Reel-Ality

07/21/2025

Jaylynn Parker with her 101.11-pound Ohio state-record blue catfish caught in an Ohio River tributary in 2024. Photo by Kristen

07/20/2025

Who’s fishing this weekend?
We’re not sure what we enjoy more- fishing or just soaking in the nature and stillness around us.

06/29/2025

A little river action as Ian shows me how to fish for chub and barbel on the float in the River Wye in England and trying my Simms Fishing Products waders foe the first time (with a phenominal fit for a female). This is a chunky chub and it’s been a fabulous day wading in the river.

06/22/2025

Great to capture this impressive display of trotting for chub on the River Wye on Brockhampton Fishery.

06/19/2025

What a stunning evening to hang out on the river. We took a rod and our good moods to wrap the day with a nice sunset and high hopes for a Wye barbel. The barbel were elusive after a hot day but there were plenty of hearty chub caught. (Location: River Wye, Herefordshire, England)

06/18/2025

A fun story that I worked on just published in Catfish NOW magazine. I take readers and anglers on a Big Blues & BBQs road trip in Texas where you can land some massive blue catfish and reward a hard day on the water with some memorable Texas BBQ. It's a win-win!

The Texas state-record blue catfish and previous world-record holder “Splash” caught at Lake Texoma is shown here in its home

06/05/2025

As passionate anglers we believe in getting the younger generation involved in learning to love the outdoors. Here are some tips to introduce kids to fishing.

May 26, 2025 How to get kids involved in fishing and the outdoors Getting kids involved in fishing and the outdoors with activities like hiking, biking and rafting requires an introduction. The challenge of convincing kids that there’s something far more interesting out there than their cell phone...

06/04/2025

The coarse fishing season opens in England on June 16th and anglers are itching to kick off the summer with great catches. We had a chance to get some casts in at the River Wye this week for trout before things get fully underway. Ian manages the Brockhampton Fishery and the beats of Dean & Chapter and Strangford.

03/21/2025

I am looking forward to participating in the Destin, FL Fishing Rodeo this fall and wrapping my mind around the many awesome saltwater opportunities available, so my latest blog post is a re-visit to learning the ropes of surf fishing. I tried this for the first time a few years ago and it's a fun learning curve that can literally knock you off your feet, but what a blast!

March 21, 2025 Surf Fishing for Beginners One of the things I love most about fishing besides just spending time outdoors is experiencing new waters, unfamiliar methods and trying for new species. Surf fishing is something new to me. It was intimidating at first (honestly, where do you aim to cast i...

03/17/2025

Thank you to my fabulous new team at Women's Outdoor News for featuring me in their latest Gal Gab column. The Q&A discusses what it's like as a female to navigate the waters in the fishing and outdoor industries, what drives me in life (hint: it's pretty much what drives me in fishing too), and how life has changed from my years anchoring the morning news.

In this “Gal Gab,” we meet Anietra Hamper – one of America’s most active working journalists in the outdoor world.

02/28/2025

Join me for a fun interview Saturday morning (March 1 - 5a-5:30a ET) on 700WLW The Big Outdoors with Chip Hart. We discuss my recent article in Catfish NOW magazine about trophy catfish fishing in the Ohio River and new research by the Ohio Division of Wildlife revealing never before known catfish movements and how anglers can leverage this insight. We also chat about an exciting new Fishing Trail and video series that I co-host that launches this spring with Destination Delaware County Ohio. Plus, we chat about more fun things in the outdoors. Join us Saturday morning!

02/18/2025

Thrilled to share my latest article for Catfish NOW magazine, which is also our cover story about fishing in America's Heartland.
Story link: https://catfishnow.com/the-ohio-rivers-catfish-bounty-by.../
I especially love this article because I dive into the monster-cat catfishing opportunities on the Ohio River but combine that with some new research from the Ohio Division of Wildlife about catfish migration patterns that were unknown until now.