Jeff Wilson

[ggp]

Jeff Wilson

 

From Myth 1228 (Shane)

 

It is with great sadness that we must announce the passing of our great friend and fishing buddy, Jeff Wilson, better known to many as beedhead. Jeff passed away on Tuesday, February 24 – he was 41 years old. Anybody that knew Jeff knew that he had 2 passions in life: 1) his daughters 2) fly fishing. Okay, make that 3 passions: 3) talking on the phone for mind blowingly long periods of time! Haha.

 

I met Jeff 11 years ago when I was 18 years old at, what was then, an absolutely unknown southern Alberta pothole lake called Bullshead. I was brand new to flyfishing and couldn’t catch a cold, let alone a fish, and every day I would watch this guy with bleach blonde hair stand on the culvert to Golden Pond and catch fish after fish after fish. After a while this guy with the bleached hair had a bit of sympathy for the guy who was spending more time with a hook stuck in his back than in the water, and so our friendship began. Jeff was a lifelong rig worker, so he was on breakup during the spring; I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, so I figured I may as well fish every day in the meantime. That first year Jeff and I fished together a minimum of 5 days per week for 3 months straight (and continued to do so for years thereafter). BH was still an unfamiliar lake at that time...I believe it was the year before the QSF regs came out, so every day was a new adventure as we would explore new portions of the lake, always trying to find that secret spot that held all the hogs. Jeff drove an old 70 something Ford at the time and you could start to hear him pulling in when he was a good 5km from the lake. Jeff passed on more fishing knowledge to me than I could even begin to describe.

 

I could honestly write an entire book on the crazy fishing trips that we have had over the years, many involving people from this board, but I’ll leave those for another post. Jeff absolutely loved to fish, and he was the best angler that I’ve ever known. Though his methods were anything but traditional (and mine too, as a result of his teaching), Jeff could seemingly outfish any person on any water body at any time. I have no idea what kind of fishing magic he had running through his veins, but you could be using the exact same fly, set to the exact same depth, casted within 6” of his rig, and he would STILL out fish you 5 to 1...it was crazy.

 

I introduced Jeff to what was then the Flyfish Alberta forums back in.....oh, what must have been 2005 or so....man did he love the forums! The day he registered on FFA was the day my name ceased to be Shane...I honestly don’t think he’s called me by my name for the past 10 years. Every conversation started the same: “Mythcast, beed here!” FFA, and later FFC, became huge assets to Jeff, and he to them. It was on these forums that he was able to cultivate more friendships than I could even count – I’m sure he’s fished with more guys from this forum than anybody else. It was on these forums that he passed on an immeasurable amount of knowledge of Bullshead to others. It was on these forums that he posted incredible photo journals of his fishing adventures from around the province, and it was on these forums that he found support for his stewardship initiatives, including various projects and fish rescues at Bullshead, as well as the project he was most proud of – having the regulations changed to a more QSF standard at K-Lakes.

 

Like I said, I could go on and on and on of stories and anecdotes from over the years, so I guess I’ll close with this. Jeff was a great friend...one of the best friends I’ve ever had. I honestly can’t recall a single time that I’ve spoken to him over the past 7 years where he didn’t tell me how proud he was of me for digging in and working towards the career I chose to pursue. He made it a point to say this every time we talked. That’s what was so great about Jeff – he legitimately wanted to see those around him succeed. Jeff will always be remembered, first and foremost, as an amazing friend and father. He will also be remembered as a true steward of Alberta’s fisheries (he was working on yet another project that was looking like it was going to be a huge success at the time of his passing). So, with that being said, let me close with this: Keep a strain on er’ buddy! It’s always time for Miller Time (even though we all know it was always Old Mil in your cooler!).

 

From GGP (Gary):

 

I didn’t want to change a thing in Shane’s tribute to our friend, Jeff. He spoke so well about him that I really can’t add too much more. Jeff had a genuine love for fly fishing and the outdoors. We met at Bullshead about 10 years ago and became very good friends. He worked tirelessly for protecting our waters….particularly Kananaskis Lakes and Bullshead Lake, Bullshead, being his baby. A few years ago he set about to return fish to the lake that had spilled over the dam to the creek below…it was a huge challenge...to that end he approached the landowner and appropriate regulators for permits to do the work. He was able to return many fish to the lake. Jeff was already hard at work trying to obtain permits to do it again this Spring. Through his efforts he was able to obtain the help of many members of this forum.

 

His passing has left a big void. Rest in peace, my friend. You will always be missed.

