I grew up half an hour from a blue-ribbon tailwater trout fishery. The Gray Reef section of the North Platte River in central Wyoming, where hundreds of anglers flock each week to wade and float, was just a short drive out of town.

I could work a full day and still reel in half a dozen feisty rainbows before dark. But then we moved.

We love our new home in the prairie, don’t get me wrong. But half an hour from a tail water it is not. Driving hours each weekend to our favorite spots works fine -- our after-work fishing options, however, require a little creativity.

"Keep it simple” is a mantra often recited by many a fly fisher but rarely actually practiced. Let's face it, most anglers love collecting stuff and lots of it. In particular, fly patterns have long been a desired object to tie and or/collect. As I continue to travel more and meet new fly fishers- fly patterns are often the focus point of our discussions.

You can never have enough flies is what many say, but is there such a thing as too many flies? As a recovering fly hoarder, I can say without certainty that yes, you can have too many flies.