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Some battles don't end when the deployment does. For many veterans, coming home is only the beginning of a different fight—one that can't be seen. It's the battle of rediscovering purpose, rebuilding relationships, and finding peace after war.

In this powerful episode of the Montana Outdoor Podcast, host Downrigger Dale sits down with Army Veteran Nick Gonzalas, whose journey took him from the streets of Iraq to helping fellow veterans heal through Montana's outdoors, yoga, community, and service.

When you click here to watch or here to listen you will hear Nick share his deeply personal story of military service, returning home carrying invisible wounds, and the long road toward healing. Along the way he discovered something unexpected—that helping other veterans find hope became part of his own recovery.

Today, through South Side Studio Yoga and his work with veterans, Nick is creating opportunities for others to reconnect with themselves, each other, and the healing power of Montana's wild places. Every veteran that joins his free Yoga Class for Vertrans program also gets the opportunity to take a free guided weeklong trip into the Bob Marshall Wilderness. This is an amazing trip for veterans as they pack in by horse and get float out!

This podcast isn't just for veterans. It's for military families. It's for friends trying to understand someone they love. And it's for anyone who believes the outdoors can change lives. Whether you've worn the uniform yourself or simply want to understand what many veterans face after they come home, this is a conversation that will stay with you long after it ends. If you know a veteran or a family member of a veteran who could benefit from hearing Nick's story, please share this episode with them. Sometimes hope begins with a single conversation.

Links:

• South Side Studio Yoga (Nick's organization)
• Book a Yoga Class with Nick
• Veterans, Here is Your Link For You Free Class with Nick!
• Let’s Support Nicks Yurt Project! Click and Donate Today!
• South Side Studio Yoga Instagram page
• Nick’s YouTube Channel, Come On Veterans Join in Online!
• Red Willow Learning Center
• Project Healing Waters
• Patrol Base Abbate
• Water Master Rafts
• Questions for Nick? Click here to send him an email!
• Questions for Downrigger Dale? Click here to send him and email!9

Support the show

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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Every year, the world's best fly anglers gather to compete in one of the most prestigious events in competitive fly fishing. This year, they aren't heading to Europe or another faraway destination. They're coming here! In just a few weeks, the 2026 World Fly Fishing Championship will bring competitors from around the world to some of the most legendary trout waters in the world known are the Golden Triangle of Fly Fishing which includes Montana's beautiful Hebgen Lake along with famous fisheries in Idaho and Wyoming. This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast, Downrigger Dale visits with World Fly Fishing Championship organizer Glade Gunther and Team USA veteran Devin Olsen to learn what makes this event so special, how Team USA prepares to compete against the world's best, and why so many international anglers dream of fishing the waters we sometimes take for granted. When you watch or listen you'll learn how these competitions actually work (WAY different than a typical fishing tournament), why catching one extra fish can mean the difference between winning a gold, silver or bronze medal or going home empty-handed, and some of the fascinating techniques the competitors use that most everyday anglers have never seen. You'll also discover why fly anglers from Europe, Asia, Australia, Africa and beyond are excited to experience the incredible fisheries of Montana, Idaho and Wyoming, and why Team USA believes this could be one of its best opportunities yet to bring home a World Championship and gold medal on home waters. DO NOT miss this podcast it is SUPER interesting! Click here watch or listen!

Links:

• To learn more about Team USA Fly Fishing click here to see the website and here to check out their Facebook Page. We will add more info as we get closer to when the competition kicks off. Or check back to MontanaOutdoor.com.
• Our guest Glade is looking for folks that would like to bring their boat to Hebgen Lake near West Yellowstone to help take these competitors from all over the world. Interested? You would get to be part of this incredible event that will likely not be back in the USA for 10 or 20 years. They will pay your gas, lodging and so on. Contact Downrigger for more info.
• Questions for Glade the International Organizer of the World Fly Fishing Championship? Click here to send him an email.
• Questions for Devin Olsen, Team Member on Team USA Fly Fishing? Just click here.
• 9Let your buddy Downrigger Dale know what you thought of this Podcast. Click here to email him.

Support the show

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

Send us Fan Mail

This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast our friend Ross Tate, The Whitefish Whisperer, is back and you know what that means don’t you? The Whitefish are biting again up on Flathead Lake in Western Montana. These amazing fish are known to be, pound for pound the hardest fighting fish in Montana. And with this heat wave they have showed up just in time for those of you that can’t fish many of Montana’s rivers due to high water temps. So, this would be the time to, first, watch or listen to this podcast and then head up to Flathead Lake and test what you learned from Ross. Ross is one of the best Whitefish anglers in Montana. He has been doin it for a long time and has some great tips even for you experienced Whitefish anglers. Another good reason to go fish for these fish is that they are also one of the best tasting fish that you will ever eat. As your host Rigger put it; “Your odds of catching a bunch of really nice Whitefish are fantastic if you watch this podcast. That’s cause Ross shows you right there on the podcast what are the best lures to you use, how to use the best jig technique and he even tells you where all the best spots are on Flathead to go find them. What more do you need?!”. Well, nothing probably but there is one more thing and it is an important one. If you watch or listen, you just might feel some wonder and wonder is always the best…because it always will lead you to something you did not know but wanted to learn and that our dear friends works for everyone whether they have or ever will fish. So, what are you waiting for?! Mash that play button!

