A CNN segment showing California Gov. Gavin Newsom and anchor Jake Tapper fly fishing together in a Montana stream has drawn sharp ridicule from wildlife experts, who say nearly everything about the outing was technically wrong. The 11-minute special aired Monday and also featured Newsom pledging not to run for president in 2028 if fellow Californian Kamala Harris enters the race.
Wyoming’s Cowboy State Daily was first to capture the outdoor community’s reaction, with reporter Clair McFarland asking experienced anglers to weigh in on the footage. What she found was a mix of disbelief and laughter from people who have spent decades on the water.
C.J. Box: “Everything About It Is Performative and Wrong”
New York Times bestselling author and Wyoming outdoorsman C.J. Box, who has fly-fished for roughly 30 years, said the problems were immediately obvious. “Neither one of these guys knows how to cast a fly rod,” Box said after commenting on the video on X.com.
Box, 67, explained that Newsom and Tapper were making several basic errors at once. “They’re just throwing a line, as if they were using spinning rods,” he said. He noted they should not have been casting downstream, fishing shoulder to shoulder, or breaking their wrists with every cast. Proper fly fishing, he explained, is about placing the fly in a precise spot so the fish sees the fly before it sees the line. “Everything about it is performative and wrong,” he said.
The segment drew wider attention as Gavin Newsom fly fishing criticism spread across outdoor and political circles alike, with many pointing to it as an example of staged political imagery gone sideways.
Wyoming Guide Paul Ulrich Urges the Pair to Learn Properly
Noted Wyoming outdoorsman Paul Ulrich offered an even blunter assessment of what he saw on screen. “Holy hell, that’s quite possibly one of the worst casts I’ve seen in my entire life,” Ulrich said. “The only thing they’re gonna catch with casts like that is perhaps each other, in the face.”
Ulrich called on both men to get professional instruction before picking up a rod again. “Do it right instead of embarrassing the entire fly fishing community across the world,” he said, urging them to work with a Wyoming guide.
What Comes Next for Newsom’s Outdoor Image
The mockery adds an unwanted layer of noise to what the Newsom camp likely intended as an approachable, relatable moment ahead of a potential future presidential campaign. While Newsom stated he would stand aside in 2028 if Harris runs again, the fishing footage has overshadowed that message in many corners of the internet.
Whether either man takes Ulrich’s advice and seeks proper instruction remains to be seen. For now, the clip continues to circulate widely among hunting and fishing communities, serving as a cautionary tale about the risks of performative outdoor photo opportunities.
