Summer marks a seasonal phenomenon for skiers. Guys and gals who’ve been committed to the pow all winter long suddenly trade in their planks for equipment of a much lighter kind.

Helmets turn into hats, ski poles turn into fishing poles, jackets turn into waders, and knee deep pow turns into knee deep water. As skiers drift into summer, they find the need to recreate the adrenaline-pumping energy that comes from ripping into a mountain. Many of these adrenaline junkies find themselves on the water during the summer months, casting lines instead of shredding them, in pursuit of the ultimate stoke.

Photo credit: Ian Provo
Caption: "Old man and The Green"

“Many of these adrenaline junkies find themselves on the water during the summer months, casting lines instead of shredding them.”

You’ve probably spotted these water whippers in their natural habitat, occupying your local rivers, casting their lines with true art form, or maybe just getting snagged in the brush... A few of these seasonal creatures are our very own Warren Miller athletes.

Ian Provo and Forrest Jillson are both professional skiers who define the meaning of “getting after it”. These WME athletes’ stoke carries over into the warmer months when they need to find other outlets to fulfill their adrenaline junkie spirit.

For some skiers, hooking into a big ole fish does the trick to mimic the hand-shaking feeling of roaring down a run. Forrest Jillson, who is featured in this year’s Warren Miller film, Face of Winter, says that when you’re fishing, “Your whole mind is turned off and your focus is on catching fish.” While Jillson is mainly a commercial fisherman, he says that he’s done enough fly fishing to know that “immersing yourself fully in skiing and fly fishing triggers that same feeling in the brain.” The feeling Jillson is talking about is the adrenaline-pumping, heart-pounding rush that you feel when you see a sweet line, fresh pow, or a monster fish. 

   
Photo credit: Ian Provo
Caption: "From an epic trip aa  few years ago w/ @angling_frontiers, my bother strikes gold in the Bolivian Amazon. #flyfishing #GoldenDorado"

While skiing and fly fishing are done at completely different paces, the former a high-speed action sport and the latter a patient waiting game, they both bring the thrill-chasing energy that skiers and anglers thrive on, just in different ways. Ian Provo, who was featured in 2018’s Line of Descent and 2015’s Chasing Shadows, says that fly fishing is “incredibly relaxing, which is a nice change of pace from the freezing temperatures and high energy days of the winter.”

The days when you’re on the river, with the warm sun beating down on your shoulders and the cold water running through your toes as you wet wade, are the days that give anglers all the best feels. On these stoke filled days, skier-anglers have an additional feeling running through them: gratitude. Provo says, “You come to realize when you're standing knee deep in a cool freestone river on a hot summer day, that the water which sustains the lives of all the insects and fish necessary to make fly fishing a thing is the same water you were ripping through months before, albeit in the frozen form.”  

The gratitude for the natural elements that make fly fishing and skiing possible is a mutual respect that can be shared between both sports. Just like the feeling you get while skiing when you bomb a landing or get swept away in slough, in fly fishing nothing is more humbling than the one that got away.

"Nothing is more humbling than the one that got away."

All anglers have a story about the fish that never made it into the net or the fish that broke off taking the fly with it as a souvenir. Provo recently had one of these moments... He did everything he could to set the fly up just right; he cast into the perfect spot, let the fly drift in, and made a solid connection with the fish. Provo says the fish took the fly “first with his head, slowly breaking the surface, followed by his broad shoulders and powerful tail, which was the kind of sight that sends adrenaline racing through your body.”

Provo’s “grande” sized fish had just a little more energy than expected, and although he was able to quickly play the fish in, it came just short of the net. Provo then says, “I knew I was screwed—hemmed in by thick willow cover and a low hanging bridge just downstream—the fish went and pulled me under the bridge into a deep hole filled with rocks and broke me off.”

The frustration that occurs from “the one that got away” moments is definitely a blow to the angling skills you thought you had. There’s nothing quite like a wake-up call from Mother Nature when you realize that a 25 inch fish with a brain the size of a pea can outsmart you. It is this uncontrollable behavior of nature that is a key component to skiers’ and anglers’ love for their sport. When you’re able to realize that nature is a majestic and unforgiving force, it makes you appreciate the small wins you have on the water and the snow all the more.

Keep up with all things fly fishing here.

Photo credit: Forrest Jillson
Caption: "Spending some much enjoyed time on one of my favorite bodies of water before the scenery changes."