Delta legend Captain Kevin Doran passed away last night.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Carlo Proto just let me know that KD passed away last night after a long battle with cancer.


He was most famous for his knowledge and skill in catching Large Mouth Black Bass on top with hair bugs in the Delta.

Kevin was also one of the best fly fishers for Stripers in the Delta.


Here is one of his videos that I really enjoy watching:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Y0wmSr0Tg


Andy Guibord and I were very lucky to get to go out with KD for LMB and Stripers.

Andy continues to promote Kevin's cutting edge techniques for LMB on top water.

[David Lee]

A good guy , very generous with his time at the old Kiene's Delta get togethers .

D.~

[Terry Thomas]

A good guy , very generous with his time at the old Kiene's Delta get togethers .

D.~

So sorry to hear the bad news. KD was one of the best in the game and truly a great individual.

[Jay Murakoshi]

Wow, I'm shocked. I talked to KD a couple months ago, maybe it was a little longer than that. He called me and asked me if I still had copies of the video that I shot with him tying up the KDM Rat fly. I told him I have copies and have the master on a copying machine. He wanted to know if I would send a couple copies to a friend. Not a problem.

Then we talked for a long time and he told me what he's been going through and the outlook wasn't too promising. I remember when he had his hips worked on, it was a miserable time for him. Then he told me that he had cancer and I went completely numb, hell, I couldn't believe that. We kept talking about the good old days and the time Ken, KD and I shot a short bass video on the delta and also at Kelsey Bass Ranch. The video was completed but I don't think we ever distributed them. There were parts in there where Ken was interviewing him inside a cover boat dock, then we heard a crash and we all paused and looked at each other trying to figure out what it was. Then Ken started laughing, at what I don't know. but we all cracked up. I'll have to pull out the video and watch it again in remembrance of KD.

He definitely was a great friend. I, like many others, are going to miss him
RIP KD.

[Ed Wahl]

Sad news indeed. KD was one of my favorite people. Spent some time talking with him at one of the earlier fly fishing Bass tourneys. With tons of time to kill during the day I got to talking Bass with KD. This was not unintentional. The amount of knowledge he could impart was truly awesome. That he was so generous with his knowledge and experience just blew me away.

My favorite KD nugget from that day, " you know what Eddie? If I was fishing this tourney I'd let everyone jet away then turn around and fish right here. You should have brought your pram."

R.I.P.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

The first time Andy Guibord and I fished the delta for LMB with hair bugs with Kevin was monumental for us both.

That day we learn lots of good things because KD, like Lefty Kreh, never stopped teaching.

I learned my top water bass fishing from Cortland Line Company Rep Joe Patterson and Leo Gutterres.

On the way home Andy and I agreed before that day we knew almost nothing about fly fish for LMB on top in the Delta.

I know personally that in this past decade that KD converted many to his style of top water fly fishing for LMB.

There are many KD followers who only fish with hair bugs on top for their LMB fly fishing, mostly in the Delta.