One Last Cast—The Beginning

Whenever I’m asked to be a guest speaker I usually begin with, “I have the best job in the world. I get up in the morning, put on my fly vest, pick up my fishing rod, kiss my wife goodbye, tell her I’m going to work—and she believes me!

Fishing and recreating in Alaska outdoors has been a part of my vocation for many years, but sometimes it’s just hard work—not unpleasant work—but work. There are times when I’d like to leave my camera in the boat or escape from the TV camera’s glaring eye for a moment and be alone with the wilderness and just go fishing.

One such time happened on the Togiak River. There was a lull in filming and I walked about a quarter mile up an incoming, clear-water side-stream. On the second or third cast, a five-pound rainbow yielded to my offering. Alone with my fish and the river in Alaska’s wilderness, I played the trout as best I could and thrilled to the tug-of-war battle. It was a great fight, especially since it was just me and the fish, and no director telling me to “play to the camera.”

Eventually the fish gave out and I prepared to release it. Then, I remembered my filming crew downstream—back to work, Evan.

I allowed the fish to gain fast water and it quickly, in typical rainbow fashion, with me in tow; it took off for the Togiak. As the fish entered the main river I called, “Fish on!” and camera’s started rolling.

We filmed, what to the viewing audience appeared as, the catch and release of a big bow. The two-minute segment ended one of Alaska Outdoors TV programs. The off-camera voice introduced the segment with “There’s time for just one last cast” as my trophy broke water in typical rainbow style. The show ends as the fish is released. With it’s release an idea was born and Alaska Outdoors Radio Magazine had a new way to end each day’s program and the title of One Last Cast came into being.

I often think about the one-last-cast rainbow and wish every fishing outing ended in a similar way. I guess I’ll end this blog that way—there’s just time for one last cast. It’s your turn. Go ahead and cast. 

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Start Your Publishing Journey with Expert Guidance.
Unlock Exclusive Tips, Trends, and Opportunities to Bringing Your Book to Market.

About Us

Kindly contact us if you've written a book, if you're writing a book, if you're thinking about writing a book, we can help!

Social Media

Payment

Publication Consultants Publication Consultants

Copyright 2023 powered by Publication Consultants All Rights Reserved.