbreaking podcast, "Untamed Pursuits."
Join the intrepid duo of renowned author and outdoor enthusiast, Ridr Knowlton, alongside the seasoned professional fishing guide, Jamie Pistilli, as they traverse the globe in pursuit of the world's most exciting fishing and hunting destinations, and the fascinating creatures that live there. From the lush rainforests of the Amazon to the icy depths of the Arctic Circle, each episode promises heart-pounding encounters, captivating tales, and invaluable insights into the natural world.
With Ridr's profound storytelling and Jamie's unparalleled expertise, prepare to be transported to the front lines of adventure, where every roar, splash, and rustle ignites the senses and leaves listeners on the edge of their seats. "Untamed Pursuits" isn't just a podcast—it's an adrenaline-fueled odyssey that will redefine your perception of nature and leave you craving more. Buckle up for the ride of a lifetime!
Untamed Pursuits
Episode 6: Trip Recap
Jamie Piscilli and Ryder Knowlton from Untamed Pursuits take us on a thrilling journey to Africa, reminding us of the importance of pencilling in our dreams on the calendar to make them a reality.
Are you planning an adventure to Africa for a hunting trip? We’ve got the inside scoop on everything from direct flights to the best provinces for an unforgettable experience. We also dive into the joy and challenges of an epic walleye fishing expedition in Lac Hebert, Labrador, where strategic planning led to a staggering catch of over 200 walleyes. Imagine the culinary delight of beer-battered fish fries and fish tacos with fresh salsa after landing a 44-inch pike! This episode is a feast for the senses, combining the thrill of the catch with mouthwatering shore lunches.
Fishing is more than just a hobby—it's about camaraderie and the stories we create together. Join us as we reminisce about past fishing adventures and discuss future dreams like chasing big brook trout in Labrador and Newfoundland. We even ponder the idea of hosting a live event to share these experiences directly with our listeners.
What brings people together more than fishing and hunting?
Speaker 2:How about food?
Speaker 1:I'm Chef Antonio Muleka and I've spent years catering to the stars. Now, on Outdoor Journal Radio's Eat Wild podcast, luis Hookset and I are bringing our expertise and Rolodex to our real passion the outdoors.
Speaker 4:Each week we're bringing you inside the boat tree stand or duck blind and giving you real advice that you can use to make the most out of your fish and game.
Speaker 1:You're going to flip that duck breast over. Once you get a nice hard sear on that breast, you don't want to sear the actual meat. And it's not just us chatting here. If you can name a celebrity, we've probably worked with them and I think you might be surprised who likes to hunt and fish. When Kit Harrington asks me to prepare him sashimi with his bass, I couldn't say no. Whatever Taylor Sheridan wanted, I made sure I had it. Burgers, steak, anything off the barbecue. That's a true cowboy. All Jeremy Renner wanted to have was lemon ginger shots all day. Find Eating Wild now on Spotify, Apple.
Speaker 3:Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts. Thank, you.
Speaker 5:Welcome to Untamed Pursuits on the Outdoor Journal Radio Podcast Network. I'm your host, Jamie Piscilli, here with my main man down in the Carolinas. We have Ryder Knowlton. Ryder, what's going on?
Speaker 6:Jamie, I want to hear about this crazy fishing trip you went on recently, because I've been seeing pictures and I've been getting texts and I want to hear all the down and dirty scoop because it sounds like you just went on a heck of a trip.
Speaker 5:Nah, nah, nah. Let's talk about Africa first. Like, who's going to Africa hunting, shooting, taking amazing photos, and I heard about hyenas and lions. I don't know how we start this.
Speaker 6:I don't know how we do either. Here's what I'll tell you is this is five or six years ago heck, maybe. It's probably 10 years ago now. We were, you know, I used to do some clay shooting and my wife joined me to shoot some clays one afternoon and as soon as she hit her first clay, she looked at me and smiled and said, oh yeah, now I get it and I created a monster. And so, to answer your question, who is shooting all the birds in Africa? She was shooting way more than I was, but it was a heck of a trip.
Speaker 5:Oh, that's awesome. You know, Africa is one of those places that I guess this episode might be like a bucket list. We both went on two amazing trips. Maybe we can talk about where we went and where we want to go.
Speaker 6:I think that would be a great show. And what's funny is it's basically you and I chatting because this is the stuff we daydream about and this is the stuff we talk about most of the time when we're just gabbing. So I mean we might as well do a show about it, because we're always daydreaming about places we want to go.
Speaker 5:And the good thing is, I think we actually put in the calendar, get it done right, when a lot of people flip through the magazines, flip through the websites and dream about it. But sometimes you just got to pull the trigger and make life happen.
Speaker 6:You know, and you hit it right on the head, it's getting it in the calendar. And I say that because just today I put a trip in the calendar and all I did in the old days I used to write it into my daytime with a pencil, and now, of course, everybody's you know logging it into their iPhones. But the point is I plugged it in and it's you know, it's not till next summer and it's only a three day trip, but it's a you know, it's in there. And now what it means is well, you know, we'll be planning around it, we'll be thinking about it, and, man, sometimes it just takes that first step of putting it in the calendar and then it's amazing how quickly it'll turn into a trip.
Speaker 5:And speaking of the calendar, a couple of weeks from now you're going to be coming up here, so, weather dependent, we'll be able to get out and catch some fish and do, maybe, a live podcast. You know, it's going to be cool to be face to face seeing your handsome mug. Oh yeah.
