Edge of Awareness | with RIO Ambassador Oliver White

ON ALWAYS PUSHING FORWARD –

Oliver White: There’s only one way to go and that’s forward, right? It's going to be hard. You're going to get terrible weather. You're going to do everything you can to put the odds in your favor. Whatever happens, something's going to impact you. You can get frustrated and you can crumble or you can just power on and accept that this is what you can control… and you move forward.

It's a stoic view of the world. And it's where I've grounded myself. I don't get frustrated. I just accept it and say, ‘Alright, it's raining today, blowing 30, you know, and here we are. This is the way we have to fish.' I don't even look at the weather anymore. We're going no matter what. So, it doesn't really matter.

And I think that you can either beat yourself up because it's not what you expected or hoped for, or you just roll with it and do the best you can.

ON HUNTING –

OW: Sometimes these fish are so focused and you have to be super close. Other times they’re looking farther away. You're trying to discern what that fish is doing, what's going on in its brain. Where do you cast? At the edge of their awareness, right? Where is their area of awareness? When they’re down and tailing they’re so focused. And you need to be right on the periphery of that. So, where’s this magic area of awareness? You have to figure it out. And then you have to have the ability to put your fly there. They're predatory creatures. And what does it feel like when you make contact, the moment that the fish eats it and you get tight? That’s when you know it all came together, that you made it all happen, that's it. That's the magic.

ON MENTORS –

OW: Mentors in life are gold. Having someone to look up to and grow with, who pushes you to do better on your own and helps you figure out how to get there, I mean that's ultimately the key.

One of my greatest mentors in this space has always been Flip Pallot. When I was a kid, he was the guy on TV. So, you’d wake up on Saturday morning to watch his show and he was always aspirational. To circle back with him now and have him as a close friend and mentor, it’s been invaluable.

Flip's a very technical, nuanced thinker. And he's helped impart that knowledge on me and has made me both more aware and particular about my own fishing systems and processes. And it's been amazing. We've done a lot of great fishing and adventuring all over the place together. That relationship has pushed me to do the same for others. I feel a great need and desire to give back in mentoring younger people, helping them find their own career path and helping them excel.

ON BEING PRESENT –

OW: I have to constantly remind myself to be present, to be aware of the moment I’m in and to find joy there. For better or worse, one of the things I've always struggled with is contentment. I am a foot on the gas kind of person: How do I do better? How do I grow? How do I find what's next all the time?

That's a hard place to be internally. And it's a big part of finding success at the same time. I don't do well just being happy with the way things are. I feel like there's always a way to make tomorrow even better. Like how can I grow and learn as an angler, as a human, and as a father and entrepreneur? It creates these internal battles....

But ultimately, it's the place I live. And I just have to own it. On the fishing side of things, a good example is how casting a long line can teach you things. You can't force it, you know what I mean? It makes you think and it pushes you to slow down. It forces you to, like, not be a brutish asshole.

ON FISHING –

OW: Fly fishing for me is such a worthy pursuit and so special. And for people that don't do it, or don't fish and don't understand, it’s this very primal thing of pulling on an animal, on your own with feathers and fur connected to a piece of string.

Beyond that, one of the things that really makes fly fishing uniquely special is the search for these moments of Zen, right? It takes just enough concentrated action to do it well. But you can't think about anything else. You're not thinking about your challenges at home or work or life… or anything. You're actually in the moment and you're in these beautiful places. Those are really hard things to come by in today's world. And I feel like that's one of the greatest values of this pursuit.

ON EXPLORATION –

OW: Almost by definition, the best fishing is in remote places, and I love the idea of being in remote, pristine and far-flung corners of the world. I’ve spent my life looking for those. I love that. I love the search. I love the newness. I love the idea of figuring out something with some unknown variables.

But at the same time, you look for that same degree of remoteness close to home. Sometimes it just means walking an extra mile down a trail, and sometimes it just means thinking about a river with lots of other people on there in a different way – where you can find new and remote in your own way. And that's part of the joy of the fishing.