DirksOutdoors

A new and excellent book from Amber and Joshua Niven and we chat with them about their Appalachian trail hiking backgrounds and of course,  about their new book.  They share their insights on making your Appalachian Trail experience the best there can be! From beginners to thru-hikers, Discovering the Appalachian Trail has something for anyone that wants a connection with the nation’s longest marked footpath at approximately 2,181 miles. Starting at Springer Mountain in Georgia and finishing far to the north in Maine’s Mount Katahdin, the A.T. crosses 14 states, 6 national parks, and 8 national forests. Taking on the A.T. is a pilgrimage because of both its beauty and accessibility. Let Joshua Niven and Amber Adams guide you across the best trails that the Appalachian Trail has to offer. Complete with full-color photography, you’ll also have hikes suited to every ability, mile-by-mile directional cues, sidebars, and maps.You can find their book at your local bookstore (best option!) or on Amazon. 

John Waldron is Executive Director of the NY Chapter of the Brotherhood of the Junglecock (that's a bird who's feathers where once highly prized for fly tying if you were wondering!).  For over 25 years, the NY Chapter of BOJC has provided high quality fly-fishing and conservation-focused education to thousands of kids - many of them completing the seven year program and achieving the status of graduating in our Masters program, usually in their late teens. Our annual Campfire is our once a year, three-day event that is well supervised, safe, and most importantly - designed to for fun and learning at the same time. We've literally had generations of kids come through our program and become adults who cherish the world of fly-fishing and are keenly aware of their role in keeping our fisheries in excellent health for generations to enjoy. For many families and sponsors, the NY BOJC annual campfire is a calendared event each year!If you have kids ages 5 - 17, we encourage you to contact us about our program and look forward to seeing you at our 2022 Annual Campfire - we are celebrating 25 years of service in 2022.For more information: www.nybojc.orgFor more information on DirksOutdoors: www.dirksoutdoors.comEmail us at: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Much of the outdoors - especially in hunting - has been long dominated by rural, non-diverse groups.  Conservation and outdoor opportunities like hunting and fishing - depends wholly on future generations to support and actively influence them.  So the effort is on among many outdoor-oriented organizations who are recognizing the need to have hunting and other outdoor activities reflect the diversity of our great country.  Great interview here with Hank Forester, Director of Hunting for the NDA and a newly recruited and urban based hunter, Avery Toledo - who lives in the NYC area and through an NDA-sponsored event - has discovered the adventures of hunting and the greater outdoors.  Avery shares his path to hunting and how it has impacted his life - and gives us hope that we can open the outdoors and the opportunities it presents  - to those who live in urban areas around our country.  Very inspiring indeed! For more information:  www.deerassociation.com For more on DirksOutdoors: www.dirksoutdoors.comEmail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

When he is not practicing medicine - Dr. Worthing can be found either teaching, guiding or just on the water somewhere with his tenkara fly rod in hand.  He is also an outdoor writer and has contributed may articles on the subject of Tenkara - including some great articles that found there way into the books: Tenkara Fly Fishing and Tenkara Kebari.  He is a foremost and well-known Tenkara fishing guide - and has partnered with two other exceptional Tenkara guides - EriK Ostrander and John Vetterli.  The trio formed Tenkara Guides LLC (www.tenkaraguides.com) which provides an array of tenkara teaching and guiding services in  the USA. Great interview where we discuss all things Tenkara - so if you want a solid update on Tenkara - this is the interview.  Enjoy! Where to find Dr. Rob Worthing: www.tenkaraguides.com Where to find DirksOutdoors:  www.dirksoutdoors.comEmail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Our recent interview with Aaron Kindle - Director of Sporting Advocacy with the National Wildlife Federation.  Great interview on key NWF initiatives and how people can learn about and support them.  Be informed.  Get Involved.  Make a difference. The future of Conservation depends on it.www.nwf.orgwww.dirksoutdoors.comemail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

