The Storied Outdoors

Born and raised in North Alabama, just minutes away from the foothills of Tennessee, Brandon Bailes can still call this beautiful rural setting home alongside his wife, two sons, and two adventurous dogs. Growing up he spent countless hours hunting, fishing, trapping, and exploring the woods and streams around his house and he hasn’t stopped even to this day.... He says, “I’m convinced that the wo...

You don’t fully understand fatherhood until you’re a father. And even then, you’re just doing the best you can with what you have. In this essay, Dr. Gill reflects on lessons his dad taught him about fishing, fatherhood, and sacrifice. He also laments his failure to having yet landed an Alabama trout—a feat his two young children have both accomplished. Bryan has understood varying levels of sacri...

Ep Stephen Rockarts: Fly Fishing Alabama Stephen Rockarts is the owner and lead guide with Fly Fishing Alabama guide service. With his unceasing passion for fly fishing, he primarily targets  several native species of fish such as Alabama Bass and the Storied Redeye Bass. Pound for pound these fish are some of the strongest fighting fish you will encounter. They live in the most beautiful untouche...

This week’s episode is the combination of four conversations we had at the International Fly Fishing Film Festival in Birmingham, Ala. We were joined by local members of the fly fishing community: Andre Davis, Ande Whitten, Paul Terry, and Robin Simms. Each of them had a great story to tell and we were honored to get to share it with you. We hope you will enjoy this episode that was recorded live...

Pete is the author of the Revolutionary War adventure The Fiddler’s Gun and its sequel Fiddler’s Green as well as a variety of short stories. As a playwright he has published The Battle of Franklin, a stage adaptation of Frankenstein, and The Hiding Place, which received its world premier production from A. D. Players in Houston, Texas in 2019. Among the many strange things he’s been in life are t...

MaryBeth Meeks: Block Print Artist & Fly Fisherwoman Mary Beth is an artist and fisherwoman. But she’s not just any artist. She specializes in block prints of nature and wildlife. And we can’t wait to hear about what that means.  Come see us at the International Fly Fishing Film Festival March 18TH In Birmingham, AL at the Cahaba Brewing Company, find out more here. If you have any questi...

Kenneth Padgett & Shay Gregorie: Wolfbane Publishing Kenneth is a co-founder of Wolfbane Books and co-author of several books. He is a PhD candidate in Biblical Studies at Trinity College, Bristol (UK). He also holds a Master’s degree in Old Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Rebecca, live in the South Carolina lowcountry with their two young daughters. Shay i...

Dr. Lewis is a scientist who works in the field of genetics. He is the leading voice on the Alabama native species, Redeye Bass. Dr. Lewis literally wrote the book on fly fishing for redeye bass. Bryan has known Matt for about 5 years now, ever since he(Matt) and Jonathan Kelley founded the Redeye Bass Slam. We discuss a host of topics from the immense fishing diversity of our beautiful state, Ala...

S. D. Smith is the author of The Green Ember Series, a million-selling adventure saga featuring heroic #RabbitsWithSwords. The Green Ember spent time as the number one bestselling audiobook in the world on Audible. His newest novel, co-authored with his sixteen-year-old son, is a thrilling fantasy called Jack Zulu and the Waylander’s Key. Smith’s stories are captivating readers across the globe wh...

Ep 73: Joshua and Caleb Simmons: The Dad's On The Fly Podcast Joshua Simmons and Caleb Simmons from the Dad’s on the Fly podcast, both dads as well as brothers. They have a love of fly fishing, and they try to tackle parenting and family in the same way they tackle fly fishing figuring it out as the go along or “On the Fly.”   The Dad’s on the Fly podcast  broaches a wide variety of...

Ep 72: Samford Outdoor Adventure Club This week’s episode features a group of freshman college students at Samford University who have recently started a club on campus called the Samford Outdoor Adventure Club. Bryan sits down with President Jacob Barham and Vice Presidents AK and Jaxon as they share their vision for the group and discuss what it is about the outdoors that they’re so drawn to. Pl...

Ep 71: Season 6 Introduction: The Atlanta Fly Fishing Show. Welcome to season 6! We cannot believe how much fun we’ve had over the past 5 seasons and aren’t slowing down now. This episode is two-fold, we get to preview the upcoming season and recap our trip to the Atlanta Fly Fishing Show. This season will be featuring guests from two of our favorite communities: the Alabama fly fishing community...

