[by Don Causey]
Over the many years that I edited The Angling Report it became clear to me that anglers who can afford to travel would do a whole lot more traveling to fish if they could find some way to involve immediate family members in at least some of their trips. Think about it. Over the years how many spouses have you met in fishing lodges? How many children? More to the point, how many times did you take your own spouse with you to a fishing lodge? I know. . . . Some anglers who travel have spouses who fish, but I am not talking about those lucky few. I’m talking about the typical fishing nut who has amassed an enormous deficit of “Honey Do’s” over the years by going on one fishing trip after another either alone or with a buddy or two in tow.
I happen to be one those outliers who thinks this problem is about to get resolved on its own by the emergence of vacation rental services such as VRBO and restive guides who are tired of being wage slaves when they provide the most important ingredient in a successful fishing trip, namely, local insight into where and how to catch fish. The ability for anglers themselves to create more flexible, spouse- and family-friendly fishing trips in some areas is on the horizon, in my view. The agents who see this opportunity first and position themselves as facilitators will make a killing. I will have more to say about this in a future issue.
In the meantime, I’m delighted to tell you there is a fishing-trip-planning service in Europe that is already facilitating wonderfully spouse-friendly trips in Italy. Actually, I have written about this service in these pages before. The difference this time is I used the service myself and I can’t get over what a rich, wonderful experience it provided.
Longtime subscribers already know this trip planning service is provided by Claudio Tagini, an Italian fly fisherman and entrepreneur who lived and worked in the United States for many years before moving back home, where he lives with his American wife, Naomi, in the countryside south of Venice. A gourmand, bon vivant and history buff, Claudio has made a business out of preparing elaborate itineraries for Americans who want to fish in Italy as part of a larger cultural experience or as a fishing-only trip. Claudio has also helped countless Europeans enjoy fishing experiences in the United States (mostly out West), but that is another story entirely. I mention that part of his service only to make the point that Claudio understands American fly fishing as well as European fly fishing and the participants in both activities.
Check out the incredible itinerary below that Claudio Tagini prepared for Don and his wife. Read Don’s full report in the December issue of The Angling Report.
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