Speaker 6:That's exactly what you want. No man, I can't wait. And what's what's amazing about that? And you and I talk about this all the time, but what's amazing about that Ottawa fishery is, you know, there's so many different things you can do, I mean, and you can wait and see, well, what's the weather doing, or what are the fish doing? And you know, are we going to go smallmouth fishing? Are we going to go walleye fishing? Are we going to go pike fishing? Are we going to go musky fishing? Or are we going to go do your favorite thing of all, which is go cast at the awesome site fishing for Gar? I mean, it's just one of those fisheries that there's so many layers to it. And the great thing is, you and I'll have a great time, even if we're just sitting around drinking a couple of beers in the boat, not even fishing. But there's so many layers that whatever we got in front of us, we'll find something to go fish for.
Speaker 5:Yeah, If we have to throw a bobber out and catch bluegills and shoot the poop.
Speaker 6:I'm sure we'll have a great time. It makes no difference at all. Exactly.
Speaker 5:Yeah, man. So let's dabble into Africa, man. So I'm sure a lot of listeners on the North American side have always dreamt about hopping across the big pond and kind of do one of these crazy adventure trips. Now we got anglers and hunters that are listening to us right now, but you went on a shooting adventure in Africa. Tell us all about it.
Speaker 6:You know it was such a. It was really an incredible trip, and when people think of Africa, you think of obviously incredible culture. The natural things to see are amazing. Whether it's the coast of South Africa or going up to Vic Falls and Zimbabwe and on the border of Zambia, whatever it is, there's amazing natural things to see. Wildlife, I would argue, is the greatest in the world. There are places around the world that are hot spots if you're a naturalist and you want to go see wildlife. But what Africa offers is an interesting combination of big animals to see. There's incredible animals in Central and South America, but they tend to be smaller, and then, of course, you've got the dense vegetation of the jungle. Well, africa has big animals and it tends to be wide open and arid. So it's just this incredible visual combination.
Speaker 6:And I've been very lucky.
Speaker 6:I've been very fortunate that I've been spending a lot of time in Africa over the last five, six, seven years and have a great network of friends in the outdoor world and the conservation world over there and the sporting world.
Speaker 6:But what we just got back a trip we just got back from just a few weeks ago was something I'd never done, which was a bird hunting trip in Africa.
Speaker 6:You know, when you think about big game and obviously a lot of incredible history of big game hunting in Africa, or even just folks that that are into, you know, photo safari, but but Africa, the two parts of Africa that are really emerging, which is so exciting, I think, just emerging in the sporting world and I think it's just getting started, you know, is wing shooting, uh, and fly fishing, and I and both of those worlds, you know, obviously are very exciting to me and they're just both of them, I think, are really at the fledgling stages for Africa, and what we did specifically on this trip was focused on wing shooting, and by wing shooting I mean a combination of waterfowl and blind shooting, you know, doves, pigeons, and then had a chance to finish it off with three days of driven guinea fowl hunting and, and so it was just, it was a remarkable thing and and you know you and I've talked about, you know, some of the different places we might want to go and we'll we'll discuss it on the show in the world of fly fishing, but you know, africa is one of those places where the fly fishing opportunities are also, you know, just getting discovered.
Speaker 5:Yeah, that's incredible. Man Like Africa has always been on my list. You know I'm not a hunter, but I got a couple of species of fish I'd like to cross off. But it's amazing. The biodiversity is just incredible.
Speaker 6:Incredible, for sure, incredible. And you know what was really cool is, you know, we had a chance to, you know, to spend a couple days doing each of the different things. In other words, we started off, you know, hunting waterfowl and Africa is becoming one of those places, south Africa specifically, you know, becoming a very well-known place for duck hunting. You know, you think about, obviously, the legendary, you know, duck hunting of North America, canada, the US, you know these incredible flyways that have, you know, 100 plus years of great history, and then, of course, the amazing wing shooting down in Mexico and in South America. But the duck hunting in South Africa is really coming into its own. We didn't have a lot of time for that. That was a little bit of kind of a just a, an early taste into that, but it was a fun introduction.
Speaker 6:Really, the, the meat of the, the wing shooting for us was a couple of days of blind shooting for rock pigeon and dove, and then, you know, two or three days of this driven guinea fowl, and what I found was a couple of things. One, it was really exciting shooting 100% wild, native birds. You know, when you're in Africa shooting rock pigeon and doing driven guinea fowl, these are native animals, native birds. Nothing is going to go to waste, a hundred percent of these. You know everything's going to be eaten, right, that's shot. And the sportiness, of course, of the rock pigeon is famous, that's the they call. That's the great humbling bird. It's one of those birds. You know that you go out there and you just think you're gonna conquer and you go home and just shake your head and go man, I'll give it another shot tomorrow. But you know, just picture Dove on steroids. It's just. You know you have two or three coming into a field and you're sitting in a blind and these birds are zigging and zagging, seven, eight feet every half second. It's a very, very sporting bird and a very humbling bird and it was tremendously humbling to myself, and even my wife was active in the shot.
Speaker 6:And then the guinea fowl was very interesting. It's. You know that was what we call driven shooting. And so there's, you know, instead of being in a blind in a field, like you might do for pigeon or dove, or instead of doing walk-up hunting that you might do, let's say, for quail in the southeastern US, driven shooting is where you actually have a line of guns. It's kind of a line of pegs and that's where the hunters line up, and then you have a line of beaters that are pushing the birds in your direction, and the number one priority, of course, of a day of driven shooting is safety, and there's a tremendous amount of time spent on discussing strategy on how to ensure safety, and that's obviously both angles of shot only being very high up in the sky and then two, being very aware of where these drivers are pushing the birds towards you.
