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As I was searching around on the interweb today, I got to thinking about all the cool shit that is online from our very own local fly-fishing talent. For an area of the country that is often overlooked as a “destination” for fly-fishing; we certainly have an abundance of homegrown amateur bloggers, photographer, and videographers.
As someone that knows how much effort you can and sometimes don’t put in to a blog, I thought it was time to sort of showcase some of my favorite sites from some of the local guys. The list is not any particular order, other than alphabetical, and is definitely not all inclusive. Check them out and let me (and more importantly them) know what you think.
Brian Wise – Fly Fishing The Ozarks
Fly Fishing The Ozarks is the online home of Brian Wise, head guide at the River of Life Farm on the banks of the North Fork of the White River near Dora, Missouri. In my mind, Brian is sort of the forefather of amateur videography for the Ozarks; he puts out some quality videos and continues to set the bar high. You can check in on Brian’s adventures by clicking here http://flyfishingtheozarks.com/Chris Barclay – The Bream Bum
The Bream Bum will fish for anything, particularly if it can be caught on a fly rod. Chris has only found fly fishing for trout in the last few years, but loved to chase fish in warm water before. His blog often features a different write-up from adventures with his conspirator Will King and his photos and written prose follow along nicely. You can follow Chris’ adventures at this link http://breambum.blogspot.com/Jeff (Last Name Unknown) – High Plains Fly Fisher
High Plains Fly Fisher is where Jeff, whose last name remains a secret at this time, calls home on the net. If there is one thing about him, this guy gets out and about. His writings and photography tell the whole story, from departure to arrival and back to departure. At times his photography can be stellar and place you in the moment. It is apparent that Jeff values the entire fishing trip from start to finish. You can read his blog here http://highplainsflyfisher.blogspot.com/Randy Hanner – Troutcore To The Max
Randy Hanner is a member of the 2011 Fly Fishing Team USA competitive fly fishing team. He doesn’t update his blog as much as he should, but he doesn’t do it because he is Randy “f’ ing” Hanner. Seriously, this guy can fish and is making a name for himself in the world of competitive fly fishing. Maybe if enough of us click on the links, Randy will start updating his blog more; you can check it out here http://www.motroutbum.blogspot.com/R. Reidy (and other Reidy Family Members) – TroutJourney
This is the online fly fishing home of the Reidy Family. The story here is the videos that they keep putting up on Vimeo. The videos are videos filled with a bunch of fishporn, instead they are videos that show the importance of family and the outdoors. The videography is stellar and the story is there. I always look forward to seeing their next video or blog posting. Check out thier site at http://www.troutjourneys.comRick Coffman – Live2FlyFish Radio
Rick Coffman hales from Rogersville, Missouri and posts “semi-regular” podcasts online about fly-fishing the Ozarks. His podcasts aren’t followed as much as they should be, but we are fortunate to have someone local spending his time putting such shows on. Give them a listen at http://www.liv2flyfish.com/Will King — The Riparian Corridor
The Riparian Corridor is the online prescence of Will King an aspiring writer, medium/large format film photographer, and wild trout connoisseur. A quick read of some of Will’s posts and you are taken away from your desk at lunch and put on the trip with him and his conspirators. Great writing and the photography at times is stellar as well. I am looking forward to his first book about the Ozarks. Check his site out at http://theripariancorridor.com/
If there is a blog or site that you think is in the caliber of the sites above, drop me an email and let me know. Always looking for new sites.
–Matt Tucker
Matt – Appreciate the shout out and kind words. I totally agree with your comment on just how much local talent there seems to be in the Ozarks and while I definitely don’t see myself as one of those guys it’s flattering to be mentioned alongside some of those folks. Sites like yours and Brians are some of the first places I can remember looking at on a daily basis to get my fix of Ozarks angling adventure and if it weren’t for those ideas there probably wouldn’t be a HighPlainsFlyFisher. Thanks…..Jeff
Thinking we should try and coordinate a weekend when we can get the likes of all of us together down the river to trade stories, fish, and what not. I mentioned it to Wise and he was down with something in January. If you want to try and schedule something, drop me an email.
–Tucker
The Bream Bum was new to me – good tip.
Might check out: http://www.flywatersedge.com/
Thanks for the tip Bob.
Matt , Thanks for the reference. Nice to share something in common with all that we love. I hope to meet you sometime down the road and catch a few fish. If you ever want to connect for a trip just give a shout.
Ray Riedy – TroutJourneys.com
Ray:
I was thinking it would be cool to get a group of us together and hit the river one weekend as a group. I mentioned it to Wise and he was down. Thinking we should plan that for January sometime, if you are game.
I am going to be on the NFOW this weekend (12/17), if you are going to be down there.
–Matt Tucker