I was at a party with Simon Gawesworth, from Rio, a few years back. On my way to the bar I overheard a guy tell his buddy, “That’s Simon Gawesworth, the greatest living fisherman!” Simon will spit his coffee when he reads that. I honestly don’t know how you would quantify “The greatest living fisherman” but Simon is a bad ass. He’s also about the nicest guy I’ve ever met, so I’d be happy to see him receive the honor. All that aside he’s one hell of a line designer.
I spoke with Simon at the IFTD show in Reno. He took a few minutes out of his busy schedule to show a couple of new lines for this year.
The Skadgit I Flight, a cool Spey head with a clear intermediate tip. I saw Simon catch steelhead with this line during some tough high water on the Dean River earlier this year. It was pretty effective.
And the new Bonefish quick shooter. A short head saltwater line that I tried out at the casting pond. I like the way this line casts. Sort of a Tropical Clouser on steroids.
Here’s Simon to tell you all about them.
Nobody knows who the greatest fisherman is, because there are too many of us, many practicing their skills quietly, away from adoring magazine writers and trade shows.
BTW, it’s spelled Skagit and pronounced “Ska-ghit” not “Ska-get.”
Between my dyslexia and auto correct it’s a wonder any of my posts are readable! Thanks for the correction.
As for the greatest fisherman thing I hoped I made it clear that I was telling an antidotal story, not making a claim. I think I’m on the record on this as well, but if I haven’t made it clear I think the entire idea of competitive fishing is horse shit and anyone concerned with, who is the better fisherman is missing the point. Fishing is a competition with ones self. If it extends past that it’s only to the fish.
If we are going to argue about who is the greatest fisherman we can only expect to settle that with a bar fight. That’s an idea I’m behind since all competitive sport is simply a metaphor for violence. So if that how it’s going to go I’ve got $100 on Colby Hackbarth. That dude looks like he could fish you right into the emergency room.