What is the point of this website?

My name is Luke and I am hoping to provide a compelling retelling of me and my buddies’ fishing adventures, maybe with a few tips sprinkled in. In this day and age of short form media, I have found it difficult to tell stories in an authentic manner and without sapping the majesty from the places we visit.

I have experimented with a YouTube channel, with strapping a GoPro to my chest while I explore places like the one in the following image. And to be honest that feels like an extraction of the beauty of our natural sanctuaries for monetary return. My hope is that a long form approach, the telling of a long story, will do a better job of honoring the places we visit, without disrupting them and the creatures that dwell within them.

I hope to one day start a fishing lodge with some of my friends, where we can work to pass on the magic of pursuing encounters with trout, salmon and steelhead to others. It is important to note the word “pursue” here, as the age old saying, “it’s about the journey, not the destination” is especially relevant when it comes to fishing. The stories told here will hopefully help reinforce this point.

I hope to at some point open these retellings up to the various friends I fish with, so that a more diverse collection of stories can be found here. I hope to create a small, close knit community via these stories, so please feel free to leave comments and questions.

What is Brightwater?

I was trying to brainstorm names for this website, for the potential company I would like to start at some point, and my brain kept going back to the following image. This photograph captures the giddy feeling that I have become fascinated by, the feeling that I hope to share with others. This feeling is one of pure awe, of seemingly endless opportunity and timelessness, where an angler is on the doorstep of communing with a nature as old as time itself. It’s a feeling that is almost futile to explain, one that is best supported with images and a good story. Hopefully the stories here will help shed more light on the magical essence of exploring our continent’s Brightwaters.