Not every adventure needs a plane ticket.
On June 10th I slipped out to our lake house here in Iowa and finally dusted off something that's been sitting too long: a stand-up paddleboard I bought years ago that happens to be just about perfect for fly fishing. I hadn't had it on the water in years. On a beautiful Wednesday evening, with the whole lake to myself, that felt like a mistake worth correcting.
I brought a couple of rods along — my El Jefe v2 8-weight and my El Rey G6 7-weight — and pushed off to stretch some line.
First smallmouth of the evening, on the fly.
What I really love to do out here is sight-fish for carp. This lake holds some big ones — 15 to 20 pounds — and hunting them on the fly is shockingly close to chasing bonefish on a saltwater flat: you spot the fish, you lead it, and you watch it eat. Not exactly what most people picture when they think “Iowa,” but it's about as fun as a fly rod gets.
The carp had other plans that evening — but it didn't matter. I started finding smallmouth and a couple of largemouth almost right away, so I switched gears and fished for bass for the better part of an hour. Throwing streamers, feeling the line come tight on some really good fish, just me and the paddleboard on a quiet lake going gold in the evening light.
A largemouth as the lake went gold.
Smallmouth after smallmouth once I switched over.
Here's the thing I keep relearning: you don't always have to travel far to have an adventure. Montana, Florida, the Keys, Mexico — those trips are special, and I'll never stop chasing them. But sometimes the best evening you can have is bass on the fly from a paddleboard on your home water. No crowds, no travel, no plan. Just a rod, a board, and a beautiful night.
No crowds, no plan — just a good night on the water.
Get out there — even if “there” is fifteen minutes from your back door.
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