I am Ivan Oroz, a designer and illustrator from Croatia. I would describe myself as an open, cheerful person with a rich imagination and an abundance of positive energy. Such personal qualities usually entail many interests and hobbies that I like to discover. One of them occupies a special place in my heart, fishing. It’s not just a hobby. It’s much more. Fishing is an INSPIRATION for me. My love of fishing was pretty obvious since my earliest childhood. I was born in Bosnia and Herzegovina in a small town called Fojnica, not far from Sarajevo. There, as a little boy, I would walk along the river that runs through the town in search of fish. I would spend every available minute watching them swim and try to hide. Because of the war, we fled to Germany where we lived until I was eight years old and then my family and I moved to Croatia. I was always fascinated by water, nature and fishing. So it wasn’t surprising that I started fly fishing at 17, and even before that I was honing my skills by chasing carp. It wasn’t fly fishing, more of an attempt at it since I haven’t had a chance to learn it from anyone. But I did not give up. My sheer will and creativity, which I mentioned earlier, pushed me to find ways to learn by reading various books that were available and by researching it online. Of course, after all that theoretical knowledge, it was time to put it into practice and start fly fishing for real. Now I’ve come to that part of my life when I can combine working and fishing. Planning, designing, and illustrating fish makes me as happy as if I was right there on the water. I try to show all the enchantment I feel, while in nature,as convincingly as I can in my designs. It really is true that everything is easier if it’s done with love and if you love what you do. And I do enjoy it and “blame” the final result on the powerful inspiration I get in every fishing adventure I have. I am happy to say that my job is my life and that life is fishing. My love for fishing resulted in many collaborations with various celebrities in the flyfishing scene. Unfortunately, I’m not yet allowed to publish any of the designs, but they will soon see the light of day. Until then, enjoy the rest of my work.