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My friend and fellow
rod builder, Dave Lewis, suggested that I include a
little about myself, my likes, dislikes, background
and adventures in a gallery. He believes it
gives people a better insight into a rod
maker. So here's a little about
me. As I said, I've been a fly fisher almost
all my life. I was born and raised in the
little town of Mountain Grove, Mo, high on the Ozark
Plateau. Where I grew up waters flowed north,
south, and east. I enjoyed fishing those
waters, though at the time I didn't know, how much.
Although I've fly fished from the time I
was four or five, the sport of fly fishing has only been
a big part of my since 1985, when I saw a fly rod in a
shop in Ga. My wife and I were on our way to Maine and
I'd heard there was good fly fishing in Maine. I didn't
by the rod. Maybe I should have, but it was so
cheap the It's probably better I didn't. I did
eventually fish Maine several years later.
I
hale from the Ozark Plateau. It's my
original home waters. It's amazing how much
good water started within 100 miles of my boyhood
home. Here's a look at the area.
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Then there's a trip I took with Don Manning.
This page has quite a bit of "fish
pictures," so if you're not into that it
might be better to let it go. |
Occasionally I
go back to hill country, and chase the fish of
my youth. Large mouth, small mouth,
sunfish and yes, trout. The last
few adventures were in North
Carolina. |
Another
place that I see a lot of is Sunrise
Lake in
the edge of the Ocala National Forest.
My wife and I were introduced to it and the
cabin next to it, by a friend. Years
later we still rent the cabin. |
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Don
Coleman "wrote the book on fishing the flats
around Tampa Bay. Each year we hole an
outing in his honor. Here's the first
memorial outing we held in his honor.
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Marge's sister lives in Mt. Airy, MD. Over
the years, we've made several trip up to visit
with George and Phyllis. On one occasion I
got to eat Christmas dinner with Santa. But
that's another story.
In the spring of 2007,
Marge and I took the auto train from Orlando to
just south of Washington, D.C. for an extended
visit.
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 I'd made arrangements to fish with
some fellow rod makers. Little did we know
that we'd end up looking like the
cover of a Feb. fly fishing magazine.
(caution, contains pictures of dogs and cats
living together.)
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The Military
I was born during WWII when the issue was still in doubt. I
grew up in the '50s and early '60s when everyone was or was
related to someone who was in the military during that
war. The cold war was in progress and Cuba seemed to
be a threat. We never even knew of that little country
called Vietnam.
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One of
Their Own
On 24 October, 2007,
my brother-in-law, George Roberts,
died. I first knew George as my
sister-in-law's husband. The two of them
lived Silver Springs, MD. They later
moved to Mt. Airy, MD. Over the years,
as we visited, I learned that he had been a
WWII vet. In fact he'd gone ashore on
Omaha beach the afternoon of D-Day.
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 George had made arrangements
to be buried at Arlington National
Cemetery. Marge and I attended the
services. Here's my recollections
of that day. |
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Sometimes
I see something that's just too nice to pass
up.
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