Speaker 6:What was fascinating, jamie, you would have loved this man what was fascinating about doing this in Africa is that the local people that are helping and driving the birds you know would be, you know beating instruments or they'd be singing and you'd hear the sound of them coming through. You know the African bush, and that, to me, was as amazing and interesting as seeing the birds getting flushed. You know, it was just kind of creating the moment and making you realize, wow, you know I'm not in rural Georgia, I'm sure the heck not in Kansas, and you realize this is. You know, we're sitting here in Africa waiting for these guinea fowl to get flushed up, and so it was a variety of all sorts of things and just an amazing trip.
Speaker 5:Well, I'm glad I don't hunt with you, because if I was singing I'm sure I'd be sending whatever birds you're trying to shoot, the other way.
Speaker 6:Well, the problem is you'd be singing Van Halen and their songs were a lot more, were a lot prettier to listen to.
Speaker 5:That's a whole other discussion. Whether we go Sammy or we go Dave, yeah for sure. So what part exactly of Africa is a big place? Where exactly were you?
Speaker 6:We were hunting in South Africa specifically, and within South Africa, we're hunting the eastern half of South Africa. South Africa as a country is broken up into provinces and we did most of our hunting. The waterfowl was down in the free state which is within, you know, let's say, a couple hour drive of Johannesburg. When you're flying over from the US into Africa, you know you're going to come in from the north or the south, but by far the easier route to fly to Africa is into Johannesburg and then work your way up into the continent. And there's some great flights that have now reactivated, post-pandemic, that make it really easy, and one of the great ones is Atlanta to Johannesburg. I think it's Delta flights you know 101 and 100. And it's, you know, it's a direct flight and it's long, it's a 15-hour flight, but it's a direct and a relatively easy flight. I've also gone to Africa in from the north, which is a bit more of an adventure, and usually there's some type of a layover there, whether it's someplace in Europe or possibly even um, uh in um in in the, the Middle East, but uh, it's a bit more of a sporting entry into Africa, but also, you know, very doable Uh and um and uh, you know, and it's an event, you know, obviously an adventurous way to, to, to come in, I prefer the direct flight right into Johannesburg. And and um, we were.
Speaker 6:We were hunting the Eastern half of South Africa, which would be the province that's called the Free State, for example, which is the area south of Johannesburg, and then we hunted the northern Cape, which is really out in central South Africa, almost the eastern edges of the Kalahari Desert. So you're starting to see the sand turn a little red, very different, becoming more almost arid and desert-like. And then we finished it up along the northern border of South Africa, which borders Botswana, and that province is called the Northwest Province, and that's where you get up into really more traditional Africa scrub. It looks like you expect Africa to look when you see it on TV, and we spent two or three days up there in the northwestern province hunting the guinea fowl. So all the hunting was done in South Africa.
Speaker 5:All this bird talk is making me hungry. I had a long day on the water. I didn't have dinner before we started recording and the thought of eating some wild birds right now is maybe the Eatin' Wild podcast guys. We'll have to get them on for a couple of recipes, no question, and. I'll tell you what's a?
Speaker 6:really good meal is guineafowl. It's like a, it's almost I don't know if it's chicken or Cornish hen, but it's a delicious bird, and that's what makes it cool, man, is you know you're out having a great time, you know shooting these birds, but you know that they're going to all be eaten and and it's delicious table fare. We do need to talk to the the guys, though. You're right about doing a show on on on preparing guinea fowl. That'd be a good one.
Speaker 5:Yeah, cause I? I know, during the pandemic I went through this. You know barbecue as much crazy game as I can, but I never really got into experimenting with birds. It's always like a chicken, maybe sometimes some duck, but it'd be really cool to see how to prepare some of these wild birds.
Speaker 6:Especially if you know how to do it right. You know the people that can prepare birds properly. You know duck is a really good example. Duck can be absolutely fabulous and duck can be horrifyingly bad. I tend to make it horrifyingly bad, but, man, I've got some friends that do it right and those are some awesome meals, for sure. But speaking of awesome eating, I don't know that there's anything more awesome than walleye, and you had a heck of a walleye trip, man, recently. I can't get over the numbers. I'm hearing rumors about these numbers of fish caught and size.
Speaker 5:Yeah we got up there for a couple of days and during the pandemic I went up to Labrador fishing for the big brook trout. I went up to Labrador fishing for the big brook trout and we had a flight plane pilot whose family owned a lodge up at Lac Hebert, tiny little place kind of south of the Gouin Reservoir, which is a very famous walleye lake, but it's flying only so I threw that on the list and sure enough, you know the cars in line got a couple of great buddies. We went up there and, wow, after seeing so many photos from there I wondered. I'm like is this real? Oh yeah, and it was real. Right, we got up. We went up two groups.
Speaker 5:I got up with one friend the day before, kind of scouted the lake, yep, and then the other guys got delayed a day. So we were up there for a day and a half, kind of by ourselves scoping it out and the weather. We had really terrible conditions, like I dare say what would happen if conditions were right. It was like extremely windy, it was rough and you know, know, the lodge had really nice, um, aluminum boats up there, but you know not what we use here, something you can't have crazy boats for the guests to be smashing into the rocks because there was a couple of rock humps out there.
Speaker 5:But oh yeah, you know and here's one thing you know as guide that's going to a new lake right, we looked at the map and we kind of tried to figure out a game plan for for where to fish, not you know, having never been there before, and I think, um, one condition that you have to look at is wind.
