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Hey Guys!

Welcome to the 30th Issue of Guys Fishing Weekly!

Thanks for spending even just a little of your week with us. We are grateful for you!

Stay Legendary,

- The GFW Boys

I’m not sure who threw the first rock, as it was a long time ago. We’re talking 25 years or more. In the 28+ years of taking our annual GFW trip, we have been all over the state of Colorado. Lots of water, lots of towns, lots of fish, and more importantly than any of those (maybe), lots of laughter.

When you put 6-8 guys on a river together, fishing for days at a time, the number of casts you make gets forgotten. Heck, even the number of fish you catch gets forgotten. Perhaps, not the big ones, but I certainly don’t have the brain power to remember all the fish I’ve caught.

But every year on GFW, the moments seem to be what we talk about. Those singular moments that give us something more than what we signed up for.

Back when we started this annual jaunt into the Rocky Mountains, it was a three day extravaganza. We would leave on Thursday afternoon, as soon as the working stiffs could leave the office. Pile into a two trucks, drive a couple-a-few hours, fish on the way up if daylight allowed, and head home on Sunday, aiming to reunite with family around the dinner table.

As you might imagine, the ride home is always the worst, as it signals the end of what is a true getaway from life. The thought of having to go back to responsibility

s. fishing all day with your buddies creates a feeling of conflict in us all.

Needless to say, the rides home are usually more quiet.

As a last ditch effort to keep the weekend going, I always try to find us a way home that takes us by a river to fish. I try to find places we maybe haven’t fished, but a lot of times it ends up being bigger, more well known rivers that see a lot of pressure. It’s not so much about the water on the drive home, as it is about one last opportunity for some quality time with the boys.

This particular year didn’t disappoint!

Our crew is always out for laughter. It becomes challenging to find new and unique ways to fuck with each other on the water for a day of fishing. But as I said, this particular year was early on, and we were young with our knowledge and ideas about how to punk each other while fishing.

One of our timeless gags, which we still do after 28 years, is to throw a rock into the hole of a guy who has lost himself in the fishing and hasn’t yet recognized your presence.

When fishing a river with so many bros, it becomes a challenge to softly and quietly come up on one of your fishing buddies…just for the purpose of being able to mess with him in some way.

The classic way is to find a decent sized rock, one that will fill your grip when you pick it up, but light enough to lob over the head of the unlucky soul fishing in a particular spot. The goal is to have it hit the water with a big enough splash that it scares the shit out of your buddy, and elicit the standard “asshole” name calling. And the added benefit of forcing him to move on to another spot, which allows time for you to walk, chat, and laugh together.

Well, flashback 25 years to this particular river, we weren’t catching many fish. The six of us found ourselves together, split into threes on each side of the river.

I’m pretty sure we were discussing our options… we could head back to the homestead in plenty of time to reenter life with hugs and smiles from the wife and kids.

OR… as any good fisherman would do, we could stay and fish more with the hopes that the catching would pick up, sacrificing a pleasant return home, earning a solid tongue lashing from the Mrs.

During the disjointed discussion where clearly no one wanted to make a decision, someone thought it would be funny to throw a rock and have it land in the water as close to another guy as possible, so as to splash him.

As soon as the first rock landed and was successful in its intent, it became a challenge. A retaliatory salvo was fired, as the boys on the other bank didn’t take too kindly to such an advance.

With the splashing of the first unfortunate victim, each rock thrown after held a giddy suspense to everyone watching, with the hopes of a bigger splash and better soaking. A direct hit resulting in water covering someone was met with a cheer and the unmistakable hollering of dudes achieving their maximum bliss. A miss was followed by a berating of the thrower by the entire band of brothers.

One by one we launched our chosen “rock bombs”…until multiple stones started to fly. It was no longer one splash. One turned into two. Then an entire side focused their attention on one single person. And what started out as a simple “game,” turned into a good old fashion rock fight!!

Imagine six grown men, three on each side of a river, donning the dorky waders and khaki fly vests of the old school fly fisherman, throwing rocks at each other. The intent was never to hit another guy with a rock. It was always about getting the other guys wet with the splash. Was there some collateral damage? I can’t say with certainty. Perhaps. But dudes surely got wet!

Rocks were flying in a constant barrage over this particular stretch of water. It was like a rainbow bridge of stones in the air. You could retreat far enough away from the water to avoid getting splashed, but somehow that didn’t seem right. Although no particular rules were ever discussed, there was an undisclosed feeling that if you didn’t stay in the “splash zone” something dehumanizing might happen. It’s just how immature dudes behave.

The thing I remember most about our rock fight was the laughter. Grown men engaged in what can only be described as an adolescent, immature venture, laughing and giggling like they were 10 years old again, not worried about the possible ways this kind of behavior could go south.

It was a retreat to a different time in our lives when we let go of all our inhibitions, reasonable thought, and worry. We just engaged with each other in the moment, and ALL of us were fully and 100% committed.

And from that, came joy and laughter.

Every year on the GFW trip, inevitably someone recalls something from a past trip that takes us down memory lane. And almost always, the moments we recall with fondness have nothing to do with the fish we caught. It has to do with the laughter we shared.

I can’t tell you who won the infamous “Rock Fight,” as there were no formal rules. Young kids making up a game for the first time often get lost in it and never come up with a specific determination of what it means to win. This was one of those times when everybody had a chance; even the most unathletic of us got off a lucky toss and did some splashing.

And similarly to the days of being a dumbass youth, trying your best to one up your buddy during a burping contest or the immaturely funny “Best Mom Joke” battle, the Rock Fight brought out the most meaningful of childish laughter.

The kind that helps you laugh like a little kid, still even to this day.

Quote of the Week

What We Are Watching

Ajises - Fly Fishing the Bolivian Amazon

The Provo Boys (@ianprovo on IG) put together a great video look into fishing in the Bolivian Jungle on the Ajises River. Really cool footage a quick watch. Highly recommend taking 8 minutes out of your day to dream!

What We Are Reading

Better Small Talk by Patrick King

Talk to Anyone, Avoid Awkwardness, Generate Deep Conversations, and Make Real Friends

Ever felt like you suck at small talk? Well, you do… This book is a master class in dreaded “small talk”. Patrick does a great job of breaking down the stages of a conversation and how to address and progress through each level. Super actionable with tips that you can easily pick up and use. Highly recommended!

Fish of the Week

@finsandpins Chinook Salmon

An absolute #2024Goal…

One Fly Pattern

@frank.brassard’s Caddis Larva

Taking a nymph fly to an all new ultrarealistic level! Might as well have threaded an actual bug on the hook…

One Cause to Learn About

Take A Vet Fishing

With the slogan of “A Day of Giving Back”, Take A Vet Fishing has the clear mission of honoring the men and women veterans who serve to keep the USA safe. Since their inception in 2012, they have hosted over 50 events that have provided 900+ US Military Veterans with a therapeutic day on the water.

Website | Ways to Give

Nuggets for Nibblin’

Be better at small talk

How to get a tan in a cave?

Fishing Tackle business stats

Free Ozempic-like Food?

Merch is Here!!!

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