Every fly fisherman has heard of Lee Wulff and of course
the Wulff series of flies. And even if you had the opportunity to meet him
and carry on a conversation or two, I doubt you would really know him.
Much less have the depth of information in the Lee Wulff book.
What a live he led. Obviously a passionate man, with
a fine mind, trained as an engineer, he not only fished everywhere for
everything he could, but worked to improve many of the aspects of
fly fishing as well. Besides the flies, he invented what is now the Orvis
Battenkill reel. He designed the triangle taper line, which for those
who need to roll cast, is a dream. His only failure it seems was a
mold injected fly body. But the concept is interesting.
More than anything else, Lee Wulff will be remembered
for his love for Atlantic Salmon. The fight to preserve Atlantic Salmon
spanned his first exposure to them in the 1930's to see world-wide
recognition of their importance before his death in 1991.
A pioneer in aviation as well, Lee explored great reaches of Labrador,
Newfoundland and Nova Scotia alone in a tiny, single engine aircraft,
in search of places to fish Atlantic Salmon. He set up the first fishing
camps for Atlantics, wrote his own scripts for outdoor films, worked
for most of the major companies of the time, and found time to write
for many publications - as well as authoring a few books. And founding
the Federation of Fly Fishers.
Author Jack Samson's approach to this book is to base
it on a time line. Here is what was happening in the world at the same
given time Lee did this or that. It keeps things in perspective, and
also allows the reader to connect with the story as a whole. Nicely
done!
I have a personal sadness about the book. As famous
as Lee Wulff was, and recognised as an authority on Atlantic
Salmon, the battle for the survival of the salmon took an incredibly
long time. Lee Wulff was the man who said, "A gamefish is too valuable
to only catch once." A promoter of Catch and Release when many
areas had no lack of fish. The handwriting was on the wall for Lee.
It has taken the rest of the world much too long to see it. Unfortunately,
he never took up the cause of the Pacific Salmon!
Do read Lee WULFF you will have a new
appreciation of this man's willingness to stand up for what he thought
was right. Besides that, he had some fantastic adventures. They are
in there too. ~ DLB
Lee WULFF
is hardbound, 238 pages. The price is $34.95 (U.S.), ISBN: 1-57188-019-4.
It is available through Royal Wulff, 3 Main St., P.O. Box 948,
Livington Manor, NY 12758, (800)-328-3638. ~ DB
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