Speaker 5:Um, the wind we had was pushing from the South for five or six days, all in the same direction. So when we got there, we focused most of our energy trolling and casting the southern portion of different islands and river moose and things like that, and it was lights out. Like I said, three days we boated over 200 walleyes.
Speaker 5:God, yeah, yeah, it was crazy like one morning one morning I think we had 60 something walleyes and then we decided to go for pike and the funny thing, we we, you know, you look at a website, you're going to a place and there's a couple of pike photos on there. I brought up up a musky rod and a couple of really big lures and I brought up a fly rod and some really big flies. And, you know, I told the, you know, I asked the pilot, I said is there a big pike up there? And he goes yeah, it's a walleye lake. And I went yeah, it's a walleye lake, but is there a big pike? And he goes, nah, it's a walleye lake. And I went, yeah, well, is there a big pike? And he goes, nah, not really. Nah, nah, nah.
Speaker 5:So we were one evening we're trolling along and bang, snap off, bang, snap off, bang, snap off. And I went eh, that's kind of weird. So, buddy, I'm with. I said you know what? I'm going to throw out a big, huge musky bait and we'll see what happens, right. So, sure enough, throw it behind the boat, one pull and the rod just bends in half and the fight was on. And sure enough we didn't have a musky net like I carry in my boat.
Speaker 6:We just had this little tiny you know rubber walleye catch and release type.
Speaker 5:Yeah, yeah, yeah. And fight was three, four minutes and all of a sudden this thing comes up and I'm like holy shit, there's this net's a joke I don't know what the width of the tail is gonna fit in there, right? So? So we get it to the boat and hand bomb it and get it in, and it it was the biggest pike.
Speaker 2:I've ever landed.
Speaker 5:It was 44 inches and like fat, fat, fat fish Right. So, holy cow, grabbed, grabbed two photos, got her back in and then, you know, I had quite the pleasure when we got back and saw the guy and I said there's no big pike in there?
Speaker 2:There's no big pike in that lake, yeah.
Speaker 5:Which makes you wonder. Like it's a trophy, trophy walleye lake, but at the same time people are flying there with the intentions of 100% targeting walleye. You know, piker, a nuisance. It was the same thing in the Labrador. I was up there and nobody people didn't even spend any time targeting pike on purpose Right. Any time targeting pike on purpose, right.
Speaker 6:Well, but let me ask you because you're not so you know you're not the typical customer. You know showing up to go walleye fishing, and so that, first of all, my first question is how much does a 44, how much did that pike weigh, do you think? And then, second of all, when you you know you're a professional fishing guide in Canada. So when you're going on a trip like this, are you absolutely guiding yourself? You talked about showing up and you're going to use the local knowledge and use that local guide. How do you play that strategy when you personally are going to be the one fishing?
Speaker 5:That's a great question. So we pulled into the local. It was funny. We landed on a flow plane, the guide brought us into town and we couldn't fly out that day, so we had to stay at their little inn, which was a great little spot. Um the, the guide gave us the keys to his Tundra truck and he said drive yourself up to the inn, check yourself in, the doors unlocked and the restaurants right beside it and we'll see you in the morning, like there were. It was such a mom and pop little great thing, right. So we threw our stuff in, went for a great meal and then, you know, we got a couple of naps and started preparing.
Speaker 5:So when I'm normally fishing, I'm a freak with the weather and the wind and the moon and the. You know a little bit of this and all my superstitions. I'm kind of trying to do everything right of superstition. So I'm kind of trying to do everything right, but you kind of look at you look at the area and try to go okay, this is going to hold fish, this, this should hold fish, this, this should hold fish, and and for the most part they did like a lot of the areas that you would look at, like a river mouth all covered in rock and there's a big drop off in the front.
Speaker 5:Yeah, there was walleyes, like I remember when the second group showed up we were trolling by and I'm like you're gonna get a fish right about here, and then the line went out right. So it's a lot of the, especially with walleyes and northern pike as well. Like, depending where they are at that time of year, they should be in predictable places. But I think, like with any trip, you do your research in advance and kind of look online. Online's good. You can kind of research the experience people had and see kind of lures and flies and things that work for others, and then you kind of buy all those and bring all the your regular uh stuff that has worked for you in the past.
Speaker 6:But let me ask you this so like, if you're, if you are going, so you, you know you fish the Ottawa river fish. If you, if you and a buddy were heading to, let's say, great slave lake and you're going to go, you know a whole different part of Canada. You're going to go, you know a whole different part of Canada. If you were heading to a place like that, are you considering fishing that on your own? Are you planning on getting a guide Like, how would you approach that? First of all, a massive area of water. You know an almost incomprehensible amount, you know volume of space of water and then you know such a new, remote location. How would you approach a trip like that?
Speaker 5:That's another great question. I always, you know, depending where I go time respective, you know, depending on time and also depending on money, I like to. There's two ways I like to do things. Like you said, if I go to a big, huge body of water where it's tough to go and figure it, out right now.
Speaker 6:Get your arms around it right.
Speaker 5:You know, when I ocean fish in the flats and things like that, I love to get out with a guide. I love to hear the stories. It's not so much about catching all the time, it's about hearing the folklore and learning about the ecosystem, like we've talked about before. Right, and learning about the local thing. If you take yourself out, you're basically you're not learning that part about it. But on a smaller body of water if I rented a cottage, you know, and you get a map it's not too hard to kind of figure out a lake if you have knowledge of certain species of fish. But bigger waters, getting a guide is always the way to be and as a guide, I totally recommend people getting guides too.
