Continuing my tribute to John Whitehead, the man who taught me the joy of fly fishing –

By the end of our second season of fishing together, John had wisely figured out that you could build a fine rod yourself for a fraction of the cost of a factory built rod, and he patiently and thoughtfully walked me through the construction of my first rod – a 9’6” Sage 6 weight – which I fished hard for nearly a decade before losing it overboard on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park.    I have since built over a dozen rods for family, friends, and self, and can’t start one without thinking of John’s patient teaching. 

It was John who opened the world of nymphing for me, and though I still am in elementary school in the nymphing world, John can nymph and produce fish anywhere and anytime.   I still remember a late summer day float in my drift boat with John on the Green River below Flaming Gorge dam, and John skating big caddis across a plunge pool and some of the Green River big boys chasing his fly out of the water.   

John and I fished less often together as the years went by – the pressures of a profession, children, and adulthood often impact fishing time for all of us.  Suddenly (it seems) well over two decades have passed since first meeting John and having him open the world of fly fishing up to me, and now I have passed some of that spark on to my own kids.    John – my timeless gratitude is yours, for your patience, wisdom, and friendship.  Now that we both have the kids out of the house, we need to fish together a bit up here in Montana.   I’ll see you on the river my friend……. 

 

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