| At this point, I have been an avid fly fisherman for over 6 years. While my uncle is partially to thank for getting me into the sport, I primarily took the plunge a few years back in an effort to spend more time outside. Residing in Dallas, TX I have to really go out of my way to find pockets inside or outside the city that provide an escape from the hustle and bustle of living in a big city. Thanks to annual camping trips with my family I grew up with an appreciation for the outdoors. While the appreciation was there, my true love for the outdoors and personal sense of responsibility for the outdoors didn’t kick in until I began fly fishing. This blog post won’t dive into the technical details of fly fishing, but it will briefly highlight the importance of having a hobby that builds your appreciation for the world you live in. Walking into a river for the first time to start a day of fly fishing is an amazing feeling. There is no greater feeling of being one with nature than when the water flows around you, the wind blows through the trees on the bank, and see small insects begin to descend on the water. Below is an image of my wife, Emma, that perfectly captures this feeling. Knowing your environment is one of the key areas of success in fly fishing. Outside of knowing what the best weather, air pressure, and areas are for fishing you also have to know HOW the fish feed and WHAT they feed on. This can change drastically from season to season and it is critical to sit and observe the river before taking the first cast of the day. Below is a photo I snapped of molted stonefly skins while fishing the Conejos River in CO. This increased awareness that came with fly fishing helped educate me on just how complex and exciting these ecosystems are. As my appreciation grew, my desire to protect these ecosystems that I grew to love similarly grew. At the start of COVID these ecosystems changed for the worse. With cities being in lockdown, folks from around the country who typically stuck to the city started finding themselves exploring the outdoors. For many, this exposed them to the same sentiments that I expressed above. For others, this was an opportunity to trash and disrespect these ecosystems. Apart from campsites being trashed at some of my favorite campsites close to Dallas, rivers themselves were also getting trashed. On a recent trip to Lower Mountain Fork River in OK, I made my way down to one of the spots that I had frequented before COVID. At the spot where I normally walked into the river, I saw a number of beer cans, fishing lines, tobacco tins, and tons of other pieces of trash. While I, unfortunately, don’t have a picture, I included the image below to illustrate what I am seeing at some of these spots today. So what can be done? While it angers me to see this blatant disrespect for rivers and ecosystems I love so much, anger is ultimately not the answer. At the end of the day, it comes back to educating others and encouraging folks to take strides to assume responsibility for our local and global ecosystems. Since my company, CouchCycled, is focused on reducing furniture waste and giving back I am always open to learning new ways to help educate others. If this is an area that is similarly a passion for you and your organization I encourage you to reach out. As for building an appreciation for the world you live in? Maybe try fly fishing. About the Author Roman is the co-owner of CouchCycled which he started with Andrew Muniz in 2021. Professionally, Roman has a background in software sales and has worked for companies ranging from small startups up to large companies like Cisco. Outside of work, Roman has always had a passion for the outdoors and regularly spends time camping and fly fishing. Don’t hesitate to reach out over text or email if you have any questions about CouchCycled or just want to connect About CouchCycled CouchCycled offers free in-home couch and furniture removal in an effort to reduce furniture waste in Dallas/Fort Worth while giving back to the community. All removed couches are renewed and resold at an affordable price. A percentage of all sales are donated. |