Speaker 6:Well, you know, you bring up an interesting point that you know if you're going to a new area, remote area, you know half the fun is learning about that area, and you're right, you know, if you're up there on your own or just you and a buddy trying to, you know, figure a place out, it's one thing still going to be a great trip. But you know, if you get to spend a couple of days, you know, on the water with maybe somebody you didn't know, you know, maybe a new person that you just hit it off with and you can, you know, listen to them, talk about, as you said, you know, not only just the fishing but just the whole ecosystem in the area and what's going on in their life, and you know it adds so much to the trip and you know, and that's, you know, that's half the fun sometimes to go into some of these remote places is, you know you're meeting these people that have these very different lives and you're getting to kind of get a taste of it and learn about a new place.
Speaker 5:Yeah, and I think you know some guides out there think oh, I'm the best fisherman in the world, blah, blah, blah. Well, in order to be a good guide, you have to learn and observe and talk to other people, Right, and I think by going to different locations and speaking to different guys and kind of grabbing the best practices, that's the way you're going to become better and you're also going to really get some new knowledge and maybe, you know, sharpen your learning curve on different species of fish.
Speaker 6:Oh, I think you're right. You know I need to know the weight of this fish. I can eyeball, you know, tarpon and redfish and throw a somewhat accurate I guess many times inaccurate estimate at weight. What's a 44-inch pike? You mentioned it had some big girth. What, what? What's a 44 inch pike? You mentioned it had some big girth. What's, what did that? What do you think that pike weighed that you caught?
Speaker 5:It was probably about 25 to 27 pounds and the head on it was massive and it fought like a muskie, which was so cool. For me it was like Northern piker. We have a lot of smaller pike here when, unfortunately, when you're fishing for muskie, you get a big strike and you're like, oh, there's a fish, and then it's like Debbie Danner and you're like, oh, it's just a pike. But up there it was like this is not just a pike, this is a really nice fish. And the other cool part about up there, too, was the walleye the average size of the walleye we caught. You know we get a lot of smaller fish and you know some some nice ones mixed in, but up there the average size was between 18 and 24 inches. So that's fantastic. You're catching really nice fish real fish.
Speaker 5:Yep, we had some delicious shore lunches and you know some wonderful food. We all took turns making a meal. I made some lobster Benedict, which that's one of my favorite dishes. I'll have to make that for you sometimes, right.
Speaker 6:Oh no, listen, man, we're doing that. In a couple of weeks, when we're fishing together, we need to find a way to eat some lobster Benedict.
Speaker 5:Yeah, step up the food game.
Speaker 6:I need to sign up for the platinum guiding package, you know, including a sure lunch of lobster benedict.
Speaker 5:Forget the bologna sandwiches from the gas station we're not doing that again.
Speaker 8:I know what happened last time. We were fishing together.
Speaker 6:We're grabbing a Gatorade and a bologna sandwich.
Speaker 2:How did a small town sheet metal mechanic come to build one of Canada's most iconic fishing lodges? I'm your host, steve Nitzwicky, and you'll find out about that and a whole lot more on the Outdoor Journal Radio Network's newest podcast, diaries of a Lodge Owner. But this podcast will be more than that. Every week on Diaries of a Lodge Owner, I'm going to introduce you to a ton of great people, share their stories of our trials, tribulations and inspirations, learn and have plenty of laughs along the way.
Speaker 8:Meanwhile we're sitting there bobbing along trying to figure out how to catch a bass. Along the way, Meanwhile, we're sitting there bobbing along trying to figure out how to catch a bass, and we both decided one day we were going to be on television doing a fishing show.
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Speaker 6:You so confidently?
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Speaker 6:Tell me. I want to know. And what's funny is we need to do a show on this. Obviously, our whole network team here has some great shows on how to cook some amazing field meals, of course. But how did you guys do the walleye? I got to tell you I can't think of a better tasting fish. I've got a really good buddy and he and I have done a lot of. We've pheasant hunted together in the Dakotas for years and it's just a little farmhouse and just local, local setup, not expensive, not you know nothing crazy, but we do it every fall if we can and and if it's warm enough, we'll get out on the Missouri and and and catch walleye. Nothing like what you did, but we've had some decent days, days of where you can turn it into a fish fry. How did you guys do your walleye on this trip?
Speaker 5:We did the classic fish fry. We did the beer batter, where you mix, you know, the mixture with a little bit of beer and then coat it up and then deep fry it, which was absolutely fantastic. And then some deep fried potatoes, little beans on the side, oh, don't you love it? Oh, and then another day we did brought up supplies for fish tacos. So with fresh salsa, you know, a little cilantro, and then some cheese, sour cream, and then fish and a little bit of hot sauce, oh boy.
Speaker 6:I've got to tell a story that part of our listeners may be interested in. The other part Maybe mad at me for telling me. I got to tell a story that part of our listeners may be interested in. The other part may be mad at me for telling me. I got to say it the first night on our trip, on our bird hunting trip in Africa, we went with some friends and what's great is all the wives shoot as much as we do and many times far better than we do, and so this was a guys and girls trip and we went out, we landed in Johannesburg, we had an overnight in Johannesburg before we headed out and started our wing shooting trip. So we had one night and found a nice restaurant to go to and kind of a last night in civilization before we headed out into the brush country.
Speaker 6:The brush country, and we all ordered various things and as we were looking through the menu there were parts of it that we weren't really sure what we were doing. And my wife and one of my really good buddies they found something that they thought sounded great and it did in the menu. But I noticed that the waitress kind of gave us a little bit of a question. Look when she ordered it, but we just went with it. Well, itress kind of gave us a little bit of a question look when she ordered it, but we just went with it. Well, it was kind of this tomato-based pasta dish and it showed up looking like just a little bowl of pasta and she's eating it and my buddy's eating it and all of a sudden he sticks his fork into the bowl and he starts pulling out.
