Jason Tucker and his Fontinalis Rising blog was an absolute must read back in the day. Jason was based out of Michigan and was living the fly fishing lifestyle, writing about his outings and observations often. It was not uncommon for the posts to be interestingly stylistic, frequently mixing in poetry or creative writing.
One of the highlights of Fontinalis Rising were the installments of “Monday Morning Coffee,” which were posts that recapped a bit of Jason’s weekend, current events, or whatever struck his fancy, but always nudged you to take on the week ahead. While I was/am never a fan of Mondays themselves, this serving of “coffee” always tasted good. Must have been all that caffeine.
Now let’s catch up with Jason Tucker…
Jason, what have you been up to over the last ten or so years?
I met my girlfriend Marsha ten years ago. She’s a prosecutor in Georgia, so I moved down there in 2015 and have lived here ever since. I’m still a tradesman and work in the Athens area. Moving to the Deep South was a big adjustment, but I like it here.
I don’t fish as much, but I really enjoy gardening and we raise young horses. We buy them at weaning and sell them when they’re ready to ride at 3-4 years old. We’re raising what they call American sporthorses which are typically thoroughbreds or warmbloods crossed with draft breeds to make them sturdier. Marsha has a great eye for good stock and some of our horses have gone on to be top competitors in various sports. Aside from work, horses take up most of my spare time these days.
Do you miss the fishing blogging community at all? Have you kept in touch with anyone from that bygone era?
I don’t miss blogging per se. As the blog became more successful it became more work and demanded more time and energy. I never figured out how to make a living blogging, and I just couldn’t justify the effort. I shifted my writing efforts to writing how-to articles for Gink and Gasoline, and creative pieces for Southern Culture on the Fly until Dave Grossman sold it. I think some of my most creative work ever ended up on SCOF. Right now I’m working on a private memoir for my daughter who lives in Europe, and still write occasionally for Gink.
As far as keeping in touch, my best friends today were made through blogging. I met Alex Cerveniak (Hatches Magazine, 40 Rivers to Freedom blog), Tom Hazelton (Voyageur Pursuits) and Dave Karczynski through blogging. They all write for The Drake and a variety of other mags. I met Brett Watson of Hooligan Rafts and Chris Reister of Willow Classic Reels through Cameron Mortenson. We’ve all done multiple hunting and fishing trips together and stay in touch daily. I just got back from a combined turkey hunting/fishing trip to Michigan where we all camped together and had a great time.
When I moved South I contacted Louis Cahill of Gink and Gasoline for advice on fishing the South. Not only was he extremely generous with information, he has become a close personal friend, and we do our best to fish together at least once a month, and I got to fish with him for a week in the Bahamas for bonefish a couple years back.
So when it comes to blogging and friendships, blogging really changed my life for the better, and like I said, this group now forms my strongest friendships I’ve ever had. I’m forever grateful for it.
Are you still fishy? Do you still find time to fish? If so, how often, where, and for what?
Living in the South isn’t the same as living in Michigan, where I was immersed in fishing opportunities. Two years ago I fished a total of three times that year which is a low. This year I’ve fished in four states so far, plus a trip for redfish in Savannah, so I’m trying to get back to it. Since moving here I’ve been to Labrador for brook trout, Colorado for trout, and the Bahamas, Roatan, and Xcalak for bonefish, so I’ve gotten to do some exciting trips. I just don’t fish 100 days a year like I used to.
I found most people wrote their blogs as a personal journaling exercise or a creative outlet. What’s your creative outlet today?
Believe it or not, gardening is a huge outlet of some sort. Here in Georgia you can grow something year-round, and right now I’ve eaten something out of my garden every week for the last 18 months. The warmer climate allows me to grow a much larger variety of plants, so I’m enjoying learning how to grow all these things, while fighting off the myriad pests that also live here. I’m still writing, just at a much slower pace. Once I got settled here I got back into bow hunting. Most of the friends I mentioned above have also gotten much more into hunting these days. That has taken up some of the bandwidth formerly spent on blogging.
I’m interviewing you today. Is there anybody from outdoor blogging’s past you think I should track down and interview next?
My old buddy Sanders of the Up the Poudre blog. He was such a great writer and good guy. As far as I know he isn’t writing or doing anything on social media, but last time I sent a DM he answered me back.
Is there anything you’d like to add that I didn’t ask you?
I just want to say I’m grateful to have been part of the blogging golden age. It felt like the Wild West, and it was a lot of fun. I wish I would have done some things different, but It was a tremendous experience, feeling like I was a part of a movement. I’m grateful to all my readers and the many folks who helped me along the way.
Finally, assuming you’d want to be found, where can some of your old blog friends find you today?
I’m @fontrisin on Instagram, or you can DM me on Facebook. I took a month off of social media during the pandemic, which broke that spell for me, but I still keep those accounts and occasionally post. I forgot to pay my hosting fees on Fontinalis Rising a couple years back (that’s how disconnected from my blog I got) and the site went dark. I decided to just let it die quietly. Alex Cerveniak tells me I should start a Substack and write Monday Morning Coffee again, so that is something I’m currently exploring.
Many thanks to Jason Tucker for “Catching Up With…” us today.
Post Script: If you’re wondering why I’m interviewing these random people, or just what “Catching Up With…” is all about, visit this page for a brief backstory.
