Fly Fishing Saves Lives

Ted's story begins in Trail — steel town grit, river valley air, small-town backbone. Raised in the Kootenays, Ted carried that work ethic west to Vancouver , graduating from UBC, and deciding school wasn't for him, he worked as a doorman and later as an arborist. Hard jobs. Outside jobs. Jobs that keep a man moving. He found the love of his life in his late 30s. That’s important. Some men rush it...

Tim Hepworth is a fly fishing guide, fly tier, dad, and former Primary Care Paramedic who brings heart, skill, and real-world grit to everything he does. Born and raised in central Alberta, Tim grew up in a family where the outdoors wasn’t a weekend hobby— it was life . As the youngest of nine kids, he learned resilience, adaptability, and how to find joy in chaos long before he ever tied a fly or...

Thank you for listening! If you would like to reach out to Mike Ritsco you can do so on Instagram : @mikeritsco  If you would like to be on the podcast you can reach out to myself through instagram : @firstcastlastpass or through email firstcastlastpass@hotmail.com   

Join me as I sit down with local Calgary fly fishing guide Geoff Green, as we explore his life before during and on the other end of his career as a paramedic. "You're not quitting, you're not giving up on you, you're not losing a massive battle, you're taking care of you" . Geoff is very open about issues that he faced, and what he did to help over come his PTSD. He also shares some very personal...

Join us in this Episode as Mike Hawkins from Longview Texas shares with us his story of the fly rod his Dad (Robert Hawkins) built him in 1991 for Christmas, and how that would help heal them after losing their mother the year before. Fly fishing became a Journey of healing, and ultimately a bond that was unbreakable between him and his Father. Mike lost his dad just In Dec 2019, but he will never...

On this episode I sit down with Chas Waitt. A father, a husband and an avid fly fisher. Chas was ecstatic the day his son Nolan was born, and heard the words "It's a boy". Six months later, he and his wife were faced were news no parent is ever prepared to hear, With life changing news about their son, being diagnosed with Infantile Spasms ( having upwards of 600 seizures a day) they quickly learn...

In this episode, I sit down with a good friend and Local Guide Quinn Styles with Trout Farmer. He opens up about his life as a fly fishing guide, and long time Calgary firefighter, and how he balances the two. More importantly, he shares with us a scary time In his life where he had to say "I need help" and the steps he took to get the help he needed for his mental health. We also discuss a little...

In this episode, I chat with a good virtual friend! Mark is a front line worker in the midwest who shares with us one of his greatest losses in life, a dark space that had him looking to the exit, and with some divine intervention how Fly Fishing Saved his life!

We chat with Brain McGrattan, former NHL tough guy/enforcer, as he vulnerable shares with us the demons that almost cost him his life with drugs and alcohol right to the moment he declared " I need help". Through his journey, he shares how Fly Fishing Saved his life, and how it continues to give him what he needs to carry on with 12 years of sobriety!

In this episode I sit down with friend Cam Woolnough and discuss what brought him into fly fishing, and how it helped him "quiet the monkeys" in his head! Cam grew up in Alberta, and started his fishing journey chucking gear until he moved to Calgary and picked up a fly rod! Lots of obstacles in Cam's life especially after losing his mom to cancer in 2016 and fly fishing helped him over come all o...

In this episode with chat with Steven Lyle.  Steven grew up in the rocky mountains just west of Sundre, Alberta.  Having grown up playing hockey at a high level, his next step in the corporate world involved a lot of alcohol and trying to win over sales through entertaining people.  Now 6 years sober, and 5 years into his fly fishing journey, he shares with us what this journey has been like and h...

“Tell me a story!” Something we have all said or heard in our lives. Stories bring us together around the campfire. Storytelling has earned its place as the most important tradition humans possess. The most important reason for this being that every story contains a lesson. Lesson to love, to forgive , to be just and to strive for better than we have. They empower us, they lead us, they comfort us...