Links:

• We talked about Zimmer Tackle and Kits Tackle so just click those names and you can learn more about them.
• As promised here are the top websites for Great Lakes whitefish recipes:
  • Monahan's Seafood for simple baking.
  • Maureen Abood for a classic mayo-parmesan crust.
  • Freshwater Feasts for blackened pan-searing.
• Questions for Ross the Whitefish Whisperer? Click here to email him.
• Be sure and let your old buddy Downrigger Dale know what you thought of this week’s episode and let him know what your ideas are for new podcast topics. Just click here to email Rigger.

Support the show

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

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Well, would you do this? Would you take a canoe to the headwaters of Missouri River there in Three Forks Montana, get in it and say I think I will paddle this thing to Saint Louis Missouri? Well, that is what this week’s guest on the Montana Outdoor Podcast is doing! So, here is what happened, the Captain of the Montana Outdoor Radio show is out on Fort Peck Reservoir (big shocker there right) and he comes across a guy in a canoe that has been paddling down the reservoir. His canoe is packed, and the Captain gets curious and strikes up a conversation with this guy whose name is Bryon. Bryon tells the Captain that he started in Three Forks and is on his way to St. Louis. That is like 2,450 miles! That’s gonna take a while! Heck, it took him over 6 days to paddle Fort Peck alone. So, the Captain calls your host Downrigger Dale and says “hey you got to call this guy, here is his cell number”. So, Rigger calls old Bryon and hits “record”. Gang, you have GOT to watch or listen to this podcast! It is fascinating and Bryon, well he is a real character! So why is he doing this? Is he raising money for something? Nope. Is trying to bring awareness to some cause? Nope. Is he trying to break some kind of record? Nope. You need to watch or listen right now cause only Bryon can explain this and make it make sense…sort of. What is Byon’s last name? He didn’t think it was any of Riggers business. We could go on and on here. But it’s just better if you watch or listen for yourself. As Rigger put it; “I don’t know why but I just love this guy! What a character!”. And here is the thing all the fishermen that have come across him from Three Forks to Fort Peck and we are sure where he is now, all say the same thing, AND they all give him water, fish and all kinds of other things and Bryon has yet to ever ask for any of that stuff! Ok, enough just go watch or listen to this podcast you will be glad you did!

Links:

• Sorry, we still don’t even know Bryon’s last name let alone a website link or email!
• If you have any questions or thoughts about this podcast or ideas for future podcasts click here to email your old buddy Downrigger Dale.

Support the show

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.

Send us Fan Mail

This week on the Montana Outdoor Podcast your host Downrigger Dale talks with Wendy Weaver Executive Director of Freshwater Partners about a pilot project that her organization is conducting on the Yellowstone River. This was a fascinating discussion because it deals with a problem that has been growing on our rivers since covid. As Rigger put it “I never thought I would see the day that we would see folks not getting along on one of the most fun and beautiful places in Montana, our rivers, what the heck is going on!? And how did we get here?” When you watch or listen to this podcast you learn that Wendy’s group is finding some very interesting things that are likely causing this, for the lack of a better word, unrest. It centers around several things, a slow chipping away of river etiquette, lack of patience and the need to educate new river goers and remind our river vets that we may just need to get back to the basics. The good news is that organizations like Freshwater Partners, Give Back to the Yellowstone and many others are doing something about it. No not by thinking they know more than others or are better than anyone else or anything like that. They are just folks getting us talking about how we can share our rivers, how we can be good to each other and the resource we love to fish, float, play, hunt and just flat enjoy. But it is going to take volunteers, and all of us just getting back to respecting each other, whether it’s picking up after our dogs, listening to our favorite float tunes using our headphones and yes just giving a smile and a wave now and then. Well, that or we are gonna need to hire a bunch of really good MMA referees, ok that last part was not actually a possible solution just Rigger making a poor attempt at humor. No matter if you rarely go to the river or are out there dang near daily, you are going to want to watch or listen to this podcast for sure and maybe even start a program on your favorite stretch of river in Montana. Whatever you decide this podcast is a good place to start so we can all get back sharing our rivers with each other again!

Links:

• Click here to learn more about Freshwater Partners.
• You can learn more about Give Back to The Yellowstone when you click here.
• Click here to donate and help Freshwater Partners keep up the great work they are doing!
• Would you like to learn about starting a program on your favorite stretch of river? Or do you have any questions for Wendy Weaver? Click here to contact her!
• Click here to contact your buddy Downrigger Dale, he would love to hear from you! Tell him what you thought of this podcast and or give him ideas for new topics.

Support the show

Remember to tune in to The Montana Outdoor Radio Show, live every Saturday from 6:00AM to 8:00AM MT. The show airs on 30 radio stations across the State of Montana. You can get a list of our affiliated radio stations on our website. You can also listen to recordings of past shows, get fishing and and hunting information and much more at that website or on our Facebook page. You can also watch our radio show there as well.