Stories

Fargo, Georgia feels a lot like the middle of nowhere. The cell phone signal is weak in the southeastern part of the state. Surrounding roads wind through sprawling stands of loblolly pines, in many places so thick you cannot see more than a dozen yards beyond the first line of trees. Cypress heads spread out along creeks and low areas. Other than the no stoplight town with its one gas station, Dollar General, and a couple of local restaurants, there are few signs of human inhabitation for...

Kentucky June 2015 My brother is a horseback rider. He rides fast, jumps over anything that stands in his path, and loves the animals. While we grew up around horses hunting in South Georgia, Parker enjoyed the fancy kind of riding, with a coat and tie, judges, ribbons, and all the other hoopla that comes with it. Turns out, he is pretty good at it too, and at some point, when you reach a certain level of prowess in the horse world, you end up riding in Kentucky. For him, Pony...

Indiana June 2015 There is something soothing about a home cooked pie. Back home, I would usually find the pecan variety, but in the Midwest they have a particular fondness for rhubarb. I had my doubts when the dessert was initially offered to me, considering a vegetable pie to be somewhat unappealing but was pleasantly surprised when I took the first bite. “Whoa, that is sweet!” Mom and I were sitting at the finely set kitchen table of my distant relatives, Amanda and Lant...

Iowa June 2015 The midwestern United States is widely stereotyped for a few things: corn, flat land, and down to earth people. Every trip I have ever made through the heartland has reaffirmed this perspective. Driving across the country on I-70 or I-80 takes you right through the middle of it all, and it seems to go on forever: endless monoculture, center pivots, cows, and oil pumps. Some version of this scene is what I anticipated finding when dad and I planned our trip to Iowa. But,...

Rhode Island 2016 There has only been one state where I have not caught a fish on my initial trip. Admittedly, I did “catch” a fish when I went out the first time, but it was a minnow snagged through its back that so happened to swim across the path of my Clouser fly and be speared by a hook twice its size. Needless to say, I did not constitute skewering the fish as “catching it on the fly.” Storms that led up to our trip rendered the conditions extremely poor for fly fishing,...

Georgia 2010 There is a distinctive moment when a lurking largemouth bass commits to engulfing a frog twitching across a scatter of lily pads. You lay out a cast, come tight to the fly, then start stripping, pausing for the water to settle around the fly. With each strip, the fly seems to leap across the water, landing unassuming predators waiting below. The more erratic the retrieve, the more enticing the fly becomes. But it is during a pause that the action happens. As you begin your...

Idaho July 2011 Your first experience fishing to a rising trout is an unforgettable exchange. Initially spotting a fish in contrast to the rest of the stream as it sits high in the water column waiting for a recently hatched bug or spinner to drift by brings an unparalleled level of excitement. The fish leans its shoulder slightly one way or the other, gently kicks its tail and elevates to the surface, then pauses for a brief moment, discerning. Its eyes seem to grow bigger as its...

Ohio June 2015 “We are Fisherman. We do this.” After scrolling through the hourly forecast for the next two days while mom and I ventured from Indiana to Ohio, I assumed our trip was doomed. The radar showed a massive front colored green, yellow, and red crawling north from Tennessee, destined to hit late that night and blanket us in thunderstorms. Having planned for only a single day of fishing in Ohio, I figured our chances to get on the water were shot. We would have to make...

Arkansas October 2014 Anytime I meet a young fly fisher, one of the first things I ask them is if they have had the opportunity to fish Arkansas’ Dry Run Creek. If they have been themselves, they understand why I so eagerly ask. Meanwhile, I imagine that those who have never experienced this otherworldly fishery feel my pulse rise as I attempt to describe the outrageous fish that hold behind its rocks and riffles. Flowing into the North Fork of the White River just below the North...

South Carolina 2011 The image of a 100-pound tarpon jumping out of the water became sharp in my mind early in my fly fishing career. I spent a lot of time in the Florida Panhandle and was accustomed to seeing flats skiffs anchored for hours on end at the ends of long sand bars or the edge of a reef, sometimes where I was hoping to target redfish and trout out of my john boat with my dad. Once I learned that they were fly fishing, I immediately put catching a tarpon at the top of my...

Virginia June 2015 Fishing in Virginia during the summer of 2015 was a special occurrence for me, signaling the first time I would have a chance to catch a fish in the state where I was first introduced to fly fishing. My grandmother is from Clifton Forge in the Shenandoah Valley, so my family would make a trip up to the area each summer while I was growing up to visit her home, send my cousins off to camp, and enjoy time together in the Blue Ridge. The winding, country roads between...

Colorado July 2016 If you have ever been to Colorado, you know the amazing variety of opportunities for fly fishing the state has to offer. From high mountain lakes and back country creeks to famous rivers such as the Frying Pan, the Gunnison, and the Eagle, it is a state of incredible diversity in terms of its water ways with plenty of trout habitat. It was certainly one of the states I was most looking forward to seeing for myself. Dad and I pulled into the Gentry’s driveway in...