Patagonia ambassador and author Dylan Tomine lives and breathes fly fishing but his latest book also finds him hooked on conservation, especially as it pertains to his beloved steelhead trout, which he's pursued to the ends of the earth. 

They say people should write about what they know, and for 55-year-old Tomine, that's unequivocally a life immersed in fishing and the outdoors, which his childhood in the Pacific Northwest richly typifies.

As an adult, fly fishing sparked global adventure, from Alaska to Patagonia in Central America (known for its Atlantic steelheads), and inspired lessons to his kids about the joys of living off the land, as his first book published by Patagonia: “Life Close to the Ground: An Outdoor Family's Year on the Water, in the Woods and at the Table” suggests. The foraging and fishing he wrote about in this National Outdoor Book Award honorable mention made his daughter and son the teenage anglers they are today with his same fish sense.

But all the great catches and all the excursions into the wild places of the world could not erase the sad truth thrust upon him in 2000 when the shock waves of a failing ecosystem hit close to home. The decline of a favorite catch — the steelhead trout — from the Skykomish River in Washington State screamed the reality that this world is in an environmental crisis no place can escape. His latest book, "Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman," also published by Patagonia, reflects his fight for conservationism and sounds a wakeup call about all the wildlife on the brink of no return.

Dylan Tomine at a favorite haunt: the Skykomish River in Washington State. Photo by Matthew DeLorme

Where nature beckons

Tomine's passion for nature had its roots in a small town called Corvallis, Oregon, "where we never locked the doors" and he seldom went anywhere without a fly rod, even then. 

"It was a great place to grow up. I spent a lot of time in the woods and fields near my home," he told Kinute.

For his own kids, Bainbridge Island in western Washington State was the idyllic site chosen to build childhood memories never far from wildlife, including bald eagles and orcas. 

"We moved to Bainbridge Island because it's a great place for kids to grow up. We're surrounded by salt water so there's lots of opportunities for fishing, foraging and beachcombing, and it's also covered with forests so there's the beauty of living in the rain forest. There's a really good public school system, and it's a place where people look out for each other's kids," Tomine said in an interview. 

For a time, Bainbridge Island also inspired him and his then-wife to get into farming blueberries, providing local families with access to fresh fruit with an emphasis on organic. But it wasn't fly fishing. Tomine has moved on.

Dylan Tomine fishes in Jardines de la Reina (Cuba). Photo by Mauro Mazzo

The ultimate takeout food

Though his first book, "Life Close to the Ground," finds his family living off the land to a large degree, Tomine will correct the interpretation that they reside in the wild and maintains they never left the grid, never had to for his passion for fishing and nature to shape family life. “This is not a story of radical escape from city life. My family and I are neither yurt-dwelling back-to-the-landers nor flag-waving bunker separatists," he wrote, as reported in The Washington Post. "We aren’t off the grid, in the dark, or way out there.” In a Washington Post interview, he even mentions they sometimes shop at Costco.

It's easy to see where someone might get that idea, however. Before moving to Bainbridge Island, he showed an inclination to shake off the traditional 9 to 5 and live a simpler life, as according to The Seattle Times, he gave up a budding advertising career in California in 1992 and headed to Seattle to fly fish. A self-proclaimed fish bum, he spent his free time fishing around his Seattle home, when he wasn't working as a guide. That was before the startling truth about the steelhead trout injected a serious note into his carefree lifestyle.

Dylan Tomine doing what he loves: fly fishing at the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington. Photo by Cameron Karsten

"The transition from thinking about fishing to thinking about conservation for me started in 2000 when the state where I was living announced closing the wild steelhead catch-and-release season because there weren't enough fish," he said. "Until that time I never thought about conservation, and I suddenly realized I was fishing for a limited resource that was going downhill. I was forced to do it (conserve) by circumstance."

Of course, as the father of two, there was no way to separate his newfound appreciation for conservation from life lessons he'd impart as a dad. "Conservation is generational. My conservation work was really boosted by becoming a father and thinking about my own kids and what opportunities would be available to them in the future. Since the loss of my home river fishery (the Skykomish River) and also having kids, the idea of protecting the things that we love has really increased."

Even before the kids could walk, Tomine started to ingrain in them the importance of what he calls wild places.

"We started when they were really, really young. I was taking my daughter fishing when she was 3, and we were out in the woods picking mushrooms from the time they could walk (and even before). I hope it has taught them the value of wild places and that they can enjoy themselves and enjoy being outside, that it creates a conservation ethic for them."

