RAREWATERS INTERVIEW

AN INTERVIEW

WITH BRENDEN STUCKY AND RJ HOSKING OF

by HCA Staff

High Country Angler recently had the chance to interview Brenden Stucky, Founder & CFO, and RJ Hosking, CEO, of an emerging new player in the fly fishing industry, RareWaters, to learn about how they are working to advance angling and conservation.

HCA: We’ve heard the concept behind RareWaters described as an “AirBnb for anglers. Can you talk a little more about your business and what you offer to your clients?

Our mission is to "Spread the power of the outdoors and inspiration to conserve it." We get out of bed every morning to share fly fishing with more people. As a fellow angler, we’re sure you can appreciate that fly fishing is a powerful and therapeutic sport, hobby, or whatever you'd like to label it. We believe a day on the water can dramatically change people (positively), so ensuring our rivers are around for future generations to enjoy is extremely important to us.

With all of this in mind, we work every day to open up more water to more people. RareWaters was born with the goal of democratizing private fly fishing access for all anglers. By leveraging modern technology and unlocking premium private property access, our goal is to provide all anglers fly fishing experiences of a lifetime.

We also wholeheartedly believe that we're making public access better. As more folks use our platform,

public watersheds should theoretically become less crowded. All of this is great for the trout habitat and overall angling experience.

HCA: For an angler whose fishing experiences may have only been on public water, what would you tell them they could expect in fishing on private water?

This is a loaded question, and a politically sensitive one. We were recently mentioned in a New York Times article on this topic. There's plenty of great public water out there. We fly fish public water just as much as the next angler! However, we've noticed a huge drop in the quality of the fly fishing experience at public fly fishing locations. To us, fly fishing is about more than catching fish. It's a timeless tradition providing anglers with a sense of adventure, solitude, and a deep connection with the outdoors. Catching fish is just icing on the cake.

When's the last time you were able to enjoy over a mile of the South Platte River near Deckers, to yourself? Shoot, when's the last time you were able to enjoy a few hundred yards of the river in Deckers, to yourself? You can't find a parking spot in Deckers or Cheeseman Canyon at 7am on a weekday! And you may be waiting hours to get your boat in the water at places like Pumphouse and State Bridge. It's out of control. It's not much better in Wyoming or Montana, either.

The overcrowding ruins the fly fishing experience for us, and we believe there's a big difference between privately-managed water and publicly-managed water. Many of our landowners invest hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars into their watersheds. It's kind of like Jack Nicklaus designing a stretch of water instead of a golf course. You won't see more than 1-2 other anglers on a full mile of water when booking with RareWaters.

We also offer customized river reports for your trip, and the fishing on each property is spectacular! For the price of a greens fee or ski lift ticket, you can enjoy your own private stretch of river. Our goal is for you to spend more time on the water. Let us take care of the rest.

HCA: What does RareWaters offer to the private landowners who work with you in managing fishing on their waters?

We teach and educate our landowner partners on how to utilize and manage their water and bookings without overpressuring fish. Although we want to share premium fly fishing experiences with everyone, we're very mindful about keeping our trout friends happy and healthy. Too many anglers result in unhappy and unhealthy fish. With this in mind, we don't allow more than 20-25 rods per week on a mile of water.

HCA: How have you incorporated conservation into your business model – both with the landowners with whom you work, and with your members looking to book a fishing trip?

As mentioned previously, our mission is to, "Spread the power of the outdoors and inspiration to conserve it." Conservation is central to our business model and one of our organizational values.

In addition to educating landowners on fishery management best practices, we donate in cash and in kind to conservation organizations like Trout Unlimited and other fly fishing non-profits like Casting for Recovery, Project Healing Waters, and Fishing the

Good Fight. We're really proud of these partnerships and trust these organizations to put donated resources to great causes.

HCA: How do you see conservation on private lands like those where you operate advancing the overall health of rivers, fisheries and watersheds?

Great question. Organizations like Western Landowners Alliance and The Property and Environment Research Center have dozens of examples and studies detailing the powerful impact of privately managed land conservation. It's really interesting stuff and we'd encourage your readers to check them out.

There have been several examples over the years of private landowners and donors leading the charge to conserve, protect, and restore large portions of land, including rivers. Consider the Railroad Ranch in Harriman State Park, Idaho, for example. The railroad baron helped shape modern day conservation as a result of his foresight and vision.

Similarly, many landowners today are passionate and dedicated conservation stewards, and have the financial resources to advance conservation efforts. Conservation isn't cheap, and as mentioned previously, many of our landowner partners invest hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars into the restoration and management of their watersheds. There are significant upstream and downstream benefits to these privately managed conservation projects.

HCA: What does the future hold for RareWaters? What is your vision for where you hope to be over the next 5 to 10 years?

We just hired several new team members with decades of experience in the fly fish industry, and are beyond excited about the passion and capabilities they bring to achieving RareWaters' mission.

We're on track to have 500 properties on our website by 2025. Again, our goal is to open up more water for more people and any angler can book these properties for fishing, camping, and lodging. The next few years are going to be a lot of fun. Stay tuned!

To Learn More.

To learn more, visit rarewaters.com.