The term “trout bum” is banded around a lot these days. What to you is a true trout bum?
I have known some “serious” trout bums in my life (emphasis on the “bum” part). And by that I mean guys living out of their cars (really living out of them), fishing every available day in the season, and in winter either driving to warmer areas to continue the fishing, or living in someone’s garage and tying flies to support the habit. That’s pretty “bummish”! A perhaps more realistic trout bum, to me, is someone who is willing to go beyond his or her normal comfort zone to spend time on the water (even if the trout appear to be elsewhere for the day). Someone who loves the fish and the places they are found. Someone who digs into the whole process, studies the bugs, ties the flies. If you’ve ever hiked 15 miles just to check out a piece of water, or woken up in an iced-over tent by a little no-name lake, or tied flies stream-side on a chilly morning while waiting for the hatch to start (hopefully!), you probably have some “bum” in you. You might not be living in a motor-home 36 weeks year, chasing the hatches up and down the Rockies, but if you’re willing to go above and beyond for a fix, you likely have a little “bum” blood flowing in your veins!