Charlie Brooks Speaks

[UC Steve]

Came across this informative profile of Charles Brooks, including an audio of soul-man Brooks reading & answering 12 questions posed by Rick Hafele, recorded in 1988. Awesome stuff for soft-hackle nerds!

http://www.laughingrivers.com/charlie_brooks.html

[JohnP]

Wow! Thanks for posting this link. Charles Brooks was one of my early fly-fishing heroes and I own several of his books. It is fascinating to hear his voice and I particularly liked his answer to question 6.

[UC Steve]

I loved question 6. Think that one rankled Charlie a bit. Brooks, as I understand it, had a reputation as a taciturn loner & astute observer/pragmatist with little affection or patience for his detractors, who, we see, he refers to as "Numbnuts". He was formidable.

[redsedge]

Thank you! These recordings of Charlie are too much! Appropriate for this Memorial Day weekend - Charlie was retired Air Force, I believe. Love his #6 answer, too.
Cheers,
Jim

[Roadkill]

Thanks for these words of wisdom!!

[chugbug]

I'm reading Nymph Fishing for Larger Trout, and I'm really liking Charles Brooks a lot. Did not expect to, but he's a real find.

I came across this interview reference, but the link is stale. Can't find it anywhere else, either. Did anyone happen to download it?

Separately, in the book he says to wrap the hackle on his Montana stone (for instance) separately around the base of the thorax first, then mid thorax. Anyone know if he did that in one continuous wrap or tied each off and on separately?

[tworod]

One continuous wrap. If it looks ugly you got it the way Brooks tied it. Charlie Brooks tied fishing flies, not shadow box flies.

[chugbug]

Guilty as charged