Ohio’s Outdoors Trailblazers: Andrew Pegman’s writing connects to outdoors

This is a new series of stories that will appear in every other issue of Ohio Outdoor News focusing on an outdoor personality in Ohio. If you have an idea of someone you think would make a good profile, email mmoore@outdoornews.com.

Chagrin Falls, Ohio — When Andrew Pegman started to delve into the world of outdoor writing he never thought about writing for the big national publications.

But, a dozen or so years after first penning a piece on steelhead fishing for Ohio Outdoor News, that’s exactly where Pegman finds himself.

To his writing credits today are pieces for National Geographic, In-Fisherman, and Field and Stream just to name a few.

Born and raised in northeast Ohio, Pegman, 48, started his writing career in the newspaper business, writing for Sun newspapers in northeast Ohio.

“I was kind of given the outdoors beat because I was writing a lot of nature-related stories,” he said. “While on the backburner, I always had an interest in writing for outdoor publications.”

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Pegman was doing a blog on his own when Ohio Outdoor News connected with him to write a piece on steelhead fishing in northeast Ohio.

“I’ve always enjoyed featuring Ohio anglers and places,” he said. “I really like to spotlight the local and Ohio opportunities (in the national publications).”

Pegman comes by his outdoor bonafides naturally, he says.

“I’ve been an outdoor enthusiast for my entire life from a very young age,” he said. “I used to fish with my grandfather on farm ponds, Lake Erie, and the Chagrin River and Euclid Creek. I’ve always had an interest in the outdoors, from catching frogs to watching birds to fishing, it’s always been just a huge part of my life.”

And, if you’re an outdoor writer with an interest in steelhead, northeast Ohio isn’t a bad place to be.

“I think the Great Lakes tributaries, the wonderful stocking program that Ohio does and continues to expand, all goes into it,” he said. “Steelhead fishing used to be sort of a niche (pursuit) and it seems like it’s really grown quite a bit.”

Pegman’s day job is as an English professor at Cuyahoga Community College where he’s been for 23 years. The ability to help shape young writers like he once was himself is what keeps him going, he said.

“That’s a great way for me to also connect with my writing and giving them real world insights on working with editors and publications,” he said.

The one big lesson Pegman says he’s learned from writing for national publications is that you are constantly asked to adapt.

“I think the overarching principle is when it comes to writing, it’s that next cast,” he said. “If something doesn’t work for one publication, it might fit in another.”

Pegman is also the author of Tales of Northeast Ohio, which is a collection of his previously published writings. Pegman was granted a sabbatical from Cuyahoga Community College to write the book right around 2019.

“So, by the time it was for me to go on leave, COVID happened,” he said. “All of the magazines and book publishers were kind of putting the brakes on things … Fortunately, people were still reading, so we moved forward with the book.”

The reception for the book has been fantastic, he said.

The final question we always ask in these interviews is: What drives your passion for the outdoors?

“With respect to the outdoors, it’s where I find peace, health, and comfort,” he said. “It’s where I create memories with my family, my son. The outdoors for me has been the setting for many of my best memories. Throughout my life, I’ve always enjoyed being in nature, and just being immersed in the outdoors. And, that’s never changed for me.”

A big part of all that is introducing Pegman’s son, Andrew, to the outdoor world. Andrew is a 10-year-old fifth-grader.

“When you fish with a child, it just kind of reawakens the passion that you had when you were a kid, fishing or just flipping over rocks looking for salamanders,” he said.