Introduction

Welcome. I’m Ryan and I hope to add to the collection of informative and entertaining media available to sportsmen on the Internet. Let me begin by introducing myself. I was born and have been raised in northeast Florida, am a proud graduate of the University of Florida, and have a passion for the outdoors. I am an avid bow hunter, fly fisherman, fly tier, and wildlife enthusiast. It does not matter where I am, I will most likely have a fly rod, shotgun, or bow nearby. I hope to share some of the knowledge I've gained through years of personal trial and error and possibly provide a new perspective on the outdoors. I am always looking for new challenges, whether it’s in the woods or on the water. One of my most cherished activities is chasing my local redfish on the fly.

This has become such a fulfilling journey for me. I have not had much guidance in fly fishing, as I was not raised by a fly fisherman, but those helpful individuals that always seem to come into your life when one has a driving ambition for anything have helped me along my way. I hope to do the same, and give back what has so graciously been given to me. A pursuit is so much sweeter when success is achieved through personal struggle, and one always has the ability to grow and learn new things, even when they think they are at the top of their game (which I am not, I still have a lot to learn).

In my opinion, a fly fisherman has not fully taken on the sport until they come to the realization that in order to get to the next level, they must begin a journey in fly tying. This has been a most rewarding by-product of my addiction to the sport. Countless evenings have been spent in front of the vise, looking at a pile of materials, scouring the Internet, and coming up with creations that will be thrown at fish in the hopes of triggering their feeding response. Often times, flies come off the vise that catch nothing, ride incorrectly in the water, fall apart, and spook fish, among other things, but it is a constant learning process. Through fly tying, one begins to visualize what the fish sees, and although no water is present, one slowly becomes sensitive to the intricacies of the materials, colors, and actions that make a fish want to eat. Couple these observations with on the water experiences, and the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together. It has gone so far that now, instead of discarding deer hair, duck feathers, road kill (fresh, and only when it’s cold, so far) that come across my path, I now give anything of this sort a thorough once over and debate its virtues as a fly tying material with myself. Then, once a fisherman has constructed a fly, put himself in position on a feeding fish, and gotten the bite, their whole world changes. Now they have done it. They have fooled a fish on its own turf with something they created. No feeling is greater.

I look forward to sharing my experiences, both on the water, and generally in the outdoors.