Episode S8 · Ep 80 October 29, 2026 1 hr 16 min

S8, Ep 80: A Season in Patagonia: Steve Ramirez on Writing, Radical Empathy and Hope in Action

From The Articulate Fly The Articulate Fly

Episode Overview

On this episode of The Articulate Fly, author Steve Ramirez returns to talk about why he writes and to introduce his fifth book, A Season in Patagonia: An Angler and Naturalist's Journey to a New World. Recorded on October 6th, the day the Kindle edition dropped, this fly fishing podcast conversation explores seeing, doing and the real cost of living with purpose.

Marvin Cash frames the discussion around two practices: the practice of seeing and the practice of doing. Steve, a former U.S. Marine and Texas master peace officer who spent 35 years in criminal justice, counterterrorism and undercover work, a former college professor and the author of Fly Fisherman's The Seasonable Angler column, breaks seeing into noticing, radical empathy, learning and change. He explains why hope is an action verb, why he shares rather than complains and why he sold his firearms and pared down his possessions to fund the travel behind his books.

The pair also cover community, technology as a tool, treating land as something we borrow and steward rather than own and how Steve sustains the emotional energy this work demands. For anglers, Steve makes the case for being a complete angler who reads the whole ecosystem, from Texas Hill Country white bass that run when the bluebonnets bloom to golden dorado in northern Argentina.

The book retraces the conquistadors' path from the cliffs of Portugal through Mexico, the Sea of Cortez, the Yucatán, the Amazon and the Peruvian cloud forest to the southern tip of Patagonia, including a grueling canyon trek above Jurassic Lake. The hardcover releases November 3rd, with signed copies available through Bob White Studio.

Key Takeaways

How to practice deeper seeing on the water by noticing, perceiving with radical empathy and letting what you learn change how you fish and live.
Why reading natural cues, such as the Texas Hill Country bluebonnet bloom signaling the white bass run, makes you a more complete angler than checking a chart.
How small, concrete actions like planting natives and leaving leaf litter around trees for fireflies turn conservation concern into personal agency.
Why responding instead of reacting (slow is smooth, smooth is fast) protects your energy and judgment in a reactive, online world.
Why traveling as a traveler rather than a tourist, including taking deliberate non-fishing days, deepens destination trips from the Amazon to Patagonia.
Why self-care and finding your tribe are essential to sustaining purpose-driven work over the long haul.

Locations & Species

A Season in Patagonia follows a route from the cliffs of Portugal through Mexico, the Sea of Cortez and the Yucatán, across the Central American rainforest, through the Brazilian Amazon's Xingu watershed with Kayapó guides and the Peruvian cloud forest, into northern Argentina for golden dorado and on to the southern tip of Patagonia. Steve highlights springtime in southern Patagonia at Jurassic Lake, where a canyon trek up the river feeding the lake passed through wildflowers, guanacos and puma country. Closer to home, he points to the Texas Hill Country, where the spring bluebonnet bloom coincides with the white bass run. He also cites the vanished glaciers he walked beneath in the Peruvian Andes as context for why the book pairs fishing with conservation.

FAQ / Key Questions Answered

What is A Season in Patagonia by Steve Ramirez about?

It is Steve's fifth book, an angling and natural history journey that starts at a cliffside place in Portugal known as the End of the World and follows the conquistadors' path through Mexico, Central America and South America to the southern tip of Patagonia, which has its own End of the World. Along the way he fishes, travels with Indigenous guides and examines how the ways people treat each other and the land have shaped outcomes. He calls it the hardest book he has written, because he had to find hope himself before he could leave readers hopeful and ready to act. The hardcover is officially released November 3rd, with the Kindle edition already available.

What does Steve Ramirez mean by the practice of seeing?

He describes layers: noticing, perceiving through radical empathy (understanding rather than sympathy, extended even to fish, deer and trees), learning and then changing. He distinguishes real seeing from the autopilot most of us drive on and argues that many people avoid it because seeing creates an obligation to act. For anglers, that means paying attention to everything happening in and around the water, not just fish counts and size.

How can anglers stay engaged when conservation problems feel overwhelming?

Steve's answer is agency: the moment you do something, you are no longer a victim. He borrows the line "you can always feed the birds" and practices it at home with native plantings, shelter for wildlife and leaf litter left around trees for fireflies, moths and butterflies. He pairs that with responding rather than reacting and with the idea that self-care is not selfish, because even purposeful people need springs to refill the river.

Why does Steve Ramirez say we borrow the land rather than own it?

Drawing on Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass and time with Indigenous communities in Africa and the Americas, Steve rejects the idea of forests and rivers as undeveloped land. He now goes further and sees himself as a temporary steward and member of nature's community, holding it for future generations of people and every other species. He ties this to fly fishing through the complete angler who understands the whole system, not just the most basic aspects of catching fish.