Yvon Chouinard was talking with his doctor in Jackson when he heard a story that perfectly captured a message he’s currently out spreading with the publication of his new book, titled "Pheasant Tail Simplicity: Recipes and Techniques for Successful Fly Fishing."
The doctor's son and a friend had just climbed El Capitan in Yosemite — 3,000 feet of sheer granite — completely naked, at night, without telling anyone.
"For me, that is perfection," Chouinard told a packed hall at Montana State University on Oct. 8.
It wasn't bravado or recklessness the 86-year-old Patagonia founder was celebrating. It was evidence that as sports evolve, it’s possible to do more with less.
That principle drives Chouinard and longtime Montana author Craig Mathews' new book.
While fly shops overflow with millions of patterns designed to separate anglers from their money, Chouinard spent a year proving you can catch fish anywhere in the world with variations of just one fly.
Chouinard, who lives in Moose and frequently fishes the Snake River, caught bonefish, steelhead, salmon and trout in numbers equal to what he'd always caught — from Montana to Patagonia — using only pheasant tail patterns.
"It's not the gear, it's what you do with it," he said.
Packed House
The recent book signing event packed an ultra-modern lecture hall at MSU’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering.
The evening began with an unexpected moment when Bozeman mayoral candidate and activist attorney John Meyer took the stage to deliver an unscheduled stump speech.
Meyer, known for getting arrested at the exclusive Yellowstone Club when he ventured up a stream to take water samples, urged the overflow crowd to vote yes on Bozeman's water adequacy initiative.
"We can't drink your money," Meyer told developers, arguing the city needs builders to secure water rights, not just cash, to support new construction. The issue continues to divide voters in Bozeman, which judging by the crowd Wednesday night, appeared united in their love for fly fishing.
Chouinard and Mathews settled in for a conversation that ranged from fishing techniques to life philosophy, moderated by photographer Brian Gregson.
Mathews, who co-founded Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone and has authored nine books on fly fishing in the region, explained his approach to the water with a telling detail about his gear.
"My waders wear out in the knees and the butt, never in the feet," Mathews said. "I walk on my knees. I scooch on my butt. I like to see the fish's eyes when they take the fly."
That patience and observation, both men emphasized, matters far more than having the latest equipment.
Chouinard traced his journey to simplicity through an encounter from 30 years ago in Japan. There he met a master angler who still fished the way anglers did in the 16th century — with a bamboo pole, horsehair line he made himself from white stallion tail and flies he tied without a vise or glasses.
"He can make his horsehair line go down four feet or float on the surface, depending on the water currents that he understands perfectly," Chouinard said. "He was the master."
When Chouinard asked how to achieve such skills, the old man's answer stuck with him: "I first of all don't have the words to tell you. And secondly, if I told you, it would rob you of the joy of discovering for yourself."
Simple Message
His experience in Japan was one of many that led Chouinard to spend a year fishing with only one pheasant tailfly pattern in different sizes. The experience taught him that fish care more about behavior and presentation than color or flash.
"Trout are bullies and predators," Chouinard explained. "They love to take advantage of cripples" — insects struggling to emerge from their shucks, easy prey that triggers a feeding response.
Mathews drove the point home with observations from his decades on Yellowstone-area waters.
"The simplest fly design gets first place," he said. "Functional flies are designed to imitate the behavior. Wild trout recognize that behavior and they'll take your imitation."
Doug Daufel, a Bozeman banker who worked for Mathews at Blue Ribbon Flies in the 1990s and early 2000s, came to the event to support his former mentor.
"Craig has been such an instrumental part of our life," Daufel said. "Both of these guys are very conservation-minded people. The conservation easements around the Madison River — all because of Craig. He doesn't ever take credit for that stuff, but that is because of Craig and all that work. He's been a steward for conservation, and he's always put his money where his mouth was."
When audience members asked what young people can do, Mathews urged them to volunteer with local organizations like Upper Missouri Waterkeeper, Madison River Foundation and Cottonwood Environmental Law Center.
The evening kept returning to the central message: Simplification isn't about deprivation. It's about mastery, attention, patience and ultimately, caring for what really matters.
Chouinard drew a stark picture of the stakes. When he was born, 2.5 billion people lived on Earth. Now it's more than 8 billion, "using the resources of seven planets."
"It doesn't take a businessman to know that's bankruptcy," he said.
His solution?
"Simplify your life,” said Chouinard, who has replaced his once massive collection of fly boxes with one tiny one. “Consume less, consume better. And anybody can do that. I think what we're learning from going out with a fly box this big is a metaphor for society. Try to simplify."
David Madison can be reached at david@cowboystatedaily.com.
