Around The Next Bend - Introducing The Next Bend Journal

A reflection on curiosity and what keeps us moving

There’s a moment I keep coming back to.

I’m standing mid-river, water pushing against my knees, and I’ve just worked a run for the better part of an hour. Nothing. Not a rise, not a refusal, not even a curious follow. The logical thing would be to turn around, head back to the truck, call it.

But then I look upstream. There’s a bend maybe a hundred yards ahead - can’t see past it from here. And something in me says, Just one more.

Not because I think there’s a trophy trout waiting. Not because I’m chasing something I don’t have. Just because I want to see what’s there.

That’s the feeling I can’t shake. And I think it’s why I fish.

Not About the Destination

Fly fishing has this way of teaching you to let go of outcomes. You can plan the perfect day - right fly, right water, right conditions - and still walk away empty-handed. Or you can stumble onto a back creek you’ve never fished and have the afternoon of your life.

The Next Bend doesn’t promise anything. It just invites you to stay curious.

And maybe that’s enough.

What We Find in the In-Between

Most of my best days on the water aren’t the ones where I caught the most fish. They’re the ones where I noticed something I’d walked past a hundred times before. The way light hits a riffle at a certain angle. The rhythm of a cast that finally clicks. The quiet that settles in when you stop trying so hard.

The Next Bend isn’t about what’s waiting around the corner. It’s about paying attention to what’s right here - and being willing to keep moving anyway.

Why We Keep Going

I’ve fished the same rivers for years. I know where the good holes are. I know what works. And still, every time I’m out there, I find myself drifting toward water I haven’t seen yet.

Not because I’m restless. Not because I need more. But because there’s something about the unknown that feels honest. It doesn’t let you coast. It asks you to stay awake.

Fly fishing teaches you that comfort is a trap. Not in a harsh way - just in a true one. Growth lives in the unfamiliar. And the unfamiliar is always just around The Next Bend.

The Choice

Here’s what I know: The river will keep flowing whether I walk around that bend or not. The fish will keep rising. The world will keep turning.

But I’ll always wonder.

And I’d rather know than wonder.

So I keep going. Not because I think something better is waiting. But because I want to see what’s there. Because curiosity feels more alive than certainty. Because the act of moving forward - on the water, at the vise, in life - is the whole point.

That’s what The Next Bend means to me. Not a destination. Not a promise. Just an invitation to stay curious, stay present, and keep going.

The Next Bend Journal is where we share reflections on fly fishing, fly tying, and the lessons we find along the way. Because it’s not just about the fish - it’s about what we discover in the process.