In the News: Chip O’Brien, Fly Fishing Writer

I’m often asked by strangers about how they can break into the outdoor writing world. I always tell them the same thing: write a lot. Like, all the time. Learn how to research and write. But even good writers and researchers have trouble finding paying work.

The story of fly fishing writer Chip O’Brien is very telling. O’Brien got his first break in the early 1990s writing about something he knew well, the McCloud River. That one article helped spiral into a career that has culminated in over 500 articles over two decades.



I feel for budding writers today; it’s a brutal world out there and very few paying jobs for writers. But perseverance still matters, and with some luck you can make a name for yourself in the fishing world.
— Dr. Todd