Al Crise _ You Will Be Deeply Missed

 

Allen Crise, MCCI (January 29, 1944 - February 17, 2010)

THE Fly Fishing family throughout the South is so much poorer for the passing of Allen Crise MCCI last week. Al was the pied piper of fly casting throughout Tx, Ar, LA, Ok and more, not because he was a Lefty or Joan or Mel, but simply because he was Al, a man with a simple, profound passion for fly casting and helping others become better casters.

Al wasn’t famous like the names above, but that isn’t to say Al wasn’t known and loved by an astounding number of people. There is a trail of fly casters across this part of the world who owe it all to Al, who gave them their start, diving into the back of his little Ford pickup and emerging with a bundle of rod and that wide grin. Others of us, the self-taught,  he nudged us onward and sideways back to the path of SLP, and tightloops, with humor and humbleness.

The big events in these parts are not going to be the same without him and that big hat loaded with flies.

I didn’t know Al well in the conventional sense, though I knew him for several years, I didn’t know his family or the full picture of his life, but I’d like to think we enjoyed each others company, I know I did. Somehow, at every event we both attended, like Conclave, Sowbug, or the new defunct Fly Fishing Show in Tx, we would sneak off from other duties with one or a couple of fly rods _ just two big kids playing hooky for a bit.

The last Sowbug we cast together he taught me a new roll cast variation he had been working on for slipping poppers under overhanging trees, we were both giggling away at how much fun it was.

One year in Tx we raided Cary Marcus’ Suburban for 8wt and heavier Z-Axis Sages and loaded them up with the then new  Outbound lines just throwing bunches of line for the sheer joy of it. We hadn’t snuck off far from the crowd on this occassion, just behind the back drops of the booths, and the sailing flylines and bobbing hat brought some attention, a crowd of Al’s disciples, all Certified Casting Instructors Al had taught.

For that is another of Al’s legacies, not just those he taught directly, but the influences he had on numerous CCI instructors. They could do a lot worse than follow Al’s laid back, easy and alway humble approach. It didn’t matter whether you were a kid picking up a rod for the first time, or a very experienced caster, Al would always find a connection, all were equals in Al’s eyes. Its with profound sadness that I put off doing Al’s CCI preparation camp too long, he would egg me on to join up at every meeting, but the timing was never right, always something else fly fishing related to be doing.

The world is a better place for your being among us Al.

“For those of you who would like to make a donation in honor of Al Here are the two places to send them. There will not be any memorial service because Al is still teaching. He donated his body to the North Texas Medical School for the study of cancer.

Reel Recovery
4505 El Campo Ave.
Fort Worth, TX 76107
800.542.2246 or 817.914.3807
Reel Recovery’s Email

Casting for Recovery
C/o Susan Gaetz
5202 Periwinkle Path
Austin, TX 78745
512.940.0246
Susan’s Email