Remembering Doug Swisher: A Personal Reflection on a Fly-Fishing Legend

We as fly fishers have been blessed to have had many great icons in our sport of flyfishing who are no longer with us. They have been teachers, writers, photographers, innovators, fly tiers, entomologists and guides. But in my opinion there was only one fly angler who embodied all of the characteristics of the great icons now gone: Doug Swisher. 

In the morning hours of September 18, 2024, Swisher left this world at age 91.

Doug was born November 7, 1932, in Bay City, Michigan to Jewell & Rolla Swisher. He graduated from Michigan State University in 1954 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. A short time later he went to work for Berkley Line Company. Doug married Marlene Powell on February 14,1958. They have two wonderful children: Randy Swisher and Kristie Eichner (nee Swisher). Later in life, Doug married Sharon Chaffin.

Swisher's Fly-Fishing Contributions

He, along with Carl Richards and Dave Whitlock’s illustrations, authored two of fly fishing’s classic books: Selective Trout and Flyfishing Strategy. Selective Trout was the most significant advance in dry fly concept, design, and entomology in years. It introduced state of the art macro photography, the No Hackle dry fly and other new patterns. Flyfishing Strategy covered all aspects of flyfishing including their new pattern, the Stillborn Dun. The fly-casting portion included the reach cast, stack mending, and the flat butt leader.

The Swisher reach cast is perhaps the most important cast ever developed for selective trout that have seen every dry fly in the book. With pinpoint accuracy it presents the fly first without any drag. 

Additionally, Swisher and Carl Richards coauthored the following books: Tying the Swisher/Richards Flies, Emergers, Back Country Flyfishing in Salt Water, and Stoneflies with Fred Arbona Jr. Doug also authored with his wife Sharon Swisher Flies for Selective Trout.

When Scientific Anglers decided to produce videos and text books for the Mastery Learning System Trout Series on fly casting, fly fishing and fly tying for trout, Howard West contacted and interviewed Lefty Kreh, Swisher, Gary LaFontaine, and Mel Kreiger. He went to their schools with the intention of selecting one of them do the writing, casting, fly fishing, and fly tying. Swisher was the one selected. He did four video tapes on fly casting and fishing techniques and two on fly tying and wrote the accompanying text. The video tapes and texts are some of the best I have ever seen including his system for fishing the clock.

Selective Trout, Flyfishing Strategy, Emergers, Flies for Selective Trout, and Art Flick’s New Streamside Guide are all filled with Doug’s incredible macro photography. 

He either designed, developed and or popularized the reach cast, the stack mend, fishing the clock, the flat butt leader in clear and chartreuse for visibility and sighting, lead and copper sleeves in place of split shot for ease of casting, the dubbing brush, the wrist rocket, the stomach pump, rubber legs on flies (like his Madame X) as well as multiple fly patterns including the No Hackle Dry Fly, the Button Midge, the Clumpa, the Devil Leech, and the Mantilla. 

Doug also developed the Swirl Knot, which is said to be the only 100-percent knot for 5X to 7X tippet that doesn’t curl at the eye of the hook when you draw it tight. He was also instrumental in securing catch-and-release regulations for the Bitterroot River.

In addition to advances in macro photography for photographing aquatic insects and flies, he developed a system for dissolving one slide into another on a slide projector.

Guiding and Teaching Career

Doug was both a licensed guide in Montana (license number 153) and a licensed captain in Florida. He lectured, did casting classes, schools, and clinics all over the United States as well as overseas. He coached the Australian Casting Team from 22nd place to 2nd place in the World Championships. 

Other than the late Jimmy Green, Doug was the first to write about, teach and demonstrate the 180-degree principle of straight-line casting. Although originally he was criticized about the 180-degree principal, it is now a standard casting instruction method. He also wrote about the micro second wrist, the movement of the casting wrist, just before the rod is stopped on the forward and backward cast.

What made Swisher even more remarkable was that he had sight in only one eye.

Cherished Memories

I first met Doug in Yellowstone Park in 1972. We were both fishing the Yellowstone River at Buffalo Ford on the side of the river opposite the parking lot. We were the only two anglers on that side of the river. After observing him catch cutthroat after cutthroat I approached him, not knowing who he was, to get some advice. We fished together or should I say he fished and I watched the rest of that afternoon. It was the beginning of a lifelong fly-fishing friendship.

We fished Silver Creek, Armstrong’s Spring Creek, Nelson’s Spring Creek, Depuy Spring Creek, McCoy’s Spring Creek, the Firehole, Madison, Gibbon, Henry’s Fork, Missouri, Big Hole, Beaverhead, Poindexter Slough, Georgetown Lake, Hat Creek, Take it Easy Ranch, the Williamson River, the Selway River, the Saint Mary’s, the Waterton, Palmer Ranch and the Bighorn River in sunshine, rain, sleet and snow during the glory years.

Every time we fished together, I learned something new.

Before it was generally fished and had any night lighting we fished below the 3 Mile Fishing Access Site on the Bighorn River. Because I was somewhat familiar with the river, I would row the drift boat through Bighorn rapids in the dark–that is until we went through them for the first time in daylight after which Doug refused to allow me to row through them day or night.

In the winter months, Doug would leave Montana for Florida. We’d fish the Big Marcus River, the Ten Thousand Islands area, and the Everglades as well as small channels and saltwater lakes. We explored and fished a lot of the Everglades together, including getting seriously lost on one occasion only to get out of there by moonlight and the grace of God.

It was in Florida with Doug that I landed and released an estimated 5-foot-long alligator on one of Doug’s barbless Big Chartreuse Poppers, much to his dismay. When Doug turned around with a hook release in hand and saw the alligator slipping slowly back into the water without the popper in his mouth he said, “You could have lost your arm removing that popper.” 

Approximately 45 minutes later, I saw what appeared to be the same alligator sunning itself on a mud bank and pointed it out to Doug. At the same time, we saw a female mallard with three ducklings slowly swimming by the alligator. Within the blink of an eye, the gator consumed the ducklings and their mother. That was a lesson well learned.

Doug did my testing for the Federation of Fly Fishers (now Fly Fishers International) Casting Instructor Certificate. He told me before hand, “You better be prepared to do a lot better than anyone I ever tested because I am not cutting you any slack” … and he didn’t.

For several years we talked about co-authoring a book solely dedicated to fly casting but every time we got together to write and photograph we went fishing.

After Doug and Sharon were married, the three of us continued to fish together for another six years and continued to have memorable times. Under Doug’s tutelage Sharon became an excellent fly caster and fly tyer. She could tie any pattern to perfection from size 28 to 4/0.

Later Years

As responsibilities and commitments gradually increased and our lives became more complicated, we weren’t able to fish together every year. When we didn’t fish together, we talked on the phone. Doug continued tying and inventing fly patterns until shortly before his death. He’d send me flies and new patterns to test and they all caught fish. One of his last patterns, named the Purple Passion, was a big, purple, green-eyed streamer and was particularly effective on trout and smallmouth bass. It was one and a half to two inches long. You could fish it dry or below the surface and the trout and bass just crushed it. 

When Doug’s family called me to say that he was not doing well, I immediately went to Corvallis, Montana to Doug and Sharon’s home. We ate together, reminisced, laughed, and watched Michigan State football. I was given the precious opportunity to spend time with a special friend, my mentor, and the big brother I never had. I thanked him for our friendship, for all that he had taught me, for the fun times together, and got to tell him that I loved him like a brother. In the morning nine days later, Doug died at home. Just like there will never be another Lefty Kreh there will never be another Doug Swisher–one of fly fishing’s greatest icons.

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