The Path Turns Four

And just like that, The Path Less Fly Fished has hit the four year milestone! This project began as an idea while spending the summer of 2017 living in northern Utah. Since creating this blog, it has been my continual attempt to capture the why of fly fishing through writing. Why people will go to extreme lengths and distance to catch these small, native trout. And why we should care that they’re native. Why the act of simply spending a quiet morning at a stream is far more rewarding than the number of fish caught, or if any were caught at all.

In many ways, the past four years have been building towards a return to the western US, this time on a resident basis. After much deliberation and hard work, my girlfriend and I have recently settled down in Washington’s Kitsap Peninsula. It’s a unique slice of land situated between the Olympic Peninsula to the west and Seattle to the east. We’re very happy to be here and to call this our new home.

I want to explore this new home region slowly and thoroughly, refraining from hurriedly crossing all corners of the state on trout-fueled excursions (those youthful days in Utah with little responsibilities have long since passed…) Instead, I aim to start by familiarizing myself with the small mountain streams of the Olympic range. There is very little information to be gleamed online or published of these streams other than the wisdom that long hikes will reward you with secluded waters and willing, wild trout. Then, in the fall, or perhaps winter, I plan to enter into a new arena of fly fishing; casting the beaches of the Puget Sound for coastal cutthroat trout. This one will require investment of both time and money to get started, but the beaches within a short drive are plentiful and the views, magnificent.

Lastly, I want to thank the small group of loyal friends and family who have read and supported my writings since those early days. Your words of encouragement and excitement have kept me striving to produce more engaging stories and content. Since its conception this has remained a humble blog; a platform to share my thoughts, photos, and stories with others (and often times published sporadically). While I have no plans to change that, I do feel that I have many more stories to share and I hope that you’ll continue to stick along for the ride. To four more years of The Path!