Fly Fishing isn’t just a sport…

It’s a culture.

A culture that starts with the love of nature, respect for it, and the desire to learn more about its complexity and simplicity. The Fly Fishing culture comes with its own look, vernacular, gear, rationalizations and moral codes. It’s not just about catching fish. Some of my best days out fishing, I didn’t catch a single fish. It is mostly about where you are and who you’re with. There’s so much more to it than holding up a fish for a picture. The endless layers of time, concentration, learning, frustration, victory, rejection, excitement, peacefulness and luck that it takes to call yourself a fly fisherman, makes releasing a hard earned fish…worth it!

Don’t get me wrong, I love catching fish and holding those gorgeous, slimy creatures up (briefly ;)) to take a picture! I’ve done it a thousand times and my phone is full of those shots. That’s the victory dance. The Proof that you did something right and the heavens blessed you…or maybe you’re just lucky? Either way, it’s a rush of excitement that makes you stay out in freezing cold or the blazing heat for “just one more!” When I’m fishing I forget to eat or drink and time is only relative to the amount of light left in the day.

It’s a culture of obsession.