Speaker 6:I couldn't. I'm looking at this thing coming out of the bowl of pasta and it's what they call a mopani worm and it is this giant caterpillar, jamie. And it turns out that it's a delicacy in South Africa, so much so that when people order pizzas in South Africa, many times they'll get the mopani worms, just like we would order pepperoni. It's just a different part of the country and my wife had eaten about half of one, thinking it was burnt cheese. She said she ate it and she said it actually tasted pretty darn good, and to her it just tasted like a piece of burnt cheese. But it was this great big caterpillar and I wasn't sure how she was going to react. She actually handled it super well and, like I said, she said it wasn't bad, but it was. Yeah, that was night. One man From there, you know it could only go up. That was a, that was a surprise.
Speaker 5:I'd be. I'd be requesting the pepperoni on the pizza for sure. That being said, I I'm. I'm up to try a lot of different things, but it's all part of the adventure. And if that's how it starts, you know you're off to a good vacation. When things are good.
Speaker 6:Exactly what was great is we had, of course, the first photo of the trip is is my buddy and and uh and my wife, each, you know, holding their forks of Mopani worms and that was kind of how you know. We kicked it off, but um, um, anyhow, it only went up from there and it was great food and we always love. You know, when you're doing trips like this, like you said, man, whether it's, you know, doing a walleye fish fry or trying a ponty worm, whatever it is, that's just part of the adventure of these great, you know, these great trips and you know getting some local flavor and being adventurous yourself and trying some of these things. You know, you and I talk all the time about places that you know we want to go and both of us have been very fortunate.
Speaker 6:Both you and I have been fortunate to be able to fish a lot of places. But I know both of us have long lists, you know. Tell me, you know, let's go back and forth, let's go back and forth. You tell me a place, let's start with you what would be one of your bucket list trips you haven't done yet, maybe, or maybe you've done it and you want to do it different, but what would be one of your bucket list trips I'm going to have to go with?
Speaker 5:two South Africa for tigerfish Yep, they are such a cool. I've always been a big fan of fish with teeth and having, you know, a fish be able to break a lure and a roosterfish, cabira, snapper, like little bit of everything right. So I've had my eyes set on Panama for a long time. What about you, ryder?
Speaker 6:You know. Well, you know it was funny. We've talked about this before too. You know, a couple of mine are just local, no-transcript off the Great Lakes. Maybe let's say Erie in Ontario and try to get some of those giant brown trout and I know the steelheading's famous and I'm not a steelhead, you know. I have not yet, you know, really dove into the steelheading world, although I absolutely want to desperately, and we'll do that at some point. But gosh the pictures of the brown trout that come out of Ontario and Erie up some of those tributaries you know, into. I know more, of course, the US side. I'm sure they're doing the same thing on the Canada side. Holy smokes, those are just lunker fish.
Speaker 5:Yeah, it's an incredible fishery and you know, unfortunately or fortunately you know the Chinooks and you know the steelhead do kind of overshadow the big browns, but they're there, but you've got to really work for them compared to some of the other species.
Speaker 6:I think you know it's a place you could go and, like you said, you've got to work for them and you might well go and that's absolutely a trip. You could go and maybe catch a few other things and you sure the heck might get skunked on a big brown, but you could also go and catch the trout of your life. You know that's a trip. You really could go and get the trout of your life.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I think also locally. Well, not really locally, but not as exotic. I've never caught a striped bass before and listen to some of your tales and the fish have been moving up. I got a lot of buddies who fish up in gas bay and you know a lot of the new brunswick and gas bay waters now that the the striped bass are coming through like crazy and they're fish. I really. I hear they're delicious and they fight great, so I'd love to throw them on my list as well.
Speaker 6:Striper is a great fish. It's funny that you know you get. We fish for them a lot in the Southeastern US. There's really two different, probably, ways to do it. You know there are. We have landlocked striped bass in some of our impounded lakes and that is a fantastic fishing experience it is. You know that is not an expensive trip and you know that is not an expensive trip and you know we used to live down in Georgia. You've got, you know famous lakes Hartwell, lanier and others, big lakes and pounded lakes that are full of just incredible striper action. What I really love, of course, is the migrating fish and living in North Carolina now, you know we have these rivers coming in off, you know, really from Virginia down through all the way through the Carolinas and you get these great migrations of striped bass, not necessarily the size that you get in some of these more famous areas, but it's great action, especially in a lightweight. You know you could bring a four or five weight, maybe even a six if you want, but what a great day, you know, if casting flies at these. You know three, four, five pound fish.
Speaker 6:I was telling Ang you and I were on one of the shows with Pete and Ang recently, and I was mentioning that some of the stripers we're seeing coming into the rivers of North Carolina this past season. Of course we're kind of hitting the tail end of it now. They kind of start coming in in February, march, into the lower rivers and by June they're usually up into the upper rivers. But they were bigger fishes here, you know, we're seeing eight, 10 pound fish.
Speaker 6:I just last week we were over on the West Coast of Florida and we were fishing for baby tarpon one of my favorite things to do anywhere and I was fishing with a guy named Danny Riker and Danny spends half the year, you know, guiding on the west coast of Florida and he spends the other half of the year guiding those stripers and albies up around you know, jamaica Bay, all around Long Island, connecticut, new York, all really that upper migration and that's probably where you're thinking, jamie is that. That's the legendary right Part of the US where you know there's just such great history with the stripers. It's an awesome fish.