 

 

 

 

[Myth1228]

Keep a strain on er, my friend. We'll cast together again some day.

 

If anybody has any stories or pictures to share, please do! I'll share some good ones in a bit.

[BrianR]

Oh MY.Jeff may the rivers be full of fish.Your rod bent in that wonderful arc.Your reel be a screaming.your line tight.Your corkie sinking.Keep a space by a shore line where we can chat...

[Ricinus]

Very sad to hear. My condolences to all his friends and especially to his family..

 

Mike

[SilverDoctor]

Oh dear, rest in peace friend

[murray]

Sorry to hear. My sincere condolences to Jeff's family and friends.

[BigFoamy]

Rest In Peace

[PaleMorningDunce]

This is really sad news indeed. Jeff was a lovely guy, great fishing buddy, and a wonderful steward of the waters he cared about. Innis & Gunn is never gonna taste the same. Will miss you, Jeff...rest in peace.

[Smitty]

My sincere condolences to his family. Only knew him through the forum. I remember him as a positive, generous guy with great reports from Bullshead.

 

So saddened by the news of his passing.

 

Smitty

[Myth1228]

One of my favorite Jeff stories from the early days....

 

This story happened during the first year we started fishing together. As is often the case in early to mid April, Mother Nature decided to bring a bit of winter back one morning - it was COLD and WINDY - like -10 or so - cold enough that you needed to clean your line and guides after ever single cast. Jeff and I had taken a break from fishing and ran into Elkwater to grab some breakfast and warm up (something that would become a tradition - nothing better than an Elkwater breaky with your fishing buddy!) and had just returned to the lake. Needless to say that between the Tim Hortons on the drive out and the multiple pots of coffee we drank at Elkwater, the fluids were freely flowing. We were both dressed like we were traveling the Arctic in order to combat the frigid wind, so getting the business end out to relieve oneself took a bit of effort. Jeff had just cast his line out when he decided that he needed to drain the vein, so he set his rod down and stepped a few feet away. He was probably about halfway through his business when we both heard the unmistakable sound of a fly reel being drug across the gravel! Well, this was no ordinary fish - apparently it had the power of an ocean tug boat because that bugger put the afterburners on and that rod disappeared into the lake before you could even register what was happening. Jeff let out loud scream, the language of which is not appropriate for the forum (haha) and with all of the grace of a 220 pound saint bernard chasing a football, business end still hanging out of his pants and all, he dove head first into the lake in a motion that I can only describe as beautifully chaotic.

 

Jeff was gone - I mean he was totally submerged! Even though this happened over a matter of seconds, it seemed like forever. I was freaking out - all I could see was bubbling water where he had plunged into the deep! All of a sudden a big whoosh up water flew up about 20 feet off shore and I heard my friend yell "I GOTTER BUDDY - WERE ALL GOOD!". Jeff drug himself back onto shore, surely weighing the better part of 300 pounds with all of the water he had soaked up, and instantly starting turning to a walking block of ice in the wind. The fish was still on the line, and like the pro that he was he landed that hog in short order. "Be right back buddy! Gotta grab the rig rags!" he shouted as he waddled towards his truck. Jeff was a veteran of the rigs - he knew better than to go ANYWHERE without an extra change of crappy clothes and extra winter gear. He waddled his way back to the truck, stripped down to the birthday suit and got changed. I'm still fishing wondering WTF I just witnessed. 10 minutes later here comes Jeff with new, warm clothes and 2 beer. "Hell, I think that deserves a beer, don't you?" he says. "Rig rags buddy, never leave home without em!". We fished the entire rest of the day and caught fish hand over fist. I'll never forget that day as long as I live, and I'm laughing out loud even as I type it. I can remember ever last detail of it like it just happened.

Just one of many great stories I have from my dear friend.

[fishinglibin]

I did not have the please of meeting Jeff but share some good conversation on FFC. Too young and sorry to family and friends for your loss. Obviously a stand up guy. He is fishing pristine water up there.

