Josh Schwartz
Founder, Travel Creel · Chef · Fly Angler
Meet Josh Schwartz — chef, fly angler, and the force behind Travel Creel. Josh does not separate food from life. For him, they are the same thing. Rivers, firelight, bourbon, dry flies, hot rocks, kitchen spoons, and a table full of people who started the day as anglers and ended it as friends.
Travel Creel is not just a fishing trip. It is a traveling lodge experience built around wild places and unforgettable meals. Equal parts grit and hospitality. Equal parts cast and carve.
Where does food fit into your life when you’re not in a kitchen?
Food is life. My life revolves around my next meal. Same with my family. The hardest part is getting us all to agree on what to eat or where to go eat.
How did fly fishing sneak its way into your world?
I grew up with a spin rod in my hand. In my twenties, a friend invited me to go fly fishing and I really did not know what he was talking about. I showed up with all my spin gear and he told me no way dude.
On that trip to Hat Creek in California, I was introduced to fly fishing. After hours of casting, or trying to cast, I hooked a trout on a dry fly. That was it for me. I was hooked.
Describe the perfect end to a long day on the river.
Bourbon, good friends, a hot meal, and a fire.
When you’re cooking off-grid, how do you decide to keep it simple or go all in?
I always go all in and figure it out as I go. But quality ingredients do not require fussiness.
Which song always seems to find its way onto the speaker when you’re cooking?
Help On The Way > Slipknot > Franklin’s Tower by Grateful Dead
Tell us about a meal that only could’ve happened in the middle of nowhere.
North Idaho, camping on the side of the river. I cooked game hens on hot rocks beside the campfire.
We did not have any silverware or plates. We ate everything but the bones of those birds with our bare hands. It was glorious.
Why does sharing food after a day of fishing matter so much to you?
Sharing a meal after a day of fishing defines me. The camaraderie it builds from the conversations around the table and the mutual respect among anglers enjoying it together, mixed with being part of preparing that meal, is all I need to feel complete.
If a Travel Creel trip had a soundtrack, how would it sound?
Fun vibes mixed with classic songs everyone can relate to. Some new things with plenty of great music you know well but have not heard in forever.
Name the one tool you refuse to leave behind, no matter how tight the pack is.
Kitchen spoons. I can do anything with my spoon.
After guests head home, what feeling do you hope they carry with them?
A genuine sense of camaraderie and friendship. That they return home knowing what they got from the experience is everything they were looking for in a travel fishing trip.
