The Destination Angler Podcast

Episode 167 of the Destination Angler Fly Fishing Podcast – March 26, 2026
 In Part 1 of a two-part episode, our destination is Yellowstone National Park's Firehole River—a strange world of geysers and fumaroles, grizzlies and bison, and trout, along with the Gibbon and the Upper Madison.  With angler, fly designer, author, and 1% for the Planet Co-Founder, Craig Matthews who shares expert fly fishing techniques, along with stories of grizzly bear charges, his life as West Yellowstone Police Chief, and the surprising origins of his iconic fly shop, Blue Ribbon Flies.  Stick around to the end for great story of a trout that took 19 days to catch.
With host Steve Haigh.
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Contact Craig:  https://www.craigmathewsyellowstone.com/   Instagram:  @CraigMatthewsYellowstone
Craig's latest book :  Pheasant Tail Simplicity @patagoniabooks | @patagonia_flyfish
Destination Angler Podcast:  
Website  |  YouTube  |  Instagram & Facebook  @DestinationAnglerPodcast 
Please check out our Sponsors:
High N Dry Fishing
Where science and performance meet.  Check out the full lineup of floatants, line dressings, and sighter waxes at www.highndryfishingproducts.com   
Facebook @highndryfishingproducts  Instagram @highndryfishing
Redd's Flies
Premium flies, tied with purpose.  Redd's is a family-run company built around premium, hand-tied flies that actually hold up and flat-out catch fish, delivered to your doorstep in days, not weeks.   A portion of every order goes directly to organizations protecting trout habitat and restoring rivers. 
Facebook @ReddsFlies      Instagram @ReddsFlies
TroutRoutes 
The #1 Mapping Resource for Trout Anglers.  Podcast listeners can try one month of TroutRoutes PRO for FREE by clicking the link in the episode description. Explore 50,000 trout streams with TroutRoutes today.   Get 1 Month Free  
Facebook @troutinsights Instagram @TroutRoutes   
Got Fishing 
Crafting world-class fly-fishing adventures specially designed to your level of experience and budget.   
Facebook @GotFishingAdventures Instagram @GotFishing 
 
Comments & Suggestions:  [email protected]
Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Recorded Mar 5, 2026

Episode 166 of the Destination Angler Fly Fishing Podcast – March 12, 2026
How do you pull off a DIY fly fishing trip to Alaska?   Our destination is the Alaskan backcountry with author, expert fly angler, and adventurer, Oliver Ancans, who for the last 10 years has been fly fishing  the state on a budget.  Oliver shares his tips on how to discover those lesser-known watersheds, going light to save money, and investing in the right gear, along with epic stories of 30-pound King Salmon, bears so close you could poke them in the eye, and hungry wolves that watch you fish.   
Fire up the bush plane and hang on for a wild ride with Oliver.  With host Steve Haigh.
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Contact Oliver Ancans:  Instagram @olleyeh
Destination Angler Podcast:  
Website
YouTube
Instagram & Facebook  @DestinationAnglerPodcast 
Please check out our Sponsors:
Got Fishing 
Crafting world-class fly-fishing adventures specially designed to your level of experience and budget.   
Facebook @GotFishingAdventures Instagram @GotFishing 
High N Dry Fishing
Where science and performance meet.  Check out the full lineup of floatants, line dressings, and sighter waxes at www.highndryfishingproducts.com   
Facebook @highndryfishingproducts  Instagram @highndryfishing
Redd's Flies
Premium flies, tied with purpose.  Redd's is a family-run company built around premium, hand-tied flies that actually hold up and flat-out catch fish, delivered to your doorstep in days, not weeks.   A portion of every order goes directly to organizations protecting trout habitat and restoring rivers. 
Facebook @ReddsFlies      Instagram @ReddsFlies
TroutRoutes 
The #1 Mapping Resource for Trout Anglers.  Podcast listeners can try one month of TroutRoutes PRO for FREE by clicking the link in the episode description. Explore 50,000 trout streams with TroutRoutes today.   Get 1 Month Free  
Facebook @troutinsights Instagram @TroutRoutes   
 
Comments & Suggestions:  host, Steve Haigh, email [email protected]
Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Recorded Jan 13, 2026

