Here lies: “Steve” the Great Lakes Steelhead, Flyfishing Badasses, Priests, and Public Access
Another year of fishing is about to smash through the door. But before it does we take a moment to remember those who passed in 2011, while leaving indelible marks on our evolving flyfishing culture.
“Steve” the Great Lakes Steelhead
Having been lambasted for years by his West Coast brethren, Steve—the screwball stepchild of the steelhead community—passed away after a botched over-land migration attempt to the Pacific Ocean last November. Steve will be remembered by his Chums as the reigning Hatchery League Pinochle Champion. The glo-bug connoisseur leaves behind a legacy of wrapped and busted 8-pound Maxima and milty and mostly unproductive nights with Thelma over at her cobblestone hacienda.
The Flyfishing “Badass”
After a long reign as flyfishing’s top badass, hard-drinking gambler Paul Maclean—played by Brad Pitt in a River Runs Through It—has been usurped by a sniveling Ewan McGregor, playing an arrogant twat trying to help an Arab sheik build a “flyfishing mecca” in the desert in the new film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. (Note: Although McGregor was admittedly decent in Trainspotting, we have yet to forgive him for Moulin Rouge.)
The Priest
Say a prayer for the Priest. Teetering on the brink of collapse for years thanks to an up-swell in catch-and-release etiquette, the Priest officially kicked the bucket in 2011. The Priest was at his prime as a meat provider for some stellar backyard barbeques. In recent years, he came under scrutiny for tactics linked to the deaths of countless wild steelhead, Atlantic salmon, brookies, cutts, rainbows, and bows.
Public Access
Public Access died tragically in an Ennis, Montana, bar fight after the taps ran dry earlier this month. Power company DodgyPPL, LLC stands accused of pummeling Mr. Access with its 10 hydroelectric projects on five falls on the Missouri River near Great Falls, Mont. and on the Madison and Clark Fork Rivers. Nightclub bouncers Lewis & Clark tried to intervene with a navigable water pepper-spraying. They are currently listed in critical condition—with new injuries compounded by old scars inflicted during the loss of the last buffalo back in the 1880s. With Access dead, tub fishing is being cited as an exciting all-season alternative.
Geoff Mueller is senior editor at The Drake. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado. Follow him: @thedrakemagazine, @geoffmonline.