[BrianR]

When I first met Jeff,it was at bass pro in Balzac.It was dec 10th,we were both there invited by Jim Stelfox.To attend the Regional Rnd.Tbl.Mtg.Seems Jeff had produced some important data/pictures that he wanted to get to Jim.Jeff presented proof that Rainbows & Cutthoat trout were surviving in Upper Kananakis Lk.The Fisheries had stopped stocking Rainbows,years ago.So how are they surviving.The pictures that Jeff produced helped Jim develop Upper & Lower Kanaskis lks.into Quality type fisheries.A couple of years later the gov't recognised that it was a very viable thing to save these fish & other fish across the prov.Quality lk.fisheries came about shortly after that.Jeff was a steward of Bullshead.He in fact contacted me feb 17 to tell that the fish were escaping over the spillway at Bullshead.On Friday Esrd. was still working on trying to stop the fish from escaping over the spillway.Leaving them to parish in the creek that often or nearly dries up yearly.

My sincere condolences to your family & friends. May the lakes be full of trips.Tight lines & sinking corkies ....

[dekkard2019]

I will tell you right now that they broke the mold when they built this guy. There will never be another person around like Jeff Wilson ever again. I think I met Jeff in 2008 on the Lower Kananaskis Lake, and we fished there for years together. There were other places like Sparrow's Egg, The Highwood, some unnamed alpine lake, but we always came back to the Lower K Lake. We just simply called it "K". The reason why might be hard to explain to you, but the fish we hooked into and the utter hilarious times we had might explain it. We had all our secret names for different spots on K like the Kitchen, the Hallway, and even the Dining Room. I remember a time when we were fishing the Kitchen when it was on fire and we were getting double headers one right after another(I know most fish tales are b.s. but this is true). Jeff would yell "On!" and then I would yell "On!"...back and forth "On!" yep "On! oh no I am Off!"...still back and forth. I don't want to even guesstimate the numbers we got that day, but it was up there. We caught so many bull trout over the years it was stupid. The pinnacle was when we hooked into a trophy rainbow out of K. That was my heaven. My first rainbow out of that lake was 29" and fat. That is when I felt something else was really magical about this place. I went on to help protect the rainbow spawners in Boulton Creek and change the size restrictions on the fish in the Upper and Lower K Lakes. BUT I WANT YOU GUYS TO KNOW THAT I COULD NOT HAVE DONE THIS WITHOUT JEFF WILSON. He wanted to help and we worked with Trout Unlimited and SRD and after miles of paperwork and a passion for fish we got it all done. I don't know what else to tell you guys but I will really miss Jeff. There was a time when we had our differences, but we patched it up and I am glad that I was able to fish with this awesome person one last time at K this past summer. Miss you brother!!

[DonAndersen]

Although I never meet Jeff, I read about his successes. Folks who contribute to our fisheries are few. He was one of the good guys and will be missed.

 

Don

[Taco]

I'll have to echo Don, He will be missed.

[eagleflyfisher]

I never met Jeff but it sounds like they broke the mold for sure.

It's gotta be real tough for the friends and families coping with the loss.

Jeff really sounds like a good guy and it's great that you have so many fond memories.

Rest in peace.

 

[fliesbymike]

I met Jeff the Spring of 2006. I had placed an ad in the Medicine Hat News selling fishing flies. I get a call " Saw your ad in the paper, what do you have tied up ?" I explained to Jeff where I lived and that was the start of a great friendship. As Shane said Jeff was a rig guy so every Spring actually right around this time I would get a call " Need some arsenal,what ya got tied up?" We would get together and shoot the *hit about fishing,plans for the summer and other stuff. Jeff was a genuine guy and was truly interested in how you and your family where. Jeff would show up at our house every couple of weeks to have a couple Old Milwaukees and talk about fishing and life.My youngest boy Logan took a instant liking to him and I am positive the feeling was mutual!!! What a wealth of knowledge he was, I learnt more about fishing just talking to the guy than I could ever learn on the water. Jeff used to call me at all hours, " Hey I am heading to such and such, you have any of these tied up ? Just leave 'em in you mailbox I will be there at 4 A.M. to get them. And Jeff would be gone for several days, sleeping in his truck and fishing all day. The stories and pictures that he came back with were truly amazing. This is how it was every year, Fall would arrive and you would not hear from him again for months.

We moved away from Medicine Hat 3 years ago, this is when the phone calls started, as Shane said he could talk for hours.

I did not get a chance to meet up with Jeff again after we moved away but we had talked about getting together out here and hitting some lakes, unfortunately that time never arrived.

Jeff lead an amazing life and took every opportunity to do what he loved and was an inspiration to many, he will be truly missed by all that knew him.

May the sun shine on you, may the lakes be full of footballs, and the Old Milwaukee be ice cold.

[dryfly]

Shane, Gary and all...

 

A real shocker for us all. His folks, children and significant other will be devastated.

