Members' Bio: Where'd you come from?

[flybob]

Devin, and all the latest members, welcome to the family.
I say family, because that is what it feels like.
Lots of great people with lots to offer, you just have to ask.

Bob

[Swindle]

I'm new to the site and am glad to be hear. I am usually against public online forums such as this due to a number of issues, but I'm very impressed by the class of folks on this site thus far. I think it comes down to the fact that I like the old school approach of supporting your local fly shop and going in every morning to hang with the old boys coffee crew and learn the waters that way. By folks sharing pictures and handshakes in person. That's how I learned the little that i do know and I am very fearful that the online relationships formed in our ever busy world are taking way from that. But just as has been mentioned by a number of people on this forum - we all share the common bond of fly fishing and all the wondrous gems that it includes.

I'm from the great state of Utah, Salt Lake City born and raised. I grew up throwing worms and bobbers up in the Uinta Mountains with my dad as a young boy, never really loved it, but had fun at our cabin chasing local planed rainbows. I got started fly fishing when I met my wife. She took me on a date after we'd been dating for about 2 months. She made a fool out of me on the river reel quick. I loved it, but was busy in college trying to play rugby at a high level. My wife was a college soccer player at the time and we had both picked our poison so to speak. There is only so much time and when we weren't playing rugby and soccer we were mountain biking singletrack together.

Then I had the unfortunate blessing of tearing my knee up real good playing rugby and subsequently needed a few surgeries (3) to get things put back together the right way. It all happened right when my wife and I, girlfriend at the time, were headed up into the Wood River Valley for some killer mountain biking. I couldn't bike, but I'd heard that there was some good fly fishing up in the same area (we'd been going there for years). So with the ability to hike and walk a lot we decided to carry on with the trip. Our group of friends would go on to bike everyday and I would try out this fly fishing thing one more time and that way we could all enjoy the outdoors and hang out at the end of the day.

i was fortunate enough to get pointed in the right direction by the folks at Lost River Outfitters in Ketchum, ID. Great folks. They were pretty nice to help out the guy who was a first timer-hooked me up with all sorts of gear and pointed me in the right direction. They had me trowing large orange and yellow stimulators on the Big Wood River. All that I told them was that I wanted to catch some fish on a dry fly. They told me were to go and what time to cling that stimulator out there-BOOM! It was like clockwork. I made a few casts and a fourteen inch rainbow came up and snatched that fly so quick I didn't know what had happened. My girlfriend (wife now) was with me and we enjoyed that moment together. I thought those guys are pretty cool, they know their stuff.

And that was that for me. Fishing has had the best of me ever since. I fished like crazy (100+days a year) for a few years, married the girl, and then guided for two seasons. Last year was my first year guiding full time for Western Rivers Flyfisher in Salt Lake City doing walk and wade trips on our local rivers, the Uinta drainages and a few others ;). Now my wife and I have been in Loma Linda, CA for her graduate schooling and I'm only guiding part time for a few request clients and as needed on certain trips. We'll be moving back up to Utah in August of this year 2012.

And all you need to know about me is that I'm plagued by thinking about bugs, flows and of course trout the majority of the time.

[vimeo]8644396[/vimeo]

Andrew

[Reyne]

Welcome, Andrew. Yes, there are good guys here...

[flybob]

Welcome Aboard Andrew!

Very Cool BIO!

I see you have already hooked up with Curtis...he is as good as they come, and a great ambassador to the sport as well as to the gang that calls this site home.

[darrin terry]

Welcome Andrew. Any friend of Curtis is suspect, um, I mean welcome here.

[Swindle]

Thanks dudes. Curtis is OK...I guess. He's been great to connect with down here. Funny that we connected and it had nothing to do with Fly Fishing, just an added bonus that will serve us both for years to come.

[WanderingBlues]

Bout dang time...

[Swindle]

Bout dang time...

Fashionably late Curtis, fashionably late.

[lucfish]

Enjoyed you bio Swindle, welcome. My best friend for 40 years lives in Heber, fished with him the provo and strawberry many a time. Utah is beautful even if your not a flyfisher.

[AZURE]

Hi there. First post, so I figured this is the correct place to start. I've been fishing since I was a little kid as my Dad would take me out, either to share the joys and instill the passion or so he can fish and watch me also. Past couple of years I've been away, until this year, I got back into fishing and heavily into surf fishing, and then became a frequent poster on another site.

Was at Fred Hall Long Beach, and was a little bored, so me and my son stopped by the fly fishing lesson and took a little quick casting lesson. Then the week after, sschung (Shane) who I know from the other site, posted the Double Hall Ball FF surf fishing clinic at LBCC, and I was curious to learn to cast. It was a rainy day that morning, nobody was at the casting pond, and I asked a group of guys about the casting. Out of nowhere, Jeff Priest stepped up and said "sure, I'll take you as long as you don't mind standing in this rain." That's something I'm sure I'll always remember with his kind and giving gesture. Later, it was Jim Solomon that was trying to help me and my son learn. Since it was drizzling, nobody was really out and stayed in the LBCC clubhouse, so we kind of had a private lesson I watched in awe as someone walked to the middle of the casting pond and was spey casting (didn't know what it was at the time) in the rain with the sun rays peaking through. It was one of the most beautiful sights I've seen, even to the point that time seemed to slow down.

After the Double Hall Ball, sschung (Shane), posted the info on the One Surf Fly event, and I was determined to be proficient enough to be able to attend it. 2-3 weeks later I got my 7 wt rod and reel, got it lined by Dean at Fisherman's Spot, spent almost a week learning to cast. I stayed up all Friday night reading and watching youtube videos on how to use tying tools and to tie a clouser. It was almost dawn, and without any sleep, I headed out to hit the surf. Got my first fish, and spent so much time learning to cast, I didn't figure what to do on how to bring the fish in. lost it. I thought to myself that the next fish I'll just run up the beach with it, and so that's what I did with my first barred surf perch. 2nd fish, took my fly hard, and still not sure how to handstrip the fish in, I just ran back and forth and up and down the beach. the fish wouldn't come out of the waters, but when it did, it was my personal best barred surf perch at 16". Welcome to fly fishing!

....and that's how it started.

The next two weeks I think I was extremely lucky with bringing in a few more fish. Hip/Whipitgood mentioned to let the next bigger feeling fish or bsp take line to learn how slack line is taken up, and learn to palm a reel. Good thing I did, as the following Saturday, I hook into a bat ray and it was a fun 20 minute fight. During last week I ended up getting 3 short halibuts and some bsp. I enjoy the fight more than the fish in hand, and that's how I know I'm a fly fishing addict.

Today was the One Surf Fly event and here I am.

[darrin terry]

Welcome! I think you've made the most important step forward already. Recognizing and accepting the fact of your addiction. Doing that frees you to take the next steps down the long road that is fly fishing. Have fun and share the journey, with pictures when you can. The folks around here are well practiced in supporting others in their addictions.

[Benny]

Welcome to the FFA forum! It is an addiction.

[Reyne]

Azure, welcome. Hope you continue with your progress. Nobody's born with a flyrod in their hand, and we all found our way along some way or another. Enjoy the discoveries and triumphs our sport provides!

[WanderingBlues]

Azure, welcome to the site!

[Swindle]

Enjoyed you bio Swindle, welcome. My best friend for 40 years lives in Heber, fished with him the provo and strawberry many a time. Utah is beautful even if your not a flyfisher.

You're making me mighty itchy talking about Heber and the Berry...