The Best Fly Fishing is Everywhere Playlist, Vol. 1

I’m one of those people who likes to have music on at all times. I pick a song or a concert or a playlist when I wake up and do the same for when I sit down to work or write (different playlists), when I ride my bike, when I’m washing dishes, when I’m flying, and, of course, when I’m driving to the water to go fishing.

So here’s a baker’s dozen of fun, fishing-, river-, or water-related tracks for your next angling road trip.

If you’re into Spotify, here’s a link to these songs assembled as a playlist on there and here’s the playlist on YouTube. Enjoy!

“Catch & Release” by Billy Strings

It’s impossible to avoid at least a smile with this one. I know Mr. Strings is a bass angler because I see him on the water on his Instagram. Unfortunately, this song isn’t on Spotify, so it’s not on the playlist - sorry! Some wise words in this song’s lyrics include:

Only break one law at a time.

“Rather Go Fishin’” by Strangefolk

I was introduced to this band when I worked at Maine Sport in high school with my buddy Lucas. A couple of their songs were on the soundtrack of a rock climbing video that was often on repeat. Eventually I found those songs and the albums they were on.

In this condition, think I'd rather go fishin'
I lack ambition, think I'd rather go fishin'

“Bend in the Water” by Kacy & Clayton

It was a short fishing video that turned me onto cousins Kacy & Clayton and I later saw them at the Tractor Tavern in Seattle. To me, her voice flows like the quiet stretches of river and his guitar plays the rapids.

Come on Pearl, come on Kitty, if you feel inclined
Down around the bend in the water, bring your fishin' line
Come on Pearl, I'm rough and ready, got my fishin' pole
Down around the bend in the water to the fishin' hole

“A Year and A Day” by Beastie Boys

I’d love to know how many times I’ve listened to this song, which is one short track from their “B-Boy Bouillabaisse”. The Beastie Boys have been the coolest to me since I was introduced to them by my two-year-older neighbor who I looked up to like a brother. I’m currently re-listening to their Beastie Boys Book audiobook and I highly recommend. Of note from this track:

I'm fishin' in my boat, and I'm fishing for trout
Mix the Bass Ale with the Guinness Stout

“Five Pound Bass” by Robert Earl Keen

This song probably needs no introduction so I’ll just paint a picture of one time that I saw him play it live. A few of us went down to New York City from Portland, Maine to see REK play and at some point in his set, they played this one. They dragged out the ending - I see a ripple… I hear a splash… Lord have mercy… it’s a five… pound… … … bassssssss! - for so long that all of us forgot where we were in the song.

“Canyoneers” by Jake Xerxes Fussell

This is probably more of a river rat/river running song but I love it all the same. It’s eerie, quiet, haunting, sad, and more. It also makes me want to t-up for a giant wave train.

Come listen and I'll tell a tale of hearty canyoneers
That breed of men, the river rats who live without the fears
Of common ordinary men whose worries sure are small
Compared to those who flirt with death within that high gray wall
What's in a man to make him thirst for the kind of life he knows is cursed
He'll die a lowly river rat, fool-hardy canyoneer

“Rivers and Roads” by The Head and The Heart

This song - and this album - reminds me of when I moved to Seattle. The whole album is filled with 10/10 tracks and while I’m not sure I could pick a favorite, this one always hits home because, for a while there, it seemed that all I was looking at was rivers and roads. The particular live version above gives me the chills, every time.

“Cool Water” by ‘Uncle’ Marty Robbins

When I was a boy, I had a cap gun and I’d pretend I was a gunslinger, striking the exact pose that Marty does on this album cover. My Dad and I listened to this album so many times coming home from fishing trips in northern Maine that I could sing the whole thing.

“Fraulein O.” by James McMurtry

James McMurtry is another Texas country-rock musician that I’ve seen across multiple states and multiple decades. Hot guitar and thoughtful lyrics make it impossible not to enjoy one of his shows, even though he absolutely never smiles.

Gonna rest my soul
By this fishin' hole
Gonna watch that pole
'Til my float goes under

“Down to the Waterline” by Dire Straits

This is a track that I could put on in the middle of the night on a road trip and gain a shot of energy. Every guitar solo demands a little more volume, and maybe the windows come down halfway through.

She can see him on the jetty where they used to go
She can feel him in the places where the sailors go
When she's walking by the river and the railway line
She can still hear him whisper
Let's go down to the waterline

I was in Scotland, Atlantic salmon fishing, right after this song came out and we were going crazy because four of us had been blanked for the entire trip. Among a variety of angling considerations bouncing around in my head were the lyrics from this song, which I decided at the time were about fishing for Atlantic salmon:

It all works out in the end
Wherever you go, that's where I am
Boulders turn into sand
Wherever you go, that's where I am

“The Music Never Stopped” by Grateful Dead

Is it even a playlist if there isn’t a Dead song on it?!

There's mosquitoes on the river
Fish are rising up like birds
It's been hot for seven weeks now
Too hot to even speak now
Did you hear what I just heard?

“Nothing But The Water (Part II)” by Grace Potter & the Nocturnals

Unfortunately, I only got to see Grace & the Nocturnals once but it was at the Austin City Limits Festival. We were incredibly late, so late that by the time we got to the festival, Grace & co. were on their last song. But they jammed it out for over ten minutes, ending with Grace’s signature scream and we were all shook.

I have tried to find my way
To make it through to a better day
I have cried a mighty song
But in the morning everything was gone
So come on water, sweet water, wash me down