Roccus Writing: Jack Gartside's Blog

In its summer 2010 edition of The American Fly Fisher, the American Museum of Fly Fishing announced the addition of an number of Gartside items to its collection. The items include books, fishing gear, personal items, and over 100 of Jack’s flies.  Sara Wilcox of the AMFF was nice enough to send me a copy of the article to share with Jack’s readers.

The American Fly Fisher journal is a free benefit to members of the AMFF. You can become a museum member on their web site under the membership section, or, by contacting Sarah Moore by phone at (802) 362-3300 extension 205, or by email at smoore@amff.com. If you’re not a member but would like to purchase  a copy of The American Fly Fisher ($10 each), again, contact  Sarah Moore.

A few days ago I sent out the first JackGartside.com newsletter since Jack passed away. Jack’s mailing list is no small thing — about 4000 addresses. There were quite a few responses, all of them unfailingly encouraging. Here are a few of favorites…

“I had the pleasure of corresponding with Mr. Gartside during my tenure at MIT. Just reading about his life and his passion inspired me…I would often carry his guide books to read when on the T or when I had some downtime. He was a workingman’s fly fisher. No frills…pure passion.” Perez

“He was the closest real life version of a fictional character that I ever met.” Phil

“The hotel rooms in Roscoe, although cheap, sure look it! The Hendricks House with its garish new paint job is referred to by locals as the Sunoco Motel. The Rockland House has supposedly redecorated their rooms but that could mean just putting the hinges back on the doors and flushing the toilets every Friday. The only alternative to the Roscoe Motel really is the Baxter House a so-called B & B across from the Live Bait Bar & Grill….now how’s that for the name of a restaurant in Trout Town USA? Well enuf fun here…..Are you going to the induction?” Howie

“Mike, by any chance are you Mike Martinek? Believe it or not I was Mike Martinek’s swim instructor at overnight camp when he was a chubby 12 yr. old. I am still recovering over 50 years later.” Eric

Also, Gerry Karaska passes along that the Summer 2010 issue of The American Fly Fisher (by the American Museum of Fly Fishing) has a nice piece on Jack.

This fall Jack will be inducted into the Catskill Fly Fishing Museum’s Hall of Fame. From the museum’s Facebook page:

“On Saturday, October 9, 2010 at 3PM the Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum’s Hall of Fame Committee will induct four individuals into the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony is open to everyone and there is no charge or donation required. Through extensive research and a vetting process by the HOF committee the annual class is determined. The following four members will be recognized for major and significant contributions to the world of fly fishing: (living) Art Lee and John Randolph, (deceased) Louis Rhead and Jack Gartside.”

Katie Lavelle will be accepting the award for Jack.

I know some folks who are planning to attend, raise a toast, and maybe even do a little fishing on the Beaverkill. It’d be cool to see a nice turnout of Jack’s fans and friends. Here’s a little info if you think you might like to go…

The museum is in Roscoe, NY. Per Katie: “The Roscoe Motel is the cheapest place in town, nothing fancy but there are quite a few B and B’s up there that are quite pricey. The rooms at the Motel are 60 to 75 dollars a night, here’s their web site: http://www.roscoemotel.com/rates.html

Happy to report that Jack’s Home Page now has its own Facebook page. Why a Facebook page, you’re wondering, when there’s already this wicked awesome web site with its own blog? Well, a limitation of blogs is that they tend to be “newslettery” in tone due to their inherent structure. Visitors can’t really talk to each other. On Facebook, however, visitors can talk directly to one another, drop in any time to share a joke, a comment, a story, a piece of personal news, or anything really. You can upload a picture, a video, start a discussion, suggest an event. So Facebook offers a nice way for the community of Jack’s fans and friends to keep in touch with each another and even make some new friends.

Hope you like it and visit often. Jack Gartside’s Home Page on Facebook

In the months since Jack passed away a lot of people have asked if his flies (that is, one personally tied by him) are still available for purchase. The answer to that is, sadly, no.

However, for anyone who still wants to purchase Jack’s patterns tied by a professional to his standards I highly recommend that you contact Dave Skok. Dave is a long-time close friend of Jack’s and a well-respected tyer in his own right. He has been tying and selling many of Jack’s patterns for years now. Per Dave, he doesn’t tie all of Jack’s patterns…only those that he feels he can tie to Jack’s standard of quality.

You’ll find contact information for Dave on his web site, dwskok.com.

Next season, if enough people are interested, we can make Dave’s flies available directly through this site. For now, though, please contact Dave directly.