We can’t believe it’s the end of Season Five! In this episode, we recap an eventful season with phenomenal guests and Brad ends the episode with a whopper of a story of his own. We give a few behind-the-scenes looks at some guests we had on the show as well as a peek behind the curtain of each essay. There are exciting things to come for the podcast this year and we need your help! We always want...

In this episode, Brad reflects on a recent trip down to Nicaragua. He introduces us to the organization he partners with, the work there, several folks he knows, and one or two folks he met for the first time. This story focuses on what an international trip will do to you if you are looking and listening. We visit rainforests and journey around volcanos. This episode is a unique story that I am s...

Grab a cup of hot chocolate and cozy up by the fire for this episode of The Storied Outdoors as Brad Hill reads “Hidden Wonders,” a short story written by Dr. Bryan Gill. “Hidden Wonders” follows the Heatherford’s, a family whose plans were thwarted by an unexpected blizzard that grounded all southbound flights out of New York—including theirs. With limited options, they decide to drop in on their...

“One Horse Open Sleigh” by Dr. Bryan Gill is inspired by the original lyrics of “Jingle Bells,” that read, “A day or two ago, I thought I'd take a ride And soon, Miss Fanny Bright Was seated by my side…” Bryan wrote this story about two little girls and a mahogany Clydesdale that loved nothing more than pulling a shiny red sleigh in the snow. The horse changes the lives of the little girls, but th...

Ep 66: The Christmas Pageant (A Christmas Story) by Dr. Bryan Gill is the story of a sweet family trying to figure out how to navigate the holidays after a tragic accident that took their mother and left their son disabled. After a resurgence of the town’s Christmas Pageant that reunites a town, this family finds a way to redeem their sadness with new Christmas traditions. We hope you enjoy this C...

Ep 65: The Fox and the Fawn, by Dr. Bryan Gill is a whimsical story about a little girl and her father’s never ending love for her. Brad Hill masterfully reads this story and makes the characters come alive. We hope you’ll enjoy this heartwarming Christmas story, The Fox and the Fawn.

Ep 64: Christmas Week Introduction with Bryan Gill and Brad Hill. We have a special Christmas treat for you all this week. We’re dropping an episode each day for this week! Each episode is a short Christmas story written by Dr. Bryan Gill and read by Brad Hill. These short stories are meant to get you in the Christmas spirit. We are rereleasing two previous stories and debuting two brand new ones....

This week we are joined by Hank Hershey. Hank is an artist, graphic designer, fisherman and avid outdoorsman. Born in Belgium, raised in the fine state of New Jersey, Hank now resides in Auburn, AL. He is a fisheries biologist by trade, and dedicates most of his time to the research and conservation of Alabama’s freshwater fishes. When he’s not painting or designing, he enjoys watching the woods w...

Ep: 62 Tacos and The Gathering of Wild Dogs  "The sun looks down on nothing half so good as a household laughing together over a meal." C.S. Lewis The Weight of Glory  In this essay, Dr. Gill recalls a time when he heard a pack of coyotes howling in the woods while hunting. That haunting memory caused him to reflect on the reason behind the call of the wild dogs at night and how they’re...

In this episode we meet Joe Monaghan the founder of Angler's Coffee and an avid fly fisherman. Brad got to know Joe through an Instagram giveaway and through correspondence on Instagram we decided a conversation on the podcast to hear his story was in order. Joe had some great stories to tell and we we enjoyed hearing about the Genesis of Angler's Coffee. Follow Angler's Coffee on Instagram and te...

Geoff Moore, of Geoff Moore and the Distance is one of the most prominent voices in contemporary Christian music of the 1990’s. Writing many of the songs that contributed to the rise of Christian music with his great friend, Stephen Curtis Chapman, Geoff Moore shaped the landscape of a generation of Christians. Now, he has a different focus, an outdoor ministry that helps pastors and others suffer...

Ep 59: Tom Rosenbauer: Host of Orvis Fly fishing Guide Podcast & Author joins us on this episode. What an honor it was to sit down with this fly fishing icon and discuss fishing local waters as well as the allure of the exotic trip. Bryan and Brad have been sitting on this episode for a while and were able to tell Tom about the great work Matt Lewis (and many others) in Alabama are doing to bring...

In this episode, we meet Amanda Bridges-Dunn, an adventurer, caver, chaser of waterfalls, and downright explorer. Amanda writes about her and her family’s explorations on adventuringlight.com, where she says, “we want to inspire you to get outside and enjoy God’s creation.” Amanda and her family explore all over Alabama and the surrounding states. We talk about her love for adventure, and both Bry...