PHOENIX – In canals and streams across Arizona, an enticing commodity lurks below the surface, pursued by fly fishermen with eager but precise minds.

But is it really the fish that they’re pursuing?

For it’s been written with a romantic flourish that “many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after” – a quote often attributed, probably incorrectly, to Thoreau.

The answers vary, from the challenge and adrenaline that comes with a catch to the bonds built on the water. One bond in particular floats to the top – the relationship that’s fostered through fatherhood and fly fishing. 

At the heart of the desert’s fly fishing scene is Chris Rich. 

As a young boy, Rich spent his Friday afternoons waiting for his father to return home from work. His arrival meant the embarking of an adventure to the mountains. And within these quests by the creek lies one of Rich’s core memories. 

Perched upon a rock, Rich set his mind on his first solo catch. When he finally got one, his fixation was left unsatisfied, so he remained by the water – until he fell asleep by the creek that night. 

“At some point my dad (carried) me back and (put) me in my tent, my sleeping bag,” Rich said. “I remember that something came alive inside of me when I caught that fish.”

Rich’s undeniable curiosity led him to fly fishing, and if only that 7-year-old could see where it’s taken him to this day. A self-taught hobby that blossomed into AZ Fly Shop in Phoenix, a rare find in a city built along a dry river bed.

For Rich, fly fishing comes in stages: first catching a fish, and then catching a whole bunch of fish. The third stage involves catching bigger fish, then a whole bunch of big fish – and after catching all those fish, then one teaches someone else how to do it.

Now in the teaching stage, Rich’s shop serves as a way to give back, especially to a community he believes can make a difference. 

“I believe that the world would be a better place if there were more people fly fishing,” Rich said.

As a professional, Rich offers something rare to newcomers in his Phoenix shop: a trip on his boat, free of charge. His generosity on the water encapsulates what he believes the fly fishing community should be about. 

“I'm sharing with you what sets my soul on fire and livens me up in life,” Rich said. “I want you to pursue what sets your soul on fire and livens you up in life and I want you to share that with people in your life.”

After meeting Rich one day in the fly shop, Troy Holtorf, a former Grand Canyon University baseball player from 2002-03 who currently works for the Phoenix Fire Department, was inspired by his enthusiasm for fly fishing. Their discussion regarding the sport resonated deeply with Holtorf.

“Fishing has the potential, (it) can and will change your life and it can make you better,” Holtorf said. “Not just as a fisherman, but as a man, as a husband and as a father. And he didn't say that explicitly, but it's what he was implying.” 

Three generations “fly” together in the Holtorf family, but one story from Rich motivated Troy to pursue an additional project with his father and son. 

Chris Rich, founder and owner of AZ Fly Shop, casts a fly line at Silverado Golf Course in Scottsdale, Ariz. during the 20-team, 24-hour urban fly-fishing tournament “Valley of the Sun Carp Rally” on Sept. 19, 2026. Rich organizes the annual event.

Lavanya Paliwal/Cronkite News

Rich shared that as his dad got older, medical problems arose, diminishing his purpose and keeping him bedridden. In an attempt to bring back his dad’s spark, Rich stumbled upon build-your-own wooden skiff boats. 

He and his dad made a plan – they would work on the skiff every weekend, and after nearly a year it was completed. More important than the finished product was Rich’s father, who was reignited by the activity.

So Holtorf got the plans and a notebook and set out on building a skiff of his own, with the help of his son. 

“We're going to build a boat, and it's going to be a boat that we pass on from generation to generation,” Holtorf said. “Grandpa is going to help, and you're going to help, and you're going to learn a trade through this and have a lot of memories on this boat.”

These memories, built with a partner you can trust, fill the space that often comes with waiting out fish — a tedious, sometimes unrewarding activity.

Steve Cserpnyak met Rich shortly after the shop opened in 2021, and has frequently participated in AZ Fly Shop’s Valley of the Sun Carp Rally, where he’s seen the impact of a fishing companion. 

Over the past few years, Cserpnyak has competed with his friend, Scott Long. A couple years back, the two won the categories for most and biggest fish. Despite their success and unfortunately for Long, Cserpnyak will always have a favorite partner. 

“On a deeper level, my son and I share (fishing) now,” Cserpnyak said. “He's 13, and he and I go fishing, and he enjoys it. For me, he's my favorite fishing partner.”

Out on the water, Holtorf has seen the walls that once separated two men become thinner and thinner. He believes that being on a “mission side-by-side” allows for more natural conversation than sitting across from one another at the dinner table. 

There’s a magic to this vulnerability that you can’t find anywhere else.

“The beauty of fishing is there's this bond that happens on the water, or on the shore next to the water that you can't really get anywhere else,” Holtorf said. “When you put men, father (and) son, side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder, there's this conversation.”

Being outside fly fishing and nurturing the bond with his son, Holtorf also uses the activity as a way to impart life lessons, using the experience and terminology in his analogies. 

“Sometimes it's gonna feel like, man, everything I say and do for them just doesn't work,” Holtorf said. “But you got to keep praying. You got to keep seeking. You got to keep going, and eventually you'll feel the tug and you'll reel them in, and you'll be like ‘Whoa, I finally caught one.’”

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.