 

Love that "rod retrieval" story Shane. Hilarious.

 

Not much to add. He was a good soul. As my bro says, "One of the good ones."

 

He was rough along the edges ... just like some of us old farts who he always laughed at when we were being geezer like. "You old guys are crazy old coots."

 

Oh geez, the phone calls!? More than once, after spending 30 minutes on the phone with him, I'd say, "Jeff I gotta run," And he'd say, "Goddamit Schaupmeyer, every time I call, yer in a rush!"

 

Take care everyone.

 

Clive

 

Peace to you too, Jeff.

[jksnijders]

I just got told about this today, I don't frequent this place much these days.... I got an email from him earlier this week about Bullshead, and had a beer with him not long ago downtown. I fished with him a bit, not enough for sure. He had a passion for fishing in general that I've not seen in a long time, and one that I always enjoyed, having found less and less time to get out in the last few years. I got a kick out of talking old field stories with him, and seeing his clips as a driller on TV. We did a walk and wade on the Bow a few years back, and of course he had a few of his favourite IPA's with him in a pack. We fished a bit, and just had a good sit down and BS on the bank as we knocked back a couple. He was a hell of an angler for sure.. we talked often about getting out, he loved K Lakes and the Crow, (unfortunately we never made either trip together..) and had talked about getting out for pike in the spring. I'm still a bit shocked honestly. He was a genuinely good dude and I enjoyed talking to and hanging around him during the times I did. Go easy man... see you on the other side.

[Weedy1]

Very saddening. My condolences to his friends and family.

[dekkard2019]

...other memories...fishing the Upper K Lake in a hurricane. Everyone was running back to their cars to escape the weather, and we were still out there catching fish while it was white capping. Breakfast and dinners from the old Coleman stove off the back of Jeff's blue pickup truck...Jeff using my mom's ratty old mountain bike so we could access Lake of the Horns...drinking raspberry ales and eating burgers at the Grizzly Paw in Canmore...showing Jeff the local streams around my hometown of Cochrane...talking to Jeff on the phone was an ordeal. You could set the phone down, eat dinner, and come back to the phone and he would still be talking...it was almost that bad. I would have to make excuses that I had to go somewhere to escape talking on the phone for two hours...haha...we did most of our fishing from shore in t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers...Jeff could cast bombs into any wind...there was always a healthy supply of Old Milwaukee...fall fishing on the Highwood River...listening to Steel Panther cranked and pulling rainbow lunkers out of Lees Lake...

[adc]

I met Jeff at Bullshead in 2006. Clive and I were there in early spring, I was new to FFC, and Clive says "hey, there's Beedhead, say hello"......From that point on I hardly ever fished Bullshad without meeting Jeff......He always had a story for you, always had a smile, and in my recollection he always had a Carling Black in his cooler......He was a great angler, respectful of his fellow anglers, the fish and the surroundings.....Last fall he was in his glory in his tin boat ( he always disdained boats until he got that one!!...) and he fished near Clive and I one day and outfished us about three to one.......Our shouts of F*** You Jeff didn't bother him at all!!.....

His long phone calls were legendary and while I didn't know it at the time, I was lucky to be on the other end of a few of them.....Last year, late spring, one of those calls was about how frustrated he was with the fish leaving the lake over the spillway.....He spent many hours getting all the wheels in motion to do a fish rescue......Amazingly he was responsible, with help from many from this Board in saving over 300 trout for the benefit of all who love to fish this lake......

He loved his kids and his girlfriend Nicole and always talked about how proud he was of his daughters and his girlfriend and how they shared his passion for flyfishing......He was one of a kind and will be missed by his family, all who knew him and many that didn't.......The flyfishing fraternity has indeed lost a true Friend.......

[Brookie2]

I had the pleasure of meeting and fishing with Jeff along with his good friend Dekkard. Good times for sure boys....crank up the metal, rig the rods, fish all day, have a beer! I'll miss ya.....RIP Jeff.

