In this episode we WadeOutThere with Jason McReynolds from Jonesborough, Tennessee. Jason began fly fishing in East Tennessee during the late nineties. When his wife, who also enjoyed fly fishing, was seriously injured in a car accident, the couple began fishing streamers almost exclusively, because the larger flies and larger weighted rods was therapeutic for his wife Christy’s recovery.
We've all been there. Sometimes it's hard to remember our beginnings in fly fishing. We can forget the things we take for granted. When I began fly fishing I was "dry or die" out of ignorance, not preference. The mechanics of fly line, leader, and tippet were foreign. Tactics were nowhere in my crosscheck. I wish I had learned so many things, so much faster. The importance of a natural drift. Getting my flies down while nymphing. When to switch flies, or just switch water. And so many other tools I have picked up and am still gathering. About the only thing I had going for me was reading water (thanks Pop). But that's part of the journey isn't it? Filling the toolbox. Still, being in that place, and seeking progress, made a kind word of advice from another angler that much more special.