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Greatest steelheader ever a Californian?

13K views 88 replies 48 participants last post by  speyfisher 
#1 ·
New to the forum. Hi everybody. Must admit this movie I heard about has a killer site and the trailer looks good. But greatest steelheader ever from California, are you kidding me?:hmmm:
www.riversofalostcoast.com

Anybody ever heard of this Bill Schaadt?
 
#37 ·
I am the bess eva cuz I am the moss talented, moss intelligent, moss beautiful, moss relivent mutha fucka on da rivah.

My stylll stupendus!

My waders inpenetrable!

My loops uncollapsable!

My flies famous!

My methods mysterious!

My raff unsinkable!

Being outfished is unthinkable

:)

Oh.....an I will eat your children!
 
#38 ·
There is actually some information on Bill in the website www.riversofalostcoast.com if you dig around, here and here. One is a director's statement on Bill and the other is on the rivalry between Bill Schaadt and Ted Lindner, another great fly fisherman, known for his salmon abilities.

I got to be included in the making of this film, and of all those that were interviewed, those of which included Jack Berryman, Russell Chatham, Lani Waller, among other greats, Bill was by far the most talked about and known for his abilities, even amongst those who did not like him. The stories that were told and that are covered in the film are truly great, but there are so many more that were not able to be told due to time. People on the coast still talk about Bill like he is still alive and fishes everyday and you can see it in the eyes of those that were interviewed in the film.

I believe you can read the article online that Russell Chatham wrote on Bill Schaadt somewhere in the Sports Illustrated archives, I can post it if people want to read it. It's a well written article on Bill and gives a great insight into who Bill was as a fisherman and person.
 
#40 ·
Here is the Sports Illustrated article.

Chatham talks a lot about Schaadt in the film 'Rivers of a Lost Coast', as do many other fly fishermen. People seem to be interested in Schaadt not only because he was such a good fly fisherman, but because he was a very interesting person in general. The film talks quite a bit about this and begins to explore him more as a person. Should be interesting to those who knew Schaadt as just a fly fisherman to see a different side of him.
 
#43 ·
Outstanding site and film clips, especially the one about how Jim Pray created the Thor.

I grew up in Fortuna on the banks of the Eel, starting to flyfish in pools named after people I knew like Lee Dungan, son of the namesake of the Dungan pool. I caught my first steelhead just upstream from Fernbridge. One early morning not far from the mouth of the Van Duzen, I had a twofer with my father in what was to be the last time we fished together before he passed.

Thanks for the memories. I can't wait to see the film.

K
 
#44 ·
Just to get some feedback, would people here be interested in some type of podcast or weekly updates about Bill Schaadt and the film 'Rivers of a Lost Coast'? We have a lot of extra material and are wondering if a lot of people would enjoy this or is it just a waste of time?

Any thoughts?
Judging from the comment following your second post, such materials might be lost on some of us here. OTOH, please post or at least post a link. I'd love to see more.

K
 
#46 ·
It is a full length feature film, hopefully it will be shown in theaters, some type of tour, and definitely eventually on DVD. So far, it seems that those that know about Bill want to know more and those that don't know about Bill want to know who he was. That being said, I'm guessing the more material and media that one can put out there on Bill, the better. I've found that there is definitely a small niche of people that are intimately tied to the North Coast and Bill Schaadt, but I'm not sure how big it actually is or if others that aren't tied to Cal's north coast want to know more and are interested.

Contact us too if you have any ideas www.riversofalostcoast.com through the contact link. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.
 
#47 ·
Bill Schaadt was a sign painter by trade who lived in Gurneville, California. He was a curmudgeon practically from birth and when it came to fly-fishing tackle, the last great minimalist. Bill could cast a length of lead core about as far as anyone I ever witnesses and did it with great form and amazing ease. He used to piss other anglers off at the famous Bucket hole on the lower Gualala River on the Cal Northcoast. He would go to the top of the line, wade across to the far side and then long line them right into the bucket, more than 100 feet straight downstream and catch steelhead.
Bill used rods that he made up from blanks in the seconds barrel at Winston in downtown San Francisco, or J. Kennedy Fisher in Reno. Oftentimes he would tape on guides and build a rudimentary twine grip, tape on a reel and then go fishing, planning to finish up the rod later. The finish work sometimes did not occur. He just kept fishing with the taped up blank.
Bill's friends included; Russ Chatham, Bob Nauheim, Mike Fong, Mel Krieger, Grant King, Lani Waller, Trey Combs and many, many others not so well known. When I lived in San Francisco in the mid 1980s I had the pleasure of fishing for steelhead with Bill on the Russian River a few times. When asked a question he was short with his answers, well punchuated with some world-class profanity, but had a heart of gold. He smoked like a stove and it brought on the cancer that eventually got him. Bill passed while stayng at the home of one of his dearest friends, Bob Nauheim. There is a photo of Bill Schaadt (taken by Russell Chatham) on page 40 of Fly Fishing for Pacific Salmon II displaying a large, fly-caught Smith River salmon. There were a lot of highly accomplished steelhead fly fishermen up and down the Pacific Coast who considered Bill Schaadt as good a steelheader as they had ever seen.
Cheers,
Les
 
#50 ·
Recently talked with some of the guy's at the Targus Co. about Schaadt and they were re-telling stories about how crazy he was. The guy's influence was incredible. From the threads and what I'm picking up through email Schaadt's enthusiasm was unmatched. Beat you to the hole in the morning and last one to leave at night. Day in and day out, everyday the river was fishable.
 
#51 ·
I was elated to see Art Dedini's photo and bio listed on the website under ". . . Legends." I discovered his shop in the early 1970s when stationed at Fort Ord. I had gotten into the habit of going up to Ferndale on the Eel River on leave every fall for a week or so of fishing. On one of these trips, I took along my brand new graphite Fenwick HMG 8 wt; the HMG, I think, was the first graphite rod that was widely available. It cost me about $110--big bucks then, so you can imagine how miserable I was when I lost it (and the reel and line) the first time I used it. I left it on the top of my camper when I drove away from the first hole. I backtracked, of course, but it was nowhere to be found. With a week of fishing to go, the idea of having now to use my back-up fiberglass rod after I'd tasted graphite made me feel even more miserable.

Then I remembered Art's shop. He was working in his garden when I got to his house, but he opened up the shop after hearing my tale of woe. He had a few factory-made graphites, which I couldn't afford, so he found a Lamiglass graphite blank and within 45 minutes or so he had rolled a new rod for me. While things were drying he took me up to the house and gave me lunch; the makings for the salad came right out of his own garden. For about an hour and a half he entertained me with talk of gear, patterns, fishing lore, and friends. He even introduced me to his sister (from Roseburg, I believe) who was as warm-hearted and as open as he. I'll never forget my surprise when she lifted her sweater to show me the scars where her breasts had been before her fairly recent cancer surgery. Anyway, we eventually got back to the rod waiting in the shop. It was dry--they didn't use epoxy wrap finishes much then--but I'd need to wait to use it until the next day. And what did he charge me? Approximately what the materials had cost him, and about a third of what the Fenwick had cost me.

I used that tough old Lami frequently until a couple of years ago when I gave it to one of my sons. And every time I used it I thought of Art Dedini, a fine angler, a real gentleman, and a great steelheader.

A few years after this, I had my son Roy, who was about ten years old, with me when fishing the Russian River in Northern Cal. He was getting pretty good with a fly rod and had started to tie flies, including the Boss Fly and other comet patterns. For him Grant King, whom he had read and heard about, had a sort of star status. So I asked him if he'd like to stop at Grant's fly shop. I couldn't promise that Mr. King would be there, I said, but it was a possibility. Sure enough Grant was in and when I mentioned to the young lady behind the counter that my son was a fan of Grant's, she took Roy to his office upstairs in the back of the place, where Mr. King chatted with him while tying several flies for him. He even gave him a little personal note and his autograph.

Grant King, another real gentleman, made a kid really happy that day. Roy never used those flies. They and the autograph are still prized possessions, though.
 
G
#52 ·
I read a crazy Bill Schaadt story recently. He went off the road and flipped his car on the way to fishing. After climbing out unscathed he walked down to the river, fished the entire day and called the tow truck that evening. wow

Not sure where I read it, perhaps in Tre Comb's second book.

Will
 
#55 ·
I am new to this message board but I am in the movie, I am old and I fished with Bill Schaadt, once on the Gualala River on Minor Hole in the 1970s.

That doesn't make me any kind of great steelheader though. I am still a wannabe......I am just an old fishing tackle salesman who was lucky enough to witness some of the last days of great Steelheading on the CA north coast with those old timers.

I am a baby boomer, born in 1945 but I know/knew many of the great generation of Nor Cal Steelheaders.

I helped Jason Coupe first compile a big list of old Nor Cal steelhead/salmon fly fishers to interview several years ago.

This is a very special movie and I am so happy Justin was able to get it all down before more of these old times passed away.

I was always going to get some of them together and just audio tape them about the old days but Justin did it right......thank God.
 
#69 ·
Neat, I remember a Mr. Bill Kiene from one of my fly fishing books or perhaps a magazine article on CA steelheading. Les Johnson too, Mr. Schadt must have been one of the best as I remember from the older steelhead fishing books and articles in my collection.
 
#57 ·
Pollopato,

I will be up on the Trinity over Christmas, any chance fish have moved up? I was there over Turkey Day and water was low and most of the fish were still in the canyon between the Klamath and Burnt Ranch. I need to get a tug!! BTW can't believe all the work the State has done above the bridge by DC, hope it works!

Tight Lines,
:beer2:
 
#58 ·
#61 ·
I'm guessing the link is to Jason's e-mail address:clown:
 
#65 ·
Boys,

I started this little conversation. Therefore I will try and put it into some perspective. I just hope when I fish the Trinity over the Xmas weekend I am blessed with the opportunity to stick this "Regal Fish" that we all dream about. Merry Christmas and to all a good night.

Tight Lines.
:beer1:
 
#66 ·
Panhandle,

I have sat back and read your responses for the last couple years, yes I do live close to those rivers. However my schedule has allowed me to fish other rivers that I just hope that you can all fish. Having said that my luck has been poor during the "winter months". Panhandle you appear to live north of me. If you care to travel south to those rivers, I would be honored to meet you mid way and fish those runs with you.

PM, Tight Lines,
ptyd
 
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