duff
02-08-2005, 11:25 AM
I learned today of Peter Rothwell's passing. I spoke to him last in November, and he seemed confident of a quick recovery before the bass invaded the flats again this Spring. I am greatly saddened by all of this.
When I first stumbled upon fly-fishing in 1999, Peter was the first to respond to a post I placed on Reel-Time regarding flyfishing around Shelter Island. It wasn't long before I meet up with Peter in Smith's Cove near North Haven. I was having trouble seeing bass on the flats, to the point where I was starting to believe it was just a myth that you could see them with polarized sunglasses. Within minutes of our meeting Peter showed me spots along the North Haven shoreline holding large bass, without even a thought that he might be giving away secret information. I landed my first sight fishing bass that day, but only because Peter instructed me to cast near a bass he had already hooked, therefore allowing me to connect with a smaller bass following it.
But that was the thing about Peter. He always could see and sense things on the water that I could not, and if you have ever fished with him you know his eyesight and fishing sense was second to none. Peter saw terns that I didn't spot until we had travelled 30-40 yards closer to them in his Whaler. He observed eddies and cross-currents in the waters around Shelter Island that I had passed by hundreds of times before without notice. He saw the white flash reflected off the stomach a large bass in skinny water, when all I saw was the skinny water. He sensed that the Albies would reappear around Inner Shag, while all the other boats fruitlessly waited for them at Outer Shag. He knew exactly where to position his boat relative to the wind and current when Albies surfaced off the Radar Tower. He was, by far, the best fisherman I have ever seen.
But Peter was also a kind and generous person. When my boat was in for warranty repair in 2003, he invited me out on at least 4 trips in the Spring without me having to ask. He responded to numerous email questions I sent him in my early years of fly-fishing with detailed answers that I have saved and still look at to this day. Peter always gave me the bow platform (and still outfished me every time).
I will miss him greatly, and will be thinking of him on the flats this Spring.
When I first stumbled upon fly-fishing in 1999, Peter was the first to respond to a post I placed on Reel-Time regarding flyfishing around Shelter Island. It wasn't long before I meet up with Peter in Smith's Cove near North Haven. I was having trouble seeing bass on the flats, to the point where I was starting to believe it was just a myth that you could see them with polarized sunglasses. Within minutes of our meeting Peter showed me spots along the North Haven shoreline holding large bass, without even a thought that he might be giving away secret information. I landed my first sight fishing bass that day, but only because Peter instructed me to cast near a bass he had already hooked, therefore allowing me to connect with a smaller bass following it.
But that was the thing about Peter. He always could see and sense things on the water that I could not, and if you have ever fished with him you know his eyesight and fishing sense was second to none. Peter saw terns that I didn't spot until we had travelled 30-40 yards closer to them in his Whaler. He observed eddies and cross-currents in the waters around Shelter Island that I had passed by hundreds of times before without notice. He saw the white flash reflected off the stomach a large bass in skinny water, when all I saw was the skinny water. He sensed that the Albies would reappear around Inner Shag, while all the other boats fruitlessly waited for them at Outer Shag. He knew exactly where to position his boat relative to the wind and current when Albies surfaced off the Radar Tower. He was, by far, the best fisherman I have ever seen.
But Peter was also a kind and generous person. When my boat was in for warranty repair in 2003, he invited me out on at least 4 trips in the Spring without me having to ask. He responded to numerous email questions I sent him in my early years of fly-fishing with detailed answers that I have saved and still look at to this day. Peter always gave me the bow platform (and still outfished me every time).
I will miss him greatly, and will be thinking of him on the flats this Spring.