Bob Quigley passes

[Terry Thomas]

Received a message this morning from a friend that Bob Quigley passed away yesterday afternoon. Spent some great days on the Fall with Bob. One of the best of our time!
T.

[koffler]

What a bummer. This is the 1st person name wise that I've recognized over the years re: people who have moved on. I also had the opportunity to meet Bob on several occassions and he was always very willing to share ideas and freely answer questions. He will be missed.

Jason

[Lincoln Gray]

Bob was a great guy and a true pioneer in the fly fishing industry. He will be missed!

[Hogan Brown]

I have been fortunate enough to meet some great fly tiers and fly fishermen in my years as as a guide and commercial fly tier. I believe even more fortunate enough to have my name attached to the same company that ties Bob's Flies. I always felt it would be like getting pulled up to Play on the Giants with my idols when I was a kid...I never felt like I belonged on the same team or level as bob. He is and was one of my idols as a tier. I learned more from brief conversations with him then any book, dvd, or other person in the industry.

His ideas were so simple yet so revolutionary. His ideas were the ones that you looked at and totally made sense but never even remotely thought of your self...then there was the patterns bob tied that I was lucky enough to fish that never made it into production...many of these were beautifully tied but looked like a fly exploded and then was assembled back on the hook by a blind man...Then he would explain it and i would kinda see the idea or bug...but oh god did they catch fish. I still tie an emu based hex pattern of his that literally looks like cat puke but catches more fish then any pattern I have ever tried...and people and other guides look at it in disgust and disbelief.

He gave me once when I was a young tier two of the best pieces of advice and two things that I live by today as a tier.

1) Bugs are thinner, trimmer, and smaller then you think. Don't over dress your flies
2) With regards to fly design...get the silhouette and movement of the fly right first, then add the fish attractive elements like flash, color, beads, what ever...but nail the silhouette and the movement of the bug.

I can't over state his influence on me as a tier. I would not consider myself one of his close friends or even really a friend at all...more an acquaintance. He will live on for as long as people fish with flies in the smiles of the faces of people hooked up on his bugs. What a great way to live on once you are gone.

[k.hanley]

Quig was a certified mad hatter behind the tying vise. He never failed to inspire. He never failed to experiment. He darn near always made it work! His patterns set the mark at an extremely high level.

We had such goofy great times. I loved his sense of humor.

Prayers to his family and friends.
With respect, Ken

[pgw]

We had such goofy great times. I loved his sense of humor.

Prayers to his family and friends.
With respect, Ken

Right there with you Ken...On Hat Creek one day a bunch of years ago, as Bob and his clients geared up by his truck (when you could drive to the water by the barrier) they watched me catch a few fish swinging a nymph like an emerger...I offered the run to him and his clients and he asked to see the fly. When I put my rod tip up, he broke off the fly, looked at it and said, "I wonder what I'll call this in my next book." I replied, "Bob, you can call it what ever you want but Polly Rosborough calls it a Fledermaus!" We both had a good laugh then and when we crossed paths after that.

Paul

[Ralph]

Lots of Quig stories, but since this a family board . . .

I do remember one time tying flies, drinking whisky, and listening to Lynard Skynyrd so loud it was hard to exhale against the bass. Bob was tying PMD's with purple deer hair and we weren't even doing psychedelics (that time). I told him they looked like crap and that trout sure as hell weren't going to eat purple bugs when the real ones were yellow. He held the deer skin up close to his face, looked at it long and hard, then replied slightly confused, "This isn't purple, it's brown".

It was only then I realized he was color blind. That "wrong" colored fly went on to become his Spring Creek Emerger - one the most successful patterns to ever drop off his incredible vice.

[Jaybinder]

I fished with Bob last year. I had just met him but he treated me like an old friend. He showed me around and gave me some great stealhead advise. First class guy.

Jason

[Troutstalker55B]

Lots of Quig stories, but since this a family board...

I've heard the stories from Dale Dennis about their adventures on the Fall river, he took on fishing and life wide fricken open! I echo all the words written here. His cripple pattern is too good, sometimes those fish take it so deep I have to put on another fly out of fear for the fish's life. He may be gone, but he will never be forgotten. Thanks for everything Bob, your the man.

Jon.

[Bull_Dog]

I did not know Bob very well but I do have one fond memory. Andy Burk and Bob Quigley were the two most instrumental people in my early fly tying career. One day while working at the Reno Fly Shop, Bob stopped by and I was the only one in the shop. After two or three minutes of where is everybody Bob realized it was me or nobody. He gave me some flies and I was so amazed in his Baetis Cripple that he stayed and I closed the shop and we had a few beverages and he showed me how to tie a couple of his flies. He treated me like I was someone he had known for a long time and gave up a few secets in the process. We had a blast and I got some flies that the fish on the Little Truckee could not resist that fall. I wish I still had one or two of them. Great memory and a great guy. Sorry to hear the bad news.

Treat everyone like they matter and when you go people will have nice things to say about you too.

Rob Anderson