Member Profile Mel R.

1. Where did you grow up?
Collinsville, Illinois – a small town not far from St. Louis

2. What is your favorite fish?
This is really tough. I raise fish in aquariums, and so many of my favorites are aquarium fish. I like Ocellaris Clownfish and longnose hawkfish for their personalities, and Papua New Guinea rainbowfish for the amazing way they interact with one another.
But this is a fishing club. So, for fishing, when using a fly rod I really like catching big, dark bluegills. I’m learning to catch northern pike on the fly, and that’s a lot of fun too. Trout on a fly have been fun, but the opportunities to fish for them too infrequent to count as favorites. I’m trying to change that.
Setting down the fly rod and picking up the spinning rod, I have a blast catching walleye and small mouth bass, or crappie on an ultralight.

3. What is your favorite fly?
Timberwolf – fishermen don’t seem to know about this fly but the fish do.

4. What is your favorite color?
blue

5. What is your favorite book?
Too hard to pick. The list includes , the Tin Drum by Gunter Grass,
Canticle For Leibowitz by Walter Miller, Dune by Frank Herbert, The Shining by Steven King, the 2001, 2061 and 3001 books by Arthur C. Clarke, The Universe From Your Backyard by Eisner, The Night Sky Observer’s Guide by Kepple and Sanner, Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein

6. How long have you been fly fishing?
Somewhere the far side of 40 years.

7. What is your favorite movie?
Favorites would be Groundhog Day, Alien, What About Bob, Road Warrior, The Fifth Element, The Matrix, Ghost Busters, Gatica, and Breaker Morant. Of those, The Fifth Element is probably at the top, it has a great villain, a great hero, a great beauty to be rescued, humor, action, romance, monks, flying cars and spaceships. What more can you want?

8. Where is your favorite place to fish?
The cove to the left of the rusting combine in the north branch of Steven Forbes lake.

9. If you could fish anywhere in the world tomorrow, where would it be?
Someplace much warmer. Seriously, there is a little mountain lake in the Rockies that my dad and I discovered. It’s teeming with huge trout and waiting for another visit from me.

10. If you could have anyone guide your next fishing trip, who would your guide be?
Lefty Kreh.

11. Do you use an electric or manual razor?
Manual