Northern Traditions Podcast

On this episode Adam was joined by Alberta outfitter and Northwest Territories guide Rye Johnson. Rye and his brothers are accomplished hunters with impressive resumes hunting trophy Dall’s and Bighorn sheep, as well as some of the most impressive mule deer and and mule deer country this world has to offer. This episode highlights the tips and tricks Rye finds helpful within his pursuit of sheep and deer. This episode is a must listen for anyone looking to hunt the north for sheep or the west for giant mule deer.

On this Episode Adam caught up with Ryan Kohatsu. Ryan has hunted Hawaii extensively and has an impressive list of traditional and modern bowhunting experiences. Ryan’s passion for Hawaiian hunting comes through in this episode as his exposes Adam and the listeners to some of the management practices currently being implemented in Hawaii. Ryan discusses in detail each species of game animal, and their availability to hunters. He addresses each islands specific species and hunting opportunities, all of this done with his local knowledge and experience to help future bowhunters land in Hawaii with the best opportunity possible to find success. We at Northern Traditions are happy to have created this relationship with Ryan. We look forward to future recordings with him and gathering for a hunt in the not so distant future.

On this episode Travis talks with Nick Di Francesco of Blackwater Bushcraft. Nick was born and raised in Ontario, Canada. He got a kick start into the outdoors by working for the world renowned guiding company Red Lake Outfitters. Nick credits many of his skill and comfort in the woods to his time working as a guide in northern Ontario. Since his time there, he has been ever expanding his skills in the back country. He enjoys the woods through canoe trips and trips where he brings just minimal gear. His attitude is on point and is a humble man for how much he truly does know. We hope that you can hear the love of the woods this guy has when he talks, and that you can implement that same attitude in your own forests. Nick is a true ambassador for the woods and we truly appreciate him for coming on the show.

For this episode Travis is joined by Kevin Kossowan, Albertan native and founder of From the Wild. The two talk mostly on Kevin’s online show, From The Wild. In this series Kevin has traveled across Canada, hunting and foraging to create amazing culinary dishes. He takes out renowned chefs on extended day hunting trips, that truly produce some amazing table fare. Their crew puts together amazing meals from the local ecosystem based on solid woodsmanship. Cooking, foraging, ecology, adventure, camps, hunting and grouse are all topics of this episode. Kevin is a wealth of knowledge in regards to Wild food and the dude can put up some amazing camps. We hope you enjoy this episode and that it may give inspiration to your own dinner plate.

On this episode Adam is joined by Dan Jackson, they spend the first half discussing Dan’s journey as a bowhunter, and his progression to traditional archery. The also discuss his pursuit of Bighorn Sheep and backpack hunting in foothills and Rocky Mountains of Alberta. In the second half Dan shares his experience this past fall hunting Bighorn Sheep in the historical significant Canmore archery zone. A high pressure low percentage hunt he took on carrying a recurve not to dissimilar to the one carried by histories greats like Fred Bear when he hunted the same mountains. Dan’s passion for achieving his personal goals is inspiring and we at NTP hope you all enjoy this conversation as much as we did

On this Episode Adam was joined by Jason Cox, of Colorado. Jason is an avid wildlife photographer and Traditional bowhunter. Jason shares his experience hunting buffalo, elk, and a recent trip to Africa. They also covered some of his photography and some of the interesting species he is able to photograph seeming out of his back door. Jason did an amazing job painting the picture of each hunt through his story telling style. Oh and it didn’t take long for the heroes of archery’s past to come up.

Dylan is a knife maker located in southern Colorado. He started early in his twenties with a humble forge pursuing the craft of knife making. He now produces beautiful functional art pieces inspired mostly by Scandinavian knife designs. In this episode Travis talks with Dylan about his work, and all thing knives. The two go through Dylans story, knife making, knife functions, types of knives and a few stories thrown in. We hope you can hear this mans passion for his craft, and how he has dedicated his life to the mastery of it from a young age. This was one of Travis's first recordings so the audio may be a little rough but the content stands. Big thanks to Dylan for coming on the show, check out his work at: @wantaforge on Instagram.

On this Episode Adam catches up with Wacey Arthur. Wacey reached out to Adam  few years ago and dove head first into Traditional Archery. Where lots of people test the waters before they go all in, Wacey dove in and tried many different bows and had some amazing success right off the bat. He has been fortunate enough to take a couple moose, a handful of deer and some giant black bears all in the span of a few seasons. Wacey is a devoted husband and father and regardless of his limited time in the woods, has done an amazing job sticking to his guns and using his time to become an amazing archery and very effective Traditional Bowhunter. We can’t speak more highly of Wacey and his abilities as a Bowhunter and archery, and look forward to sharing him with all of our listeners. Post Script: we look forward to having Wacey back on to discuss his longstanding passion for fur trapping, on a future episode.

