KEEP FLY FISHING WEIRD.

Fly fishing has gotten way too fucking serious lately.

Some folks act like they're storming Normandy every time they put on waders and a Howler Brothers Hat.

You probably already got suckered into buying that $1,200 rod. $900 reel. Technical pants engineered by NASA. Fifteen hashtags. Drone footage. A photographer hiding in the bushes.  Make it fun. Enjoy that shit.

Brothers and Sisters, we’re just trying to catch fish here.

At some point we turned a hobby designed for leisure into another dick-measuring contest.

Who caught the biggest fish?

Who has the most followers?

Who got the pro deal?

Who fishes the “right” way?

Who has the coolest sponsors?

It’s exhausting, but also very funny to watch.

And let’s be honest: fly fishing has always been the red-headed stepchild of the fishing world. We’re already the weird ones. The overly particular ones. The people standing in the river waving around expensive sticks while everyone else is throwing power bait, spinners, or whatever the hell works.

I’ve spent two decades in this community & industry. I’ve spent most of my life taking things way too seriously. These days, I go fishing for the exact opposite reason.

I want life to get quiet for a little while to realize why I fell in love this sport in the first place.

So keep fly fishing weird.

Fish with the old guys. Help the kid who’s learning. Throw the stupid fly. Wear the ridiculous hipster hat. Drive the shitty truck. Smoke a joint on the riverbank. Make inappropriate jokes, make questionable decisions. Miss the cast and laugh your ass off.

At the end of the day, We’re just grown adults playing with expensive sticks and feathers.

Act accordingly.

-JL