NFR Has anyone heard from Old Man Jim? Update: RIP OMJ. Give ‘em hell wherever you are!
- Thread starter Xoxo
- Start date
Non-fishing related
that van is a classic dirtbag steelhead bum rig; reminds me of the old beater some guys from The Drake sent to various members to take on fishing trips chasing steelhead.
Flymph
Steelhead
Jim, it's a little late but I hope that you can see this feeble message from where you are at. I followed your advice and got another pup to replace the hole in our hearts when our Nader passed. Like you, Nader can't be replaced but your memories and advice still live on. RIP OMJ.
Jim F.
Still a Genuine Montana Fossil
But . . . the little fella IS sticking his tongue out . . .
. I believe that OMJ would approve.
kerrys
Ignored Member
Bill threw some likes at previous posts in this thread. He is around.
To honor Jim and his love of little blue lines, Sue drove as far up a nearby river as she could and then hiked even further. There she landed an absolutely beautiful 18'' brown trout! It might have been too big for the stream but was a trophy for where it was. In the past couple of years we have proven that there are some 17-18'' fish in our tiny little streams and she is good at hooking them. It is a treat to watch her fish skinny water.
Home soon, her 5 month odyssey to New Zealand will soon be over, it will be nice to have my sister back.
We're all getting old!
Prior to any understanding of photoshop on my part, Itchy Dog helped me create this photo, celebrating the WFF OMJ/Mumbles love affair "Mumbles and Old Man" thread back in 2010.
Stolen from the original Cialis commercials:
When the moment is right...
Prior to any understanding of photoshop on my part, Itchy Dog helped me create this photo, celebrating the WFF OMJ/Mumbles love affair "Mumbles and Old Man" thread back in 2010.
Stolen from the original Cialis commercials:
When the moment is right...
Attachments
Last edited:
joefromchicago
Steelhead
HauntedByWaters
Life of the Party
I’ve always tried to avoid being a daily user of these internet forums because deep down I think it’s all a bunch of horseshit. I do like to help people catch more fish and help them enjoy their time on the water more but the social aspect of the internet is just not in my DNA. Old Man Jim was always a paradox to me because I felt like I could relate to him in so many ways and yet he spent years seemingly parked at the computer posting here. I think like me, the main thing he wanted to do was provide help. Maybe in his younger days he was a lot like me now and would rather live it, and live it as much as possible, rather than talk about it and have pissing contests on the internet. Maybe the reason he chose to go by Old Man was because he so deeply missed being able to head into the woods and tackle any obstacle in his way to get to his beloved “blue lines”. I really don’t think he chased post counts, I think he just had a fire burning hot as hell for a part of his life and then had to grow old and that fire turned into something else. Whatever fueled that man, by the time he came to these forums, it was already turning from sweet to sour, and sharing that with us was his gift. Nobody could take his shit too personally, because he was always reminding us of what life is like; we live, we get old and live less, and then we die someday. It is in the end a sad affaire. I will miss your bull shit Old Man. Thanks for raising the bar for all of us future curmudgeons and helping those of us who asked for it.
Riverforged
Smolt
Sad to have found this. The last time I spoke with him was May 30th 2022. Dude was a Legend.
Some memories with him:
We were talking at one of the fly shops near his place. He asked if I wanted to follow him to one of his fishin spots, to which I obviously replied "heck yeah". He made a quick phone call and the conversation went like this - "I'm going fishin, back later" *click*. Didn't even leave a pause for any argument or reply. It cracked me up. We went to a little crick outside of town and exchanged some flies before fishing around. He promptly tossed the flies onto the seat of his truck. Shortly after he couldn't find the hopper pattern because it was stuck to his ass. Listening to him mumble and swear as he prepared leaders and tied on flies was a hoot. The man was so kind and enjoyable to hang out with. No filter, always said what he was thinking. I'm glad we crossed paths. Some of the spots that he passed along are ones that have become pretty special places to me, and certainly will hold a lot of meaning as "Old Man Jim" spots.
I'll leave you guys with this photo from that trip. I didn't know him very well outside of the forums and fishing, but he will absolutely be missed.
RIP Old Man Jim.
Some memories with him:
We were talking at one of the fly shops near his place. He asked if I wanted to follow him to one of his fishin spots, to which I obviously replied "heck yeah". He made a quick phone call and the conversation went like this - "I'm going fishin, back later" *click*. Didn't even leave a pause for any argument or reply. It cracked me up. We went to a little crick outside of town and exchanged some flies before fishing around. He promptly tossed the flies onto the seat of his truck. Shortly after he couldn't find the hopper pattern because it was stuck to his ass. Listening to him mumble and swear as he prepared leaders and tied on flies was a hoot. The man was so kind and enjoyable to hang out with. No filter, always said what he was thinking. I'm glad we crossed paths. Some of the spots that he passed along are ones that have become pretty special places to me, and certainly will hold a lot of meaning as "Old Man Jim" spots.
