Many fly fishers claim obsession. We spend hours and hours hunched over fly tying vises meticulously crafting the right bug for the right fish at the right time of year … or even the right time of day. We load up on thousands of dollars worth of gear—whether we really need it or not. We pour over maps, surf message boards for intel and put miles and miles on our vehicles, our boats and our boots. We cast and mend and … pray.
But I’m here to tell you, nobody is as obsessed as David Mangum. One look at the video above will prove that obsession. For instance, have you ever bought a paraglider in order to find fish? Yeah, me either.
“I don’t know if it’s healthy,” Mangum says of his obsession. “I just is who I am.”
His obsession for tarpon, though, has earned him the reputation as one of the world’s foremost tarpon guides. View the film above, and you’ll understand exactly what I’m talking about.
— Chris Hunt