I have a friend, a hard-core fly fisher, who likes to say, “I love the idea of people. It’s the individuals I have problems with.” Not surprisingly, he prefers to fish alone. Having a similar tendency, I certainly empathize, although as the years pass, the friendships I’ve made through fly fishing and also through this magazine have proven their value time and again.
These friendships, moreover, signify a perhaps profound aspect of our sport, which is that fly fishing revolves around connections. Beyond the link of affinity we share with other fly fishers, we connect quite literally with the fish we hook, and we connect as well with the environs these fish inhabit. It’s hardly surprising, therefore, that many of us become advocates for these fish and the places where they live.
Less obviously, we also connect with the individuals who developed the rods and the lines and the flies and the tactics that we use. Their names are often unknown to us, but we hold in our hands and bring to the water their ideas made real. And the work of each of those individuals is based on the work of others prior, extending through decades, even centuries, so that when we flex a rod or tie a fly to our leader, we connect with multitudes.
Although it’s the “me” that fly fishing satisfies, it’s the “we” that enhances and helps ensure that satisfaction. No one truly fishes alone.
Richard Anderson
Publisher and Editor
