More Mel Krieger Tributes

This week brought an outpouring of tribute from fly fishers who were in one way or another touched by Mel Krieger, who died last week at the age of 80. In the 1970s I taught myself to cast a fly more than 30 feet by watching a Mel Krieger video about two dozen times. His classic book The Essence of Fly Casting, showed, in my opinion, that great photography could make all the difference in delivering casting instruction via print. But the number of folks whose personal contact with Mel left indelible memories is truly remarkable.
Marty Seldon posted his banquet presentation for the October 11 NCCFFF Festival of Fly Fishing and notes that “Mel originated the now predominant FFF Casting Instructor Certification Program, and the FFF Guides Association.”
Field & Stream‘s Kirk Deeter mentions spending time with Krieger at last year’s Hooked on a Cure event in Colorado.
And several folks contributed comments on the Fly Fisherman and Dan Blanton, Kiene’s Fly Shop bulletin boards.
Finally there’s the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Sunday obituary, which notes that Krieger “became a renowned fly casting instructor, teaching clinics all over the world. He was a pillar in the fly fishing community and was considered one of the foremost and innovative instructors.”