This is a second interview on the issue of crowding on the Delaware River system for trout anglers.  It all started with the blog post  that I caught from John Clark:Here's the link to the blog post that started us on this discussion path:https://bucketlistangler.com/the-delicate-question-of-whether-to-govern-boat-traffic-the-west-branch-of-the-delaware/In this podcast, we give John a chance to explain his position on the issue of crowding - especially boat traffic - on the Upper Delaware River system, one of the best wild trout fisheries on the east coast of the United States.www.dirksoutdoors.comemail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Before coming to Trout Unlimited in September 2001, Chris Wood served as the senior policy and communications advisor to the Chief of the U.S. Forest Service where he helped protect 58 million acres of publicly owned land. Chris began his career as a temporary employee with the Forest Service in Idaho and also worked for the Fish and Wildlife program of the Bureau of Land Management. He is the author and co-author of numerous papers and articles and three books including, Watershed Restoration: Principles and Practices (AFS 1997), From Conquest to Conservation: Our Public Land Legacy (Island Press, 2003), and My Healthy Stream: A handbook for streamside owners (Trout Unlimited and Aldo Leopold Foundation, 2013).www.tu.orgwww.dirksoutdoors.comemail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Yes, that Laurie Dirkx with an "x"!  Outdoor photographer and writer Laurie Dirkx spent some time with us on the DirksOutdoors Radio Show to share her tips and insights on taking better outdoor photos.  Taking better than average outdoor photos is not an easy trick but Laurie put us all at ease with her tips for doing it better.  Great show, great insights! You can find Laurie at www.lauriedirkx.com 

Pure Fishing is one of the leading fishing companies in the U.S. and the world with a host of great brands almost every angler knows and/or is fishing with.  Brands like Fenwick, Penn, Berkley, Ugly Stick, Fin Nor, Van Staal, and now - reintroducing the venerable British brand - Greys.  Jim Murphy wouldn't say this about himself but we will: he's an industry icon in many ways.  For one, he's been actively in the fly fishing business for over 30+ years and is not slowing down in any way.  I didn't know this until our interview but he created the value priced Redington brand of fly rods - and basically created a new middle ground for high quality but affordably priced rods.  He knows fly fishing because he lives and breathes it.We were fortunate to corner him not long ago and get his perspectives on the industry, tackle technology, and how Greys is working to establish itself as a leading brand for innovative, quality rods at price points many seasoned and new anglers can afford.  For more information on Greys: www.purefishing.comwww.dirksoutdoors.comemail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Aaron Leonard is on a mission: finding ways to help veterans gain access to wide range of outdoor activities and places where they can find solace, friendship and a healing relationship with the great outdoors. Working for the Sierra Club - one of America's largest and oldest organizations focusing on preserving the outdoors for current and future generations - Leonard makes the it happen.  He worked with a larger group to bring about the Outdoor Rx Act for NYS.  The act is a downpayment for helping current and future generations of vets gain benefit from the outdoors. In this interview, Leonard explains his role, what the Outdoor Rx Act can do and the future of veteran access and education about the wonders of our great American outdoors. Sierra Club Military Outdoors:  www.sierraclub.orgContact Aaron Leonard: aaron.leonard@sierraclub.orgwww.dirksoutdoors.comEmail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Back in early June of 2020, I received an email from my oldest son Dan and the email had a link to a blog posting on a website.  The blog posting was well-written and struck a cord (or you might even call it a nerve actually) regarding the issue of boat traffic on the West Branch of the Delaware River.  If you've fished the West Branch - especially during prime trout fishing season - it's world-class reputation is well-earned (and it is a world-class fishery at that).  It is - in my opinion - comparable to most any western trout river. Therein lies the problem. It's excellent reputation for producing excellent high quality trout has the unintended consequence of creating a stream of boat traffic.  That boat traffic can very often render the river limited in fishing space.  I know because I have often found myself having to skip past planted boats.  Everyone knows the "good spots" and so those spots are in demand and sought after.  A note about the boat traffic.  Many years ago - most of the boat traffic on this river was mostly confined to professional fishing guides and recreational boaters.  Today, added to this traffic is an armada of boats that provide additional boat flow.  Now, many anglers have their own three-person guide boats or own fishing kayaks and can access the river which offers limited wading access. All-in, the mixture of professional guide boats and everything in between has created a situation where crowding on the river is a problem.  As far as I can tell - most anglers who fish the West Branch agree there is an issue.  How to solve that is the $64,000 question and a thorny one at that.  Join us in this podcast where Jeff Skelding, Executive Director of the Friends of the Upper Delaware, my son Dan and myself discuss this complex but important issue of water access and fishing quality.  Does this issue of boat crowding dilute the quality fishing experience of this river?Here's the link to the blog post that started us on this discussion path: https://bucketlistangler.com/the-delicate-question-of-whether-to-govern-boat-traffic-the-west-branch-of-the-delaware/Thanks for listening to the show! Dave DirksOutdoors Radio Showwww.dirksoutdoors.comdirksoutdoors@gmail.com

