A Day in the Life of a Curated Fly Fishing Expert

It’s 5:30 am and I feel a set of tiny hands touching my face. “Mama. Mama. Get up!” Soft whispers slowly turn into whisper yells.

Before my feet touch the ground, another little set of feet come pounding into my room; at this point in my life, extra sleep has been traded for early mornings with my little boys—two little blondies that are two and four years old.

The three of us walk into the kitchen for our morning cup. Coffee for myself & apple juice straight up for them.

“Mama, what can we do today?” my four-year-old asks me with puppy eyes.

“Fish, baby. We’re going fishing.” I respond between sips of my oat milk latte.

I get my boys settled on the couch with breakfast and their favorite cartoon while I sit at our kitchen table and open my laptop.

Bing! A new Curated message notification pops up across my screen. “Mornin’ what’s the difference between a fly line & a leader?”

I live for these questions. Basic intro questions with no pretense. These are the same questions I was googling, on my own, a few years ago—everybody starts somewhere. “Bill! Good morning! Let’s dig into that…”

I fire off a few more messages to make sure my clients are taken care of; I like to follow up with all my existing customers first thing in the morning. I want to make sure their gear has arrived safely so that if there are any issues, I’ve got the entire day ahead of us to get it fixed. I don’t want my customers to go to bed with unresolved issues. By the time my messages have slowed down, my coffee cup is dry and it’s time to get my kids out the door and to the water.

I’m not sure I’ve experienced a more hectic moment in my life than trying to get two little boys out the door to go somewhere. It’s an endless amount of redirection and reminding them that we need to get dressed and put our shoes on to keep the train moving. Eventually, we make it to the car, fishing rods in hand.

My boys and I make it out to one of our favorite local creeks within 15 minutes. We’re fortunate enough to live in Colorado where we’ve got access to amazing waters. I grew up on the East Coast, and let me tell you, there is nothing like fishing in Colorado.

Once we’re at the water, our routine is almost always the same. I get the kids set up with some digger toys along the sandy bank, I lay out their snacks, and then it’s my turn to get lines in the water. They are content to play while I cast to feeding trout.

Tap tap tap, my rod tip bends. With a quick line strip and a lift of my rod tip, the hook is set.

There she is, a beautiful rainbow trout hooked up onto my favorite fly of all time—lookin’ at you Baby Swim Coach. Once she’s in the net, my boys rush to my side to wonder at the beauty we’re blessed enough to encounter.

An hour later and my youngest is getting tired. I throw him into the hiking carrier and get him comfy riding on my back; this will buy me a little more time fishing before we head over to the park for a picnic lunch to close out our morning adventure.

I hand my oldest his fishing rod and get him rigged up with something that hopefully won’t get hooked into my leg. He’s been fishing since he was two and knows his way around the water. He throws out a few good casts and then the magic happens.

“Mama! It’s a fish!” He cheers beside me. He’s hooked up and there’s nothing more important to me at that moment than helping him land that fish.

I love being my kid’s net girl. There are few things more thrilling than seeing your kids love the same things you love.

We get the small rainbow trout into the net, and he is beaming ear to ear. He’s jumping and clapping. Every single fish he catches gets a full-on celebration.

Next up—his favorite part—he gets to release the trout. He knows to dip his hands into the cool water before he grabs the fish. He’s not afraid to delicately wrap his hand around its body and slowly lower her back into the water. He waits until she begins to wiggle and then he knows it’s time to let the fish swim on. He does all of this with precision that I never expected from a four-year-old little boy. His normally jittery self is so at peace when he’s got his little feet in the water catching & releasing fish.

“Mama, hungry!” I feel my youngest’s hands tapping the side of my head from his position in the carrier on my back. He’s so comfy in his spot that sometimes I forget he’s back there.

I gather up all of our items, the rods, reels, flies, toys, and snacks; and we head down the creek path and across the street to a small park. I lay out my kids’ lunch and let them relax while I pull out my phone to get some work done.

“One new voicemail” pops across my screen. I tap the icon and listen to the message: “Hey Brittany! It’s Dave in Virginia. My flies arrived and I threw on that Japanese Beetle pattern…you won’t believe what happened…29 bluegills and 1 bass! Thanks for all your help!”

This customer hadn’t left his home in over a year. He signed up to talk to an expert on Curated one night, just looking for a few flies in hopes to find the motivation to get him out of the house for an upcoming trip he was planning with a friend. I never would’ve thought that my passion for fly fishing would translate into helping someone else find so much joy in their own life. If I was a crier, I would’ve cried after listening to Dave’s message.

After lunch, I pack the boys up and we head back home. Our day continues as normal. If it was during the school year, I’d slip in a few homeschooling activities with my oldest while the youngest takes a nap, but since it’s the summer, I swap a homeschool lesson for a fly-tying lesson. He sits next to me at the kitchen table while I show him how to tie a few zebra midges. He tries his hand at some thread wraps, and once again, I’m amazed by his skill and determination.

By the time my youngest wakes up from his nap, it’s nearing 4 o’clock—the beginning of my Curated time block for connecting with customers on our online chat platform. I get my kids set up with some toys and television shows, then I plop myself next to them on the couch with my computer in my lap. I mark myself as “on-shift” and the messages begin to roll in from new customers. I’m here to guide both new anglers and anglers that have been fishing longer than I’ve been alive. There’s some sort of excitement I get when helping someone find the perfect gear for their needs and budget. It’s almost like they’re sending me on a treasure hunt – I love the thrill of the hunt.

The nights that I take an evening shift, my kids know they’re going to get one of their favorite dinners, pizza! I manage to pause my messages around 5 p.m. to get the kids some nourishment and a break from staring at the TV.

At about 5:20, I’m back on my computer taking more messages about the latest and greatest rods and reels.

It’s nearly 6:45 and my husband walks in the door from work. The kids are immediately occupied by him while I finish up my last few customer messages. He’s a fellow Curated fishing expert so he knows the deal.

Once my new customer acquisition time block has ended for the evening, it’s 7 p.m. I close my computer and give my kids hugs and get them tucked into bed.

My husband and I watch a few shows on the couch before we find ourselves half asleep and we stumble to our bed. Tomorrow is a new day and will prove to be just as beautiful as today.

If you’re looking for a memorable fishing experience reeling in more fish than you can imagine, chat into a Curated expert to get hooked up with all the gear you need. All the Fly Fishing experts are hands-on type of people who have a passion for the sport and a passion for helping our customers have an epic time on the water. Don’t be afraid to reach out to us for questions or for free, personalized advice and recommendations.