Joe Shirshac is slowing down now at 99.
Local fly fishing legend Joe Shirshac is one of the last of the Greatest Generation still alive today.
Joe has had a wonderful life with a large loving family and many old friends as well.
Today he is in a care facility and is getting some dementia problems too.
Andy Guibord has been visiting Joe lately and says it feels like he is slipping away now.
Joe was born and raised in 1922 near Coventry, Connecticut on a small family farm of 80 acres.
He told us stories of trapping small animals for their hides and doing some hunting as well.
Joe joined the US Navy and spent his time in World War II mostly at sea aboard a large ship.
After the war Joe moved to Sacramento, California where he became a Sacramento City Fire Fighter.
While on duty at the firehouse he tied Shad flies for many of the area tackle shops.
Joe fly fished for trout in Nor Cal, Idaho and Montana.
He also took his travel trailer up to fish the Williamson river in the summer for giant Rainbow trout.
He also started fly fishing on the Klamath river in the 1950s.
Joe was also able to drive up to the famous Dean river in British Columbia and fish for Steelhead for many years.
He started taking groups of local fly fishermen to Alaska to camp on the Brooks river.
Then he started taking people to New Zealand to fish the Tongariro river for giant Rainbow trout.
The next destination was Christmas Island for some years for Bonefish.
The Tsiu river in Alaska was another place he took groups to for wild Silver salmon.
Joe went to the Florida keys for a few years until he finally landed some large ones.
His life would make a good novel or movie.
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