AT YOUR LEISURE

WHAT YOU DO WITH YOUR FREE TIME IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU MIGHT THINK. HERE’S WHY HAVING A HOBBY IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH - AND HOW TO FIND ONE THAT’S RIGHT FOR YOU

- Dominique Lamberton

Ruth Lee has lived in Calgary for 26 years, since she was three years old. But it wasn’t until she met her boyfriend in 2014 that she learned she lives in a fly-fishing utopia, and that the Bow River that rushes through Alberta’s largest city is a bucket-list topper for anglers around the world. Shortly after they started dating, Lee’s boyfriend, an avid fly-fisher, took her out to a quiet spot on the Bow, just south of the city. Standing in the flowing water in just her flip-flops and shorts, she learned to cast and, to her surprise, caught her first fish: a 12-inchlong rainbow trout. She’s been hooked on the hobby ever since.

“I’m first-generation Korean-Canadian and, growing up, my parents were always working,” says the graphic designer. “I always wanted that sort of adventure, but I didn’t know how to go about it.” While she has her boyfriend as an instructor and guide, in 2018, Lee joined the Calgary Women Fly Fishers Club, connecting with fisherwomen of all ages and abilities at weekly meetings, at fly-tying workshops and on day trips. But whether she’s with her partner or the club, she keeps on casting because of what it does for her mind. “From nine to five, I’m on a screen,” she says. “Fly-fishing is a way to put my phone away, disconnect and be present. It’s also brought me gratitude for where I live.”