COVID-19 devastated the greater tradeshow industry at large - and the impact of shutting down an entire industry for the last year has created billions in losses and thrown hundreds of thousands of people across the country out of work.  Ben Furimsky is CEO of one of America's largest and best fly fishing venues and in this episode, Ben shares his thoughts, ideas and insights on the impacts of COVID on the fly fishing industry and the shows he works hard to host each year.  He also discusses his plans for the positive way forward and the outlook for 2022 for the Fly Fishing Show.www.flyfishingshow.comwww.dirksoutdoors.comemail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Dan Ladd is Editor for the NY Outdoor News - the largest NYS-wide outdoor newspaper of its kind. In this episode, we discuss the recent changes in NYS trout management and changes in youth hunting - and the implications therein.  Great episode and we appreciate Dan giving us him time! www.outdoornews.com/newyorkwww.dirksoutdoors.comemail: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

Todd Waldron is the Northeastern Director of Conservation for the Ruffed Grouse Society and gave us an excellent update on grouse and woodcock - including ways we each of us can play a role in improving grouse and woodcock habitate.Please consider becoming a member of the Ruffed Grouse Society - it will make a difference for generations to come!For more information:www.ruffedgrousesociety.org

For a long time and still - most fly anglers are mostly white, old and - sometimes - cranky.   I've long been critical of fly fishing being the domain of old, graying males - and am happy to report that there has been progress in bringing more diversity to fly fishing.  Lindsay Agness is an active member of TU and has and is committed to doing something about making diversity a priority for the future of our clean, cold waters for generations to come.Listen in as she shares her thoughts and ideas on how we can make fly fishing a more diverse and less gray and male domain.  www.dirksoutdoors.comdirksoutdoors@gmail.com

The brook trout is our "canary in the coal mine" for just how clean our waters are.  While actually in the char family of fish but always referred to as a trout, the brookie is one of the few native fish in NYS that date back to just after the ice age.  They are a wonderful and generational treasure - and where you can find them - they are a pleasure to catch...and release.  What is the "state of the state" in terms of brook trout habitat and the recent location of original, pure genetic (also referred to as "heritage" brook trout) strains of brook trout have been located in some parts of the state.  TU member and brook trout advocate Paul Miller gives us his perspectives on the work being done by organizations like Trout Unlimited, TroutPower.org, and the Eastern Brook Trout Joint Venture.Find out the latest work being down and how it gives us hope that the brook trout will remain on the rebound in many waters around NYS.  For inquires; dirksoutdoors@gmail.comwww.dirksoutdoors.com

Interview with NYS TU Chair Larry Charette on the latest in TU issues and trout management issues in NYS.  Email: dirksoutdoors@gmail.comWeb:  www.dirksoutdoors.com

Northeast and mid-Atlantic striper stocks are down...bluefish in same state of slow decline - what gives?  Listen in as our guest - Charles Witek - provides us some Our Guest Today: Charles Witek - a life-long salt water angler who has fished on every coast of the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.   He is an attorney and consultant who provides advice on marine fisheries management, and currently sits on New York's Marine Resources Advisory Council, serves as New York's recreational representative on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Winter Flounder and Coastal Sharks advisory panels, and is the Chairman of the New York State Conservation Council's Marine Fisheries Committee.   He is also a writer who specializes in fisheries conservation issues, who frequently contributes to the Marine Fish Conservation Network's blog, "From the Waterfront," and also writes his own blog concentration on conservation issues, "One Angler's Voyage."  He is a member of the New York State Outdoor Writers Association and now serves on its Board of Directors.To get in touch with us: dirksoutdoors@gmail.com

After a great three days steelhead fishing on the Salmon River near Altmar NY, I brought my son Joshua into the studio to chat about our experience catching these large and wonderfully fresh, lake Ontario run steelhead.  We had two solid days of fishing and each of us managed more than a few fish but he of course outfished me once again - it's just the way it is when you teach your kids the art of fly fishing and they advance way ahead of you.  Dan Ladd, Editor of the NY Outdoor News - one of the best outdoor journals on all things hunting and fishing in NYS - to chat about his first year as editor and what he see's going with respect to the near future of 2021.  Dan readily shares his experiences and insights with us from the "editors" perspective.  We had a great time doing this show!Email:  dirksoutdoors@gmail.comwww.dirksoutdoors.com

What happened to this little but healthy trout water is anything but a crime.  In the early fall of 2020, Pine Creek suffered a dramatic and deadly event: a lack of water. Killing hundreds if not thousands of stranded trout, little Pine Creek could not readily withstand this total lack of respect for a cold water fishery that supported populations of brook, rainbow and brown trout.  Master angler and fly fishing guide Jeff Phelan - who lives right along a beautiful section of the creek, explains this event as it unfolded and what he and others did to deal with it via the NYS DEC and other responsible parties.  Email:  dirksoutdoors@gmail.comwww.dirksoutdoors.com