Week of Aug. 30, 2026: Reflection on Don Tretsky & Summer's End
Don’s legacy at the shop is remarkable. While writing this report, a young person stopped in to share his sympathy on Don’s passing. He told the story of buying his first pair of waders. Every time after, he looked forward to a conversation with Don over flies. Before he left today he remarked upon the finality of “never seeing someone again.” Whether it is the first time or you’ve been there before, grief ain’t easy. My earliest memory of Don also involves a couple pairs of waders.
The ability to drive coincided with my turn from spin to fly fishing and, in July of 1995, one of the first places I drove to was Shannon's Fly and Tackle. I had been to the Orvis Store in the Short Hills Mall the previous Christmas. I saw the price of things and not many reasons to come back. At 17, my funds were limited and the boutique store made the whole sport seem beyond the realm of possibility. Shannon's brought things into range, at least. Small shops can do things others can not and one summer, Don T. kept me in the water when I may have slipped back to bass fishing and found myself relegated to the bank forever.
My early visits to Shannon's occurred when they started stocking a particular brand of waders. Low to midrange in price, they were not cheap but new, more durable and generated a lot of buzz. Somehow I was able to afford a pair. My very first waders and boots were given to me by a friend and had been handed down to him- a sheer, nearly plastic bag material formed into something looking like pants with leather loops connecting the impossibly stretched out suspenders. The felt soled canvas boots were solid. I was grateful for both to get me into the water.
But now, with band-named waders, I was a serious fly angler driving to the gorge with the canvas boots.
Most of you may be able to see where this is going. I ripped or the waders leaked very soon after I got them. I honestly forget which. Gutted and shamefaced, I went back to the shop. Don was there, listened to my story, and literally handed me a near new pair from the stock of rentals. He never said anything . I believed mine would be sent back and fixed. Maybe this was the policy back then, but I felt like he trusted me with this newish pair while mine were repaired. The pair I bought may have been repaired and added to the rentals, but eventually, Don told me to stop asking. All he finally said was, "Don't worry about it," and showed me a bubble-winged Iso pattern that had been crushing in the gorge recently. He wanted everyone to thrive and catch fish. Don will be missed.
Summer’s End
Technically, astronomical summer doesn't end until the autumn equinox on September 22. Still, there are other markers that mark the end of the season. Kids are returning to school even before Labor Day - the unofficial end of summer. As far as fly fishing conditions go, it feels like autumn is starting early. The air feels cool and rivers have some water. I can not really comment on conditions in late July or early August. I was not here.
Humility aside, I had a fairy-tale summer. My wife and kids left to visit her family in early July and I took several opportunities to travel and fish. I was lucky to visit Alberta, Canada; Copper's Landing, Alaska; and Hokkaido, Japan (where I reunited with my wife and kids at her family’s home.)
Each place was fantastic. The rivers I intended to fish in both Canada and Alaska were blown out by historic rains and epic flows, but, in both places, wadable water wasn't far in smaller rivers and at higher elevations. I caught two new species, Cutthroat and Dolly Varden trout, in Canada and Alaska. A chubby Chernobyl or hopper was key in Alberta while pheasant tails and mops worked on the Russian river in Alaska.
In Japan, I had better luck with the conditions and added two more new species to the list: a spotted char and Cherry Trout. Big, fluffy caddis dries and, again, PTs and mops took the most fish. Having posted pictures throughout my trip, I was kind of bummed that, when I returned, no one really needed to hear any fish tales if they had seen my social media. Rather than a full write up, I'll share a few photos of highlights.
I will take a moment and say that the Fishpond duffle and Patagonia backpack were great to travel with. The duffle has a separate compartment for waders and boots. I brought two reels and rods, a tent, sleeping bag and mat, and a silly amount of fly boxes, gear and just enough clothes with no problem. My rod tube was inspected thoroughly at just about every airport, but it only took a minute to re-sock each rod and replace them in the tube. Finally, I borrowed nets until I had to buy one in Japan, which unfortunately net didn't make it in the overhead compartment on the return trip. I can use the mesh part or hopefully fix the break.
Since mid-August, things around here are starting to look better and better. The recent rains have kept levels up and the cooler nights have brought temperatures down - at least in the early morning. I did slip into the Musky on Saturday around day-break. The water was off color, but cool and I fished a section at least thigh deep for two hours. Nothing - not even a sunny! I only changed my fly a few times and didn't fish that much water, but am kind of surprised there wasn't more going on. I have had better luck on ponds with blue gill and bass. Today, Sunday, I caught a nice perch on our very own Sam Miller's spider fly.
We had a great visit from our Winston rep, Luke, on Saturday morning and several South Branch guides were behind the post office casting Winston's array of hand crafted rods. We had a hard time picking our favorite, but it seemed to come down to the Air Max 2 in the five or Air 2 in the six weight. I am a big fan of the company and their rods, so come in on the weekend mornings if you want to geek out on Bauer and Winston. Our selection ranges from small stream dry fly Pure 2s in three and four weight and up. We have the versatile Air 2 in four, five, and six and a ten foot, four weight Air 2 reach. For the true R.L. afficionado, there is one Thom Morgan Favorite, as well. We can order any and everything from their catalogue, so let us help you find the right Winston, paired with a Bauer reel, for you!
For those just getting into the sport, or who are 17, and Winston rods are years away, don't think an expensive rod will catch more fish. In fact, the larger companies, like Lamson and Readington, and more build better starting level rods and reels to keep new acolytes in the sport as customers. Douglas and Guideline rods, at every price point, are excellent and will last season after season when treated with care - and have guarantees for when things do happen. If you ask ten seasoned anglers which rod is their favorite - you may just get ten different answers. Finding yours is part of the fun.
We are still completely stocked with the warm-water patterns you need for panfish and bass. It's a good time to check your trout flies and restock the essentials. Swing by before your evening on the pond or trip to cooler water in nearby states. There's no reason to wait for the fall stocking to fish, but be mindful of the temperatures if you are fishing local rivers.
The shop is going to continue Thursday tying night for the foreseeable future, so we hope you drop in from 6 - 8:00 and join or just watch and share some fish tales.
See you out there,
Roy B.