WFS 452 - Angling Oral History Project with James Thull - Trout, Salmonids, MSU Library

Published: May 23, 2023, 9 a.m.

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Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/452

Presented By: Mavrk Fly Fishing, Trxstle, Angler\'s Coffee, BearVault

Sponsors: https://wetflyswing.com/sponsors

James Thull from Montana State University talks about what they have going at MSU Library, home of the world\'s largest collection of books on trout and salmon. We talk about the rich history and culture of angling through MSU\'s extensive book collection and over 370 interviews with anglers from around the world.

James also highlights some of the notable interviews, including the ones with Bud Lilly and AK Best, as well as his experience interviewing Lefty Kreh at his house and fishing with Jeremy Wade from River Monsters. We discover the challenges James faced while traveling to different countries to conduct interviews and MSU\'s mission to preserve the global history, culture, and legacy of angling.


Show Notes with James Thull

03:30 - They have the world\'s largest collection of books on trout and salmon at MSU. This collection was started by Bruce Mordan and Bud Lilly.

04:29 - Bud told James a story of an old gentleman he took fishing who landed his last fish and then died a few weeks later.

06:45 - You can head over to wetflyswing.com/msu to check out their trout, salmon, and angler history collection. They have done around 370 interview videos with anglers from around 65 to 70 countries.

19:30 - Someone donated a book signed by Isaac Walton to MSU Library.

23:30 - They collaborated with the American Museum of Fly Fishing on a project to digitize old cassette tapes.

27:05 - James recommends checking out the interviews they\'ve done with Bud Lilly. Also the interview with AK Best. He also mentioned some of the notable ones including Lefty Kreh.

32:05 - James interviewed Lefty Kreh at Lefty\'s house. Lefty showed him his museum of personal artifacts. James saw a picture of Lefty with Fidel Castro and Ernest Hemmingway standing together with rods in their hand. (Unfortunately, we couldn\'t find this picture on Google)

37:00 - James talks about the tips Bud shared with him:

The fish don\'t know whether you\'re using a $900 rod or a $90 rod.
For the most part, fish strike for 2 reasons - they\'re hungry or they\'re pissed.

44:00 - James talks about going to different countries in Africa and Asia to conduct interviews. We hear about the challenges he faced along the way.

59:40 - We had Henry Winkler on the podcast in episode 334. We noted his book, I\'ve Never Met an Idiot on the River.

1:00:40 - James talks about fishing and hanging out with Jeremy Wade from River Monsters.

1:04:30 - Their mission at MSU is to preserve the global history and culture of angling.

1:05:00 - James talks about their upcoming to Belize this fall to teach people about using archives on angling and history.

1:06:30 - We had John Gierach on the podcast for the 2nd time at WFS 434.

Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/452

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