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 8 F lip's life story has been told many times. He grew up in South Florida, served in the army as a linguist, left the military to become a banker, then decided to build his life around his dreams and love of all things wild. What is often missed, lost among the public visibility of any angling or hunting legend, are the contributions he's quietly made to conservation. He has long been actively involved with the Everglades Protection Association, Ducks Unlimited, Sierra Club, Bonefish Tarpon Trust, and the Nature Conservancy, among many others. He is serious and articulate about our natural world, its threats, and the solutions needed to protect it. His convictions are firmly held and formed by a lifetime of loving angling, hunting, and wild places. He's also been a contributor to the great improvements in fly fishing equipment over the years. Some of the industry's leading tackle manufacturers—G Loomis, Sage, Temple Fork Outfitters, and Tibor—have relied on him as a consultant. Other companies, such as Costa, Simms, Columbia, and Yeti, that make excellent equipment and clothing and serve the fly- fishing world, have employed his counsel. Flipp is also a 30-year member of the Mercury Outboard Saltwater Team. While talking to me about Flip, Bruce Holt of Loomis summed up the difference between consultant and endorser. "Most consultants are really just endorsers, happy with putting their name on the product and getting a check," said Holt. "Not Flip. When you bring Flip in, he is going to get in the weeds with the designers, engineers, and production teams. If you want his name on something, he is going to make sure it performs as advertised and to his satisfaction. He is a perfectionist." For me, Flip's most significant