Pay Day

THE BOOK – THE OPTIMIST BY DAVID COGGINS

“I admit my fishing desire can be so intense I don’t like to describe it to the unafflicted. I don’t want other people to know, and perhaps I don’t want to admit to myself, just how much I think about fishing. There’s something slightly suspicious about this devotion, like a weakness for absinthe, an eccentric habit that should be tempered before it turns into a depraved addiction. Too much fishing – and too much absinthe for that matter – can leave you with an overgrown beard, far from home, raving about the fate of the world. It’s like I’m part of a disreputable cult known to have suspect views about the creation of the universe. But now I’m a true believer.”

DEEP WANTS PAY DAY

A MARVELLOUS MUST-READ AND SARTORIAL SUNNIES FOR SPOTTING FISH

David Coggins is a New York-based writer who has made a name for himself writing on men’s style and manners for numerous major titles from the New York Times to the Wall Street Journal, Robb Report and Condé Nast Traveler. Reading his new book The Optimist – A Case for the Fly Fishing Life, we had the uncanny sense Coggins was in our heads as it frequently felt like he was describing what we try to achieve with The Mission half the time. From the nuances and readings of who we are as fly anglers and why we do what we do to why such a seemingly arbitrary pastime can so absorb so many people to such a deep degree of obsession as to make it a central part of our lives – Coggins is a sharp observer of the world of men and nature.

Charting his personal evolution from initiate to seasoned veteran, each chapter focuses on a different place and a different species, from Wisconsin (smallmouth bass), to Montana (cutthroat trout), Maine (Brook trout), Canada (Atlantic salmon), the Bahamas (bonefish), Patagonia (rainbow trout), New York (striped bass) and finally, back to the source with brown trout in England. Coggins brilliantly blends together layered observations about the natural world, the angler’s state of mind, our heavy obsessions and frustrations, our myriad quirks and, of course, the tension and release so inherent to fly fishing. If you avoid fly fishing books due to the plethora of dull ‘I went to X and caught Y’ hero stories, fear not, this book dives many layers beyond that. Honest and perceptive, Coggins details how failure is as much a part of what we do, as our main goal of catching fish is. Whether you’re new to fly fishing or feel like you’ve seen and read it all, trust us when we says this is one of the best fly fishing books to come out in years. simonandschuster.com

“IF YOU AVOID FLY FISHING BOOKS DUE TO THE PLETHORA OF DULL ‘I WENT TO X AND CAUGHT Y’ HERO STORIES, FEAR NOT, THIS BOOK DIVES MANY LAYERS BEYOND THAT.”

THE SUNNIES – THE OPTIMIST BY KIRK ORIGINALS

Coggins, being a sartorial creature to his core, has also collaborated on a range of oversized aviator sunglasses with Kirk Originals called The Optimist. With an infilled bridge, an enhanced top bar and flared detail to the nose, these handmade sunnies are designed to be as at home on a trout stream as they are on a bonefish flat (or living your off-water life). They hit that sweet spot between old school Gonzo cool and the performance of modern materials like mid-brown Mazzuchelli acetate frames and polarised warm brown English-made lens. kirkoriginals.com