A little while back, 10 July 2020 to be exact, I made the step to change my username from @spenceronthefly to @NotOnlyTrout on Twitter, Instagram, Etsy, and my blog. I made this change for a lot of reasons and I would like share a few of them with you.
First, I want to share that I believe that in fly fishing there is a need for growth and developing ones skills. As a kid I couldn't wait to get into the mountains with my dad to catch trout. We would have days were we would both catch dozens of small, but fiesty, trout. These fish were almost always between 4 and 12 inches in length. They were fun. As I grew as an angler I got to fish some famous rivers (Green River, Yellowstone River, Madison River, Henry's Fork of the Snake, Gallatin River, etc) and I found that the challenges and the fish they held pushed me to become a better angler. That doesn't mean I still don't love the small high mountain streams full of hungry trout. Over time I fell in love with chasing species other than trout. I didn't outgrow fishing for those smaller fish - but I grew into something different. The same is true with my social media name - I have changed my social media name a couple of times over the last several years and I think I found one that will stick for quite a while.
Second, I wanted to get something that I could share my love of fishing for a wide variety of species. Several years ago I met some fantastic people on social media and at a few fly shops. I expressed my love of fly fishing and how I was looking for something new. I was presented with the idea of bass on the fly and that quickly spiraled into carp and bluegill on the fly. I have since spiraled into chasing fish in the surf whenever I am at the beach and day dreaming about trips to some flats to chase bonefish and other wonderful fish that I do not have locally. My journey into fishing is "Not Only Trout" anymore - it is chasing all the species that I can. I cannot wait to see where my travels take me and what new species and adventures I can get into.
Third, as many of you know I have 3 (soon to be 4) wonderful kids and an amazing wife. At this time my son, age 7, has a fly rod and has successfully caught a few bluegill. I am hoping to get him more into fly fishing as time goes on. My wife and my girls enjoy fishing from time to time with conventional spin gear. I love that they are fishing and getting outside - my new username does not make itself seem so exclusive on fly fishing anymore. It hopefully will cover more and more things fishing. I recently was gifted my first and second ice fishing rods (two different people gave them to me - so thank you) and I cannot wait to get out and try to ice fish this coming winter. It will hopefully be an amazing experience to learn more!
I am excited to see what adventures I will in the fishing world with family, friends, acquantiences, and whoever wants to come along for the ride with me!
Again, thank you for spending some time with me and reading this post! Please leave me a comment, a like, or a follow.