I’ve often found the phrase “the perks of the job” to be an annoyance, mostly because it usually follows a lengthy, overstated summary of tantalizing luxury, fun-packed adventure, and stunningly gorgeous locales-all of which tend to put me into a frenzy of jealousy. It is quite nice, I must say, to be on the other side of the phrase for once.

You see, I was standing in the front (bow?) of a twelve-foot raft, fly rod in hand, surrounded by big, hungry rainbow trout, and trying desperately to cast without looking like a complete amateur. Oh, and the water was moving fast. And there were lots of rocks. At the risk of sounding like a wuss (I am), it was relatively intimidating. I was about two seconds away from going for a refreshing swim, my heart was pounding, and I was loving every second of it.

My internship at Fly Fisherman magazine has (of course) continued since my last blog post, and with quite a few interesting developments. I’ve continued to edit, format, and organize a “best of” anthology of the magazine’s Seasonable Angler columns; I’m relatively close to finishing the collection in ebook form (available for Kindle and other e-readers). As the fall issue nears, I’ve been working with my boss Ross Purnell to edit and format its main articles, and I’ve even gotten to write a few short product reviews, which has definitely been the most interesting process of my internship experience thus far. Seeing the transformation of simple text documents into full-on magazine format, with photos, illustrations, captions, and advertisements has given me serious insight into an important process of the editing business.

A particular thrill has been writing a review of Mikey Wier’s DVD Soulfish 2 (you’ll hear more about him later) in the upcoming fall issue of the magazine. I’ve always wanted to write professionally, which is one of the main draws of an editing career for me; I hoped, but didn’t expect, to get this opportunity when I applied for my internship. Thankfully, it’s gone well, but the jury’s still out. They’re not calling me the Hemingway of DVD reviews just yet.

Truth be told, I’m still enjoying myself a lot. My editing skills continue to improve, and like I mentioned in my first post, the environment that Ross has created for me has allowed me to be confident and make relatively bold moves (as far as editing is concerned, mind you. It’s not as if I’m James Bond in a cubicle, though I often like to think of myself as such). Ultimately, the combination of being good at (or at least feeling good about) my work, getting a chance to do some writing, and seeing how influential an editor truly is in the production of a magazine has begun to convince me that I could enjoy a career in the field.

Let us not forget the perks of the job. Two weeks ago, my family headed out to Lake Tahoe, California, for a week-long vacation. When Ross heard where we were headed, he quickly informed me that the Truckee River, which flows into and out of Lake Tahoe, is an extremely good trout river, and proceeded not only to lend me top-of-the-line fishing gear, but also to get me in contact two excellent writers and fishermen, Greg Vinci and Mikey Wier, who live in California and fish the Truckee often. What followed next were several incredible fly fishing ventures in the midst of a fantastic family vacation. Greg Vinci and his fellow fly fishing buddy Bruch Ajari treated my dad and I to a beautiful, wonderful day on the river, along with a wealth of kind, helpful knowledge that neither of us will forget; Mikey Wier and his fishing friend, Terry, put me in the front (bow?) of their aforementioned raft and gave me the rush of my fishing career. It wasn’t always pretty, but I didn’t fall in, I didn’t snag Mikey or Terry with my fly, and I caught a few really nice fish (see the picture included with this post). Both fishing trips were an absolute blast; I’m a lucky man to have a boss cool enough to set me up for such things, and to have met people gracious enough to put up with me.

I left you with a quote last post, and this time I’ll leave you with one that’s closer to home. As I was fishing with Greg Vinci, my strike indicator hesitated, I set the hook… and nothing happened. “Was that a fish?” queried Greg.

“I don’t think so,” I muttered, “It seemed like a snag.”

“It had to have been a fish. You’re a bad liar,” Greg said with a smile. “If you want to be a good fly fisherman, you’ll have to get better at that.”

I’m an eager student.