I’m Justin Lee, thanks for stopping by. My Grandpa taught me to fish in the trout stream at Bennett Spring State Park-the premier trout park in the Great Show Me State of Missouri when I was only 6 or 7. I have been chasing fish (mostly trout) ever since. I learned using a Zebco 33 on a bargain store fishing rod. My most vivid memories are the thrill of catching one and the disappointment of coming back empty-handed.
In 1985 while in high school I was lucky enough to get a free fly fishing lesson from Charlie Reading while a guest at Sand Spring Resort. And the obsession began. This crazy method of fishing took over my mind. I bought a Walmart fly fishing outfit and began my “serious” pursuit of trout. Fly tying offered me a way to be active in fly fishing while at home in the evenings and in Winter. But my passion was casting flies in the stream at Bennett Spring. During college, I shifted gears and fished for bass primarily but still fly fished several times per year.
After college, I moved to Iowa which felt like being banished to Siberia. I was so far away from my beloved trout streams. But all was not lost, and I made the best catch ever! I met my future wife! And come to find out she and her family were trout fishermen! There was a spring-fed pond close by and they took me there! I knew “It was meant to be” and a few years later we married.
We moved back to my hometown in Missouri and started our family. Raising kids kept trout fishing on the back burner but we always managed a few trips every year. Once the nest was empty, we immersed ourselves fully in fly fishing. Currently we currently fly fish up to 3 weekends per month and use a significant amount of vacation time casting flies. We consider ourselves “purists”, so we like learning about the history of fly fishing and the evolution of the sport. We learn something new every time we hit the stream. Fly fishing has been a great way to spend time with each other and friends, old and new.
I was lucky and got to teach my closest friends fly fishing and now I have also taught their kids as well. My favorite piece of advice to offer fellow fisherman is “You have to understand what is going on at the end of your line.” We would love to share our fly fishing stories and experiences with you!
Hi, I’m Sheila Lee and I grew up in the small town of Clinton, Iowa on the Mississippi River. As far back as I can remember, fishing and the outdoors have been a normal part of my life. I have many great childhood memories of my sister and me playing in the water in the river and the different lakes and streams nearby. Not too long ago I ran across a picture when I was a knobby-kneed 10-year-old girl holding a perch fish with a big smile on my face. I would get so excited when I would catch a fish my knees would shake! I never knew how important fishing would become to me at that time.
Fishing, especially trout fishing, has become a way for Justin and me to escape from the real world’s hustle and bustle. There is something about being out there that washes away all your troubles. You get a thrill when you focus and finally hook that fish you have been trying to catch all day. It becomes addictive. Justin has taught me a lot about fishing for Trout over the years. At first, it was hard to understand the “what” and “why” of fly-fishing, but like I told him just yesterday, I finally “get it.”