Goodbye John Gierach

The news of John Gierach passing away last Thursday was making its way through the various social media sites yesterday. Although I didn't personally know him, his death hits me hard. I loved reading his books...and, re-reading them. On camping trips, it is a common thing for me to lay in my sleeping bag, next to a stream, and read one of his books through the night. He definitely influenced how I go about fly fishing.

The guy was so authentic and honest that one related to him immediately. And, his approach to fly fishing was something I respected. I mean, the guy's home water was a small stream in Colorado, the St. Vrain. He said the reality of a 10" trout is the average size fish you should expect to net on small mountain streams, despite all the stories of whoppers that tend to catch the headlines and social media. Yup, it's all about being happy with a 10" trout. He wasn't into competing with others on size and number of trout caught in a day. Nope, his approach to fly fishing was more wholistic than that.

My favorite book of his is 'Trout Bum' with the Headwaters chapter being my favorite story, taking me along with John each time I read it. That chapter describes what I consider the ultimate fly fishing adventure. For some reason I always felt like I knew John...never met him. That's how powerful his stories are to me, because his fly fishing adventures in Colorado were like many of mine.

Goodbye John Gierach....