I love the similarities in fly fishing and our business. We’ve created a product with a very specific kind of customer in mind. Like tying a fly for a red drum, we crafted it for a certain kind of customer – not just any hungry fish. And like catching a fish with a fly rod, success takes time and relentless focus. And also like fly fisherman, we spend a bunch of energy in creatively finding the target customer and hopefully presenting our offering in a natural way. A way that makes them feel curious and comfortable with trying us. Fly fishing is just like this – especially in shallow water. Fish are easily spooked in shallow water and suspect of nearly everything they see. Fly anglers spend a ton of time (tying flies, practicing casting etc.) on the never ending pursuit of getting better at what they do.

When a opportunity arises to catch a fish with a fly rod, you can’t just smack the fly on their head – they will spook – never to be seen again. You can’t place it behind them – they won’t see it. You have to present it in just the right spot and then hope the timing is right and the action you impart on the fly looks natural and makes them feel good about trying it. The cool thing is, the more time and energy fly anglers spend at trying to catch fish on fly, the more success they start having. They learn more about a specific species of fish and it’s habits. They learn where they like to hang out, what turns them off and what turns them on. It’s really fascinating to focus and learn and get better. Same with our business…

So I took my son Joel fly fishing for red drum for the first time last fall on a big full moon flood tide where Red Drum have a short window to cruise up on muddy marsh flats looking for crabs to eat. Here is a cool video of a fish making his way towards us. Each time his tail sticks up – he is chasing and trying to eat a crab hiding in the mud. To get him to bite a steel hook with feathers and glue is no joke. The fly has to be put in the perfect spot…and usually is not. Sometimes too, it takes a few casts.

Here is the video if you can’t see it in an email.

Wes

p.s This red drum was admired for a few minutes and then released unharmed…