Global Rescue- MOTIV Fishing from Global Rescue on Vimeo.

 

No one films epic fishing adventures quite like MOTIV Fishing. MOTIV, an independent media production company, develops progressive fly fishing films and adventure travel series broadcasts for outdoor television.  For the Costa Geofish series, the “trout bums” travel the world in search of fishing adventure, living a lifestyle of which many people can only dream.  We recently caught up with teammate and Global Rescue member Thad Robison for a peek into the passion that fuels these angling addicts.

When you’re out on the road, what is the one item you never go without (besides your Global Rescue card, of course)?

Besides all the necessary fishing gear, rods, reels, flies, Costa sunglasses, and so on, the one item I’m always looking to be sure is stowed with our gear is our Global Satellite Phone. In my opinion, it’s the single most important piece of “safety” equipment we carry on our expeditions. We travel so far off the grid away from civilization that if, God forbid, we ever do have a serious medical emergency, it is our lifeline to contact Global Rescue when we are in the middle of nowhere.

On your adventures, is there a time you’ve come close to using your Global Rescue membership?

So far we have been fortunate and haven’t had a major medical emergency, knock on wood. Jay Johnson (fellow “trout bum”) contracted leishmaniasis, a flesh eating parasite, in Belize but it wasn’t until after we returned home that he found out.  There have been a couple of instances where I thought we may need to make the Global Rescue call. Most recently, we were in Ecuador on a remote expedition in the upper Amazon.  Chris Owens (fellow “trout bum”) injured his lower back. He’ll say it’s from hacking through the jungle with a machete to get our boat up the river, but I personally think it became injured when he leapt 12 feet down the boat trying to get away from a tarantula that dropped out of the trees into his lap. Regardless, by the time we reached our camp his lower spine had seized up and he couldn’t even crawl out of the boat. I thought for sure we’d need to get him airlifted from the jungle.  Not as exciting as a blow dart to the throat from a native tribe, but it was still a concern to say the least. Were it not for the fact that we were watching huge arapima break the surface 100 yards away from camp, I think Chris may have said it’s time to make the call to Global Rescue.

What are the best pieces of advice that you can share with other adventurers?

Try to immerse yourself in the local culture as best you can. Eat their food, drink their local brews, buy items from the local vendors, and visit the local sites, not just the ones in the tourist guides.  Your trip will be more rewarding memorable and fulfilling by interacting and getting to know the local people. You may also find yourself getting taken to some of the “secret” locations that they wouldn’t share with an uptight tourist. One of my best memories was from one of my worst experiences of drinking way too much yak milk vodka with the locals one cold night in Mongolia. Finally, always remember you are a guest in their country.

What inspired you to convert your truck to run on vegetable oil?

Our driving route from Portland, Oregon, to Ushuaia, Argentina, will be close to 20,000 miles. It only made sense that we try to reduce our carbon footprint on the expedition. It has been tough, though. Biofuel companies have really put the lockdown on recycled oil in the States, and a lot of restaurants in Central and South America never rotate their oil, so it really takes some time and research to find it out on the road. It has literally become an obsession now at this point to try and find the golden sticky fuel that keeps the beast driving down the road!

If you could fish in one last place, where would you choose?

Hands down for me it would be Panama. You have the Pacific and the Atlantic (Caribbean Sea) on both sides of you within a 90 mile coast-to-coast stretch! Nowhere else in the world do you have that kind of diversity so close to you. Every single saltwater species is at your fingertips in that country and it doesn’t get near the fishing pressure as other Central American countries.

If you could choose one person to go fishing with, who would it be?

My son. He is 16 now and he’s a laser beam with a fly line. Nothing beats fishing with your boy.