It's Not about the Fish

Less than thirty feet away from a monster steelhead, Bryan, about to cast, is on the brink of discovering one of life’s important secrets. Suddenly he’s stopped by a chilling question, “What right do you have to cast to a magnificent fish like this?” That thought initiates the recollection of a journey through learning to fly fish that has fortuitously brought him to this point in time. Having always been fascinated with fly-fishing while growing up on a hardscrabble ranch too small to survive, Bryan’s journey begins on a quaint Montana creek at a time others his age are suffering mid-life crises. That first fly-fishing lesson leads to a host of encounters, each contributing to the understanding that the meaning of life has nothing to do with a peaty single malt scotch crisply splashed over ice, but the journey does. The cast of characters each add to Bryan’s appreciation that what you learn is never as important as what you will do with it. In the end, after Bryan learns life’s single truth and the secret to all happiness, we return to the monster steelhead. However, life is not always what it seems and Bryan faces an unexpected ethical challenge. Confronting that challenge Bryan uncovers the final piece of life’s puzzle, that there is a life going on around us that is all too frequently missed. Realizing that the peripheral life holds countless rewards, he discovers that there are even more gratifying prizes when you do the right thing.