Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/433799
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 1 6 3 i s h i n g F Orlo Dietrich Flip Pallot is a genuine fly fishing legend and for reasons other than just fly fishing. O ur friendship began, oddly enough, on an elk hunt. I live high in the San Juan Mountains, remote and off the grid, and one day I received a call from a friend, Kirk Deeter, who is editor of Trout Magazine and was doing a story about fly-fishing enthusiasts who also love hunting. He wanted to know if he and his crew could gain access to the nearby wilderness area through my land. Though normally protective of such access, I agreed. I figured a couple of days of climbing the rugged, steep, I t seems every walk of life has its legends, and certainly fly fishing is no exception. For anglers who love the graceful symmetry of the cast, solitude and quite reflection in the most beautiful places in the world, the ability to pursue anything from bluegills in local ponds to billfish in bluewater, and the intensity of a take, the legends come immediately to mind. Lefty Kreh, Chico Fernandez, and Flip Pallot always head my list, and probably the list of many other sportsmen as well. Flip, however, due to his 16 years as the maestro of ESPN's Walker's Cay Chronicles along with his quiet voice and, probably most important, his understated, philosophical nature, has earned recognition far beyond fly fishing's core community. For many he is not just a fly fisherman, he is what a fly fisherman should be. I am also fortunate to call him a friend. F lip Pallot is most famous for hosting Walker's Cay Chronicles, but his influence extends to all levels of the fly-fishing world. COURTESY FLIP PALLOT