Tom Roberts was living in Manhattan and getting nostalgic for nature when a friend suggested they escape the concrete and head a few hours north to do some fly fishing. Roberts was familiar with the sport, his father and his father's father both avid fly fisherman, but he never dove all the way in himself. He said he saw the sport as a bit elitist for his tastes. Nevertheless, he needed to get away, and soon found himself in the birthplace of American Fly Fishing in Livingston Manor New York, wading in the Willowemoc Creek. "We didn't know where we were going or what we were doing, but we had a lot of fun," Roberts told me, sitting at the dining room table in a cabin where he eventually made that fateful getaway permanent.

Today, he's still fishing those waters as the proprietor of the Livingston Manor Fly Fishing Club, a small outfit just steps from the Willowemoc offering the same escape he embarked on all those years ago to anyone looking for the same. Members who make their way to the club are offered a breather and an opportunity to fish in the historic waters, as well as a meal and some camaraderie to boot. As 2022's fly fishing season approached, we made the 2 hour drive from New York City to spend some time in Livingston Manor, and to equip Tom with the new Wren River Hawk Folding Knife, a tool designed for many things that happens to come in handy when you've got one hand on a rod and two feet planted at the base of a rustling creek. Check out the video below for a closer look at Roberts' operation—and to see the River Hawk Folding Knife in action.

"It sounds kind of cheesy, but the process is the goal, not catching the fish."

Upstate with the Livingston Manor Fly Fishing Club