Outdoor Ruhls

Mike opens by thanking Caitlin’s parents, who watched the boys through five nights and six days in the backcountry, a reminder that this kind of hunt takes a village. From there the group picks up the story with elk everywhere, bulls bugling constantly, and a week of getting winded, blowing stalks, and making what felt like the wrong call every time. As Mike puts it, it only has to work once. By W...

Mike opens with some hard news: the Ruhls said goodbye to their beloved lab, Scout, this week. He keeps it brief for now, promising a full episode dedicated to her down the road, but for the moment things are still a little raw around the house. Looking for a change of scenery, Mike is headed up to the San Juan River this weekend with Caitlin’s dad and her cousin Neil, who listeners will remember...

Mike opens episode 100 with the long-awaited air horn, finally cashed in after ninety-nine episodes of restraint, and hands the mic to Caitlin, who steps in as guest host with a list of questions for Mike and Mark about the podcast’s first hundred episodes. They agree the biggest advancement has been the equipment, now recording multi-channel through a soundboard, and their own comfort on mic afte...

Show Notes Mike opens by explaining the format twist: after hearing Ira Glass speak twice locally about the craft of podcasting, including his blunt admission that recording with kids is hard, Mike decided to just sit down with Robert and, halfway through, Emmit, and let them recap the family’s spontaneous Labor Day weekend trip. Caitlin hears the recording for the first time live alongside listen...

Show Notes ‍ ‍ Mike opens by explaining why he wanted Derrick on to talk Africa specifically: it's a subject most people reduce to a single mental image, when in reality it's as varied as hunting across all of North America. Derrick traces his interest back to childhood Ranger Rick books and, later, classic hunting literature, Hemingway's Green Hills of Africa, Robert Ruark's Horn of the Hunter, a...

Mike opens by re-introducing Joe and welcoming Derrick Miller, the friend whose thrown-out back nearly derailed the 2023 Alaska float hunt detailed in episodes 40 and 41. With both hunters in the room, Derrick offers his side of that story, including a few corrections. They also compare notes on lessons learned for next year's repeat trip: bringing an oar frame and life jackets this time, and camp...

The episode opens with Robert & Emmit singing happy birthday to Uncle Mark before Mike sits down one-on-one with him the day before his 40th. What starts as some good-natured ribbing (Mike asking Mark what he needs to apologize for after 40 years) turns into a genuinely reflective conversation about milestone birthdays, mortality, and what the first half of life has taught them. Mark talks abo...

Episode 95: Summer Ruhls ‍ ‍ Show Notes ‍ ‍ Picking up the thread from the "Winter on the Farm" and "Spring on the Farm" episodes, Mike and Uncle Sim start with local fairs, tying back into last week's tribute to Catherine Schott and the Lebanon Area Fair. Sim recalls the Schott and Ruhl families being close friends going back generations through the farm women's association, and describes a full...

The episode opens with Mike and Caitlin publicly correcting a mistake from the Argentina two-parter: the first episode was briefly titled "El Truchador de Patagonia" as a play on words meaning "trout guy," but in Argentina the word actually reads as something closer to con man or untrustworthy person. Julian Cabral, their guest from the last two episodes, gently flagged it, and they pulled the tit...

Episode 93: Massive Trout of Patagonia (Part 2) Picking up where Part 1 left off, Mike and Julian recap Mendoza, Argentina's wine country, and the outsized role Malbec plays in Argentine identity and export. Julian explains the growing conditions that make Mendoza and neighboring San Juan so good for wine, breaks down the lesser-known Torrontés grape, and the group relives a multi-course winery lu...

Episode 92: Massive Trout of Patagonia This episode kicks off with some pre-match nerves — it's World Cup final day, Argentina vs. Spain, and guest Julian Cabral is trying not to jinx anything. Julian, owner of Massive Trout Fly Fishing, joins Mike, Caitlin, and GT to talk soccer, Messi, and Argentina's chances before diving into his background as a fly fishing guide. ‍ ‍ Julian walks through his...

Episode 91: Bad Boating Behavior If you've spent much time around a boat ramp, you've probably seen it all—or at least thought you had. This week, Mike is joined by Poppy and Matt to swap stories about inconsiderate boaters, crowded ramps, no-wake zones, forgotten drain plugs, trailer mishaps, and a few family boating adventures that still make them laugh years later. From lessons learned on Delaw...

Episode 90: Unscheduled Landings (Revisited) Before we dive into next week's brand-new episode, we thought it would be fun to bring back one of our favorite story episodes. Join Poppy, Matt, Mark, and Mike as they swap stories about unexpected flights, abrupt transitions from water to land, and a few outdoor adventures that didn't exactly go according to plan. Like most good campfire stories, thes...