Speaker 5:Yeah, I got family down in Massachusetts too and they got the canal down there and then, oh yeah, there's so many different areas, so much you know so many fish. So little time, as they say, is so much you know so many fish so little time, as they say.
Speaker 6:Well, it's funny. You know, we, you and I, are hopefully going to be fishing together in a couple of weeks and, and that's going to be a quick trip, you know, and, like you said, we put it on the calendar and even if we can only sneak out for half a day, you know we'll get out there and it like it doesn't matter I mean hell, if we're just sitting around drinking beer on your boat for a couple of hours, we'll have fun, but, um, you know, we'll make the best of it, even if we've only got, you know, half a day or a day to to fish. Um, I'll tell you, a trip I would love to do someday is to get up and do what you do each season. I would love to go after those big brookies you know, whether it's Labrador or Newfoundland and you know and and those amazing big brook trout.
Speaker 6:We, my grandfather and uncle built an old cabin in southwestern Maine years ago this was back in the fifties and sixties and a little fishing camp, and we used to go there all the time as kids. And, and so I, you know, I fished Maine. I fished that rapid river system for years, trying to get into one of the big brook in the big brook trout and never had any luck. Someday, man, I got to tag along with you and do one of your big brookie trips.
Speaker 5:I would love to do that and and I love all kinds of trout I've I've always wanted to get a big Laker I had a huge one on in Yukon. We were trolling and it popped off right at the boat and that fish haunts me to this day. I need revenge. You know I need a quick photo.
Speaker 6:That's what makes this so awesome, is that I don't care if it's a whitetail, that you blew it and man do. I have whitetail that I will never forget and they will haunt me until the day I die. Or if it's a big fish that you lose at the side of the boat, you know right before you get it out of the water and get a photo. Isn't that what makes this great? You know this whole sporting world. It's that. It's a. It is a spiritual journey and you are haunted by as many fish as you celebrate, and sometimes I kind of like the ones that haunt you because it just keeps you. It keeps you going and, like you said, you want to go back and get that fish again.
Speaker 5:Yeah, that is for sure. That's what keeps us going. There's so many fish, so little time and so many places you want to go to and so many people you want to fish with. I, you know there's a lot of buddies who, hey, we got to out, we've got to get out, and then when you do it for work, it's a lot tougher to schedule in those days. But yeah, man, there's so much excitement out there and this season's less than halfway done and it's already been beyond fantastic, so pretty pumped.
Speaker 5:Maybe we can set up a live thing where we can maybe get some listeners together in a restaurant or a pub, or I'm gonna work on that like we might have to edit this out later, but, uh, I got a couple ideas we might throw on and if, if you're listening still right now untamed pursuits on instagram, I'm gonna throw up a post. And, uh, if you do have we got tons of great feedback about our mailbag show, so I'm going to throw up a post and maybe we'll just put the photo, the questions, right there, just so you don't think we're making up questions like that. We have stuff we want to talk about. That would be brutal.
Speaker 6:You know that was a fun show to do. I think I think that's a great idea and cause you never know what folks are going to ask. And I think that's a great idea Because you never know what folks are going to ask and it always triggers some fun, interesting discussions. I think that's a great idea, man.
Speaker 5:And you know you're sitting by the campfire and you mentioning a story might trigger me to come up with a story, and one question might lead to another, and that's what makes for good podcast material.
Speaker 6:You know you mentioned this, you know you're halfway through the season and I know you know how you mentioned this. You know you're halfway through the season and now I know you know temperatures are an issue and Canada, how's the smoke this year? Has it been more manageable than it was last year? I know that's always. You know every year is different.
Speaker 5:Things are legal here. No, I'm just kidding. No, yeah, this year is not bad at all with the smoke at all. With with the smoke there's very we've got no impact. Last year, you know the, the, the fires from the north really impacted us for a couple of weeks, but, uh, this year is not an issue at all. So, but that that being said, we still have these crazy, uh storm threats that come through. We had a couple tornado warnings already, so we really got to be careful when you're on the water. And the tough thing is when you get these severe weather warnings how severe and oftentimes it's nothing, but when conditions are favorable for something to be, you really have to be careful. I tend to fish closer to the boat launch and really keep an eye on the weather, and I've got an active, you know, radar on my phone just to make sure that all my guests are safe.
Speaker 6:When do you call a trip? And it's interesting you say that. So I mentioned I was fishing with a guy named Danny Riker in West Florida recently and you know South Florida, every single day in South Florida there's a late afternoon thunderstorm and it can last five minutes, it can hang around for a while, but they usually come through in pretty defined areas and kind of move through. But they can be severe and you sure don't want to be in the path of one of those. And so Danny and I we actually talked about that as we were dodging our own thunderstorms and I was curious as a guide how he does like when does he call it? For him?
Speaker 6:It was lightning, you know, he said. You know in the open water, you know in that Fort Myers, you know Tampa stretch, you know usually you can make decisions to kind of stay away from the storms. But at the end of the day, if you're in an area where he feels, you know that lightning's a risk, he's had days in the past where he said we've had to get down in the boat. Obviously you never want to be in that situation as a guide, jamie, when do you call it, like whether your customer wants to keep fishing or not. When do you step in and say, hey, man, we're heading in.
