Zen Outfitters

Who is Zen?

I fell in love with fly fishing almost from the first cast. I found a serenity in the gentle movements of the river, the way the line played out on it's surface, and how a fly could be placed so gently as to make it virtually indistinguishable from the hatch surrounding it. Even the violent take of the fly as the trout burst through the surface was a peacefulness I had never experienced in any other area of my life. It was such a calmness that I became obsessed with attaining it in every aspect of my life, but it was fleeting. I thought if I found it with my grandfather's hand-me-down glass Heddon rod, I would certainly find more with newer, shinier rods, reel and every other piece of gear imaginable, but it became even more fleeting.
Then I discovered the world of hand made tackle. I learned to make furled leaders. I made my own bamboo rod from a culm of bamboo. I learned to tie my own flies. I bought a 100 year old braiding machine and started making silk fly lines. With each step, I felt I was getting closer, but something was still missing. Catching a fish on a rod I had made, a silk fly line I had braided, a leader I had furled and a fly I had tied was an amazing feeling of accomplishment that I have never felt before or since. But it wasn't that serenity and calmness I was seeking, either.
I can't tell you what finally clicked for me, but I can tell you this... It was never about the gear, or the river, or even the fish. It is about being there, in that moment. Observing everything as it is, in it's own nature. Feeling the breeze on my face and the current flow around me as I stand in the river. Knowing that this moment is a singularity. It is there for that instant, then gone forever, taking it's uniqueness with it. It cannot be repeated or duplicated. It cannot be held or touched, except in the mind. It can be observed, though. Done skillfully, time seems to slow so that I am aware of everything around me, because I am part of it, not separate from it.
That is my understanding of mindfulness, and I try to practice it every day and every aspect of my life. I'm not always successful, but that isn't the point.
So, Who is Zen? My name is Jaime Chriswisser, and I am Zen. I do my best to put that same mindfulness into every product I make. I hope that when you receive any product from me that you realize just how unique it is. It is one of a kind, with no equal. It was made specifically for you, to your exacting specifications. It will never exist again.
Will it bring you that oneness, that peacefulness I talked about? No, because that is my journey. But it just might get you out there, where you can find your own.
I wish you the best in your path, and perhaps we'll meet on the river some day.
Cheers,
Jaime Chriswisser