Episode 89: One Fish, Two Fish, Redfish, Cobia Hosts: Mike Ruhl, Mark Ruhl, Caitlin Ruhl, and Rachel Ruhl This week, the Outdoor Ruhls gather around the table on the final morning of their annual Chesapeake Bay family fishing trip to recap an unforgettable week in Cape Charles, Virginia. From boat logistics and rough seas to beach house life and family memories, they share the highs, lows, and lau...

Episode 88: Outdoor Dads Father's Day provided the perfect excuse to catch up with Seth Morris and talk about the role the outdoors plays in fatherhood. Seth joins Mike and Mark for a wide-ranging conversation covering life in Montana, his connection to MeatEater, becoming a new father, and raising his son Virgil in a world filled with fishing rods, hunting stories, and outdoor adventures. The con...

Episode 87: More Than Inches This week on Outdoor Ruhls, Mike, Caitlin, and GT are joined by special guest Nicole Tatman , an official Boone & Crockett measurer , for a conversation that goes far beyond antler measurements. Nicole helps explain the history and purpose of Boone & Crockett and Pope & Young, while the group explores why these organizations were founded and how their conse...

Episode 86: Mountain Hollow Review Turkey season is in the books, and Mike welcomes Jeremy Cressley of Mountain Hollow Game Calls back to the podcast for a post-season recap. The two compare notes on a challenging spring, including Jeremy’s Osceola turkey hunt in Florida, encounters with rattlesnakes and swamps on public land, and Mike’s frustratingly dry New Mexico season that featured plenty of...

Episode 85: Have You Learned Anything? In this special birthday episode of the Outdoor Ruhls Podcast, Caitlin takes over hosting duties to interview Mike on the morning after his 46th birthday. The conversation explores what life has taught him through family, fatherhood, conservation work, hunting, fishing, and simply getting older. From raising kids as an older dad to lessons learned through dec...

Episode 84: Ole Bull Memories On this Memorial Day episode of the Outdoor Ruhls Podcast, Mike, Mark, and Caitlin reflect on family traditions, trout fishing, and growing up around one of Pennsylvania’s most beloved state parks — Ole Bull State Park along Kettle Creek. The conversation wanders through childhood memories of Deer Camp, feeding giant trout below the dam, fishing the kids-only section...

Episode 83: Tackling Matt’s Addiction This week on the podcast, Mike and Matt sit down for the first-ever one-on-one brother episode in Outdoor Ruhls history, and it quickly turns into a deep dive into the world of fishing tackle. What starts as a simple conversation about fishing line spirals into rods, reels, braided line, fluorocarbon leaders, drag systems, warranties, Japanese tackle websites,...

Episode 82: A Mother’s Love! In this Mother’s Day episode, Mike and Caitlin open with a family weekend in Glenwood, New Mexico, where the boys helped stock Gila trout, Robert caught his first Sonora sucker, and Caitlin had a true “mother’s instinct” moment when she jumped into a cold pool to help both boys after Emmit got in over his head. The episode then shifts into a conversation about mothers...

Episode 81: A Mother’s Love? In Part 1 of the Outdoor Ruhls Podcast Mother’s Day series, Mike sits down with Caitlin, Poppy, and his mom Karen for an honest and surprisingly emotional conversation about Mike’s grandmother, Elizabeth “Nutt” Hartlieb — a woman remembered as tough, stubborn, guarded, and often unable to show affection, even to the people she loved most. The episode opens with stories...

Mike sits down with Uncle Sim and Poppy to explore the history of the Cornwall iron mines, from their role in early American industry to their impact on the local community. Uncle Sim shares firsthand stories of mining life and explains how iron ore was mined and processed in Lebanon County. The episode wraps with the mine’s closure after Hurricane Agnes and reflections on how it shaped both the r...

Episode 79: Love in the Time of Turkey Season In this laid-back spring check-in, the crew gathers to catch up on life, family, and the outdoors during a busy and slightly chaotic time of year. From a full-on Ruhl family reunion back in Pennsylvania to a stretch of rapid-fire podcast recordings, the conversation reflects on recent episodes covering everything from zoos and conservation to Hershey h...

Episode 78: Pennsylvania Dutch Chocolate (The Hershey Story) — Show Notes In this episode, the Ruhls are joined by Uncle Sim (94!) in the “Outdoor Ruhls East Studio” for a deep dive into the life and legacy of Milton S. Hershey—one of the most influential Pennsylvania Dutch figures in American history. The conversation traces Hershey’s unlikely path from repeated business failures to building a ch...