How Did I Get Here?

I grew up with a fishing rod in my hand and water nearby-whether it was casting off my grandparents’ pier in Virginia Beach or surf fishing with my family, I always felt at home by the water.

Jump ahead to my sophomore year of college. I wandered into the kickoff meeting for the VMI fishing club, thinking it’d be a good way to meet some like-minded folks. Turns out, it was a fly fishing club which was a world I knew nothing about. Honestly, I probably would’ve left if it weren’t for the raffle at the end of the meeting. The prize? A fly rod. Somehow, I walked out of there with it.

At first, that rod was just an excuse to hang out with friends, drink a few beers, and get outside. I had no clue what I was doing, and I didn’t really care. Fly fishing didn’t “click” for me until the spring semester, when our club had a friendly competition with a neighboring college at a private fishery in the Virginia mountains. I’ll spare you the details: I didn’t catch a single fish. The drive home felt endless, and I remember thinking maybe fly fishing just wasn’t for me.

But then everything changed. Not long after, I caught my first trout on an orange streamer at an end of the school year club event. Holding that fish, feeling that rush, I was hooked. It was like flipping a switch. Suddenly, I wanted to learn everything. I dove headfirst into YouTube tutorials, trying to figure out the difference between nymphs and streamers, rainbows and browns, and everything else that makes fly fishing its own universe.

The fish that started it all!

By the spring of my junior year, I was back for round two of the competition. This time, I was paired with an experienced angler. We ended up winning, catching over 90 fish and earning a trophy fly box and a return trip to that private fishery. That day, I discovered Euro nymphing and a whole new level of obsession.

Almost a decade later, I’ve chased fish bigger than I ever imagined and traveled to remote corners of the Amazon for some of the wildest freshwater species on the planet. I still think back to that day I almost quit, and I’m so glad I didn’t. Fly fishing has given me lifelong friends, unforgettable memories, and a phone full of fish photos. My apartment is overflowing with flies, tying gear, and every gadget the fly fishing world claims you “need.”

A beautiful Peacock Bass on the Rio Negro River.

I’m starting this blog because I want other people to feel the same rush I did when I landed my first trout. Not long ago, I was helping out at an Orvis fly fishing school, and I watched a guy catch his very first fish on a dry fly. The look on his face was pure joy-he lit up like a little kid. Moments like that are exactly why I love this sport. He even told me it was “the best day of his life,” and honestly, I believed him.

Fly fishing can be intimidating. I’ve been there. I’ve felt clueless and had plenty of days where I wondered what I was doing. My hope is that this blog will help you get past that fear and give you the confidence to get out on the water.

I’ll be sharing my stories, lessons learned, favorite gear, and the thought process behind my fly choices-everything I wish I’d known when I started. If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading. I can’t wait to share more and hopefully help you have as much fun on the water as I do.

See you out there,

Andy