James Nash

James Nash is the fifth generation of his family to live on and raise cattle on the 6 Ranch in NE Oregon. Nash started working on river restoration projects at age 8 on the ranch where eventually over two miles of the Wallowa River would be rebuilt to improve habitat for trout, salmon, and steelhead. He started guiding wilderness trips in the Eagle Caps at age 14. He competed in a variety of sports in high school and spent a year wrestling in Norway. After high school he attended the University of Montana Western in Dillon, Montana where he received a degree in literature and writing and did a lot of fly fishing. He paid his way through school by fighting wild land fire on a helicopter rappel crew. Following college Nash joined the United States Marine Corps and served five years as an armor officer, deploying to Afghanistan in command of a platoon of Abrams M1A1 Main Battle Tanks. During that deployment Nash was wounded on two separate occasions and was eventually awarded two Purple Hearts, the Navy and Marine Corps Accommodation Medal with V for Valor, and was medically retired. Nash returned to the 6 Ranch and started a fly fishing business which helped to get combat veterans in the outdoors. He later founded 6 Ranch Outfitters and the 6 Ranch Podcast. He currently spends half of his year on the road hunting, spearfishing, and adventuring while recording podcasts. The rest of the year is spent guiding and creating content to help other people be more successful in the field.