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Melfi hunting for the one rising fish on Lake Betty, Oregon, 1999.
It looks weird to have two fisherman in waders in a lake without fishing rods. But there were two great reasons: there was only one fish in this lake, and he stopped biting — and there were terrible mosquitos. Twenty feet from shore, the bugs weren’t biting, so John, Scott, and I gathered out in the water to make a plan for where to go next. Camp here? Go to the next river or lake and try to catch the some other hatch before dusk? I honestly don’t remember exactly what we chose, but we didn’t stay there. Too many bugs. I think this was at Lake Betty, a small lake in Oregon, 1999.
This is one of my favorites of Melfi. We were on our way to or from a fishing spot in southern Idaho, probably in 1999. I’m not sure why this looked perfect at the time, but it did. I framed this and kept this in my room for years. [Sorry for the poor quality, it’s from a scan from a print from a disposable camera]
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of John Melfi. We played baseball together back in 1982 as kids on the A’s team. I had just hit a home run and John was hugging me in this photo, which was on the cover of the Irvine World News sports page that I had saved to this day. We also attended University High School together and I graduated 1 year behind John in 1991. I knew many of his friends and I was so shocked and saddened to hear about his passing. My condolences to your family and may John Rest in Peace. All my prayers, Regards, Jason Taussig
Over the course of a thirty year career as a fly fishing guide, thousands of people have graced my boat. Of that not inconsiderable cross section of people, I count John among a very select few that define the phrase “Good People”. Just exactly the kind of people that caused me to follow this career in the first place, and give me cause to continue with it.
I think we fished together several times a year for at least a decade, and I can not think of a single trip that wasn’t enjoyable and fun. Including both a trip that rained so hard, we were soaked right through rain suits down to our skivvies,( a total of thirteen inches of rain in ten hours, impressive even by Fl. standards) and an offshore trip that the waves were so huge and rough, John and I could only move around the boat by crawling. The main byproduct of not only these, but of every trip John was on with me, was laughter. And the trips would always end too soon and leave me thinking the next trip with John just couldn’t come soon enough.
I will sorely miss John’s easy going attitude, pleasant demeanor and quick laugh. But, I am going to count the world as so much a better place for having him pass though it. It would be impossible to forget the impact john has had on my life, but especially during hammering rain and scary rough ocean conditions, I will think of him.
In his element in Cabo San Lucas (with Flyfishbonehead):
https://vimeo.com/58794484
Sharing a short memory that John wrote and last edited this September. I wish he wrote the rest. And a million more like it.
MI memory by John C. Melfi
I grew up with two Michigan, one summer per year. The rest of my time was spent elsewhere. There were two roads [drives] and they’re part of just about every dream I ever have.
One road used to be a railroad bed. This one is the most traveled, as of course it’s flat and relatively smooth.
When I was a kid and the train still ran (I’m blaming my loss of childhood on the train’s ceasing to run), my relatives and friends went out on warm summer nights to look for rattlesnakes basking in the warmth of the iron rails. We put pennies (sometimes nickels) on the rails before the train came, and picked up the thin flat result.
Trouble brewing – of the best kind – at Scott and Havilah’s wedding.
This was also in Lapland Lake, a typically epic Yahtzee battle.
This was taken on one of our trips to Lapland Lake in the Adirondacks. Food was a huge focus, with many an elaborate dinner. Melfi and I would start manning the grill in the morning for the breakfast shift, trying to keep the fire going in the brisk fall winds.