One of the "good guys" passes on.............

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Bob Nauheim has passed on. Here is a message from his partner:

Posted by Frank Bertaina on 2005-09-10 08:39:44

"The wonderful, magical and quixotic world of angling has lost a true crusader, pioneer and friend with the passing of the Old Bandito. Bob lost his valiant battle with cancer yesterday at the age of 71. Flags will fly at half mast, from the valley rivers of Chile, the plains of Argentina, fjiords of Norway, Russia, and other salmon rivers of northern Europe, the flats of the Keys, Bahamas, Yucatan; the jungle rivers of central America, Spring creek and freestone streams of New Zealand, salmon and steelhead rivers of B.C. and Maritime Provinces; the expansive bonefish haunts in the South Pacific,the reefs and pinnacles off Panama and the Barrier Reefs...and beyond them. Hear, hear Old Bandito, I raise my glass and salute. we'll all be catchin up with ya round the next bend in the river..just one more cast before we put the hook in the cork..farewell."

Bob Nauheim and Frank Betaina pioneered fly fishing travel with their sucessful travel service in Santa Rosa "Fishing International".

[Adam Grace]

That's too bad

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Hi Adam,

He had a wonderful life traveling to more places than almost anyone we know and having tons of good old buddies too.

[SullyTM]

I'm sorry for the Nauhiem families loss. Tight lines forever. Thom

[Tracy Chimenti]

Like the end of an era. Like losing so many of our cherished WWII vets, every day, the pioneers of flyfishing are dissappearing as well. So many of the masters are in the twighlight of their lives. What experiences they have had. How it must hurt for them to witness the current and ongoing degradation of our aquatic resources after what they experienced. Bob spent alot of time on the Russian River, back when it was a world-class steelhead river. He and others quietly developed and perfected the use of shooting heads... when everyone else was going gaga over the new Europeon technology of spinning reels-- imported here after WWII. Man do we need another book to capture the essence of this time. I wish Chatham would get it in gear and write one. We're all getting older, but I yearn to stay conncected to Bob's era.

[jbird]

Bill

I read that post over on Blantons site. It really moved me. What a beautiful tribute to a wonderful man.

Jay

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Bob was only about 10 years older than me and he lived in Santa Rosa, I believe, and was a fire fighter. He was one of those guys who fished the north coast when it was in its hay day for fly fishing. '60s-'70s.

Later Bob and Frank Betaina opened "Fishing Internation" which is a top fly fishing travel service and proceeded to fish all over the world for the past 30+ years.

Lots of those older guys saw some pretty awsome fishing and hunting.

Bob had a great life.

[k.hanley]

Bob was certainly one of my sportfishing heros and a friend. His stories and encouragement helped spark my passion for steelhead and saltwater adventures.

If you want to learn more about Bob, and gain some terrific insights directly from him, check out the interview I did with Bob a few years back.

June 2002 issue
California Fly Fisher Magazine
Tips 'n' Tugs column

With respect, Ken

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

http://www.danblanton.com/nauheimobituary.html

Here is a link to a nice memorial to Bob.

[gryhackl]

I never had the chance to meet Bob, but when I moved to Northern California in the mid-70s Bob Nauheim was "The Man." His fishing exploits became legend, but more importantly he was a good guy. He'll be greatly missed by this community.