Back home, my life continued with the ups and downs that, surely, all of us have experienced. All of my international trips, including forays to Mexico, Norway, Brazil, Belize, Alaska, and Russia—plus my first participation in the Fly Fishing World Championships—were canceled. It was unclear whether my planned summer of guiding in Iceland would occur. Suddenly, I had to reorganize my life and regain the joy I’d found in days past, while fishing local waters. So I started to fish local streams and lakes, which provided some really good fishing. I explored new waters and found some really great spots for pike, all over the country.
Covid was a bummer, but I felt privileged to jump into my waders every morning and enjoy endless days on the river, throwing big streamers for pike, or just playing around with local brown trout rising for midges. Even at the beginning of June there wasn’t a single flight heading to Iceland from Czech Republic, or any of its neighboring countries. I knew I’d need to find a new job to pay the bills.