A blog from yesteryear that I really enjoyed was Pile Cast Fly Fishing. The author, Dave Hosler was definitely a nonconformist. Or at least his blog was as counterculture as fly fishing writing got.
While the rest of us were glorifying the almighty trout or the saltwater species of the tropics, Dave focused his writing and photography on midwestern warmwater species, most notably smallmouth bass, (with a little musky mixed in for good measure).
If I recall, the tagline for the Pile Cast blog used to be something resembling “Fly Fishing & Punk Rock”. And as such, he also had one of the best blog swag games of anybody not named Cameron Mortenson.
While Dave’s not writing quite as much as he used to, I’m happy to report that unlike other blogs of the time, Pile Cast Fly Fishing is still up and going. As of this post, there are at least five new entries from 2024, all worth a look.
But before you go and do that, let’s catch up with Dave Hosler…
Dave, what have you been up to over the last ten or so years?
The last decade has been pretty crazy. I’m still out there fishing and doing my thing. I still tie flies. Still take folks fishing. Still addicted to smallmouth.
I spend more time on self improvement and spiritual development than I once did. Professionally, I still work in tech and it still pays most of my bills.
I was also in a cool documentary in the summer of 2020 with the National Wildlife Federation called “Against the Current“ about the Asian carp problem in our waterways.
Do you miss the fishing blogging community at all? Have you kept in touch with anyone from that bygone era?
I kind of do miss those days. That was an interesting time. You had some extremely talented folks who could write and take photos. There was a boom in that and then it petered out as all things do. I think it got flooded pretty hard with folks looking for handouts from any company with fishing in its name instead of making content that told stories. I loved telling stories and making pictures that did so as well.
In regards to the old blogger folks, I still talk to some of them, but it’s super random and not all the time. I was looking at some old posts from about 14 years back and it was interesting to see who is still active and who is a ghost. Life is full of chapters and I do enjoy seeing where it has taken some of these people. I love seeing them post on social media about the things they’re into now and also seeing their kids doing cool things now and watching the pride they have in raising good humans.
Are you still fishy? Do you still find time to fish? If so, how often, where, and for what?
I am. I just came off a few day long camping and fishing trip for smallmouth on a local river with some buddies. I have run a Hog Island skiff with a jet motor the last 8 seasons and I’m in that thing all the time solo and with people. I still mainly fish Indiana for smallmouth and toothy fish since it’s home. I’m not on the water as much as I used to be due to other commitments but I’ll always be a pretty avid fisherman. It’s what I’ve been doing for 40 of my 45 years and I don’t see that changing any time soon.
I found most people wrote their blogs as a personal journaling exercise or a creative outlet. What’s your creative outlet today?
That’s exactly why I started writing online. I was always a photographer and a writer. I tried college for that and have many regrets for not finishing that route. About 15 years back I wanted to get creative again and I bought a nice camera. My wife, who always has great ideas, told me to post stuff online and I loved it because I could scratch that creative itch. I still, to this day, write and post on my site. It’s not as constant, but I also try to live more in the moment and worry less about taking a photo. The crux is, I love taking photos and so I have to fight my natural inclination. I take a lot of fishing photos that are just for me and never see the interwebs.
I’m interviewing you today. Is there anybody from outdoor blogging’s past you think I should track down and interview next?
Man, that’s a tough one. I think Mike Sepelak covered most of them when you talked with him. Maybe Matt Smythe who did Fishing Poet. I always found him to be super talented. I think he’s still writing. Tom Hazelton who did Voyageur Pursuits is still super talented as well and spends a lot of time hunting now.
Is there anything you’d like to add that I didn’t ask you?
Not that I can think of. It’s really cool to see you doing this. I gotta apologize for taking ages to get back to you. I realized I failed to send this over and was like well some things don’t change. I’m still a massive procrastinator for no reason. Or I could say I was out fishing.
Finally, assuming you’d want to be found, where can some of your old blog friends find you today?
I still have Pile Cast and still post to Instagram some times. I’ll probably put some words and photos together when I get a chance about the recent smallie camp but for now the rain has stopped and I need to go outside and wash my boat from all the funk of the last few days.
Many thanks to Dave Hosler 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.