 |
Born in Boulder in 1944, Bob has spent more than
55 years with a fishing rod in his hand. While
his father, Harold, was a major contirbutor, everyone
in his extended family enjoyed fishing. "We
fished every weekend, when we could, and took
summer fishing excursions to a lake or stream,
somewhere along the Front Range, and, if dad had
a little more time, we would go to the western
slope to fish the Gunnison, Arkansas or Colorado
Rivers. Grand Mesa was a regular stop whenever
we had the opportunity."
"I was very lucky, as a youngster, having
a neighbor lady who tied flies for Hank Roberts
(a local fishing icon and the first true fly shop
owner along the Front Range). I would visit her
home and watch her tie.
|
|
I would be mesmerized watching her as she crafted
those Yellow Body Gray Hackles, Royal Coachmen,
Rio Grande Kings and Mosquito’s. She’d
even give me one pointing out that there was a
mistake, but I knew that she never made a mistake.
She mentioned to my father that I was very interested
in fly tying. That Christmas, my father gave me
a vice, this was in 1950 at the ripe old age of
6. Well, you can imagine how terrible I was, but
with the guidance of my neighbor lady, I soon
became good enough to use and catch fish with
my own patterns. As they say, “everything
has a beginning” and that’s how my fishing
began!"
"I graduated from Boulder High School, was
an all-state center for Boulder High, was class
clown (maybe not the best distinction) and achieved
a few “outdoor lessons” along the way.
I attended CU, joined the National Guard, married
a local gal, Dianne, and raised my two boys here
in Boulder. Both boys are married to great wives
and have two children each."
|
