A friend of mine lives in Bozeman, Montana. Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Doug Daufel and his twin brother, Dan, were tying flies commercially for Cathy and Barry Beck’s fly shop while they were still in high school. I’ve known “the twins” as we always called them for over twenty years. Good guys, excellent fly tiers, both of them. They also worked for Mike Lawson at Blue Ribbon Flies during the summers of their college years. Because of their connection with the Beck’s they met and got to know a number of fly fishing celebrities. We always thought it was funny because when they applied for jobs at Blue Ribbon Flies, their references were Cathy and Barry Beck, Charlie Meck, and I believe Lefty Kreh.
Doug e-mailed me this photo of a big brown he recently caught in a lake in Montana. I don’t know the name of the lake, but he caught the fish on a #8 conehead JJ Special which is basically a brown Wooly Bugger with a brown and yellow tail with yellow rubber legs. I thought a fish like this ought ought to get a little publicity. You too Doug! Doug mentioned it’s the largest brown he’s ever taken. He was fishing with his girlfriend, and reportedly she had a larger brown on but the tippet broke before Doug could net the fish. Thanks, Doug, for your permission to post the photo.
My friend Doug Daufel of Bozeman, Montana, with the biggest brown he’s ever caught. The fish was not taped but it’s around 28″.
