If I had to only write about fly fishing I’d lose my mind.

I love trout and fly rods and debating the merits of synthetics vs. naturals in fly tying as much as anyone. However, there is only so much cast and catch writing in me. Thankfully, fly fishing is interwoven  into a veritable tapestry of experiences. Some of them run parallel with angling. Some are just on the periphery of fishing.

Like any good story, the setting and the circumstances simply frame the themes. The themes – overcoming struggles, finding love, understanding self – are universal. People who don’t get cast and catch can still get these deeper truths.

Sometimes I’m writing about those themes within the frame of fly fishing. Sometimes I’m just writing about hats and barbecue. That’s my prerogative, I suppose.

Here are three posts that run just around the edge of fly fishing:

A Hat for all Fly Fishing Seasons

Since I started fly fishing, I had worn a number of hats. The guys on Saturday mornings wore hats, so I knew that I needed to as well. Early pictures of me on the river show a mixed bag of sports teams and conventional tackle hats. In the photo of me holding my very first trout on the fly, I’m sporting a black and gold Zebco Rhino hat. Flat billed and high crowned in 1998, I was cool before cool was cool. As I became more steeped in the culture of fly fishing, I realized that any old hat would not do…

Not Alone for a Moment

What I saw around a bend took me off guard. It wasn’t intrinsically jarring, but it had an unanticipated impact that I can still remember all these years later. Laid out on the northern streambank was a large semicircle of fist-sized stones. In the center was a large stick, the diameter of a broom handle, sunk into the mud and gravel. At first glance it appeared to be a pile of trash; but the neatness and order somewhat contradicted the mentality of leaving garbage in the woods. Drawing closer, it became evident that this wasn’t debris at all…

The Fly Fishing Authority

Within a few years of the start of my fishing career, fly fishing was introduced to me. I bought my first fly rod and reel at Sports Authority. A Crystal River combo. I loved fly fishing, but didn’t see it as anything but a trout-centric pursuit. So I continued to frequent the outdoors department, chatting with the guys and buying a lure here and there – mixing some woolly buggers and Adams in as needed. It wasn’t the fly selection or technical gear available that brought me back to the store over and over…