Bumpkin Angling Podcast

Just in time for the 2026 Minnesota Fishing Opener, the Bumpkins are spotlighting the walleye!  BWD and KFT dive deep into the evolution and cultural importance of the Minnesota state fish.   Tie on a jig, grab the minnow bucket, and let's talk walleye!  

BWD and KFT are heartbroken by the April 16 senate vote to overturn protections for the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Watershed, but the fight is not over!  Tune in to hear how it all went down and what we can do next.  

BWD and KFT talk books!  They each pick a handful of their favorite books about fish and fishing and talk about why they are favorites.  There's a few classics and a couple surprises.  Check it out and get some culture in your life! 

Author David R. Francis reads his essay "Wake Me Up When the Whale Starts Killing Everybody", a humorous critique of Herman Melville's classic Moby Dick.  

BWD and KFT dig down deep on what they believe and why they are making a podcast about fishing and life.  They discuss toxic masculinity in the outdoor space and end the show with a poetic set of instructions to live by.  They also talk a little bit about Carlton Fisk and the 1975 World Series.  Something for everyone!  

Trying something new!  It's an audio fishing show! BWD and KFT are having a fish off on Chequamegon Bay and they get into some football smallies.  It's an exciting day on the water with a cray ending.  Check it out!  

Shane helps Dave take a mundane fishing anecdote and craft it into a big fish story worth remembering.  Tune in to see how you too can craft a fish tale that is exciting and memorable and TRUE... more or less.  

Big Wave Dave talks with the man, the myth, the legend... Joby Furo about ancient fishing artifacts and what they tell us about the story of fishing in the northland.  

We love ice fishing, but we want to make sure we do it safely.  BWD and KFT talk about what gear and knowledge you'll need before you head out on the ice.  Grab your poles and drill some holes... let's talk safety!  

BWD invites you to the launch of Old Mose on March 20 at Zenith Bookstore in West Duluth, and then KFT tells a story about some experiences he had with seafood in Japan during his travels as a young man.  When if comes to calamari, the fresher, the better, right?  Right? 

BWD and the KFT tackle a couple of mouth-watering questions: What's your favorite way to cook or eat fish? What traditional methods of preparing fish are you familiar with? Some of the answers are surprising! Some aren't as appetizing as the theme would imply... So, get out the tartar sauce and malt vinegar and let's talk fish cookery!  

"In no geological epoch has any body of water, fresh or saline, ever seen the likes of such a fish."  KFT and BWD read aloud from their book "Old Mose".  It's a big fish story with some myth, some history and quite a bit of mystery.  Come along as a young Shane and his Uncle Frank try to finally get a look at what's lurking in Meteor Lake!  

A fish is a fish is a fish... or is it?  BWD and KFT try to figure out why we consider some fish desirable and some fish disposable.  What is a rough fish?  What is a game fish?  Are there trash fish?  Tune in and decide for yourself!  

BWD and KFT speak out about the presence of ICE in the Twin Cities.  

BONUS! Big Wave Dave regales listeners with a news story about a rare fish siting.  

Big Wave Dave and The Kentucky Freight Train sit down to talk about the current, very real, threat to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.  They cover the history of the BWCAW, what's happening right now to put that wilderness in danger and what you can do to help protect it.  Water is life.  

Big Wave Dave and Shane the Kentucky Freight Train talk about the tech designed to help anglers catch more fish.  What's old, what's new, and how did we get here?  They tackle gorge hooks, forward-facing sonar and a very large European catfish.  

Introducing Bumpkin Angling, a project of Boulder Lake Fishing Club and Two Harbors Community Radio!  Join Dave and Shane as they dive into the surprisingly complex world of angling.  On this episode, they discuss what we choose to put at the end of a fishing line, whether it is alive or something created in a lab, and the ramifications of either.  The discussion gets deep (pun intended), but there's also time for some games, some laughs and a very old lake trout.