Three years ago, I wrote this quick synopsis of the podcast 2 Guys and A River:
“Steve Mathewson and Dave Goetz are the kind of guys that you want to fish with. There is a good mix of humor, practical advice, and anecdotal content in a podcast that is the prefect length for a short commute. I’d also highly recommend this to beginners, as they communicate very clearly some common sense facets of fly fishing and angling culture.”
This past month, Steve and Dave wrapped up their podcast. Four years of weekly episodes is no small feat. There is planning, recording, editing, and the corresponding blog entries. Add in the requisite podcast-day lunches, and 2 Guys and A River was a labor of love for two very busy men.
The success of their podcast wasn’t simply tied to their consistency. The casual banter, clear format, and every-fly-fisher-man perspective was accessible. Steve and Dave never claimed to be angling experts. Although they never explicitly claimed it, they are certainly experts in enjoying fly fishing. Consequently, the podcast was never about perfecting the subtitles of any one facet of fly fishing. It was about enjoying your time on the water. Sometimes that comes after a few dozen trout. Sometimes it is the culmination of many other things: a favorite fly rod, a laugh with a friend, a hearty meal. These are important things that run alongside the narrow, focused act of actually fly fishing.
They rarely told you how to fish. They told you what they were thinking about fly fishing. Even if their conclusions didn’t resonate; even if your experiences with the particular subject matter were different, it was helpful to listen. Over four years, 2 Guys and A River covered plenty of “101-level” concepts. Such discussions are great for beginners, but hearing seasoned anglers revisit basic information has a lot of value. Observing others explain or work through a topic is one of the best ways to assess or reassess that topic yourself.
It is helpful that both Steve and Dave are professional communicators. That comes through in the podcast, but not without the true humility that both posses. 2 Guys and A River was an outlier in the fly fishing podcast world. Neither of the guys is in the “industry.” They don’t spend hundreds of days on the water. They don’t spend inordinate amount of money on new gear. Their experience was the experience of the vast majority of fly fishers. Thus, their voice was refreshingly genuine. Thousands of subscribers, which include fair-weather anglers and professionals within fly fishing, agreed.
Listening to 2 Guys and A River, it was clear that Steve and Dave have so much more going on. Trips out west and up to the Driftless punctuate much richer lives. Like most fly fishers, the fishing exists in the margins of life. Sure, it is underlined and highlighted – but it is in the margins. Hopefully getting a few hours back from all the energy and effort spent on the podcast will enrich time with family, with work, and with other creative outlets. And hopefully, some of the hours previously allocated to the podcast get given back to the eponymous River.
Along with being a listener to 2 Guys and A River, I’ve enjoyed numerous conversations (and one of those prized lunches) with Steve and Dave. I personally wish them the very best as they move on to the next thing(s) in life!
Want to hear the 2 Guys and me? Here are two episodes of their podcast where they lowered their standards and added my voice into the mix:
And hopefully this post didn’t come across as a eulogy! They plan on keeping their archive up, so don’t hesitate to keep listening and share the podcast with others.