When the editors of FlyLife Magazine, one of my favorite publications, reached out last spring and asked me to pen a feature about how American fly fishing has changed in the past year-and-a-half, it was both an exciting and challenging proposition. Write about American fly-fishing trends and industry news for an Australian / New Zealand audience, and make it relevant? Sure. Let’s do it.
And so I proceeded to spend a lot of time on the phone with folks I knew and trusted within the U.S. fly world. Leading off the charge? Linehan Outfitting Company, Kirk Deeter, and Wildwood Float Trips. These guys were kind enough to spend time on the phone during the busy spring months, talking about how they’ve managed through this strange time, what changes we’re seeing in regional and national demographics, the good and the bad of managing resources and overcrowding, and where our fly industry might be in the next five or so years. The team at FlyLife, as always, did a gorgeous layout, and I was thrilled to see images of some of my favorite people appear on the pages.
Thanks to all who contributed to this piece, be it in a phone call, an image taken over the years past, or a long, fireside conversation about the ethics and politics of our industry. (You know who you are.) And thanks to the team at FlyLife for sending the assignment my way.