Fly fishing: It’s a way of life

For Dylan Tomine, author of the brand-new Patagonia published book, “Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman,” fly fishing is a way of life. “Fishing was never a sport, a pastime or a hobby,” he writes, “It was, and continues to be, who I am.”

Anyone who reads fly fishing magazines or blogs knows the typical formula for a fishing story. The writer goes fishing, they encounter a problem, they solve the problem, they catch fish and everyone lives happily ever after. Tomine’s prose breaks the mold in refreshing fashion for readers who tire of conventional fly fishing literature. In “Headwaters,” Tomine displays a unique ability to recognize that the most interesting component of a fishing trip is almost never the number of fish hooked and landed. Tomine writes stories about himself where he is often not the hero nor the main character, skillfully injecting humor at his own expense. 

One of the most striking stories in “Headwaters,” entitled “Confessions of a Steelhead Bum” appears at the beginning of the book, painting a picture of Tomine as a young man whose priorities, professional ambitions and moral compass have all been cast aside in favor of chasing steelhead with a fly rod. “Confessions of a Steelhead Bum” both establishes the lengths that Tomine will go in search of steelhead and sets the stage for his personal growth throughout the book, all while introducing readers to his distinctive style. The story was first published in Fish & Fly, and it was Tomine’s first successful story pitch. Previously, Tomine had followed the conventional fishing story mold and been turned down by publication after publication. 

“I spent a lot of time writing what I thought were traditional fly fishing stories and sending them to places and getting rejected,” Tomine said, “One of them said ‘We publish stories. This is not a story,’ so I felt pretty defeated.” “Confessions of a Steelhead Bum” changed that, injecting Tomine with confidence in his writing ability and encouragement to proceed with his own brand of fly fishing literature.

Along with fishing and family, conservation is a focal point of “Headwaters.” Salmon and steelhead have lost huge swaths of their habitat to dams and resource extraction, and many wild populations are also being decimated by the introduction of hatchery fish. Tomine became a fierce protector of salmon and steelhead after the spring steelhead fishery on his backyard stream, the Skykomish River in Washington State, was closed due to low fish counts. Tomine writes, “after two decades without a spring fishery on the Skykomish, the number of wild steelhead continues to languish and the fishery remains closed. I still feel the pain of missing my favorite river and fish every time March rolls around, and more than that, my distress over the fact that it isn’t improving continues to grow.” Much of “Headwaters” in one way or another is a plea to save salmon and steelhead from demise at the hands of humans, and Tomine’s authenticity makes clear why he is looked to as one their most prominent defenders.

Although fish of many species and origins are caught throughout “Headwaters,” Tomine will always be a steelhead fisherman. What is it about those fish specifically that drives anglers to spend days casting in abominable weather just for the chance to hold one? It’s hard to explain but, as Tomine said, “They’re one of the only fish that when you lose one you feel like crying.” “Headwaters,” composed partially of previously published work and interspersed with stories and vignettes written specifically for the book, comes together to become, like the steelhead rivers that its stories are steeped in, something more than a sum of its parts.

Dylan Tomine will be holding an event for “Headwaters” on June 21 at Fins and Feathers Fly Shop in Bozeman at 2 p.m. For more information about Dylan and his writing, visit https://www.dylantomine.com/.