On this episode Adam was joined by Ben Salleras, to reflect on some past hunting stories and discuss the vast hunting opportunities available throughout Australian and New Zealand. Ben grew up in a bowhunting family and took to the field as a very young man. A quick look through Ben’s Instagram page tells the story of a devoted and accomplished bowhunter. We hope this podcast ignites in our listeners a desire to travel south and enjoy Australian and Zealand bountiful opportunities.

For our ninth episode Travis Speaks with Ryan Gill a student of the historic arts and successful primitive hunter. They get into the methods and tactics of hunting with primitive tech. Ranging from stone points, to bows, atlatl and other crafted items. Ryan gives insight into the limitations in both weaponry and hunting areas using primitive tools. They also go into the ethics and mindset behind using such items to harvest game. Hunting stories are also shared throughout the episode. Hope you enjoy.   You can find Ryan's content on: instagram: huntprimitive youtube: huntprimitive website: https://gillsprimitivearchery.com/

On this episode Adam and Travis talk about this seasons sheep encounters. Travis goes into his scouting and time on the mountain getting into Bighorn sheep. The two of them go over Travis's plans for the coming season to get in close on a Albertan bighorn during a two week hunt. Adam goes through his multiple Yukon Dall Sheep hunts he has done this year already. He shares his experiences and adventure as well as his success chasing these majestic animals. Very special episode with many years and even more miles leading up these stories.

On this episode Adam is joined by Wayne Nicol, owner of True Shaft Archery. Adam and Wayne accidentally crossed paths, after a common friend put Adam on the trail of a long since forgotten compressed cedar arrow shaft. Wayne shares some stories of his life in Africa, and Haida Gwaii  where he now calls home. Wayne also dives deep into his archery business True Shaft archery, and his new plan to bring Forgewood shafts back to life.

In this episode Travis sits down with edible plant expert Julie Walker. Julie is an IGA certified, professional hiking guide and nature educator. She has interpreted nature to elders, kids and adults in Southern Alberta for more than 25 years. Julie has explored the plants of the Prairie, Foothills, Montane, Sub-Alpine and Alpine eco-regions. Sharing her knowledge about this flora, especially the edible plants, has become her passion. Julie loves teaching," everything you need to know", about using wild edible plants; identification, growing locations, wildlife plants, sustainable harvesting and how to plant wild edibles in your own garden. Her goal is to help you discover the wisdom of native plants and become a plant ally.

Adam and Travis share this episode together discussing bow setup's and shoot styles. Each dive into arrow setup, gear used, bows, broadheads and some shooting theory. To wrap up the episode the two go through there spring bear hunts in both Alberta and the Yukon.

On this episode Adam talks with Abe Penner Owner and Bowyer at Cari-bow Custom Recurves Bows and Custom Longbows. They touch on Abe’s earlier years as both a bowhunter and new Bowyer. They also discuss Abe’s current line of recurves and longbows. Abe is an amazing wealth of traditional knowledge, we hope you enjoy his story, and look forward to recording with him again.

On this episode of the Northern Traditions Podcast, Travis talks with primitive skills instructor Donny Dust. Donny has been practicing and pursuing the skills of our ancestors for many years and is an expert on the subject. They talk about flint knapping, making primitive tools, hunting mindsets,  and how primitive skills can be implemented in the modern hunting context. Donny is a wealth of information which shows through in the stories he shares about his walk-abouts in southern Colorado. Adam and Travis hope you enjoy this episode and that you can take away some new ideas to implement in your own outdoor adventures.

On episode two of The Northern Traditions podcast Adam was joined by longtime friend and mentor Bert Frelink from southern Alberta, Canada. Bert has been a Bowyer for several decades, and builds stunning selfbows, custom wood arrows, and laminated longbows and recurves through his company Quartermoon Longbows. On this episode Bert walked Adam through the process of building a selfbow, from wood and material selection, to tools required, all the way through to proper selfbow care, as well as a few stories along the way. Travis and Adam hope you all enjoy this podcast, and look forward to any feed back.

Welcome to the Northern Traditions Podcast. Adam and Travis thank you for tuning into our podcast as we just start up. In this episode we discuss our reasons for starting a podcast, get into a little background about ourselves. You know, its an intro episode. We are very excited to start releasing episodes, for we have been working on a few for some time. To get a hold of us feel free to email at: northerntraditionspodcast@gmail.com   We appreciate any insights you may have on this and episodes to come. If you have audio experience, tips would be appreciated to enhance our quality.