Speaker 5:Customer's always king right. So when people sort of get a little nervous, I tend to kind of react on that, but at the same time I like to be proactive, make sure everybody's safe. So I think lighting is a no brainer you got to get off and then also wind. You really have to be careful with wind. Wind can pick up depending you know where you are, what direction and where you are. We got some rivers that open up, pretty big, and I've been out there a couple times and it's been a little bit hairy. So you know wind over 40 tends to be a little little sketchy. And then lightning is always, never, never a good thing to have to deal with. I've been lying on the floor of the boat before. I've heard weird humming noises. I could tell stories that are not very PC, but I've got through it and I think the older I get, the more cautious. It's like the older you get you tend to start driving like an old man when I'm on my way there.
Speaker 6:Yeah, you know what they call that man. They call that wisdom.
Speaker 5:Ah, shit You're getting wiser.
Speaker 6:Every gray hair you and I have, and I've got way, way, way more gray hair than you do. But every gray hair we get, you know it's just a hair of wisdom, is all it is.
Speaker 5:Yeah, you got to be careful when you're out there. You know, especially when you're out with guests, safety comes first, you know. Sure you want to get a fish, but at the end of the day, if you have a great day and everybody gets back to the dock, that's even a better day.
Speaker 6:Well, and and and and. Like you said, you know the customer's king. But at the end of the day it is your judgment and your wisdom and you like to think that folks, while they might be disappointed you know they're going to be disappointed but at the end of the day, as you said, you know you got to. You know you got to climb off the mountain too. You can't just summit the mountain. You got were fishing together. He had just had some bad storms and he had a situation where he felt that he had to get everybody down in the boat during a certain part of a storm coming by. In other words, they had made some moves, couldn't get away from it, and you know that gets hairy and I know he would never want to have that kind of a situation.
Speaker 5:No, definitely not. You want it to be a pleasurable experience. This year, weather-wise, we've dealt with extreme heat and calm winds, which is makes for some pretty awful fishing. If you're fishing for muskie and walleye and a lot of different. It's good for gar, but everything else it can make for a really tough day. And then you're sweating and you're tired and that, and then you know you're sweating and you're tired and and that, and then the wind and the extreme stuff. So finding that perfect pitch in the middle is often, uh, you know, the most comfortable day, but uh, as a guide, you got to get up and and make the magic happen and kind of adapt to whatever conditions are that are there now you've gotten some good musky this year.
Speaker 6:I've seen some pictures. You know has it been? How has the fishing been? I know you know you're halfway through the season. It's, I know it's been a good season, but but how you know in your mind, how's the fishing this year compared to other years?
Speaker 5:It's. It's been really good. I think the average size is up, but I think the average time per per fish has been up as well, unfortunately. But we've had a couple of really tough, tough spells. But that being said, you know, in one week we put a couple of mid 40 inch fish in the boat. You know lots of big gar. It's been good. Lots of good memories made, a lot of good anglers had a great group out last week of never fished in their life and they caught some bass, walleye and one big pike. So you know it's good to get the new newbies into the sport and get them excited about all the things that we get excited about.
Speaker 6:Oh man, I love it. Well, hopefully you and I can sneak in a little bit of fishing. I know we're going to try to do a show together in a couple of weeks and maybe we'll get lucky and get to sneak out on the water for, you know, a couple hours.
Speaker 5:That sounds great, man, and always great catching up with you. Hey, if you're still listening and you want to drop us a question, comment, query or concern I sound like the ladies man right there. Drop us a note on Instagram on Untamed Pursuits. And, like the ladies man right there, drop us a note on Instagram on untamed pursuits. And on behalf of Ryder and myself, jamie, thanks so much for listening to untamed pursuits on the outdoor journal radio podcast network.
Speaker 7:As the world gets louder and louder, the lessons of our natural world become harder and harder to hear, but they are still available to those who know where to listen. I'm Gerry Ouellette and I was honoured to serve as Ontario's Minister of Natural Resources. However, my journey into the woods didn't come from politics. Rather, it came from my time in the bush and a mushroom. In 2015, I was introduced to the birch-hungry fungus known as chaga, a tree conch with centuries of medicinal use by Indigenous peoples all over the globe.
Speaker 7:After nearly a decade of harvest use, testimonials and research, my skepticism has faded to obsession and I now spend my life dedicated to improving the lives of others through natural means. But that's not what the show's about. My pursuit of the strange mushroom and my passion for the outdoors has brought me to the places and around the people that are shaped by our natural world. On Outdoor Journal Radio's, under the Canopy podcast, I'm going to take you along with me to see the places and meet the people. That will help you find your outdoor passion and help you live a life close to nature and under the canopy Find Under the Canopy now on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever else you get your podcasts.
Speaker 8:Hi everybody. I'm Angelo Viola and I'm Pete Bowman. Now you might know us as the hosts of Canada's favorite fishing show, but now we're hosting a podcast. That's right. Every Thursday, ang and I will be right here in your ears bringing you a brand new episode of Outdoor Journal Radio. Hmm, now, what are we going to talk about for two hours every week? Well, you know there's going to be a lot of fishing.
Speaker 1:I knew exactly where those fish were going to be and how to catch them, and they were easy to catch.
Speaker 8:Yeah, but it's not just a fishing show.
Speaker 2:We're going to be talking to people from all facets of the outdoors, from athletes, all the other guys would go golfing Me and Garton Turk and all the Russians would go fishing To scientists. But now that we're reforesting and letting things breathe.
Speaker 1:It's the perfect transmission environment for line fishing To chefs. If any game isn't cooked properly, marinated, you will taste it.
Speaker 8:And whoever else will pick up the phone Wherever you are. Outdoor Journal Radio seeks to answer the questions and tell the stories of all those who enjoy being outside. Find us on Spotify, apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts.