Jon Howe, a.k.a. “Old Man River” and the “Dean of the Androscoggin”, is our fly fishing guide emeritus here at Tall Timber and has been guiding on the Connecticut and Androscoggin Rivers for decades. In short, he has been harassing trout and salmon for many a moon. In fact, it’s well in to decades of harassment that Jon has perpetrated on the salmonid population, and he really loves it.

Jon graciously agreed to answer a few of my questions for him on fly fishing, and he might as well – it was -30 this morning up here in Pittsburg, so the days for getting out on the river are few and far between.

So, relax, pour yourself a libation of your beverage of choice and read on …

Q: What was the moment at which you decided that fly fishing would become a way of life?

JH: There was no one moment- just a series of actual fishing adventures with a fly rod in my teens and during college that led me down the road.

Q: Who was most important in getting you started in fly fishing?

JH:  When I was in East Concord, we had a family that fished and hunted a lot and they would invite me to go with them – also, my mother had fly fished in Wisconsin when she was growing up so she encouraged me to learn how to fly fish.

Q: What is your favorite aspect of the sport?

JH:  I enjoy presenting the fly to rising fish with different casts and mends.

Q: Do you have a favorite river? If so, what is it?

JH: I guess the Missouri in Montana would be my favorite because of the sheer number of fish, but I also love the Connecticut River because it holds big fish.

Q: Any crazy guiding stories that come to mind?

JH: The one that instantly comes to mind was when I guided a fellow from Texas who caught a 28″ lake trout at Magalloway inlet of First Lake and then a 20″ Rainbow below Murphy Dam – that was pretty special.

Q: The largest fish that you have landed and what did you catch it on?

JH: My largest of all was a 14 lb. steelhead in Pulaski, NY, but my largest locally was  a 9 lb. brown caught in the Connecticut on a salt water streamer pattern that a friend of mine tied.

Q: What’s your “go to” rod/reel setup?

JH:  A 9 foot 5 weight rod with a 5X leader for dries and nymphs is the perfect combination for me.

Q: Do you have anything on your fly fishing bucket list?

JH:  Yes, and in no particular order: Labrador for Brookies, Alaska for Rainbows, and British Columbia for Steelhead!