“Take up one idea. Make that one idea your life; dream of it; think of it; live on that idea. Let the brain, the body, muscles, nerves, every part of your body be full of that idea, and just leave every other idea alone. This is the way to success, and this is the way great spiritual giants are produced.”
― Swami Vivekananda
I’ve always loved this quote. I'm pretty sure Swami was the rightful owner of that briefcase in Dumb and Dumber. It was full of cash, so he must’ve been a smart dude and Colorado businessman. Unfortunately, I just don’t adhere to his philosophy. I know he’s right and he’s probably speaking the truth, but I have a lot of hobbies and I enjoy them all. I love the outdoors at all times of the year, but when September rolls around, I’m a kid in a candy store.
What’s not to love about September? Fishing is about as good as it gets, deer and dove season arrive, the greens at your favorite courses are rolling faster, and storm season finally produces periodic decent swells for the shortboards. And I love the smell of fresh cut grass on cool evenings, listening to whistles blow and helmets knock—the nostalgia of it... you know what I’m talking about—it’s football season. You’ll find me tailgating with friends and family on gamedays. My wife and I are Clemson alumni, so we spend a good bit of time in the foothills of SC on weekends. I can spend a Saturday at a game and a Sunday on a dove hunt or wading in a stream as SCDNR begins stocking my favorite rivers.
On Labor Day weekend I took my boys down to our farm for some bass fishing and dove hunting. It’s hard to beat sitting on an upside-down bucket shooting doves on a lazy Sunday afternoon. My neighbor Bobby planted a pretty good size dove field this year with sunflowers and corn, and it held a lot of birds. For the first time, our priority was not on competing and seeing how many we could knock down but giving our sons a chance to shoot their first birds, and it was such a good time.
We followed that up with a weekend in Clemson the next week. Friday I played an alumni golf tournament with former Clemson golfers and teammates. If you look closely, you'll see a few former PGA Tour players in there (I am not one of them, but it would be a lot cooler if I was!)
After a fun Saturday at the game with family and friends, I took the boys up to several streams Sunday. We stopped by one of my favorite rivers and spoke with some of the locals. We were sitting on our tailgates of our trucks, gearing up. We gave our assessments of the Clemson game, and then we started talking fishing. Speaking on the subject of what he loved most about trout fishing he said, “I guess I Iike it because you find them in such beautiful places.” I couldn’t have put it better myself. Flyfishing in a canyon with a near vertical cliff going up one side, standing in a pool below some small falls, well, that’s therapy for the soul. After catching a few stockers in the main section, I took my boys and we hiked a pretty long way to get to one of the most beautiful stretches of river in SC I’d ever seen. I’d fished this river dozens of times but never had ventured to this stretch. It was worth the hike just for the scenery.
Lastly, storm season brings about some decent swells on our east coast this time of year. During the third week of September, Fiona stayed offshore as it passed by the Carolinas and produced some good surf. Fall is usually quite flat otherwise, so when a storm passes by, I usually jump at the opportunity to spend a day at the Isle of Palms or Folly. Just like flyfishing, surfing is another outdoor pursuit that has become wildly popular in the last few years. I think Covid allowed folks to get out and try some things they’d always wanted to do, and now we have a lot more people actively involved in all things outdoors.
We hope our friends and fans are enjoying this month as much as we do. Please tag us on any of your photos and reels as you hop in the deer stand, jump a tarpon, shoot doves over a corn field, or spend time with family and friends at a tailgate. These are good times, meaningful times, and fun times for you and everyone involved—the definition of time well spent…
Michael Sims, CoFounder/President