Jim Repine, 75, author, photojournalist, guide, lodge-owner and friend to many in the fly-fishing industry died June 7, 2009 at his home in Santiago, Chile. Jim succumbed to a brain tumor that was diagnosed in December 2008.

Jim Repine was born in Virginia, served in the Marines, and then followed his wanderlust to Alaska in 1968. To support a young family he took a job selling television sets and refrigerators at Sears but his work evolved quickly to follow his passion. He became a noted photographer, journalist, author and professional guide. He produced and starred in a twice-weekly TV show featuring his young daughter and a Rhodesian Ridgeback named Jubal. The show?s 12-year run earned him the nickname of ?Mr. Alaska?, although he often noted that both the daughter and the dog were the more popular stars when folks saw them on the streets. Jim?s work grew to include associations and consultancy with several of the most prestigious lodges of the then-developing frontier of fly-fishing travel.

In the 1980?s Jim accepted a journalistic assignment to visit Chile to write about the trout-fishing in this destination of emerging popularity among traveling fly-fishermen. After discovering Patagonia he relocated permanently in 1987. He found his nirvana and purchased an idyllic piece of heaven on the Futaleufu River, just outside the small town of the same name near the Chile ? Argentina border. From 1989 to 2004 Jim and his wife Sonia owned and operated the Futaleufu Lodge as an intimate and unique introduction to the exceptional wonders of Patagonia. Those lucky enough to experience a week?s visit at Futa found themselves captivated by the area, by Jim Repine?s charm and wit, and by intense passion for respect, understanding and conservation of the trout-fishing and all natural resources.

During the off-seasons Jim and Sonia traveled extensively. In addition to his homewaters in Alaska, Chile and Argentina, Jim particularly loved Ireland, England, Japan, and the Atlantic Salmon venues of Northeastern Canada. Over the years, hundreds of his works have appeared in almost every significant fly-fishing and travel journal in the world. Among his books, ?Pacific Rim Fly Fishing, The Unrepentant Predator? (Frank Amato publications) is a good compendium of Jim?s philosophies and life.

Jim Repine?s life-work created a list of friends, colleagues and clientele from all walks of life. It includes a who?s-who of the recognizable names of the fly-fishing industry, all of whom counted Jim as a good friend and valued confidant. Jim is survived by his wife Sonia, four children and five grandchildren.
In a 2003 magazine column in Fish Alaska Magazine, Troy Letherman properly noted; ?Repine?s real gift to us lies in the wealth of learning he has to relate on man?s relationship with the wild he is forever drawn towards?and as a facilitator of our tradition. He speaks to an evolution of his thoughts and feelings over sixty years of deep fascination with wild places and things, and of his abiding admiration for the creatures he continues to pursue. In watching and reading and listening to Jim Repine, you soon realize that what he?s getting at goes far beyond simply stalking trophy fish and the waters that hold them. His is a testament that is at once his own creation and one that belongs to the past, intertwined in a story without beginning and hopefully, without end.?

Harry J. Briscoe
Hexagraph Fly Rod Company
hexagraph@hexagraph.com
713-464-0505