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Fly Tying Group
Buszek Award Winner: 1973
George Grant
(first posted April 1, 2008; last updated March 4, 2009)
George Grant
by Dennis Bitton; edited by David NelsonGeorge Grant is one of a kind. His patented method of weaving hair hackles is more than 50 years old. The monofilament wrappings around his woven nymphs seem to give the entire fly luminescence, or a moving vitality to what you know to be inert material. The only way you're going to get one of George's flies now is if you buy them at a conservation auction or at FFF's annual Conclave, because that's the only way he'll sell them.
George was born September 18, 1904, in Butte, Montana, and died November 1, 2008. His favorite stream is the Big Hole, and he's been fishing it since 1925. During George's season on the river (Aug. 1- Oct.10) he would manage three trips a week to stretches he could cross and recross by wading. He says he voluntarily would quit fishing after October 10th because he didn't want to disturb the browns. He hasn't knowingly killed a fish since 1960.
Which isn't to say he hasn't killed his fair share. The expertise he developed between 1925 and 1960 at fishing was phenomenal. He has some pictures to prove it. The expertise he developed as a fly tyer between 1928 and 1973 when he won the Wayne "Buz" Buszek award was phenomenal. All of which is completely overshadowed by the fact that despite all his personal experience at tying flies, he had never actually watched someone else tie flies until he attended and FFF Conclave in 1972.
George says he was a conservationist when it was considered eccentric to be one. He was a catch and release fly fisherman as early as 1933. In 1973 he became the editor of The River Rat, the state Trout Unlimited Publication in Montana. After six years of doing a great job with the publication, the Federation awarded George the Arnold Gingrich Memorial Life Membership, in large for his work on The River Rat.
George has contributed articles to The American Fly Fisher, official publication of the Museum of American Fly Fishing. He's compiled a number of articles of western fly fishermen. One of the articles was about himself.
George is the author of two highly acclaimed books: The Art of Weaving Hair Hackles and Montana Trout Flies. Both have been updated and are still available.
George started the Big Hole River Foundation in 1988. It is devoted to saving the Big Hole River, its fisheries, and surroundings. His flies were widely desired, but he would only sell you one if you contributed the entire price to the Foundation. His books (ten in all) are available from the Foundation, which keeps all of the income for their conservation work. Certainly, this level of dedication and generosity is how you measure a giant. George was amply qualified for the Buszek Award.
George Grant
by Marty Seldon
November 2, 2008
George at his tying bench, already with many awards on the wall, 1986.
(photo courtesy of Marty Seldon, March 4, 2009)
The remarkable George F. Grant was a spry 102 years old and on September 18, 2008. On one of my jaunts to FFF Conclaves about twelve years ago I first flew to Butte, MT to fish with Mark Lane. While there, I learned that George was living in a local assisted care facility, before leaving, I got the yellow pages and called them all until I found him. It was a very nice new facility and we had a great visit. George was lucid most of the time and I really enjoyed his tales of the early years. It was fantastic to see him in such great spirits.
In the 1970s, I corresponded and spoke to George Grant regularly about the difficulties of our saving our rivers and I read his “River Rat” Newsletter voraciously. My early recollections of George Grant, the father of the Big Hole River and prestigious 1973 Buz Buszek Award winner, was when he came to FFF Conclaves in the 70’s among the greats, where he alone sold his boxes of fantastic flies for $15 and donated the money to the FFF Conservation Fund. As others have said, George’s kindness, thoughtfulness and love of Montana were always his hallmarks. He is a quiet man that carried a big stick. George Grant founded the Big Hole River Foundation in 1989 and they still offer a set of ten of his 60-80 page soft cover booklets as a fund raiser. The FFF sent a delegation to George’s 100th birthday party in Helena.
George wrote a number of articles for the America Museum of Fly Fishing and one of the better personal biographies was in their Spring 1981 Issue of American Fly Fisher. He could not find a publisher for his first books and they had to be initially self-published. That changed rapidly as his great skill and artistry gained wider recognition and I am proud to have Copy No. 1441 of The Master Weaver (1980) and Copy No. 1558 of Montana Trout Files (1981). The Fly at the left is George’s 1937 Black Creeper.
I called the Marquis Village Suites this morning and the receptionist told me that George was still with us, and as far as she knew, was doing well, but did not have his current phone number. I’ll try again, during the week. When I tried his old phone number, it seems to now be held by someone else.
