Aristotle, Shakespeare (via Palingenius
—thanks Wikipedia), and many other
artists and philosophers have posited
their own “Stages of Man”…
So, am I saying Fred is a philosophical
sage? Ha. Perhaps, but more than that
I am saying fly fishing is an art that
breeds the same type of self-awareness
that philosophy and true artworks
attempt to elucidate, a self-awareness
that allows for complete experiential
knowledge of authentic being (be that
human nature, the river… or something
even more collective, pervasive).
Like a Zen koan—fly fishing asks the
question: Is it the fly that catches the
fish, or fishing that catches the angler?
Another exemplar of the fly fishing
philosophy is Sam, waist deep in
water, clearing frozen lines. He and
Paul started the #N40 Fly Shop on a
clearance inventory and 20 feet of peg
board. Fast forward from 2006 to 2015
and there are now four full fly shops,
a team of handpicked, passionate
guys and an entire range of initiatives
designed to raise awareness of the art
of fly fishing. From destination trips to
#PassItOn, Sam and the fly shop guys
have been a driving force in spreading
the “word” of the flies.
#PassItOn is a way of paying it forward.
It is a program designed to get young
fly fishers into the lifestyle that is
embodied by the guys at the fly shop. It
is a way to foster passion in a younger
generation. The program accepts used
gear in exchange for a discount on new
gear. That gear is then used to outfit
the younger generation and get them
out on the water.