About Current Flow State

It can be tough to connect deeply with a new passion, especially one as complex as fly fishing. My goal is to help beginners overcome hurdles to developing their own fly fishing practice. To help you build the skills and access the tools you need to find solace through angling, and unlock a great tool to reduce stress and magnify your sense of wonder in the world.

A page from The New York Times showing Nick Parish teaching an Iraq war veteran how to cast a fly rod.

Current Flow State is me, Nick Parish, a Portland, Oregon-based writer and editor. My work has appeared in New York Magazine, the New York Post, Advertising Age, Contagious, Creativity, Flaunt, Slam, and more.

I've fished most of my life. I've helped dozens of people, young and old, from CEOs to construction workers, catch their first fish on a fly. Nothing gets me more excited than helping others find their passion for this wonderful sport.

For the past several years, I've been leading fly fishing instruction in Portland Community College's community education program. I teach beginners how to fly fish, and lead more experienced anglers on outings here Oregon.

My ever-evolving philosophy on fly fishing and life—through essays, my library of teaching notes and learning Pillars, and more—is captured here on Current Flow State.

A fly angler watches his fly drift into some shadows down a shallow river
Your author, making a key presentation mistake (look at all that slack on the water), when he was old enough to have known better.

Everyone was a beginner once

Fly fishing can be incredibly frustrating, and downright daunting to the newbie. It's still a sport with strong elements of elitism. There's a rightful perception of some big barriers to entry. Cost, a high learning curve, and access to the outdoors all get in the way.

I had a lot of help when I first started out. Family, friends, and clubs helped me gather knowledge to work around those barriers.

I caught my first big trout at age eight from a rowboat on northern Michigan's famous Au Sable river. Shamefully, it was on a nightcrawler, not a fly. But it wasn't long before I discovered the challenge and reward of fly fishing.

These days, I've got a career and a family of my own. There are thousands of hours, and half a continent's worth of distance from that moment. But I still reach back to that first sense of joy, and work to help others experience it themselves.

Current Flow State is my attempt to share that knowledge with a wider audience. To help you find your feet in the sport. And maybe experience a few fewer tangles and dead-ends along the way.

Join us

I hope you'll subscribe to the free newsletter, which goes out every Monday during fishing season.

If you're eager to learn more, consider becoming part of our paid membership program.

Membership benefits, including access to all site content on the site, 1-on-1 conversations, and more, will help you get more fulfillment from your time spent angling, and introduce you to a like-minded community of supporters.

All the work you see here is member-supported. There is no sponsorship or advertising. Memberships give me the necessary encouragement I need to create and share this material more widely. Read more on our editorial policy here.