During our inaugural podcast, we mentioned how excited we were to feature Sean Thomas, a phenomenal fisherman and a very close friend of Bryce's, on our blog. Sean is a very gifted writer and seems to have a "sixth sense" when it comes to creating a world through words that perfectly encapsulates the mindset of a day on the water. Below is Sean's first blog post of many, where he recaps the origins of a brotherhood and what fly fishing and friendship have meant to him through different chapters of his life. Enjoy!
Here is a little backstory of how I know Bryce. We both attended Colorado State University – Pueblo. He was there for a great education and Army ROTC (I think that was through UCCS if I’m not mistaken) and I was there on scholarship for golf. When I transferred into the school in 2010 Bryce was a freshman. He was roommates with Matt, a fellow golfer, at the time. It didn’t take long for our mutual obsession of fly fishing to lead to hour long talks about the river, and we quickly realized that we needed to get out on the water together. The previous long talks about fly fishing, quickly turned into long days on the river. There were days that we would hit the riffles at 5:45 AM (post ROTC for Bryce, animal!). We would fish up until 30 minutes before lecture. Most days we would drive straight to class… I’m sure our fellow classmates appreciated the smell of trout in the morning! Some days we would try and get out for an evening session, not a bad life to live. It was clear that we both wanted to spend our free time doing one of the following; fishing, talking about fishing, watching fish porn, tying flies or drinking beer post fishing. I will never forget those days because it was the beginning of our friendship. I owe a lot to fly fishing, including my brotherhood with Bryce.
Where did we fish do you ask? Well, believe it or not there is a famous tailwater section of the Arkansas river that flows right through town. While this river is mostly known for its Mother’s Day caddis hatches high up in the mountains, the tailwater is near and dear to our hearts. The Tailwater is by far my favorite place to fish in the winter time. It fishes like a typical western tailwater, except that it flows through residential neighborhoods and business parks. The number of fish is staggering and the size that some of them grow to be is incredible… you might notice one of these fish in a photo on the website. It’s the one where Bryce is holding up a cut-bow that more closely resembles a king salmon out of Alaska. It doesn’t get much better than being able to drive 10 minutes to have a shot at the fish of a lifetime. If you have never fished this section, I urge you to give it a shot, you won’t be disappointed.
Those days have since passed and, probably just like most of you, I have moved onto a 9-5 desk job. Given my background of college golf and fly fishing, you can imagine that going into the work force wasn’t my first choice. I spend most of my days addressing the proverbial fire drill that always seems to arise on a Friday at 4 PM. Being in corporate America is rather comical. Based on some of the conversations I have around the office, you would think that I work as ER doctor in Denver General. I’ll be the first to tell you that corporate finance is never an emergency. Let’s not confuse my occupation with one that saves lives.
So, cheers to you boys and cheers to spreading passion and love for the sport of fly fishing. Let’s all raise a glass of bourbon to Bryce and Justin, the true heroes.
- Sean Thomas
Stay tuned for future blog posts by Sean, as well as Episode 2 of the BourbonandBrowns Podcast!