Fish, Flies & Water [blog] » Remembrances

Al Crise Has Passed

JB — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 00:21:18 +0000

Al Crise (or “ol’ Al” as he was known to many) has passed. Some FF&W readers may know Al from his casting classes at Federation of Fly Fishers’ meetings and so forth, or from his posts on a number of fly-fishing bulletin boards. Al was tireless in his teaching of fly casting, and had a [...]

Dick Blumershine Passes

JB — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 14:58:46 +0000

Another long-time friend from my youth has passed (and unexpectedly). My father has a nice little remembrance on his blog. I know that some FF&W readers likely either knew Dick (and his perfectly pressed khakis, top to bottom) or have seen him in my slideshows, most likely this photo: This day was a beautiful day [...]

Some of the Words…

JB — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:17:31 +0000

I often read passages and sections from Norman Maclean’s A River Runs Through It. What so often jumps out at me about great narrative writing is how even the sparsest language can convey sweeping ideas and emotions. Many who have read (or seen) River Runs are familiar with the opening and closing lines. The close is [...]

Jim Greenlee Has Passed

JB — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 20:01:26 +0000

Yet another fly-fishing friend has died—Jim Greenlee. It’s likely that not many readers will recognize Jim’s name, but I know that some of you still wade in the boots that he shepherded into being—along with my father—many years ago. Jim was in charge of Weinbrenner when he and my father got together and made the [...]

Charlie Meyers Passes

JB — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 00:27:22 +0000

Another sad week for the fly-fishing community with the passing of Charlie Meyers (so close to the passing of Rusty Gates). Much more about Charlie from his close friends and colleagues here and here than I can write on FF&W. My mother has a funny remembrance about Charlie, though, involving a particularly rough plane ride across [...]

A Favorite Photo – Tying On (2007)

JB — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:01:15 +0000

We started 2010 with fly drawings, so why not tie one on? Kel leaned over my shoulder and took this shot one day as we were fishing an old spring creek haunt. No real set-up, no real intent, just literally a quick snap-shot using dead-stock camera settings. Art? No. But it still means a lot [...]

Favorite Posts 2009

JB — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 18:02:07 +0000

Feelin’ lazy reflective today. Gonna go cast my MPR, work on the book series, and perhaps watch a few minutes of “Once in Blue Moon” (while simultaneously lamenting the fact that I do not currently have two tickets to the South Island sitting on my kitchen table). And while I do all of that, here [...]

Sulphur Loop-Wing (for Rusty)

JB — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 18:11:57 +0000

A quick sketch of a Loop-Wing Sulphur, with thoughts of Rusty Gates and the spring hatches on the Au Sable.

Rusty Gates Passes

JB — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 17:01:38 +0000

I just heard that long-time family friend, Rusty Gates—of the famed Gates Au Sable Lodge and fly shop in Michigan—has died. Our family has had a connection to Rusty, his family, and the lodge for decades, and I grew up fishing the river almost every spring for about as long as I can remember. I [...]

Goodbye Jack…

JB — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 22:40:53 +0000

As some FF&W readers likely already know, Jack Gartside died last night. Jack was a long-time friend of our family, and was someone who I always looked forward to seeing at shows and so forth. If you aren’t familiar with Jack, just check out his Web site for a taste of his legendarily entertaining and [...]

A Favorite Day – Gallatin (July ’09)

JB — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 00:36:33 +0000

Montana’s Gallatin River holds so much history for me that I sometimes feel like I’m wading into a fly-fishing time-warp as I rig up on its banks. From my first trout to my first shadow cast, the Gallatin has been a part of my angling life literally longer than I can remember. It is such [...]

A River Runs & Storyboards

JB — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 19:31:54 +0000

Just a little nostalgia from the way-back days of my youth (well, when I was 21)… As a few FF&W readers may know, I did a small portion of the fly-fishing-specific storyboard work on A River Runs Through It (especially some of the pick-up shots that needed to be acquired after principle photography was finished). [...]