Off The Clock: Beneath the Surface

Grains of Montana’s Tom Wilscam discovers fly-fishing is about more than just catching fish.

By Maya Norris, Managing Editor -- Chain Leader, 11/1/2007

Tom Wilscam, partner and director of franchising of four-unit Grains of Montana, took up fly-fishing 20 years ago to spend more time with his sons, David (l.) and T.J.

Fly-fishing has never come easy to Tom Wilscam. Nevertheless the partner and director of franchising of four-unit bakery-cafe Grains of Montana enjoys the sport precisely because it challenges him while letting him spend time with his family.

On the Hook

Wilscam has been fly-fishing for 20 years. He became interested in it because his son, David, 37, was an avid fly-fisherman. When they went on their fishing trips, Wilscam’s older son, T.J., 40, and later his wife, Deanna, joined them. "So [Deanna and I] both basically took it up out of a need or a want to do things with our kids," Wilscam says.

Now Wilscam and his wife are hooked. In addition to the annual fly-fishing trips they take with their sons to Utah, Montana and Canada, Tom and Deanna Wilscam go fly-fishing two or three times a month in the summer and once a month in the winter along the Platte River near their home in Englewood, Colo.

The sport not only allows Wilscam to hang out with his family, but it also gives him a chance to relax and appreciate the great outdoors. "It’s completely mind relaxing. You’ll be in the middle of the stream, and you’ll look up and there’s a deer watching you, or there’s a mountain goat standing on the side watching you," he says. "It’s just fantastic even if you don’t catch any fish."

Catch of the Day

On a good day, Wilscam reels in nine or 10 fish. But it wasn’t always so: He didn’t catch any fish the first five years he fly-fished. He only started catching fish after his family bought him private fly-fishing lessons for Father’s Day 15 years ago.

And five years ago, Wilscam caught his most prized catch: a five-pound trout. As he walked along the Platte River, he noticed a fish jump out of the water to snag a grasshopper. So he hooked a grasshopper onto his line. The same fish jumped at the bait before the line hit the water. "That one will keep me coming back forever," Wilscam says. "I keep looking forward to getting another one like that."

Whether he catches a fish or not, Wilscam revels in the challenge that fly-fishing offers, which he says involves more than just waiting for a fish to tug on the line. Before he casts his line into the water, he analyzes the area to determine where the fish are swimming and what they’re eating.

"Fly-fishing is exciting," Wilscam explains. "You’re all the time trying to figure out what bugs are flying around. What are the fish feeding on? Are they rising to the top? Are they feeding deep? We’re looking for clear water holes…where they like to sack out during the day. It’s definitely a thinking man’s sport."