[lorney]

Just as many other have said Jeff will be greatly missed by family, friends and the entire fishing community for the passion and dedication he showed to all. I had the pleasure of working with Jeff on the fish rescue at Bullshead last year and had just recieved another update email from him on Monday about what he was working on for this spring. I always enjoyed listening to his stories about his fishing adventures and was looking forward to finally making it out to K Lakes with him this spring. He loved sharing pictures and stories about his adventures but also loved seeing and hearing about what everyone else was doing too. I remember following him out to a lake to fish and before we pulled out of the hat he said " I hope you don't mind taking the backroads, it takes a little longer but thats where you see cool *hit." I enjoyed that about fishing with him. He took the time to slow things down and enjoy the adventure even if it meant cutting into time on the water. I had the pleasure of fishing with him out of his boat last fall at Bullshead. We caught some fish, had some laughs and discussed ideas of what could be done at the spill way to save more fish. I had lent Jeff some gear to go chase Tarpon down in Cuba and as soon as he got back he called to tell me about his trip. After a very long conversation it was evident that he was bit by the Tarpon bug and I could see the smile on his face through the phone as he talked about his adventure with the same passion and exuberance that accompanied all his fishing stories. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and friends for their loss. Tight lines on the other side Jeff

[Myth1228]

Another story from the early days

 

So it was either 2005 or 2006 – I can’t quite remember, but Dave Devlin had been making Jeff and I’s mouth water by posting pics of absolute tank bulls from Lower K; needless to say, going to K became a priority. Neither of us had ever been to K before so we pestered poor Dave endlessly asking about the do’s and dont’s of chasing big bullies. It was very early spring and most of the lake was still frozen except for about 2 football field lengths near the interlakes (we would later get absolutely roasted on FFA for posting “misleading fishing reports that caused people to travel from halfway across the province for nothing....” LOL). The weather was awful – it was snowing like a mother and very cold and foggy. I was wrapped up tight in a garbage bag that I had in my pack (if you ever heard Jeff talk about special Orvis rain gear – he meant a garbage bag with a head and arm holes cut out!) and he just sucked it up and got soaked.

 

Fishing was slow but after a while I felt a small bump. FISH ON BUDDY, FISH ON!! He came storming over with a camera and watched me battle a beast who put of a mighty fight that could only be compared to pulling a water logged boot from the depths. Despite the less than stellar fight, I pulled the most gorgeous rainbow I’ve ever caught in my life up. We weren’t there for rainbows, but man, this one took the cake. After some hooting and hollering and pics Jeff headed down the bank and caught a small bully on a big black bugger. Mission accomplished! Well, the size wasn’t what we had in mind, but hell, it was a bully!

 

The weather had turned so bad that we needed to make an escape. Problem: the roads had gotten so bad that we couldn’t get out! Those of you familiar with the interlakes road know there is a little ampitheatre up in the woods a few km before the lake – that’s where we took refuge. Dekkard mentioned the old Coleman stove on the back bumper – this trip was the inaugural Coleman stove bumper supper! I had brought a bunch of elk meat and Jeff had like 15 pounds of potatoes and onions and he fired up a meal any chef would have been proud of.

 

Jeff: “Dinner time buddy! Dig in!”

Me: “Uh buddy, where are the plates?”

Jeff: “GODDAMNIT I FORGOT THE ***** PLATES! Guess were eating outta the pan”

Me: “Haha, yeah no big deal.....um, knives and forks....?”

Jeff: “You gotta be f’n kidding me....”

 

So needless to say we enjoyed a glorious wild game dinner in a full blown blizzard monsoon while we ate with our fingers out of a hot pan. No big deal.....time to break out the bottle of Gibson’s Silver I guess.

 

Jeff: “Rye and root beer buddy! Angel piss!”

Me: “Hell yeah!”

Jeff: “Grab your travel cup I’ll pour us a drink”

Me: “Ugh....”

Jeff: “Jesus Christ....”

Me: “Give me that pop bottle, I’ll just cut the top off of it...”

 

So we proceeded to get absolutely piled up while huddled together in the cab of his 70 something Ford while wrapped up in garbage bags and waders to avoid dying of exposure. We needed the anti-freeze to survive the night, you know! Wake up in the morning and we are both just a wreck. The snow is a foot deep and the lake is froze over.

 

Me: “What do you figure?”

Jeff: “Well, *hit, this ain’t gonna work. I feel like hell..”

Me: “Me too..”

Jeff: “We better head to Canmore and warm up”

Me: “Sounds like a plan”

Jeff: “Have you ever been to the Grizzly Paw?”

Me: “Nope, what’s that?”

Jeff: “Oh buddy, raspberry beer buddy. You aren’t gonna believe this stuff!”

 

Needless to say, our inaugural K-lakes adventure turned into a Canmore runaway where I was first introduced to the sweet, sweet nectar of the God’s known as Beavertail Raspberry. We ended up grabbing the cheapest room in town and lived it up for the next couple days, but those stories may be better left off the forum hahahaha.