For those of you in the New England area, be sure to check out the Bear’s Den Fly Fishing Expo.  It’s this Saturday, February 20, at the Holiday Inn in Taunton, Mass. This is the show’s 12th year and a lot of people now consider it the premier fly fishing show in Massachusetts. The energy is great, and with free admission, free parking, and free programs the price is hard to beat.

Of special interest to Gartside fans: Scott Wessels who runs the Bear’s Den has been working for a few months now on a T shirt featuring a picture of Jack. Originally the plan was to raise a little cash for Jack when he was in the hospital. Sadly, that didn’t work out. But the shirts are finally ready and you can get them at the show (or afterward, I assume, at the shop). They feature the (in)famous picture of Jack and Gerald (the Becks graciously allowed the rights) and a Gartside BeastMaster fly.

Addendum February 23: Dave Skok emailed me that sales of Scott’s Gartside T shirts were brisk at the show. Proceeds are going to the American Museum of Fly Fishing. If you missed the show but would like a shirt, contact the Bear’s Den.

In case you missed it (or even if you didn’t) here’s a hilarious interview Jack did last March with his old friend Snag Hoofish (aka, Strayhorn Spadewater) on Snag’s Fishface Radio show. Jack was concerned beforehand that he might not sound sharp but he managed to deliver classic Gartside. The interview starts about 17 minutes into the show. Enjoy.

With Jack’s passing inevitably have come questions. People have been asking things like will the web site continue? Will Jack’s books still be available? Some of the questions I don’t know the answer to, but here’s what I do know:

Will the web site continue? Absolutely. Jack loved this site. He considered it the repository, the  portfolio of his life’s work. He always said that he wanted it to continue after he was gone.  And so it will. Working on jackgartside.com with Jack the past nine years has been one of the great experiences of my life. It goes without saying that things won’t be the same without him. But there is a lot of material that he’d never gotten around to publishing–stories, flies, advice, pictures, and jokes–material enough to hopefully keep jackgartside.com a fun and interesting place to visit for a long, long time. And it will always a place to connect with a great tyer, a good man, and a dear friend.

Are there any events or memorials to Jack planned? Jack left a number of items to the American Fly Fishing Museum in Manchester, Vermont, so I expect that in time they will have an exhibit of his work.  I’ve heard that Montana legend and lifelong friend of Jack’s Bud Lilly has some plans. Also look for a piece by Dave Skok in an upcoming edition of The Drake magazine, and a piece by Ed Mitchell in an upcoming issue of Fly Fishing in Salt Waters.  And if you haven’t already seen it, here’s a very nice tribute to Jack that appeared in the Boston Globe.

Regarding the American Fly Fishing Museum…Jack’s wishes included that any charitable donations in his name be made to the AFFM. They’re a great organization dedicated to preserving the heritage of American fly fishing. But like Jack they operate on a shoe string budget. So if you feel inclined to remember Jack through a donation please consider them.

Are Jack’s books and other merchandise still available? Jack’s books will continue to be available through jackgartside.com. Other things like tying materials and prints will likely be available but on a more limited basis. Some folks have asked about Jack’s flies… the answer there is, sadly, no. If you’re lucky enough to have some of Jack’s flies in your possession, my advice is to enjoy them, save a few as tying models, and with the rest go fishing. (By the way, if you placed an order on the web site in the past month and are wondering when you’ll receive it…first thanks for your patience…second, there’s been a delay while some accounts required to process orders get switched around, but that work will hopefully be complete this week. You’ll be hearing from me via email.)

Thanks everybody. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions please send them along.

Sad news. Last night, after a hospitalization of several weeks, Jack finally lost his protracted battle with lung cancer.  He was in bed resting comfortably, attended by good friends. Outside his window the first snow of the season was silently falling.

Visiting hours will be held the evening of Wednesday December 9 in East Boston. A Funeral Mass will be held Thursday December 10 at Saint John’s Episcopal Church in Winthrop MA. Read full details on the Ruggiero-Mazzarella funeral home web site.

Jack meant so much to so many of us.  For his part, of his friends and fans he always said, “I’m the richest man I know.” Over the years there were so many stories written by those friendships: funny, warm, inspiring, head-shakingly amazing, and even a few death-defyingly nuts. Here’s hoping you’ll share your own thoughts or experiences with Jack in the Comments below (posted comments will appear after a brief delay).

Goodbye, buddy. You’ve gone on ahead. Most likely you’re already scouting the water, noting the currents and structure.  So that when finally we catch up you’ll just point to a spot and say, “There. Cast your fly there.”