Travis Smola

Title: Hunt & Fish Contributor
Email: travis@staroutdoormedia.com

Topics of Expertise: Hunting, Fishing, Camping, Geocaching, General Outdoor Gear
Years in this Expertise: 35 (Fishing) 24 (Hunting) 30+ (General Outdoors)
Number of Products & Number of Hours Expert Has Tested: 125+ Products, 500+ Hours

Education: Bachelor’s in Journalism, Western Michigan University
Years Writing: 10+
Previous Publications: Wide Open Spaces, Field & Stream

Who is Travis?

Travis started his writing career thinking he would get into the newspaper business. But he quickly
discovered in his first full-time gig that this wasn’t what he wanted out of his writing career. He quickly
shifted focus to outdoor writing.

He then spent several years freelancing before joining one of his clients, Wide Open Spaces, full-time in
2020. He then spent the next three years there honing his web writing skills, doing a little of everything.
This included news, how-to articles, and gear reviews. He also used this time to build an extensive list of
friends and contacts in the outdoor industry. After WOS, he spent 11 months working as a full-time Staff
Writer for Field & Stream. At F&S, Travis narrowed his focus more toward the gear side of the outdoor industry. It was there he honed his review skills while producing gear guides and reviews angled with more of a service journalism slant.

A Word From Travis Smola

I spent many years in a variety of other jobs before I returned to school to pursue a career in writing. I
feel very fortunate to be able to combine that career with my life-long love of fishing and over 20 years
of hunting experience. Writing about the outdoors has taken me on some incredible adventures I might
not have experienced otherwise. Whether that be scuba diving in Puerto Rico, deer hunting in
Wisconsin, or wrestling with a 91-pound tuna in Costa Rica.

When I’m not hunting or fishing, I enjoy camping in my custom-designed and hand-built Ram Promaster
City Cargo van camper conversion. I often combine trips in this van with fishing, hunting, and my favorite
off-season activity, geocaching.