Miles Nolte
Miles Nolte was a terrible carpenter, a subpar housepainter, a decent bartender, and a reasonable server before he started hanging around fly shops, telling stories, taking people fishing and calling that a job. He guided in Alaska and Montana for 15 years, wrote the book The Alaska Chronicles, was the Angling Editor at Gray’s Sporting Journal, taught writing at Montana State University, directed the fishing department at MeatEater, and published in every fishing mag you can think of. If you hate any of the media Skwala puts out, it probably came from Miles.
Things About Miles
Why Skwala? "The ethos of the company and the people. I’m a bad liar and a mark at a poker table. I would be terrible at promoting anything that I didn’t genuinely use and feel good about. Skwala makes exceptional fly fishing gear and employs exceptional people."
Guilty pleasure fly: “Dirt snake of any kind.
I love worms. Squirmy worms, wire worms, sparkle worms, classic chenille worms. I love em’ all.”
What aspect of your fishing needs work?: “Making one excellent cast instead of three good ones. The first cast is the most important, and I’d like to be better at executing initially instead of working it out with a couple casts.”
Worst fishing snack: “Anything that smooshes in a pack or gets sticky.”
Most overrated fish: “I might get hate for this, but permit. Yes, they are amazing and incredibly challenging, but I don’tthink they’re worthy of the pedestal we put them on. Walleye are a close second but not so much with fly anglers.”
More Things About Miles
Most underrated fish “Mountain whitefish. They’ve saved my butt as a guide more times than I can count. Also, while whitefish have a reputation as weak fighters, hook into a big one on the Upper Madison, Missouri, or Henry’s Fork and then tell me how they fight.”
Favorite knot and why:"Blood knot. Elegant, symmetrical, clean—a well-executed blood knot is a thing of beauty."
If you could fish with one person, living or dead, it would be… "John Lurie. Google Fishing with John and thank me later."
What's the best part about fly fishing? "The quiet respite for a chattering mind. Fly fishing is one of the only things I’ve found that’s so fully immersive both physically and intellectually that it completely occupies and focuses me."
