Fly fishing has been a strong part of my life and love for the outdoors for over a decade now. I do not have a great ability to juggle multiple tasks, so photography and fishing rarely overlapped during that time. When it comes to hobbies, I struggle balancing multiple at once before one gets pushed to the side or just done very poorly to be enjoyable.

This past week, I was able to hit the water with a friend (I normally fly solo, no pun intended) and had an opportunity to take a camera along with the sole purpose of photographing first and fishing second.

The month of May can be a wildcard for weather in Minnesota, but we had a perfect night with amazing light and multiple hatches happening at once. This made for great photos and great fishing. Best of both worlds.

It was a blast to be able to just worry about catching Dan as he was fishing and work around him while avoiding getting pierced by a flying hook. Dan took over the camera for a few shots and I was able to hit the water a bit throughout the evening. (my first time back on the water since 2023) . I used two cameras, the film camera with a 35mm and the digital with a 50mm. Using just primes for this type of worked, but there was times where I saw the benefit of a longer lens or zoom to not always having to make sure I was either out of the path of the fly line or in a position to spook the fish. Things to consider for next time.

If you are ever in the Driftless area of Minnesota or Wisconsin, reach out to Dan at Root River Rod Co. as he is also a great guide for the local streams.

Now I am thinking about the next time on the water and how to create an on going series of this world. We shall see, but until next time, see you on the water.