I'll leave you guys with this photo from that trip. I didn't know him very well outside of the forums and fishing, but he will absolutely be missed.
RIP Old Man Jim.
Attachments
mtskibum16
Life of the Party
Oh man he's going to hate this. He tried the saltwater once and ruined all his shit as he loved to tell every time he (for some reason) wandered to the saltwater forum or anyone brought up saltwater. RIP Jim.
Wouldn’t you like to be a fly on the wall listening to Old Man Jim and Herring Dan having a conversation up in heaven.
SF
Lugan
Just Hatched
This tribute thread is the best obituary I can remember reading about any human ever. I read every word and smiled through most of it. Thank you Jim for inadvertently making our lives a tiny bit funnier for a very long time.
(I caught wind of this on WFF and hadn't even realized most of you left there and started this new forum. Signed up to say thank you to Jim. I hope you all are doing well!)
(I caught wind of this on WFF and hadn't even realized most of you left there and started this new forum. Signed up to say thank you to Jim. I hope you all are doing well!)
I had many interactions with Jim over the years. I went to his place when he was still in WA. Fished with him several times, and spent a lot of time with him in camps over the years. Here's a few pics from one of the Hoh Downs.
Sad to hear of his passing. But he's earned this well deserved rest. The man lived quite a life.
I do remember the first time he was in one of my camps. He asked what was for breakfast. I told him SOS. I almost laughed at his breakdown in OMJ fashion. He hated the chipped beef in gravy he had while he was in the military that was referred to as SOS. Once I explained just a term, but I was making sausage gravy with biscuits he gave me a big smile and a pat on the back.
That second pic I uploaded was a good one. Jim had not seen those zero gravity loungers. I told him to have a seat. He told me I wasn't getting it back the rest of the trip. Luckily I did bring a second chair so he used it the majority of the time.
Godspeed Jim. Have fun fishing the Holy Waters. I'm sure my Dad has an open seat for you there.
Well I feel like an idiot. I just saw this. I don't frequent the General Discussion much these days and only use the old site to sell stuff.
I was on the old site from nearly the beginning. In the late 90s. Crazy it's been that long. One of the first people that I noticed was OMJ. Hard not too right?
I lived in Monroe and would post fishing reports without names and Jim would be like "that's the NF Stilly right?" And in reports where I would name names, he would (in true OMJ fashion) say "Why the hell did you fish there?" Haha! Those were usually the skunk reports so he was right.
About the 4th or 5th time he gave me shit on a skunk report I'm like well YOU'RE the one that posts the useless reports! And he got sort of pissed. Haha!
I think that might have been about the only time Jim was ever mad at me in all the years on here. I'll take it!
I took a break in 2002 or 2003. When I came back in 2005 I was happy to see Jim was still around. I then took another break at the end of 2005 and didn't come back until 2014. I was happy to see Jim was still around! And he remembered me!
Jim knew nearly all of us and sort of kept tabs on us. You had to watch the bullshit as @Dustin Chromers mentioned. Jim would call you on it.
Thank you @Buzzy for posting on the old site. I'm sure there are still a few that never made the jump.
RIP Jim. Your candor and humor will be missed! Hope he's on the Beckler in the Sky hooking big fish on a "fly I just tied up for the hell of it".
I was on the old site from nearly the beginning. In the late 90s. Crazy it's been that long. One of the first people that I noticed was OMJ. Hard not too right?
I lived in Monroe and would post fishing reports without names and Jim would be like "that's the NF Stilly right?" And in reports where I would name names, he would (in true OMJ fashion) say "Why the hell did you fish there?" Haha! Those were usually the skunk reports so he was right.
About the 4th or 5th time he gave me shit on a skunk report I'm like well YOU'RE the one that posts the useless reports! And he got sort of pissed. Haha!
I think that might have been about the only time Jim was ever mad at me in all the years on here. I'll take it!
I took a break in 2002 or 2003. When I came back in 2005 I was happy to see Jim was still around. I then took another break at the end of 2005 and didn't come back until 2014. I was happy to see Jim was still around! And he remembered me!
Jim knew nearly all of us and sort of kept tabs on us. You had to watch the bullshit as @Dustin Chromers mentioned. Jim would call you on it.
Thank you @Buzzy for posting on the old site. I'm sure there are still a few that never made the jump.
RIP Jim. Your candor and humor will be missed! Hope he's on the Beckler in the Sky hooking big fish on a "fly I just tied up for the hell of it".
