Duane Hada on Growing Trophy Trout, Conservation, and Life as an Artist (CJ's Reel Southern Podcast #9)
Wet Fly Swing Fly Fishing Podcast
Dave Stewart
4.7 • 530 Ratings
🗓️ 16 December 2025
⏱️ 64 minutes
🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS
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Summary
Show Notes:Â https://wetflyswing.com/855B
Duane Hada joins Chad Johnson for a thoughtful conversation on what actually creates trophy trout fisheries—and why stocking alone isn't the answer. Duane breaks down the importance of catch-and-release regulations, managing pressure, and letting fish live long enough to reach their full potential. Drawing from rivers like the White River and the San Juan, he explains how conservation-first thinking shapes not only fish size, but the long-term health of entire fisheries.
Beyond fishing, Duane opens up about his life as an artist and how creativity, patience, and observation carry over from the studio to the river. He talks about seeing fisheries as living "gardens," the influence of Dave Whitlock on both his conservation mindset and artistic outlook, and why mentorship—on the water and off—matters just as much as catching fish. This episode is about legacy, restraint, and approaching both art and angling with intention.
Show Notes: https://wetflyswing.com/855B
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to CJ's Real Southern podcast. |
| 0:05.0 | I'm your host, Chad Johnson, Fly fishing guide, storyteller, and Southern Soul through and through. |
| 0:14.0 | From the front porch to the river banks, this podcast is going to be about connection, friends, and maybe learning a trick or two about trophy fishing. |
| 0:24.8 | So grab a sweet tea, tie on your favorite fly, and let's go fishing. |
| 0:32.5 | Hey, this is Chad Johnson with CJ's Real Southern podcast. |
| 0:37.3 | I'm here today with our guest, Mr. Duane Heda. This is Chad Johnson with CJ's Real Southern podcast. |
| 0:41.4 | I'm here today with our guest, Mr. Dwayne Heda. |
| 0:45.4 | He is an artist, a guide. |
| 0:46.8 | He's been a shop owner. |
| 0:51.6 | I believe he's coached the U.S. fly fishing team. |
| 0:53.6 | I hope I'm getting all this right. |
| 1:00.1 | He's kind of been around the block and he's a, we consider him our small mouth guru around these parts. |
| 1:03.5 | But, Duane, it's nice to have you. |
| 1:04.2 | Oh, hey, Chad. |
| 1:04.8 | This is awesome. |
| 1:05.7 | Thank you for having me. |
| 1:06.4 | Yep. |
| 1:27.8 | So, first off, I mean, I kind of said what you do, but tell us a little bit about kind of how you got in the area. I know, I know you grew up here, but like tell us how, you know, kind of how you got started. How did you end up here? Well, I'm a native of, yeah, I'm a native of Boone in Newton County and Crooked Creek. I mean, my earliest fishing memories were definitely on Crooked Creek. It was a long bike ride. I tell people it was a bike ride and I take them over and |
| 1:32.6 | like, man, you rode a long ways, but back then you did, you know. He had wheels, you'd go. So, |
| 1:37.6 | Crooked Creek and then the Buffalo River definitely were the, my home waters. So I feel very blessed |
| 1:44.0 | to have lived |
| 1:44.9 | not only in Boone County but when I was a teenager we moved over very near the Buffalo |
... |
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