Catching a great fish is similar to the movie “Fight Club” in that there are specific rules to follow.
The first rule of fight club is you don’t talk about fight club, so the script goes in the 1999 Brad Pitt movie.
The first rule of fly fishing is you don’t ask where the fish was caught.
A good angler is not going to tell you. A good angler also knows never to ask.
Wyoming author C.J. Box is a good angler. And he backs it up by posting photos of his catch.
Like he did over the weekend with a beautiful 22-inch rainbow trout that he caught on the North Platte here in Wyoming.
“Great day on the river!* Caught and released this 22-inch rainbow,” Box tweeted.
What does the asterisk mean? It refers to line two of the tweet. Where you’ll find the words “Don’t ask…”
That’s for the rookies who would — of course — try to get him to divulge his location.
However, he didn’t give it up, of course. And most of his followers on Twitter didn’t press him.
It wasn’t until a Facebook post on Tuesday (with the same photo) that he even specified the river.
Box did, however, provide some information.
“Can we at least inquire what type of fly you employed,” asked Brent McCarthy.
“Sure,” Box said. “We were using nymph rigs.”
Thus ended the fishing conversation with Box.
When will fans actually see Box again — in person? He did say that book tours will happen again sometime.
But in the meantime, fans can read his latest book “Dark Sky” or watch one of his two TV shows: “Big Sky” (which was just renewed for Season 2) or “Joe Pickett” — a new series which will start production soon.
