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Patagonia Founder, Wyoming Conservationist Preaches Fly-Fishing Simplicity & Naked Climbing
Wyoming resident and conservation icon Yvon Chouinard joined forces with Craig Mathews — the “dean” of fly fishing in Yellowstone in a new book that urges anglers and the rest of the world to do more with less — like climbing El Capitan completely naked, at night.
Chouinard drew a stark picture of the stakes. When he was born, 2.5 billion people lived on Earth. Now it’s more than 8 billion, “using the resources of seven planets.”
“It doesn’t take a businessman to know that’s bankruptcy,” he said.
His solution?
“Simplify your life,” said Chouinard, who has replaced his once massive collection of fly boxes with one tiny one. “Consume less, consume better. And anybody can do that. I think what we’re learning from going out with a fly box this big is a metaphor for society. Try to simplify.”
While fly shops overflow with millions of patterns designed to separate anglers from their money, Chouinard spent a year proving you can catch fish anywhere in the world with variations of just one fly.
