52 Weeks, 52 Rivers
by Shelley Walchak
Fly-fishing a river a week, writing essays, following my passion, hoping to inspire others, and highlighting issues that affect this most valuable resource.
As a teacher and librarian, it’s been interesting to note the variety of ways people learn. There’s been a ton of research on this and it has certainly been a personal challenge over the years to address all my students and patrons (library) learning styles.
When I cast my first line in the Uintah River in Utah 18 years ago, I had never read a book or manual about the intricacies of the sport. I wanted to learn by getting my feet wet and just having fun. On the other hand, my husband told me he had read about how to fly-fish for over a year before he made his first cast. And, during the first year he fished, he never caught a single fish! Wow, to have that kind of patience.
After that first experience 18 years ago, I took a hiatus from fly-fishing for eight years before I got really serious about it. That happened in 2009 when my husband and I vacationed on the Bighorn River signing up to stay at a lodge for four nights and fish for three days. My husband’s motto is “never try to teach your wife how to drive, golf or fly-fish” so we hired a guide to teach me for three days as he sat in the back of the boat and did his own thing. This was exactly my cup of tea – having someone show me how to cast, how to read the water, how to choose a fly, how to tie on a fly, etc. I could get immediate feedback and ask questions when I recognized I wasn’t getting it. I fell in love that weekend with fly-fishing. So much so that I made a complete life change.
In 2013 I quit my job and fished a different river every week for a year in the Rocky Mountain states and then wrote a book about it – 52 Rivers: A Woman’s Fly Fishing Journey. I hired a guide at the beginning of each week to help me understand the river and help me with fly selection – and just have great company. I also found meaning in all the books, articles and Internet information now that I had some hands-on practical experience.
As a librarian, I learned the value of storytelling, both from the experts in the field and in my own experiences. I believe that stories are integral to our survival because they help us to experiment with our emotions and strategize on the challenges we face in life.
In my blog, and now my book, I’ve told a lot of stories. They are about fly-fishing, the outdoors, traveling, people, challenges, joys and fears. I took leaps and stumbled although I always learned something valuable. In the end, my stories are meant to give you courage and inspiration to pursue your own path to a more passionate life. I plan on telling a lot more stories.
After my year of fishing and then writing a book, I returned to the world of education and took a job in Bayfield as the Library Director. I am proud to announce that we are putting together a special collection of fly-fishing books that will match any collection around the country. The collection will be based on Pat Oglesby’s life-long obsession with purchasing fly-fishing books. Pat was head of Western Colorado’s Trout Unlimited division for years and was an avid and well-known angler.
The Pine River Library is so pleased to pull this together and will have a grand opening to celebrate Pat and fly-fishing. The event will take place at the Pine River Library on October 04, 2018 from 5:30 – 7:00 with Carol Oglesby, Pat’s wife of 42 years. Click here for more information.
