I grew up in the world of fly fishing. Every summer vacation of my youth was spent chasing fish and learning how to teach others to work a fly rod. I travelled east and west, north and south. I camped under the aurora borealis and the Southern Cross. I waded in the surf and hiked above treeline. There were seemingly endless days spent exploring land and water. Those experiences changed me forever.
I also tied flies—a lot of flies. I started commercial tying in middle school, mostly to feed my video game habit. By the end of senior high, though, I was indeed done with lashing together 100 dozen of the same thing!
My first fly-fishing article was published when I was 13, and I began working on fly-fishing videos when I was 16. My background, coupled with a film and television degree, eventually lead to being an advisor, double, and actor for commercials, theater, and film, including A River Runs Through It and The River Why. I still do some of that.
Despite my comically bad typing, I've managed to contribute a small heap of articles to angling magazines worldwide. I've even gotten a by-line on a few books here and there, as well as contributing to the works of others.
Somewhere in there, I co-founded the Fly Casting Institute, which is dedicated to advancing the science, medicine and art of fly casting. Geeky stuff, with motion capture and biomechanics and people who know calculus. Despite all the fancy bits, I still fish roadside streams and I still like catching bluegills.
If I'm not fishing, I prefer to be on the trail, with either boots or wheels beneath me. In the hazy past, I gave thought to becoming a pro cyclist. Then I discovered I wasn't fast.
On the daily side, I pay the bills by leveraging my art and film background and putting in hours as a media director. Sometimes I use a pen or brush to make images, but I'd probably be better at it if I did it consistently.
I'm not on this trip solo. My life's journey is shared with my family, who also love wild fish and wild places.
I grew up in the world of fly fishing. Every summer vacation of my youth was spent chasing fish and learning how to teach others to work a fly rod. I travelled east and west, north and south. I camped under the aurora borealis and the Southern Cross. I waded in the surf and hiked above treeline. There were seemingly endless days spent exploring land and water. Those experiences changed me forever.
I also tied flies—a lot of flies. I started commercial tying in middle school, mostly to feed my video game habit. By the end of senior high, though, I was indeed done with lashing together 100 dozen of the same thing!
My first fly-fishing article was published when I was 13, and I began working on fly-fishing videos when I was 16. My background, coupled with a film and television degree, eventually lead to being an advisor, double, and actor for commercials, theater, and film, including A River Runs Through It and The River Why. I still do some of that.
Despite my comically bad typing, I've managed to contribute a small heap of articles to angling magazines worldwide. I've even gotten a by-line on a few books here and there, as well as contributing to the works of others.
Somewhere in there, I co-founded the Fly Casting Institute, which is dedicated to advancing the science, medicine and art of fly casting. Geeky stuff, with motion capture and biomechanics and people who know calculus. Despite all the fancy bits, I still fish roadside streams and I still like catching bluegills.
If I'm not fishing, I prefer to be on the trail, with either boots or wheels beneath me. In the hazy past, I gave thought to becoming a pro cyclist. Then I discovered I wasn't fast.
On the daily side, I pay the bills by leveraging my art and film background and putting in hours as a media director. Sometimes I use a pen or brush to make images, but I'd probably be better at it if I did it consistently.
I'm not on this trip solo. My life's journey is shared with my family, who also love wild fish and wild places.
15 Places
These are 15 places from my youth that shaped me as a fly fisher, and in many ways as a person. A few are general, the rest more specific. Perhaps your own fly-fishing journey has crossed some of these same angling paths.
Black Earth Creek
Storm Castle Creek
The Plover, above County Rd N
Seven Pines on Knapp Creek
The Au Sable, Stephan to Wakeley
Yellowstone National Park
The Madison, Quake to Raynold's
Vermejo Park Ranch
Armstrong / DePuy Spring Creek
The Upper Green River
Te Waipounamu (South Island, NZ)
Rivers Derwent and Wye
The Kanektok, Braids to Estuary
The Bighorn, Afterbay to 13 Mile
The Bow, Policeman’s to Carseland