Pursuing a passion: Fly fishing teaches life lessons

Pursuing a passion: Fly fishing teaches life lessons

Editor’s note: In keeping with the goal of featuring local business people in their “off the clock” pursuits, Bill Bartlett, president and owner of Naperville-based Corporate Strategies & Solutions, Inc., writes on the passion he discovered.

I’ve never considered myself of an outdoorsman. To be an outdoorsman, for me, was to be a rugged individualist who hiked, camped, hunted and fished with worms on the end of a hook.

When I grew up in upstate New York, my outdoor sports of choice were baseball and basketball. All the kids in my neighborhood played them so I played them too. Other than that, the closest outdoor activities I could relate to were performed by Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone on “The Wonderful World of Disney.”

However, all that changed in 1994 when I formed my company. I was working 15-hour days trying to get my new business off to a fast start when my mentor asked me what I was doing to balance my life.

I explained that I didn’t have time to work on myself at the time, but once the business was up and running, I would do so. He told me that I was setting myself up for failure and made me commit to balancing my personal needs with my professional growth.

The next weekend, by chance, my wife Gayle and I went to a movie that would have a profound impact on the rest of my life. After watching “A River Runs Through It” I was hooked, so to speak. It is about two sons of a Presbyterian minister who grow up in Montana with the central theme being the influence of fly fishing on their lives.

I decided that this sport looked interesting and might be something that I could explore. I went to a local fly shop and bought an inexpensive fly rod, reel and some flies.

At that time, my office was located on the corner of Naper Boulevard and Diehl Road and it had a perfect view of a place to practice casting...the drainage pond in front of the Holiday Inn.

Each morning before dawn I would cross the street, fly rod in hand, and begin casting into the pond. I probably spent about 30 minutes attempting to perfect my cast before the manager asked me to leave.

My cast wasn’t pretty and, in all honesty, it was downright ugly! Fly fishermen would call it a “bird’s nest” because it resembled a huge ball of twine being hurled at the water. Being a stubborn first-born, I persisted until I began to see progress.

I decided that I was getting to the point where I could test my craft so one sunny day in April I headed to the Black Earth stream in Wisconsin. My three-hour drive landed me streamside at 9 a.m. and I decided that I would probably catch enough fish in an hour to satisfy my drive home.

When I looked at my watch, eight hours later, I was astonished at the time. I knew I had found the second great love of my life...after Gayle!

There are a couple of key events from this initial trip that I should include. The first is that I didn’t disgrace a fish by catching it with my terrible technique and the second, I realized that it wasn’t really about catching fish anyway.

Henry David Thoreau, one of my favorite authors wrote, “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing it’s not the fish they’re after.”

This quote has been the subliminal driving force that has fed my passion for fly fishing. Something curious was happening to my business as my passion for the sport was evolving. My newly formed business began to grow exponentially as my fly fishing skills improved.

Without consciously knowing it, I had found the balance my mentor suggested. I learned that my early struggles in developing my business could be offset with the positive feelings I had when I was involved with fly fishing.

Fly fishing, for me, is an adventure! I currently hold fishing licenses in ten states and one foreign country and have witnessed some incredible sights in my travels.

On my recent trip to Idaho, I sat streamside for an hour watching a mother eagle teach her young how to fly. The poor little guy got the flying right, however, it was the landing that left him battered and bruised.

I followed a trail to a remote fishing stream that I thought was a deer path only to find that it was made by a cougar. I have reluctantly offered an extremely large trout to a grizzly bear that obviously wanted it more than me!

In February of this year, I traveled to the Patagonia region of Argentina for an unbelievable fly fishing experience. I spent a week with friends fishing five of the top rivers in the area. Our guides treated us to a marvelous time fishing where we caught some very large trout as well as had a great cultural exchange involving local food, wine and conversation.

I have developed an indescribable appreciation for nature as I have witnessed animals, birds and fish in the wild. I practice “catch and release” and try not to leave “man’s footprint” in the areas that I fish.

Fly fishing has become a metaphor for my life. It has taught me many virtues that have helped me develop as a person.

I have learned patience, as you cannot rush the fish. I have learned humility as losing a big fish because it outsmarted me put me in my place. I have learned the value of solitude as it gave me time to get in touch with my deeper thoughts. I have learned a healthy respect for nature and the need to protect it from man.

Lastly, I have learned an appreciation for a power far greater than me because I cannot look around a trout stream without seeing God’s handiwork.

Posted on Thursday, November 13, 2008 (Archive on Thursday, November 20, 2008)
Posted by jstoltz Contributed by jstoltz

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