The BackCast Podcast North Branch Outing Club episode 4 2022 season

This week Richard and John are joined by Dave McCool and John Nagel of the North Branch Outing Club.  NBOC has recently changed ownership and we'll get some insight as to what is in store for this historic building.

​

Dave McCool - David is an avid sportsman with over 20 years of experience developing and operating outdoor programs, including private fishing and hunting expeditions.

David got his start in the marketing industry and after a few years, transitioned from the ad world to his real passion – the outdoor world – establishing and operating his own business, McCool Outdoor. David later became Director of Instruction for Orvis Michigan, the company’s tenth corporate fly-fishing school in the nation. At NBOC, David is responsible for overseeing operations, supervising guided tours and managing the fly shop. He is certified as a fly casting instructor by the International Federation of Fly Fishers and is active in land and cold-water resource protection efforts, having serving with the Grand Traverse Conservation District and on Trout Unlimited’s First Cast Program. David is also a distinguished upland guide with over 40 years of experience.

​

John Nagel - John’s love of fly-fishing began at the age of nine when he was gifted his first fly rod and took to chasing panfish and bass while on family fishing trips to Canada. He would quickly graduate to trout in the limestone spring creeks of Pennsylvania and to steelhead in the Great Lakes tributaries. While an exchange student at UNC Asheville, he fished the mountain streams of North Carolina and tailwaters of Tennessee. In the summers, before graduating from Kent State University, John guided in Colorado and Alaska, honing his skills on western trout.

 

While those adventures were great experiences, John’s passion for the pursuit of trout and grouse eventually led him to settle in Northern Michigan with his English setter, Woodrow. John is particularly drawn to the Au Sable for its fabled hatches and legendary night fishing opportunities as well as its rich sporting history. John runs a classic 24-foot cedar Au Sable boat built by Billy Lowes as well as a drift boat.

 

The BackCast Podcast is a production of the Lovells Township Historical Society - home to Michigan’s only trout fishing museum. If you like Michigan rivers, trout fishing with a fly or just like hearing a good story; please join us.  LTHS is a 501c3 non-profit organization - please visit LTHSMuseums.org to help support us!