So this weekend happens to be my birthday. And it isn’t any birthday. It is one of those birthdays. A big, round number that seemed decades and decades away only a matter of years ago is upon me. But I don’t think it is going to be all that bad. What it does give me …
Tag: Youth
Podcast Ep. 231: 3 Steps for Introducing Fly Fishing
Today I’m sharing three practical tips for introducing someone to fly fishing. For you, it might be a child, a friend, or a spouse. Simply putting them next to you in the water probably isn’t enough. I walk through three things that are worth thinking about: exploration, opportunity, & access. Whether you’re just getting into …
Podcast Ep. 229: Investing in Tomorrow’s Fishing Today
What kind of fishing investment am I talking about? The kind in people: yourself, those around you, and those who will be fishing tomorrow. Today I share a little bit about the most prominent influence in my life related to angling and conservation: the Pennsylvania Rivers Conservation & Fly Fishing Youth Camp. I can honestly …
Podcast Ep. 224: 3 Fly Fishing Things I Wish I Knew Then, IV
It is never too late to do better. Two of the three things I mention on this episode; I’m really still working on them. But all three are real examples of aspects of fly fishing that would have been great to be keyed in on when I started. This fourth edition (six, if you count …
Showing them People, Places, & Things
My four boys are 10 and under. Since they are boys, and since they are my boys, they are interested in the outdoors. There is an intrinsic desire to see what is over the next hill, under the big log, or beneath the surface of the water. With great vigor they investigate each one as …
New Year’s Days & New Year’s Trout
There are a lot of ways that one can ring in the New Year. As a teenager, most of those significant midnight moments involved doing what was most significant to me. And that was fish. My best friend and I would drive up to Southcentral Pennsylvania from Northern Virginia and go to bed around 8:00pm, …
Rusty Flybox: Hollers & Skylines
Once again I’m spending the holidays in Virginia. I’m from the Midwest. I root for the Bears, love a good relish tray at family gatherings, and don’t think ketchup belongs on a hot dog. Illinois is where I’m from. But Virginia is home. It is where I spent my formative, teenage years. It is where …
Firsts They’ll Remember
I shot my first duck just over a year ago. I can still remember the anticipation, the excitement, and the moment. The freshness of that memory made watching him shoot his first duck all the more special. He’s 10. All my boys caught their first fish as toddlers. All my boys caught their first fish …
Giving Tuesday is Never Over
On the heels of a long weekend of spending, Giving Tuesday has become a charitable foil to the post-Thanksgiving commercialism. Nonprofits of all stripes capitalize on the awareness that comes along with what has become an internet phenomenon. Initiatives backed with promotions, matching donations, and particular goals seek to bolster funding. Nonprofit organizations within the …
Podcast Ep. 200: A Rare Full Studio
200 episodes! First of all, thank you for listening. Whether this is your first or 200th download, I truly appreciate that you take a few minutes out of your week to hear what I have to say about the quarry and culture of fly fishing. As I’ve done every 50 shows, today I break away …