“We’re not gonna turn things around without changing government, because government can make big changes. I mean, if you’ve got a politician who’s running for office, who thinks he’s smarter than 98% of the world’s climate scientists ... they’re crooks or they’re dumb-asses.”

— Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia in the Conservation Hawks film COLD WATERS

I’m a wannabe trout bum. I feel absolutely no shame about admitting this. I’ve pored over John Gierach’s writings before bed, read casting books on my morning commute, or just perused fly fishing magazines while laying around on a Sunday afternoon. I’ve often thought to myself how great it would be to throw caution to the wind, put my belongings in storage and head out west in pursuit of the various species of Salmonidae that have come to occupy an ever-increasing amount of space in my head.