Episode 165 of the Destination Angler Fly Fishing Podcast – February 26, 2026
Imagine a summer where the camper van becomes home, and the hatch chart dictates where you sleep? 
Our destination is the American West with John and Karen Kreft, of Riverkeeper Flies, who share their hatch-driven philosophy, their top-producing dry fly patterns, and what they've learned from life on the road — designing flies and chasing trout throughout the American West from the Green River to the Madison, the Upper Columbia, and beyond. 
With host Steve Haigh.
Be the first to know about new episodes.  Become a subscriber 
Contact John and Karen Kreft:  https://www.johnkreft.com/ |  [email protected] Instagram @riverkeeperflies 
Destination Angler Podcast:  
Website
YouTube
Instagram & Facebook  @DestinationAnglerPodcast 
Please check out our Sponsors:
TroutRoutes 
The #1 Mapping Resource for Trout Anglers.  Podcast listeners can try one month of TroutRoutes PRO for FREE by clicking the link in the episode description. Explore 50,000 trout streams with TroutRoutes today.   Get 1 Month Free  
Facebook @troutinsights Instagram @TroutRoutes   
Got Fishing 
Crafting world-class fly-fishing adventures specially designed to your level of experience and budget.   
Facebook @GotFishingAdventures Instagram @GotFishing 
High N Dry Fishing
Where science and performance meet.  Check out the full lineup of floatants, line dressings, and sighter waxes at www.highndryfishingproducts.com   
Facebook @highndryfishingproducts  Instagram @highndryfishing
Redd's Flies
Premium flies, tied with purpose.  Redd's is a family-run company built around premium, hand-tied flies that actually hold up and flat-out catch fish, delivered to your doorstep in days, not weeks.   A portion of every order goes directly to organizations protecting trout habitat and restoring rivers. 
Facebook @ReddsFlies      Instagram @ReddsFlies
 
Comments & Suggestions:  host, Steve Haigh, email [email protected]
Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Recorded Dec 18, 2025

Episode 164 of the Destination Angler Fly Fishing Podcast – February 12, 2026
Today our destination is the Big Hole River in southwest Montana — a place trout anglers have revered for generations and home to the last native Arctic grayling in the Lower 48. But is this storied fishery at a crossroads? Trout numbers are lower than they've been in decades, even as anglers still find good fish. So what's really happening out there — and what will it take to turn things around?
Jim Olsen, Fisheries Biologist with Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, gives us the facts.
With host Steve Haigh.
Be the first to know about new episodes.  Become a subscriber 
Contact Jim Olsen:  [email protected] |  406-533-8451
Destination Angler Podcast:  
Website
YouTube
Instagram & Facebook  @DestinationAnglerPodcast 
Please check out our Sponsors:
Redd's Flies
Premium flies, tied with purpose.  Redd's is a family-run company built around premium, hand-tied flies that actually hold up and flat-out catch fish, delivered to your doorstep in days, not weeks.   A portion of every order goes directly to organizations protecting trout habitat and restoring rivers. 
Facebook @ReddsFlies      Instagram @ReddsFlies
TroutRoutes 
The #1 Mapping Resource for Trout Anglers.  Podcast listeners can try one month of TroutRoutes PRO for FREE by clicking the link in the episode description. Explore 50,000 trout streams with TroutRoutes today.   Get 1 Month Free  
Facebook @troutinsights Instagram @TroutRoutes   
Got Fishing 
Crafting world-class fly-fishing adventures specially designed to your level of experience and budget.   
Facebook @GotFishingAdventures Instagram @GotFishing 
High N Dry Fishing
Where science and performance meet.  Check out the full lineup of floatants, line dressings, and sighter waxes at www.highndryfishingproducts.com   
Facebook @highndryfishingproducts  Instagram @highndryfishing
 
Comments & Suggestions:  host, Steve Haigh, email [email protected]
Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Recorded Dec 11, 2025

Episode 163 of the Destination Angler Fly Fishing Podcast – January 29, 2026
Our destination is the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia—steep, green, and loaded with incredible trout water if you know where to look. We're blue-lining small mountain streams with Mark Taylor, Eastern Communications Director for Trout Unlimited and one of the most respected outdoor writers in the country. Virginia might be the most underrated fly-fishing state in the East. Freestone brook trout streams high in the mountains, spring creeks in the valleys, and big rivers loaded with trout, smallmouth and muskies. Stick around—we're breaking it all down.  
With host Steve Haigh
Be the first to know about new episodes.  Become a subscriber 
Contact Mark Taylor:  
Destination Angler Podcast:  
Website
YouTube
Instagram & Facebook  @DestinationAnglerPodcast 
Please check out our Sponsors:
High N Dry Fishing
Where science and performance meet.  Check out the full lineup of floatants, line dressings, and sighter waxes at www.highndryfishingproducts.com   
Facebook @highndryfishingproducts  Instagram @highndryfishing
Redd's Flies
Premium flies, tied with purpose.  Redd's is a family-run company built around premium, hand-tied flies that actually hold up and flat-out catch fish, delivered to your doorstep in days, not weeks.   A portion of every order goes directly to organizations protecting trout habitat and restoring rivers. 
Facebook @ReddsFlies      Instagram @ReddsFlies
TroutRoutes 
The #1 Mapping Resource for Trout Anglers.  Podcast listeners can try one month of TroutRoutes PRO for FREE by clicking the link in the episode description. Explore 50,000 trout streams with TroutRoutes today.   Get 1 Month Free  
Facebook @troutinsights Instagram @TroutRoutes   
Got Fishing 
Crafting world-class fly-fishing adventures specially designed to your level of experience and budget.   
Facebook @GotFishingAdventures Instagram @GotFishing 
 
Comments & Suggestions:  host, Steve Haigh, email [email protected]
Available on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Recorded Dec 4, 2025