Today his daughter is a recent high school graduate and his son an incoming sophomore; their schedules can be demanding, but Tomine said, "I'm really grateful when we find the time that they still like to fish and forage with their old man."

Absorbed in fly fishing at the Olympic Peninsula, across the Puget Sound from Seattle. Photo by Cameron Karsten

Getting the message out

The ecology-conscious "Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman," is a collection of 35 personal stories Tomine tackles mostly chronologically featuring not only local fishing adventures but jaunts to Alaska, Argentina, Japan, Cuba, the Russian Arctic, British Columbia, Christmas Island and South America's Patagonia. 

Tomine's book, "Headwaters: The Adventures, Obsession, and Evolution of a Fly Fisherman." Provided photo

For the book's conservation message, Tomine delves into issues impacting steelhead trout and salmon, including oil pipelines to hatcheries. Sometimes the solution for species at risk is not what first comes to mind. For instance, Tomine sees public investment in fish hatcheries as counterproductive — as they dilute the genetic pool of wild fish (which is needed to successfully mature in wild habitats and conditions).

"Headwaters" is a bit of a love story as well — an ode to the steelhead fish so close to his heart and the spectacular places he still finds them in, "from meandering tidewater stretches on the barren tundra to ice-cold streams cutting through the heat of red-rock canyons and sagebrush," he wrote.

Olympic Peninsula Steelhead. Photo by Danielle Dorsch

As Tomine reflects, he'll admit he didn't dream of writing books with the passion he's felt for fly-fishing all his life, but it was a long-time goal, and now it's become a medium to join others to his conservation purpose. He has also produced "Artifishal," a feature-length documentary with more than 3.5 million viewers that delves into the conservation challenges associated with salmon hatcheries.

Conservation heroes

In his battle to conserve the wild places and creatures he loves, Tomine has his heroes. "I've been impacted and inspired by Yvon Chouinard (the owner of Patagonia and longtime fishing buddy) and Bruce Hill up in British Columbia, Kurt Beardslee with the Wild Fish Conservancy in Washington and Lisa Pike and Hans Cole at Patagonia. All of those people are doing incredibly important work, and I think the work they are doing is our best hope to have wild rivers and wild fish for the future," he said.

Though many are fighting to reverse the environmental damage, he said it's still a battle.

"The steelheads are really in trouble now, probably worse than when I started. The salmon are also in trouble. There's still a lot of work to do," Tomine said. 

Fly-fishing ambassador

"I've always been crazy for fish and fishing. I learned to fly fish from my father who was also a fly fisherman. From the time I was a small kid it was a great way for us to spend time together," he said.   

What are the fish hungry for today? Setting the right fly for his experience. Photo by Cameron Karsten

Although he started with trout, "it quickly expanded to whatever species were around that I could encourage to eat a fly," and that includes bass, bluegills and crappies.

No doubt part of the allure is creating that almost magical fly that will call a fish to action. And for that Tomine has a recognized talent. 

"I was tying some unique flies for my own steelhead fishing and at some point Umpqua Feather Merchants (a Colorado manufacturer) reached out to me and asked if I could basically license some of my designs to them. I developed some flies on my own that Umpqua wanted to buy and sell so we went into business together,” he said.

Perhaps it's only fitting then that Tomine is the ambassador for world-recognized Patagonia, a company that stands out for its environmental focus (as well as outdoor clothes and gear) and serves as its fly-fishing ambassador. 

"I’ve been fishing buddies with Yvon Chouinard for years. Then I’ve done a bunch of work with the Fly Fishing Department at Patagonia, and so it’s probably about 20 years ago they asked if I would represent the company as an ambassador. They have a team of ambassadors. A lot of it involves representing the company’s view especially around conservation and working to educate other anglers about how they can be involved and help with conservation efforts," he said.

Tomine rows down a river with his fishing buddy. Photo by Tim Pask

Besides endeavoring to spark conservationism in the fishing world, Tomine said, "We test new products for development."

From books to travels, family life to conservation, Tomine sees the world through a fly fisherman's perspective and with a passion that speaks to others on a quest to reconnect with nature.

"I think fly fishing is a really fantastic way to experience the world," he said. "It gives you a purpose to travel or fish near home, and it teaches the value of these wild places and the wild creatures we need to protect."