Faith, Family, and Fly Fishing: My Story

There has been nothing more exciting, or that has brought me more joy in my life than time I’ve spent with a fly rod in my hand, and it’s been that way for as long as I can remember.I’m the 5th generation of fly fishermen in my family and the 3rd generation of Hyde’s in the Hyde Drift Boat team. So I guess it would be safe to assume fly fishing is in my blood, but I like to think that even if my last name wasn’t Hyde, I would still have the same passion for it that I do now.

Fly fishing is one of those sports, that once you try it, it’s so hard not to fall in love with it. Spending time in God’s creations, hooking into a fish, and the adrenaline rush that that provides, along with meeting many other amazing people in the industry and the friendships that are gained from that. There really is nothing better, and I am so lucky as to have been able to do that my whole life. Despite the fact that I have been fishing for so long, I really haven’t had the same passion I have now up until this past year.This past August I was able to go steelheading in British Columbia for a second time. The first time, we will just say that I made sure our lawn chair didn’t go anywhere, and I have yet to hear the end of it. So for the second trip I had to make sure I redeemed myself, and I’m so glad I put the effort into it I did. Every morning I was the first one up and ready, the first one to put a line in the water, and the last one to get out. I made sure I wouldn’t sit down; I wasn’t about to mess this trip up too. And oh how sweet the reward.

It all really started the first day, we got down in the water I casted for about half an hour, I hooked into a fish, and that’s really what changed my perspective on things. Amidst the excitement that comes from bringing in a fish, I was able to stop for a second and take in the true beauty of things; My grandparents, my dad, the beautiful surroundings and the fish that was on the end of my line. I realized that this is what it’s all about; Faith, Family, and Fly Fishing. Faith that a cast might produce a fish, family who is everything, and fly fishing the sport that gives you the opportunity to experience those things all at once.

That was the turning point for me that made me realize that fly fishing is something I want to dedicate myself to. That brief moment in time I was able to reflect, to redirect my focuses, and the happiness that has come from that, Priceless.