I wanted to comment on some of the posts about Gary LaFontaine, but they were on a thread that wasn't specifically about him, so I didn't want to offend the person who started that thread by hijacking.

Some of LaFontaine flies are a "little out there" it seems to me, but that was him - on the cutting edge. I had the pleasure of meeting him a couple of times and found him to be really a great guy. He was truly full of enthusiasm for the sport. Not just a great tier and innovator, but a great fisherman. Who knows what he might have offered us had he lived beyond his relatively young age.

I think his work "Caddisflies" alone would have made him sort of a giant amongst authors and researchers amongst fly fishers. But, he went on to write so much more and explore so much more - even to the point of his underwater observations of trout and their reactions to fly patterns.

Anyway, it reminded me to look at the flies I have of his. I think I could take these out of the shadow box and catch some fish today.

Thanks Gary for all you left behind for us.