Rock star and singer Chuck Ragan may be known to fans for his work with the band Hot Water Music. But when he's not touring, he's fishing. Ragan is a very avid fly fisherman and also owns a river guiding business in California.
Speaking with Outside Online, Ragan explains how he keeps both the rock star lifestyle and fly fishing passion alive. The rock star admitted that it can be hard to make times to fish. But he tries to make time to hit the waterways even while touring.
He said, "These days I tour with two entities: Hot Water Music and my own solo stuff. Touring with Hot Water Music makes it tougher to fish, because I have less control over the agenda, so I just try to get out whenever I can. It's rare, and it takes a lot of effort. Recently we were playing a show in Denver, had a night off, and then had another show in Phoenix. I was able to get out with my buddy Jim to a lake outside of Denver the night after the show while the rest of the band traveled to Phoenix. We fished for white bass. Then I had to jump on a flight that night."
Sometimes, he even books gigs based on where he wants to fish. He said, "When I'm touring on my own, I sometimes set up my traveled based around fishing—the time of year, the species that's running, stuff like that. My agent may suggest I play in Detroit in January. Well, I love to fish there in March, so that's when I'll go."
Rock Star Loves Fishing
Being out on the river has even helped his music. The rock star says he's often struck with inspiration while on the water. That includes a lot of the songs that his fans know him ofr.
He said, "I'm always working on melodies and phrases and recording them to my phone when I'm on river trips. In the old days I'd walk around with a cassette recorder and more or less do the same thing. When I'm guiding there's a lot of down time—commuting, standing in the water—and this is when my brain starts working on my music."
The rock star continued, "A lot of times I end up singing into my phone, or reciting some phrase that comes to mind. Then I go back and sift through the stuff, and every once and a while something good comes out of it. I'll listen back to my voice memos and I can hear me howling lyrics while the river is raging behind me, and I remember that at that moment something came into my mind that made the hair stand up on my neck. I knew at that moment it was important and I that I should document it. It's been this way for a while. A lot of those classic Hot Water Music songs were either started. Or finished out in the woods or at the lake. A lot of my songs have been written this way."
