A different podcast

Most fly fishing podcasts are cut from the same template: a host is connected to one or more guests via a phone, Zoom, Skype or whatnot, and questions are posed and answered or a conversation takes place between the participants.
This isn’t a bad way of doing podcasts. Heck, I’ve been in several myself, and often listen to the interview style shows that are out there. They are after all a majority of what’s available if you want some fly fishing related audio entertainment while driving, commuting or just relaxing on the couch.

But there are other ways of doing things.

I have tried myself. I simply hooked up a lapel microphone and talked people through my fishing trips. That was different, and not something that I have seen repeated anywhere (correct me if I’m wrong).

Different indeed, and in a very good way.

Ahrex podcast

Global FlyFisher

What Danish company Ahrex has done in cooperation with the Danish angler, journalist and photographer Søren Skarby is also different from most other fly fishing podcasts. Søren has written what I will call short stories, more like fictional writing, but with the outset in Søren’s own experiences, and Ahrex has hired a professional actor to read them and recorded the reading.
This is much more alike usual audio books, of which there are hundreds of thousands out there, but quite uncommon in the realm of fly fishing podcasts.
With titles such as “Two to Tango”, “The Scent of a Lady”, “The Platoon of Misery” and “Too Young to Drown ... and Drink”, you may get an indication of the style and content.

Different indeed, and in a very good way.

These are stories with outset in fly fishing, but almost free from the nerdy content usually found in fly fishing podcasts, and much closer to “literature” if you’ll forgive me. No offense meant towards all the other podcasts.
The reader, British Patrick Johnson, does a great job and reads with a soothing voice, lending a very good ambiance to the stories. Søren’s writing isn’t Nobel Price worthy, but certainly both well formed and entertaining. The stories tend to focus on friendships and relations – and fishing of course. You will be taken on fishing trips, and experience fishing and catches, but also go on road trips and visit Finnish bars.
The stories have a great advantage – which is also kind of a disadvantage: they are short ... as short stories are. The shortest is just 6 minutes, and the longest no more than a quarter of an hour. Perfect for a break or to listen to before sleep, but of course also so short that even though you listen to all of them, they are quickly over, which is a pity.
There are 11 episodes right now, and they amount to a couple of hours of really good fly fishing related entertainment, but once they are over, you will probably want more, and listening to what other podcasts your player might offer will not give quite the same soothing satisfaction – apart from my own podcasts, of course!
We can only hope that Søren and Ahrex will do more in the same vein, because I’m sure that I’m not the only listener, who’s waiting for new stories centered around fly fishing.

PS: They just did. As this post is published, a new set of podcasts has just been released, among them "Just one more snack", "Holy mackerel" and "Murphy took a day off", all well worth a listen.