Stand in a trout stream holding a fly rod for as many hours and days as the patience of your partner back home and the indulgence of your boss, employees or stockholders will permit. Sooner or later, you’ll catch a spotted porpoise of a fish so improbably outsized for the shallow confines of the freshwater creek where it swims that you won’t believe it.
Neither would Landon Mayer, if he were with you. Still, he’d probably ask, “Dude, what took you so long?” Not that he wouldn’t share your exuberance. No, what this 30-something wunderkind fly-fishing guide would mean is that there really wasn’t much luck involved at all. You were in the right place at the right time and you made all the right moves. The monster brown or rainbow trout you’re holding into the clear current so it can catch its breath before you release it is proof–even if you’re not entirely sure what you did to deserve it.
