Where to Get Gartside Flies

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.

Bears Den Expo, February 20 + Gartside swag

bearsdenlogoFor 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.

Jack interviewed on Fishface Radio

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.

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The future of Jacks web site

spare_gurglersWith 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.

Happy holidays

Each December going back a number of years, we always republished a Christmas story Jack had written long ago. I can’t think of a reason not to again this year. In fact, perhaps this year there’s all the more reason to. So here it is, A Christmas Present from the Queen, a gift from Jack to his friends.

To you and your loved ones, a merry little Christmas and a happy New Year.

So long, and thanks for all the fish

image-2Sad 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.”

La Bamba

This video of Jack was shot a number of years ago during a stopover at LAX. I don’t know much of the story behind it. The pattern looks like some sort of soft hackle streamer. While it turns out that tying while driving is not an offense in Los Angeles county, Jack was ticketed and fined for exceeding the maximum turns of thread allowed under California law.

The Marlborough fly fishing show

fly-fishing-logo-largest_5gkdAnother year, another Marlborough fly fishing show. Attendance was off some this year, both on the exhibitor side and on the attendee side. A cratering economy will do that, I guess. But Jack had one of his best shows ever. Sales were brisk. His booth was busy from the time we opened until the time we closed. And while I didn’t get to see it myself, people who came by the booth afterward said Jack’s talk on striper fishing technique went very well (he was concerned beforehand that chemo-fatigue might affect his performance).

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hi, ask questions, reminisce, or just wish him well. I thought I knew most of Jack’s adventures but it was fun to hear a few ones this weekend: a night fishing trip with Terry Boylan to Plum Island that ended with Jack and Terry hiding in the weeds from a boat full of drunks armed with rifles and searchlights who wanted to shoot them after nearly mowing down their inflatable raft; there was also something about a trip on a tramp steamer to South America that nearly ended very badly (got to ask Jack for more details on this one).

As we closed up the booth Saturday evening Jack told me how pleased he was to be able to attend the show after all. The injection of good will he got this weekend is as sustaining for him as anything the doctors do. His support network, he calls you guys. It’s a wonderful thing to see.

Here’s a video Dave Souza shot of Jack showing how to tie a Secret Sand Eel…

Thanks and God bless

Greetings and Salutations,

dsc_1928This is Jack here, back to leading as normal and as full a life as I can while undergoing the treatments that I have to go through that will bring me back to full health and a future filled with more adventures and explorations, ideas and creations, friends and follies. So stay tuned.

As you probably learned from the last newsletter sent out by my webmaster Mike Quigley, I’ve been diagnosed with small cell lung cancer and also what is called superior vena cava syndrome. I was in the VA hospital for several weeks but am now home as an outpatient. So far the treatments have been going very well, better than expected actually. I just finished a second round of chemo last week (two more to go) as well as my first radiation treatments (only 33 more to go). As you can guess these treatments are a little tiring but on the whole not so bad as you might think. I’m in pretty good spirits, experiencing no real difficulties (except for a radical change in my sense of smell and in my taste buds which makes a lot of food taste just awful–but this will pass as the weeks go on). I just try to live each day as best I can and to be thankful for all that is good in my life.

Hundreds of emails, get-well cards, and telephone calls have come in within the past few weeks, from all over the world, from friends and strangers alike, and although I’d love to respond to each one, it’d be a bit difficult right now but I’d like to thank everyone who wrote or called. I appreciate your thoughts and concern much more than you can know, than I can tell. It means the world to me to know that people care; they really do. And I do, too. God bless you all.