Damn. I'm not on the forums a lot these days. One of the first things I do when I come back after a long break is to check and see if the Old Man is still kicking. Was so sad to hear of his passing - but like many of you, not surprised.
We didn't have a lot in common beyond fly fishing. I was much younger than him when we first met (sooo much younger....) and had a happy marriage and young kids that I actually enjoyed being around. I'm a person of faith and family above fly fishing. Yet fly fishing is part of me. And that was enough to connect us at the end of the day.
I started on WFF about the same time he did many moons ago. He was already an Old Man. And already grumpy. I am also strongly opinionated and outspoken at times - we certainly didn't agree a lot of the time and had a lot of lively back and forth discussions.
Over the years we got to know each other beyond the forums. He came to my house when I hosted a WFF BBQ and river cleanup event. We seemed to connect for some reason. Since then, we started fishing together. Often with Dave / Wetline and/or Fly Bill and a few others.
It was always the same routine. Find a spot where he could get close to water without a lot of walking, climbing, rock hopping, etc. He'd take 30 minutes to get ready, fish for 5 minutes. He'd fall down at least once, then spend 15 minutes trying to get back up. He'd cuss you out if you tried to help. He'd then spend the rest of the time in a lawn chair griping and grumbling before taking a nap.
When it was time for him to move to Montana, we met one last time and he gave me 2 things. First was his old tying vice. Many of you watched my tying journey on WFF. I still have the vice and use it from time to time. Second was the real treasure. His marked up map/guide of WA state showing all his favorite skinny water areas with notes and all. I was honored to receive it, knowing it was something he was immensely proud of and it represented so much of his life and passion - yet passing it on to the next generation, knowing he'd never be back and never see that skinny water ever again.
We didn't stay close after he left. Just lightly kept tabs on each other. I wish I could have joined him out in Montana one last time.
I know a lot of guys didn't like him. Many just didn't get him. He could definitely be an a-hole and turned off a lot of folks over the years. But he was an institution in the WA fly fishing community for so long, and someone who just wanted to be around other fly fishers, even if just online, because his old body just couldn't be out there as much as he really desired. It was his community. His peer group. And many of us were his friends and family more than we realized.
Jim, may you rest in peace and may your legacy and legend live on. I'm going to tie a few flies on your vice and use your map to fish one of your secret spots this summer in your memory - followed by an obligatory "usless fishing report."
We didn't have a lot in common beyond fly fishing. I was much younger than him when we first met (sooo much younger....) and had a happy marriage and young kids that I actually enjoyed being around. I'm a person of faith and family above fly fishing. Yet fly fishing is part of me. And that was enough to connect us at the end of the day.
I started on WFF about the same time he did many moons ago. He was already an Old Man. And already grumpy. I am also strongly opinionated and outspoken at times - we certainly didn't agree a lot of the time and had a lot of lively back and forth discussions.
Over the years we got to know each other beyond the forums. He came to my house when I hosted a WFF BBQ and river cleanup event. We seemed to connect for some reason. Since then, we started fishing together. Often with Dave / Wetline and/or Fly Bill and a few others.
It was always the same routine. Find a spot where he could get close to water without a lot of walking, climbing, rock hopping, etc. He'd take 30 minutes to get ready, fish for 5 minutes. He'd fall down at least once, then spend 15 minutes trying to get back up. He'd cuss you out if you tried to help. He'd then spend the rest of the time in a lawn chair griping and grumbling before taking a nap.
When it was time for him to move to Montana, we met one last time and he gave me 2 things. First was his old tying vice. Many of you watched my tying journey on WFF. I still have the vice and use it from time to time. Second was the real treasure. His marked up map/guide of WA state showing all his favorite skinny water areas with notes and all. I was honored to receive it, knowing it was something he was immensely proud of and it represented so much of his life and passion - yet passing it on to the next generation, knowing he'd never be back and never see that skinny water ever again.
We didn't stay close after he left. Just lightly kept tabs on each other. I wish I could have joined him out in Montana one last time.
I know a lot of guys didn't like him. Many just didn't get him. He could definitely be an a-hole and turned off a lot of folks over the years. But he was an institution in the WA fly fishing community for so long, and someone who just wanted to be around other fly fishers, even if just online, because his old body just couldn't be out there as much as he really desired. It was his community. His peer group. And many of us were his friends and family more than we realized.
Jim, may you rest in peace and may your legacy and legend live on. I'm going to tie a few flies on your vice and use your map to fish one of your secret spots this summer in your memory - followed by an obligatory "usless fishing report."
Last edited:
Great words Chad. I remember some of your entertaining back & forth with Jim and wondered if you had seen this. I love your idea for the summer.
