It is a nice feeling to wake up each day knowing that I do not live in a fishing destination necessarily, but I am surrounded by decent fishing and many people who enjoy the activity of fishing. While most of them are not fly fishermen (and quite a few will look down their nose at me when they see me wearing one of my many hats full of flies I had placed in their bills to dry), there is usually someone within a stone’s reach that would talk to me for hours about the sport if I brought it up to them.

Within a range that is perfectly reasonable for a day trip, we have wonderful access to some of the west’s best cutthroat rivers in the Coeur d’Alene and the St. Joe, along with access to some great streams and rivers in the states east and west of us. And they are just the right distance away that the fly fishing tourists in their box-fresh Simms waders and the bear bell-esque jingle of their fully rigged up brand new Fishpond chest pack are not something you see often up in Boundary county. I would argue that this is due to two reasons: firstly, the rivers that run through here are just not great in comparison to many around us and secondly, the best fishing in this county for the Clan of the Long Stick requires a bit more work, a bit more elbow grease, and some bushwhacking that will dirty those things up a bit too much.

Now, I am not trying to gate-keep nor am I trying to suggest that the fishing here is hard and tough or that having such expensive gear is a terrible thing. I have my fair share of nice Orvis rods, Hardy reels, expensive fly lines and fancy looking gear. There is just a certain demographic that hits a popular trout stream and strays away from finding the special hidden spots that any fishy county in America.

To me, this is a good thing. People do travel up here to fly fish, booking a guided trip on the Kootenai River that usually goes in near Leonia and ends at ol’ Twin Rivers (a place that I have so many memories at and I wish was the same as what it once was). That is the way to fish the Kootenai after all. I have talked to many people who guide the river, or who have been on guided trips, and they talk about how good a river it really is. It can be, but I can’t see it from the untouched (other than by myself) secret stream pools holding a good array of cutthroat, rainbow, and brookies anywhere from 4” to 14”. Let them fish the river while us locals know where the real sauce is.

But, and it is an odd thing to say, being a fly fisherman in Boundary county seems like it has a stigma put on it. There are many old timers around here, and they will talk shop with me about all the vintage gear that I love and still use, and we will tell each other stories that span from my last thirty years and their sixty. I have, however, been subject to a lot of scoffs, scorns, and, oddly enough, slurs in the past fifteen or so years that I have laid fly lines out in Boundary county. Just three months ago, I was fishing the banks of the Kootenai across from the boat launch west of downtown, and some spin fishers across the way kept shouting at me, calling me a “fly fishing f—--” (I will let your mind fill in the alliteration), saying that I should fish the right way, or just your average hooting, hollering, and mouth breathing that these type of knuckledraggers love to do. Well, I am happy to report that I out-fished them after landing three trout on a dry fly to their zero and they up and left.

These things do not upset me; I have thick skin. The only part of it that bothers me is that we are all outside, we are all enjoying our wonderful outdoors and public lands, and that there are people out there who just won’t leave you alone even though you know that if the shoe was on the other foot, these type of people would probably start waving a pistol around while banging their chest with their fist in anger.

In other words: let people enjoy the outdoors how they want to (as long as it is legal). While the large man on the annoying wave runner still haunts me on my nights in town on the Kootenai and I hope to all things that are holy that it slips from his trailer on the way home and explodes, I would never go to him and tell him how dumb I think the machine is, how worthless it is as a recreational vehicle, or that he should sell it and buy something that has at least some sort of purpose. He has it for a reason, he has fun with it, and that is all that matters.

It is like many summer trips on the North Fork of the Coeur d’Alene or the St. Joe or many other popular rivers across the country. I go down to enjoy a good summer hatch of mayflies, and always forget about the daily floater hatch that happens in the lower stretches of these rivers (but at least the floater hatch will usually have a decent subsequent bikini hatch). While I may continue driving while angrily drinking my third cup of coffee and cursing to myself that all the good spots I am driving past are all unavailable, I realize that I will actually fair better, see less people, and enjoy my day a lot more if I continue heading where I planned to head in the first place: upriver.

Outdoor recreation is just like life in general. There are always annoyances, and there are always things that we do not agree with. We just need to all take deep breaths and find a place of joy and comfort rather than seethe with hellfire about the one thing trying to ruin our day. If we see trash out in our favorite spots, we should just try to smile and absolutely pack it out with us. If there is a fisher in your normal spot on the river or stream, maybe hike up a bit and try to find a spot you have never been to before. If there are people verbally being a bunch of hateful dorks, out-fish them. Do it on a fly rod to really give them the spit.

Being in the outdoors should be about fun, contemplation, and just simple enjoyment away from the busyness of our lives of screens, chaos, and country and/or worldwide ruination (don’t kid yourself; no matter what side of the field you play, this is always a topic at hand), we need to find more ways to get away from it. We are in late summer now, and the terrestrials are out in full swing. Fish some hoppers, beetles or ants. Berry season might be over, but the hikes are still beautiful and will only become more beautiful as the leaves start turning color. Soon, we will have snow on the ground which opens up a whole different side to outdoor recreation (and will open our mouths again to only talking about how we wish it was warm again).