For Ed Engle, what might have been the decision of a lifetime may not have been much of a choice after all.
“My work season for the (U.S.) Forest Service had just ended and I was up on the Frying Pan (River) celebrating,” said Engle, a resident of Manitou Springs and a featured speaker at the recently concluded Fly Fishing Show. “I’d decided that would be it for me, but while I was there, they called me to ask if I wanted to work in their peregrine recovery program. It was kind of ironic; by then I’d pretty much decided to concentrate on fly-fishing.”
Not too many years earlier, turning down such an opportunity would not have been so easy. Now it seemed the logical thing to do. Perhaps the end result simply was meant to be.
Engle, 59, had arrived in Boulder in the late 1960s, about the time the Woodstock generation was in full flower. He took up rock climbing, poetry and the study of environmental biology at the University of Colorado, and graduated in the early 1970s.
He had decided on a life outdoors, to be lived on his terms, and after a couple of years of rousting about, landed a seasonal job with the Forest Service. That led to a dozen seasons of fire crews, trails maintenance and tree plantings in Colorado, California and Idaho, but also a reminder that Father Time was gradually catching up.
“Every year on the fire line, you’d feel a little older,” Engle said. “It got harder and harder to get out of your sleeping bag in the morning, until finally it got to where the younger guys would get up and you just couldn’t.
“It was kind of a dead-end situation for me with the Forest Service. I could see I wasn’t going to get on permanently.”
Between seasons, Engle had been laying the groundwork for his future career. He’d begun fly-fishing as opportunities presented themselves. After four months of futility he caught his first trout, on the South Platte River, on a fly he had tied himself as a matter of economic necessity.
Soon enough, he was working part time at a Colorado Springs fly-fishing shop, dabbling in but eventually giving up commercial fly-tying, and guiding other fly fishermen, mainly on the South Platte.
Along the way, he began writing outdoor columns for several newspapers and became a freelance contributor to a number of magazines.
So, when working seasonally for the Forest Service lost its appeal, Engle was ready to move on. He’d decided to become a professional fly-fisherman.
“I’ve always done better where I can be my own boss,” he said. “That was true even with the Forest Service.”
He continued guiding and writing for national magazines including American Angler, Fly Fisherman, Fly Rod & Reel, Trout, Flyfishing and Tying Journal, Sports Afield and Gray’s Sporting Journal.
His first fishing book, “Fly Fishing the Tailwaters,” appeared in 1991, followed by “Splitting Cane” in 2002, “Tying Small Flies” in 2004 and “Fishing Small Flies” a year later. “Trout Lessons” is to be published in August.
With name recognition from his writing, Engle soon was a sought-after speaker for fishing clubs. With an endorsement from veteran fly-tier A.K. Best, he approached promoters of The Fly Fishing Show for a spot there, and eventually was hired for the Denver show.
He’s become a regular. He’s been at all 10 Denver shows, as well as appearing at several other stops on the show’s tour every year. No sooner had the show folded its Denver tent on Sunday than he was preparing to leave for Marlborough, Mass., with stops in California and New Jersey to follow.
Engle’s thoughtful, down-to-earth presentations on fly-tying and seminars on topics ranging from nymph-fishing basics to catching difficult trout remain popular among show-goers. No end is in sight.
“I enjoy it and I plan to keep doing it,” Engle said. “I get to see other fly- fishermen and it’s my way of giving back to the people who have supported me by buying my books and reading my magazine articles.”
Fly-fishing has presented Engle with opportunities to test the waters of exotic locales, including Alaska, and he’s planning trips to Argentina, Europe and the Arctic Circle.
“I’ve always enjoyed seeing how others approach fly-fishing,” he said.
Even so, Engle still spends plenty of time on Colorado waters. He especially enjoys fishing the small streams, the Frying Pan and, of course, the South Platte, where it all started. He also plans to continue guiding.
“That keeps me honest,” Engle said. “I can say a lot of things at the show, but when you’re out on the river, either you catch fish or you don’t.”
