100 Years
Early last month, legendary Eel River fly fisherman Nelson Rossig celebrated his 100th birthday with a handful of his closest angling friends. Nelson who first fished the Eel as a young kid, was an invaluable asset while producing Rivers of a Lost Coast. Nelson continues to fly fish the Eel in the summer and fall, giving truth to the often humorous bit of wisdom "days spent fishing aren't deducted from life."
Nelson remembers as a kid walking the gravel bars behind Eureka's elite fishermen and collecting broken off flies lost in the rocks. He was a regular in the shops of the great Eel River fly tiers Sam Wells, Jim Pray, Lloyd Silvius and Art Dedini. Fishing the river during the golden era of California steelheading, Nelson remembers the articles of Zane Grey and H.L. Betten, the books of Claude Kreider and Clark Van Fleet, the influx of southern anglers in the 40s and 50s and the arrival of great anglers Bill Schaadt and Ted Lindner.
He fondly remembers Ben Anderson, Joe Dickerson, Harry Hornbrook, Mike Kennedy and the other graceful pioneers who came before him. Nelson still recalls when fly fishing was only practiced by wading, when leaders were made of gut, when silk lines had to be coated in Dacron and when bamboo was replaced with fiberglass.
Nelson"#39s interview for Rivers of a Lost Coast has been archived in the special collections department of the Humboldt Room at the Humboldt State Library.
Happy Birthday Nelson!
** (Nelson Rossig in orange is surrounded by Stephen Rosenberg to his right and Conrad Calimpong to his left. Forrest Willis is wearing a black hat. Photo courtesy of Stephen Rosenberg.)
