Cool Cat: Kyle Wilkinson
Interview by Nidia Torres | Photos by Alex Groom
CWU alum Kyle Wilkinson has the call of the wild written in his heart. His passion for fly fishing, writing and reporting motivates this 2020 digital journalism graduate to live the best of both his worlds, incorporating storytelling into his work as a fly-fishing guide and social media director at the Ellensburg Angler, a fly-fishing outfitter in Central Washington.
Wilkinson’s passion for the outdoors also fuels his interest in hunting, hiking and scouting, and inspired some of his award-winning reporting for PULSE magazine while at Central. Here’s why you should know this Cool Cat.
Favorite childhood memory:
When I was in fourth grade I went to Wide Hollow Elementary in West Valley, and my friend and I got in trouble on the playground for selling flies to each other like, fishing flies as we're both tying flies at that time. We got in trouble for that because we were basically bringing fish hooks on the playground, so that was one of my favorite memories that kind of goes towards my passion for fly fishing.
Tell us more about your hobbies, in specific fly fishing:
Fly fishing, I mean that’s my job. I’ve been doing it four years now, full-time the last year since I graduated and then I was doing it in the summers, in the winters. We either rode in a drift boat down the Yakima River or guiding, walking way trips on that Naches or walk trips at Rocky Fork Spring Creek – those are all places that I grew up fly fishing.
I started when I was like three or four. I had a creek going through my backyard and I fished that like, almost every day in the summertime. My fish weren’t very big, but it definitely instilled a passion for fly fishing for me. Even if I wasn't fishing, I was down there flipping rocks, finding bugs, watching muskrats and otters and beavers; so, growing up in that kind of atmosphere really got me interested in fly fishing in the sport.
I grew up fishing all the rivers around here. I was fishing for like bass and walleye and salmon steel or spinning gear and a little bit with fly fishing gear, but when I went to Yellowstone, I think in like 2012 or 2011, all I brought was a fly rod and my dad and I fly fish all the way from Washington to Montana, Wyoming and then back into Washington.
Ever since then, I've only been really fly fishing since. I could probably count on both hands how many times I've fished with spinning gear just because that got me hooked on fly fishing.
Personal Goals:
I'd like to be able to keep working in the outdoor industry – whether that be as a fly fishing or fishing or hunting guide or creating content – whether that be writing or photography or videography or audio or podcasts. Being able to continue to do that to share my passion with other people and my knowledge.
Career Goals:
Working as a fly-fishing guide. That's what I really like to do or a hunting guide. That's what I'd like to do ultimately. I enjoy writing for like newspapers and magazines and stuff, but I can definitely see myself being more invested, more passionate about my job if I'm still able to work out in the field.
3 Fun Facts:
I think it's really awesome that I've been able to make a career out of what I have a passion for and being able to tailor my degree around that. I've able to use that to take photos from social media, write, edit, photograph and run a podcast… I got married pretty young and a lot of people thought that that was a bad idea. They didn't necessarily agree with that. I think that was the best thing that I could have done personally. I think it was really a good decision to get married young… We got married in the Olympic National Park on the beach. Not many people can say that they got married like literally in a national park on a beach.
Quote to live by:
“Happy wife, happy life.”
Where you can find them hanging out:
If I'm not at home, I'm either fishing on the river or I'm up in the foothills of the cascades. Then I'm either checking trail cameras to get pictures of wildlife or scouting or hunting a variety of game species. So, I'm either doing that or I'm fishing on the river.
