President's Message - April 2008: "Special Folks"

by Joe Filer, AFF President

Bruce YoungLike many of you, I love getting and reading (typically end to end, several times to make sure I don’t miss ANYTHING) a bunch of fly fishing magazines. One of the things I have noticed a lot recently is a commitment to building awareness of historical contributors to our sport. A whole lot of black and white pictures in some cases!

These are folks whose names are spoken with a certain amount of reverence. For me, the list includes Ted Williams, Joe Brooks, Joe Humphries, Dave Whitlock, Flip Pallot, Lee Wulff, Chico Fernandez and Lefty Kreh. I have enjoyed reading about each of these guys, “seeing” them fish through the wonders of TV, hearing stories from folks that knew them, or even chatting with several. I suspect that many of us have a similar list.

For the uninitiated (like me just 5 short years ago), this is just a list of old or dead fishermen. Each of them shares a life-long dedication to a sport that might seem a little trivial to some. It is, after all, just feathers and fur on a hook! Without them, I am confident in saying that the enjoyment we find today would probably not be possible.

So you are probably asking yourself, “What does all this talk about old guys have to with April and the AFF?”. April seems to be a natural transition (there’s that word again) month that leaves us a little time to reflect and think about some of our own local “trailblazers”, the “old” guys we rely on. Those folks who always seem to be there when you have a question, any question.

I want to dedicate this article to one of those folks in our club who we ALL rely on over and over. Someone who always seems ready to help, teach, and share. Someone I have turned to make me better in many ways.

Bruce Young might not really qualify as an “old guy” (that beard is getting a little more gray every day) but he definitely falls into the category of Special Folks. And, I suspect he is on all of our lists somewhere.