Glenn: People often asked me when I started fly fishing. Well, I got my first fly rod about the same time I got my first baseball glove. I was about 8 years old, but that still isn’t really the beginning… my first real fly fishing memories are from the late1940s -memories of sitting on the bank of Matilija Creek near Ojai, California. I was about 3 years old and I was tethered to my mom’s belt. See, she was an avid fly fisherwoman. Nothing stood between her and her fly fishing; certainly being a young mother wasn’t an obstacle to her. And she had learned from her dad, my grandfather, who long ago in the early 20’s had owned a fish hatchery on the slope of the San Bernardino Mountains in Southern California near what would later become the city of Riverside. And that’s how I grew up. If I wasn’t playing baseball, I was fishing. And that makes Scott the 4th generation in a direct line of fly fishers.
Fast forward to our years as young parents and countless family vacations to camping and fishing destinations with our 6 kids which of course included visiting every fly shop along the way. These times often included entertaining ourselves and the kids on long drives with far-fetched dreams of someday having our own family fly shop. That dream got closer than we realized in 1990 when we moved our family to Bend to be closer to the outdoor life we love. As a civil engineer with my own business for 35 years, I have had the freedom to incorporate memorable family fishing time into my schedule. Now, with the kids grown, it’s rewarding beyond measure to watch the little grandkids wader up or hop into a boat and head for the water with a fly rod and a smile! Now we’re talking 5th generation!
Janie: Well, my story is a little different. No camping in my background, much less fishing! And with 6 kids to handle, not all of them wanting to fish with their dad, my ‘fishing’ consisted of playing Go Fish with a dusty deck of cards on some cooler in the shade of some big tree on the banks of some river somewhere in the middle of nowhere entertaining the little ones and feeding them peanut butter and jelly sandwich picnics. But I loved it! We scoured the banks of those rivers looking for treasures -often starting our hunts looking for arrowheads and ending up with a whole collection of beer bottle caps instead! And very pleased with our ‘treasures’! But my fishing time finally came just a few years ago learning from Glenn and Scott and getting mini-impromptu casting lessons from guides. I absolutely love getting out there on the water, whether it’s dry fly fishing off the lava cliffs at East Lake or wading and casting to risers under boughs of overhanging trees on the majestic Deschutes River. Glenn and I also love getting out with the clients on the occasions that we’re baggers, cooking and camping out there. So, you can see, I’ve come a long way, as we all somehow manage to do in life one way or the other. And I count myself blessed to be part of this wonderful life experience as an owner in Fly & Field Outfitters and Guide Service.
Glenn & Janie: Our life has been filled with memorable adventures on the waters of Central Oregon. Now we welcome you to our Fly & Field Family. Join us in the shop or on a fly fishing adventure. We can hardly wait to hear YOUR story!