I Picked Up a Fly Rod and Never Looked Back.

When Bass Pro Shops opened in Olathe in 2007, I walked in and asked for a job on the spot — and spent every shift in the fishing department like a kid in the world’s greatest toy store. Then a colleague invited me to join a new ladies fly fishing club, and that was it. Fly fishing quietly, completely, and very expensively took over my entire life.

The early days were all enthusiasm and zero technique — but I kept showing up, kept learning, and one day something clicked. I felt a clean cast unfurl across the water for the first time and I was hooked in a way no fish has ever hooked me. These days I’m always planning the next trip, always looking for the next hatch, and always looking for another friend to drag to the river for the first time. That’s the joy of fly fishing — and I’m just getting started.