I watched “Mysis Mike” Kingsbury throw a cast upstream to a pod of feeding browns. Mysis Mike’s dry fly disappeared in a swirl, and he waited a full count before firmly lifting his rod, driving the hook point home. His rod buckled and bounced, and I waltzed upstream to see the fish. Blue-winged olives hatched in earnest all around me.

“What fly are you using?” I asked Mike, once he pulled the hook free. He knelt and cradled the big brown — a nice 21-inch trout — in the water, admiring the fish’s pale yellows and bright blues.

“A hook,” Mike replied.

Though few positive side effects resulted from the coronavirus pandemic that descended on the globe in early 2020, one of the most significant may be the nationwide and worldwide rekindling of people’s desire to spend time outdoors. Though initially a product of necessity—leisure activities or socializing with others, in many parts of the country, required one to be outside—this shift, for many, quickly blossomed into a revitalized love affair with all things outside.