This website was created in 2018 by Paolo Fortunati (The Wandering Angler founder), born in 1967, thanks to his great passion for fly fishing that has led him to make various fly fishing trips worldwide.
Herewith please find his “Piscantur Curriculum Vitae” (fishing CV)!
The idea of this website comes from my great passion for fishing that I have since the age of 7, thanks to my father’s patience who has shared it with me for a long time! Over the years I have practiced most of the fishing techniques, until finally landed in 1992 to fly fishing, both in freshwater and in saltwater, aimed at all possible game fish!
Thanks to this strong passion I’ve had the possibility to meet a lot of people, some of which have become very dear friends, like Paolo Bolognini, crazy “anconetano”, great fisherman and also a very talented nature photographer.
Unfortunately Paolo passed away recently, leaving a great void in me …. I am very proud and grateful for having had the good fortune to meet him!
Another person who has become a great friend is Alberto Galeazzo, fly fishing irreverent minstrel, “Veneto doc” and an excellent video maker, with whom in recent years we have shared many fishing experiences both in Italy and abroad.
Another great person in the world of italian fly fishing with whom I have formed an excellent friendship is Valerio Santagostino, expert and titled fly caster (Fly Casting World Champion 2022 in Norway) , as well as a great fisherman.
Thanks to the experience gained over the years, as well as introducing me to many friends (I hope they will forgive me if I have not mentioned them all), I became a complete fly fisherman: I usually pass from dry fly fishing, to nymph and streamer fly fishing, and this allows me to fish at all hours of the day, in all seasons and in any place, according to fish activity! I use all kinds of insects, fish and crustaceans patterns, or any “fly” (even fantasy flies) that can stimulate a fish reaction!
I have fished most waters of northern Italy, although mainly the Serio, Brembo, Oglio and Adda rivers in Lombardy; the Brenta and Piave rivers in Veneto; the Trebbia, Aveto and Taro rivers in Emilia, the Chiese, Sarca and Noce rivers in Trentino; and the Fella, Resia and Natisone rivers in Friuli.
Since 2000 I have been a member of a fishing association on a beautiful north eastern Italian river, whose main purpose is the protection of the river itself and, obviously, of the Trouts and Graylings living inside it; since a few years I’m also a member of a foreign fishing association on another beautiful river in Slovenia, whose management has the same purpose of protection and respect.
Since 2009 I have a sailing and motorboat license (with no limits from the coast) and thanks to this I’m able to arrange saltwater fly fishing (and spinning) trips to various species of Tuna, Dolphin fish and any other species that can be caught with a fly, safely and according to navigation rules.
Since 2011 to 2022 I have been part of the editorial staff of “Pipam” website (http://www.pipam.it/) where I wrote, participated and procured over twenty articles concerning daily fly fishing trips, equipment tests and fly fishing trips worldwide. Also I took part in several scouting trips to promote fly fishing in various Italian destinations, producing videos and articles to share in the web!
Since 2016 I have been a supporting member of the IGFA, International Game Fish Association (https://igfa.org/), to be always aware of regulations, new records, initiatives to protect particular species at risk and anything else concerning fishing in the world.
In 2016, together with my fishing buddy Alberto Galeazzo, I was the protagonist of an episode of the SKY PESCA 236 TV Channel (https://www.cacciaepesca.tv/pesca/)on fly fishing in the Ligurian Sea!
While in March 2020 I was the protagonist of an episode of the TV series “Passione Artificiale” together with Matteo De Falco (the Channel’s director), on fishing for Danube salmon, the legendary Hucho Hucho, shot in Slovenia during the III° edition of the International Huchen Cup.
In 2018 I started a collaboration with the bi-monthly Italian fishing magazine “La Pesca Mosca e Spinning”. Herewith please find the link to the authors page of the Magazine:
http://www.lapescamoscaespinning.it/tutti-gli-autori/autori-mosca/paolo-fortunati
The great passion for fly fishing has also pushed me to travel, always with fly tackles in my luggage, giving me the opportunity to meet other people, different cultures, taste new food and see amazing places! I started to make fishing trips in the neighboring Slovenia (Soca, Idrijca and Unica rivers), then in Croatia (Gacka, Kupa and Krka rivers), by exploring unknown rivers in Romania, to Ireland (Moy and Erriff rivers, lough Corrib and Conn) and in Norway (Trysil river).
In 1999, misled by a friend after having planned (and then canceled) my first fishing trip to Alaska and British Columbia, I made my first big trip overseas in the beautiful island of Cuba where, among the many predators caught, I managed to take my biggest Tarpon ever (about 100 pounds) finally released.
This experience has irreparably infected me by opening the way, as well as being returned to Cuba other times, even to other fly fishing destinations such as those in the Caribbean, in the west coast of Florida (Boca Grande, Sanibel and Captiva islands), in the Florida Keys (Islamorada, Lower Keys and Key West), in the Florida Everglades Park and in the pristine flats of the Belize Barrier Reef, the largest in the northern hemisphere!
Then, thanks to The Wandering Angler, I had the opportunity to go fishing in argentine Patagonia, in Mongolia (where I caught my first Hucho Taimen) and in the Maldives where I personally experienced the thrill of fighting with a Giant Trevally!
I have always enjoyed organizing fly fishing trips, taking care of all the details, even the most insignificant. Through this project, I hope to be able to provide a professional service to anyone who wants to embark on a journey to one of his most hidden desires fishing destinations!
Through photos and videos, made together with my staff, I hope to be able to convey all the wonderful emotions that I feel whenever I go fishing in a new destination, whether it is the secret stream nearby, or a remote and pristine flat of a tropical archipelago!
Fish the world
Paolo Fortunati