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THE MAN and the MUDDLER
(Continued)
THE MAN and the MUDDLER
(Continued)
Don Gapen fly fishes the wild
Nipigon River rapids
guide had hand-caught. Moments after the live
bait hit the water’s surface it was consumed by a 7
pound brook trout, Don’s biggest to date.
It was at this point Don took out his fly tying
vise and kit, clamped the vice to the canoe’s
thwart and tied the first Muddler minnow.
Because of Dad’s father’s teachings, Don was able
to create a near perfect imitation of the cockatush
minnow.
Because Charlie Staff of the Prescott Spinner
Company, a guest at Don’s resort, had named
one of his spinners and fly lures the Cockatush,
Don chose the name Muddler, a name given to
the sculpin minnows so prevalent in the creeks
he fished as a boy near Orangeville, Illinois.
Hundreds of brook trout in the 6 to 9 pound
weight class fell victim to the guests at Chalet
Bungalow Lodge in the 1940s through the
1960s. Field and Stream Magazine records were
filled with the trophy trout caught on the Nipigon with the Muddler Fly and another
bait Don Gapen called the ‘NEPAG’.
Don Gapen has passed on to a world where big brook trout continue to swim. In all
his years Don never beat the 10 pound 8 ounce brookie he caught on the Nipigon in
1953. It was his desire to break the world record of 14 pounds, a fish taken in 1919 from
the world famous Nipigon River by a Doctor Cook.
Dad did take three fish over 10 pounds but never the
‘ONE’ he wanted most. Maybe where he now casts
his famous fly my father may achieve his goal.
Reaching the age of 80, I too have failed in that
goal, with my largest brookie just over 9 pounds,
caught on a hand-tied Muddler Fly. I must admit
I’ve tried but in this world a 14 pound brookie
seems nearly impossible. However, if such a goal is
accomplished I’m sure it will be done on the fly my
father brought to life at Virgin Falls on the Nipigon
River.
“Keep trying, Dad,”
Your son,
Dan
Don Gapen’s
Original Muddler
as it was first tied
– POST NOTE –
The world famous Nipigon River is gone now, destroyed by
man because of his need for electric power. Virgin Falls now
lies beneath 75 feet of water on a lake called Hanna.
Don Gapen and son Dan work
their favorite fish - the brook
trout - on their last fishing
trip together.
One last meal of fried orange
brookie fillets for Don Gapen.
Both fish caught on his
beloved Muddler Fly
Muddler Jig
As it was in the beginning,
father & son fish from a
native freighter canoe
Don Gapen works the Nipigon quiet
backwaters for fall spawning brook trout.
With him, ‘Albert’ is guiding the
world-famous angler out of a native
cedar-ribbed canoe.
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