By Joe Cawood, Managing Partner

Henry’s Fork of the Snake River is known as a world-famous trout fishery. Abundant with rainbows, browns, brookies and cutthroat, the beauty of these fish is only rivaled by the beauty of their surroundings. This stretch of the river cuts through some incredible landscapes, with the Tetons majestically overlooking from a distance. It’s the perfect place to slow down, unplug and take in all that the mountain west has to offer.

Last week, our founder Curtis LaClaire and I hosted a small group of current and prospective clients – HR and executive leaders we’ve had the privilege of working alongside – for two days on the water. The idea of the trip remains simple: pull people out of the office and onto a drift boat, where we trade water-cooler small talk for quality conversations and relationship building in the great outdoors. No pitch, no decks, no agendas. Just good water, good company and the kind of conversations that take place when a rod is bent and the cell service is limited.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather. It was the second week of September, and our days included cool mornings, bluebird skies and the Henry’s Fork running high and clear. Our guides put us on fish all day, but the bonus was an unplanned hour in the evening that turned out to be a highlight of the trip. Towards the end of day one, I took two of our guests – Samantha Bouma and Patrick Oliver – out to a wade-in spot before sundown. All three of us ended up landing good rainbows within minutes of each other. We fist bumped, took our pics and vids, and all agreed that stars aligned nicely for us in that evening hour.

After two full days of fly fishing various stretches of the Henrys Fork and the Snake River, we left feeling recharged but eager to get back. See, there are so many similarities between fly fishing and life. For the sake of keeping this post to a 5-minute read, I’ll only draw comparisons to recruiting.

In fly fishing, the goal is to present your artificial fly in a way that entices the trout to eat it. To be proficient in fly fishing requires planning, preparation and practice. Although a trout’s brain might only be the size of a raisin, they spend all day deciphering what to eat and what not to eat as a smorgasbord of options flows past them. Comparing this to the world of recruiting, the trout is the passive candidate. Passive candidates are hard at work, kicking butt in their day jobs, and not actively looking for a new opportunity.

This is where fly selection and presentation come in. In order to get the trout to bite, you have to “match the hatch.” This means using flies that will appeal to the trout and trigger a bite. Additionally, there are a variety of other factors that you must consider in order to entice a bite – dry fly or nymph, length of leader and tippet, depth of your setup, split shot or weightless, and number of flies being presented to name a few.

Similarly, top talent candidates aren’t actively looking for a new opportunity. It’s up to us, as recruiters, to present them with something that will pique their interest – aka, get them to bite. How we reach out to these candidates will determine if we can get them on the hook. If we aren’t using the right flies, or our presentation is messy, we shouldn’t be surprised if we aren’t getting bites.

Once on the hook, the job isn’t over. It’s a dance, it requires some give and take, and the duration can vary. Getting that fish to the net is an art. It takes maintaining the right amount of line tension, focus and persistence to land the fish. For candidates, we must maintain open lines of communication, providing feedback, coaching and support throughout the process. It’s not a done deal with the candidates until we get them to the net – i.e. an offer extended and accepted.

Boom! The fish is in the net. Now it’s time to take a picture before releasing them. Perfecting the grip and grin surprisingly takes practice in itself, but once that photo is captured and that fish is released – it’s hard to describe that satisfying feeling of accomplishment. Fly fishing isn’t easy, and landing a hard fighting trout in a swift stream takes skill and patience. At the same time, finding top talent isn’t easy. Top talent often isn’t looking, and it takes the right approach and presentation to get them on the hook. But once that offer is extended and accepted, it’s the same satisfying feeling of accomplishment, and optimism for the future.

We are already looking forward to our third annual trip that is tentatively slated for May of 2027. If you are an executive or HR leader who would like to join, reach out to joe@careerslaunch.com for more info!