The Strength of the Pack…

Last Sunday, May 24, 2026, I floated the Huzzah Creek near Steelville, MO with my son Matt and his family —that includes his wonderful wife and three of my very active grandkids and one of my granddogs. That day, the stream was crystal clear and the weather was perfect—not too hot and not too cool. By floating on Sunday, instead of Saturday, of the Memorial Day weekend, we avoided all but a few other floaters. We also purposely picked a section of the stream that was upstream from where the flotilla of rafts of holiday party drinkers would be doing their summer-kickoff thing.

While I was floating and enjoying the beauty of this classic Ozark stream —full of sharp turns, long riffles, gravel bars, awesome bluffs, sunning turtles and darting fish— I started thinking of how blessed I am to live in an area not far from miles of beautiful streams. I’ve enjoyed wading, floating and fishing them and camping overnight on gravel bars for more than 60 years. I have countless memories of introducing my kids, grandkids and friends to the streams and spending special days with them enjoying some of God’s most beautiful creation. By the way, little kids love catching crawfish. On one adventure, I boiled some to let them taste their unique, pinching catch. I’ve also fried up goggle eye (rock bass) and french-fry-style potatoes for a gravel-bar feast.

Let it be noted, however, I would never kill and eat a smallmouth bass from a stream—and I hope you don’t either. Smallmouth bass are the undisputed “king of the ozark stream” and are somewhat sacred to me because of their fighting ability. Pound for pound, these aggressive, “bronze back” fighters offer some of the hardest, most acrobatic fights in freshwater and although they thrive in the pristine, unpolluted waters, they grow relatively slowly in our streams and are not as prolific as goggle eye and other sunfish.

Floating also gives me a lot of time to think and ponder. On this float, I had thoughts of my recent two weeks of guiding and mentoring during two back-to-back ALTAR fly fishing retreats in the Driftless Region of Minnesota, as well as, the trip report I had read about the recent Kid’s Fishing Day event held at Maramec Spring Park.

In the process, a famous quote from Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, or more precisely, Disney’s animated adaptation of it that I have enjoyed watching with my grandkids somehow came to mind: “The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.”

Wolves are apex predators, but they mirror human complexities. Although I have kind of a love-hate relationship with wolves, I admire many things about them. I connect with wolves because they exhibit highly social, pack-oriented behaviors. They are fiercely loyal, care for their young, and communicate deeply, much like human families.

I have had a communications company registered as Call of the Wild Communications for more than 25 years and I use a howling wolf as a symbol. I chose that name for several reasons— one of which is that I think Wild can be one of the ways to partly describe God. (Someday, I may choose to elaborate on that in the FATC FORUM.) I chose the wolf as a symbol because to many, the howling wolf is an ultimate emblem of untamed, majestic nature and freedom.

The quote, “The strength of the pack is the wolf, and the strength of the wolf is the pack.” illustrates mutual reliance and the power of teamwork. Just as a wolf depends on the pack for protection and survival, the pack itself is only as strong as the individual wolves that compose it.

To me, the quote is a great metaphor for leadership, teamwork, and unity. Not surprisingly, it’s a popular rallying cry in sports, military organizations, and corporate team-building environments to emphasize that individual success is deeply tied to the success of the group.

In that regard, it is also a great metaphor to describe FATC. Members team up regularly to work together to accomplice what would be difficult, or sometimes impossible, as an individual. For example:

At the May 18-22 ALTAR RETREAT, 13 FATC members travelled together to Minnesota, where the pack participated in discussions to help them grow and improve the health of their souls. And they also listened to instruction from fly fishing gurus like Jason Randall as he introduced them to ways to improve their fly fishing technique. They did this all while enjoying thought-provoking, small-group discussions, great home-cooked meals and fabulous fellowship.

On May 16, fourteen FATC members teamed up to organize and run the Kid’s Fishing Day event at Maramec Spring Park. These guys introduced, encouraged and taught roughly 450 kids (15 and under) to fly fish. No one person could have pulled that off. It took a pack, a team, to get it done.

On May 5, ten members of the FATC pack prepared and served a meal to about 40 people staying at The Ronald McDonald House which provides free or low-cost “home-away-from-home” housing and support services for families with seriously ill or injured children receiving medical treatment at nearby hospitals.

These are only three of the many ways the FATC pack has teamed up to help each other and the community, while at the same time growing and deepening the fellowship available to those who seek to find it in FATC. (Check the FATC website for many more examples.)

Maybe it’s time for us each to ask ourselves, “Am I a lone wolf or part of a functioning, mutually-beneficial pack?” As I’ve pointed out in the past, I’m a renowned amateur psychologist, but it’s worth mentioning that professional psychologists and social commentators also note that humans are inherently pack animals. Extreme isolation can lead to loneliness, a lack of emotional support systems, and diminished mental well-being.

So for whatever reason you joined FATC, maybe you should ask yourself, “Am I taking advantage of, and enjoying the strength of the pack…and am I bringing my strength to the pack and to my family and my community?”

By the way, have you found the meaning of your life? We’d love to hear that story! If not, keep looking by choosing to look in the most fishy-looking water. Remember Jason Randall’s 90/10 rule in trout fishing, which states that 90% of the fish are found in 10% of the water. And that 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish. But even more basic than Jason’s truism is this: You can’t catch fish if you don’t go fishing. I think the same principles hold true for the quest for real meaning. Do you think truly examining your life and actively asking more questions might help? Remember our FATC motto: It’s not just about the fly fishing.

John Muckerman

FATC Inspirational and Leadership Lead