I was born in southwestern Pennsylvania, and my family moved to the Shenandoah Valley when I was a year old. Other than some weeks in various places for Scouting events, I’ve lived my life in the Valley. I fished a lot when I was younger with my family as my father was an avid angler (and hunter). I have always loved the outdoors, but when I aged out of Scouts I kind of lost the motivation to get outside. I had friends that were much more of the indoor types and that really tethered me more to the city than I had been. I had always had these types of friends, but Scouting kept me going outside on a regular basis. I went to school, I got a job, I got married, and life went on.
In the past couple of years I have battled anxiety and depression issues. I’m open about my mental health because I think more people should be. I have put a lot on my own plate and it has overwhelmed me at times. Part of my own self care was finding a way to get back outside because it’s a way for me to not worry about everything else. To not be on someone else’s schedule. To just be there. So I decided to pick up fishing again.
I picked up my tackle bag from the shed at my parents’ and I found my last fishing license in it. It was from 2007. I am writing this in 2018, so it had been 11 years since I had gone fishing. Since then, I have been making it my goal to go fishing at least once a week as a kind of decompression. But it has also become a bit of a passion as I watch YouTubers, read blogs, chat on forums, and get generally nerdy about fishing.
I should note here that I am an accountant by training, but am working on a degree in public policy. I became an accountant to get a job, but policy is what I love. Finding ways to improve the lives of the people is my biggest motivation in life. So as I have become more into fishing, clean water initiatives have become a major thing for me. Just be aware that this may be a discussion on here from time to time as water sources are our lifeblood, and we must take care of them.
Anyway, this blog will be about my fishing adventures, my thoughts on gear/tackle, probably some environmental rants, and just randomness. All of it will be related to fishing, though, so while I am a very political person I will only discuss political issues that relate to fishing/the outdoors on here and on my related social media. I just wanted you to know what you would be getting into by reading this blog.
Hope you enjoy!
Shenandoah Angling 