Rivers of a Lost Coast

Directors’ Commentary on Bill Schaadt

The central figure in Rivers of a Lost Coast is Bill Schaadt, a part-time painter turned full-time fisherman. With a mysterious childhood that led to a manic obsession with fishing, William E. Schaadt remains one of the most intriguing characters in American angling history. He first found fishing off the public piers of San Francisco, where the endeavor quickly became a joyful escape during an otherwise difficult time in his life.

In his early twenties, Schaadt moved with his mother to the redwood hills of Monte Rio. It was along the banks of the slow moving Russian River, where the young man built his infamous reputation.

Erecting a home out of redwoods taken from his property, his resourceful nature was the cornerstone of his unique life. Relying on little more than what he could collect with his hands, Schaadt lived without any legitimate income or responsibility. He forewent the amenities of modern society, never creating a family, pursuing a career, or developing financial security.

Like a Sierra gold-miner, Schaadt intertwined his life with California’s amazing Rivers. Today, 14 years after his death, Bill Schaadt remains an iconic, larger-than-life figure along California’s north coast fishery.