While reminiscing, I dug out my 1993 Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks “Three Men, Three Rivers” video that in addition to Dan Bailey and Bud Lilly has some great footage of George tying and fishing. He had lost his job with the railroad during the depression and never stopped fishing. The Big Hole River is in his blood and his admiration for wild trout borders on reverence. “It’s best to fish alone. One should leisurely meander as does the stream without hurry. There should be no competition or deadline while soaking in the sights, sounds, and the scent of wild trout.”
George Grant was a gentle giant among men who we will always remember with the same warm feelings he has for rivers and wild trout.
Internet References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_F._Grant
http://globalflyfisher.com/staff/glerup/ukgrant1.htm
http://www.ilab.org/db/book1422_20144.html
http://www.amazon.com/s?ie=UTF8&rh=n%3A26%2Cp_27%3AGeorge%20Grant&page=1
http://www.outdoors.net/lefty/lefty/library/2/grant.htm
http://www.outdoors.net/lefty/lefty/library/2/grant2.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~ljbailey/george.htm
http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2006/09/18/newsbutte_top/20060918_newsbutte_top.txt
http://www.montanastandard.com/articles/2006/09/18/newsbutte_top/20060918_newsbutte_top.txt
http://www.bhrf.org/
http://www.worleybuggerflyco.com/montanaflyfish/big_hole_river.htm
Skitt fiske, Marty Seldon 11-2-08
Obituary by Justin Post
A celebrated Butte fly fisherman, author and Montana conservationist who cherished the Big Hole River died Sunday in the Mining City.
George Grant died of natural causes at the age of 102.
"It's truly a loss to the fly-tying community," said Bob LeFever, who knew Grant for about 45 years. "He'll be in the legacy books forever; there is no doubt about it." Grant was born in Butte on Sept. 18, 1906. He became an internationally known fly tier who authored many respected books on the subject.
"He was probably the most creative fly tier that the world has ever seen," LeFever said. "He was just way ahead of his time and truly meticulous." He invented the "Black Creeper," a hand-woven nymph, which is a wet fly that stays beneath the surface. It was among his most famous creations.
World renowned fly-fishing legend Dan Bailey once described Grant's creepers as "the most beautifully tied flies I had ever seen." Grant has also been an outspoken conservationist for the Big Hole River and southwest Montana for many years.
"He was the original conservationist to protect the fisheries of southwest Montana, especially the Big Hole," said Josh Vincent, president of the George Grant Chapter of Trout Unlimited, a conservation group that represents roughly 275 people in the Butte-Anaconda area.
Grant's conservation work included fighting, with some landowners, the proposed 1960s construction of Raichle Dam on the main stem of the Big Hole, one of the state's top fishing streams.
"He was a guiding force to ensure that the Raichle Dam didn't flood a significant portion of the Big Hole area," said Ron Marcoux, a retired Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks administrator and biologist.
In addition to fighting the proposed dam, Grant worked to stop the practice of moving heavy equipment into the Big Hole for diversion of irrigation water, said Bruce Farling, Montana executive for Trout Unlimited.
Even in failing health near the end of his life, Grant was on a Trout Unlimited statewide stewardship committee.
"George's legacy is more than just what he contributed to the sport of flying fishing," Farling said. "It's about what he contributed to trout conservation in Montana." At a state fishing-access site on the Big Hole River, a sign bears information about his conservation work. An FWP film, "Three Men and Three Rivers," paid tribute to him, as well.
George's reputation as a master fly-tier was international. He wrote books on the sport, such as "Montana Trout Flies" and "The Master Fly Weaver," which are considered rare and valuable works.
Grant's many newspaper essays he wrote over the years were published in a collection called "Grant's Riffle." While he reached fly anglers around the globe through his writing, he also offered tips to locals such as Todd Collins who for years visited Grant's home on a sometimes daily basis.
The two became friends in the late 1980s and when Grant formed the Big Hole River Foundation, he appointed Collins to the board of directors.
Collins said Grant will be remembered as a fly tier, author, gentleman, angler and conservationist.
"He was always ready to be a champion for anything that was good for conservation," he said. "That's what I would remember him most for, and just his kind and gentle spirit." Arrangements are pending at Wayrynen-Richards Funeral Home.