Episode 009: Justin Pickett

Guided Lines

Husband. Dad. Fly Freak. Impulsive Blogger. Recently diagnosed with streamer obsessive disorder… I hear there is no hope for a cure. Currently living in Georgia with my amazing wife, Nicole, our four-year-old daughter, Mckenna, and our two Labs, Laredo and Dakota. I began this crazy pursuit of fly fishing at the age of ten, after receiving a fly rod and reel from my grandparents as a Christmas gift. I didn’t really have any crazy, hardcore fishermen in my family, with the exception of my uncle Jimmy, but drowning worms and crickets was always a pastime at our family’s lakefront property on Lake Sinclair. After seeing a fly rod whipped around for the first time, and seeing the fly line track through the air, I was hooked. I just wanted to learn, and most of my learning came simply as trial-by-fire. Through the years, I would find myself chasing trout along the banks of Fightingtown Creek and the Toccoa River in Blue Ridge, Georgia, as well as bass, panfish, and any other fish that swam in any lake, pond, or puddle. Along this fly fishing journey, I’ve been fortunate enough to fish for numerous species in destinations near and far, in freshwater and salt. When I’m not on the water, I’m either writing, spinning up new flies, or planning my next fishing excursion, whether it be a guided trip on a N. GA river, or a hosted trip in another hemisphere. Aside from actually fishing myself, I love guiding other anglers on the water. Beginners are my favorite. They typically have no idea what to expect and are eager to learn anything you have to share with them. Guiding someone to their first catch on the fly is always an exciting and rewarding experience. Prior to guiding, I spent three years competing across the country on the Trout Legend circuit with Georgia-based Team DeadDrift. I had a blast competing, but, even more, I enjoyed the comradery and learning new techniques from other amazing anglers from around the world. For me, it was more about having fun with friends and becoming a more well-rounded angler than it was about winning trophies and medals. Without a doubt, the time I invested in competing made me a better angler and I have all of my former teammates to thank for that. The last few years I’ve been working with Louis Cahill by providing written content and managing the majority of the social media for Gink and Gasoline, an online, fly fishing blog that delivers new content daily. We focus on educational content, as well as being inclusive and not exclusive. We want to smash the “elitist” perception people still sometimes have about fly fishing. Besides, we’re all go fishing for the same reasons; to have fun outdoors, enjoy time with family and friends, and maybe even catch a few fish along the way.