I learned of Harry Lemire’s recent passage (as many of you probably have as well) to a land, hopefully, of even better Steelhead fishing than this one. Although I knew that an end was imminent, it was still a shock as I had received a hand tied steelhead fly by Harry only a few months ago. To those lucky enough to know him he was an absolutely superb tier and a true gentleman of the sport.
I was lucky to have fished with him on two occasions, and remember well him trying to pound into my head the finer points of the single-hand spey cast. If I can, I’ll also try and dig up the photo I have of Harry showing me his flybox and will get it up on the site.
For those who didn’t know him, there is a short bio/interview here, which includes the following quote:
“With Steelhead becoming my real passion for the last 50 years I have fished many rivers in Washington, British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon and California. I’ve caught Steelhead up to 34 pounds on a skating fly and up to 23 pounds on a dry fly. My life, I would say, has been good.”
