MIKE AUGHNEY

Mike Aughney and sons

Salmon conservationist. Angler. Sportsman. Waterfowl hunter. Originator of online fishing reports.

Mike Aughney, a lifelong advocate for the survival of California’s fish and wildlife, spent most of his 63 years as recreational and commercial angler and environmental advocate. He is singularly recognized as the originator of online fishing reports, beginning with the establishment of USAfishing.com in 1994. He continued his advocacy as a charter board member of the Golden State Salmon Association (GSSA) and is integrally involved in all aspects of this important organization.

Beginning in his 20s, Aughney worked both in the recreational salmon charter boat fleet off the Golden Gate before joining the commercial salmon fleet in both California and Alaska. 

In his 30s, with salmon stocks in decline, he began a career with the Marin Municipal Water District, while sustaining his interest in ocean fisheries. In 1994, he started the first internet fishing report website using his many contacts in the charter boat fleet as his information source. 

What started out as ‘Fishsite’ became USAFishing.com, covering most of the saltwater and freshwater fisheries in Northern California, attracting a large recreational readership.  Aughney developed a reputation as being brutally honest, sharing his opinions on important issues, especially negative impacts on salmon by humans, water diversions, or government agencies.  Due to the explosion of other internet mediums, Aughney closed the site after 22 years. 

As an outspoken proponent of fisheries and the environment, he was asked to be a charter board member of the Golden State Salmon Association in 2011, currently holding the role of vice chair. 

GSSA is the leading California non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and restoration of California's salmon industry and environment. Aughney enjoys teaching others and sharing knowledge and insights about salmon issues for GSSA on his weekly segment on the California Sportsman Radio show. He has become the leading voice for California’s salmon.

Aughney, a native of Novato, began his fishing adventures for sturgeon in San Pablo Bay before branching off to commercial and recreational salmon. Aughney spent many hours at the mouth of the Klamath for salmon and steelhead, and he currently fishes several weeks per year on the Kenai Peninsula rivers of the Kenai, Russian, Kasilof, Anchor, and Ninilchuk from his vacation home in Clam Gulch. He also targets Pacific halibut from a drift boat, launching from the beach. 

Aughney was part-owner of the ‘Reel Magic’ six pack out of Bodega Bay, renovating the boat and building a successful business before selling his interest to the current owners. He is an avid waterfowl hunter who has consistently worked out of a blind in the Colusa region every season.

DUSTY BAKER

Major League Baseball legend Dusty Baker is also known to California outdoorsmen and women as an angler and duck hunter of renown. This inspirational speaker, fundraiser, leader of youth and former baseball champion has inspired thousands across his home state and the nation to head to the outdoors, with a personality that mixes honesty, vibrance, buoyancy and tough-love. 

Baker has fished for dozens of species across the U.S. and western hemisphere: fly-fishing for brown trout in Montana and, with conventional gear, for peacock bass in Kauai. He has sought  sturgeon on the Columbia River, tarpon off the coast of Mexico, giant bluegill in Missouri, bass in Florida, and many species in San Francisco Bay, the Sacramento River, Delta, Central Valley and on lakes in the Bay Area foothills and throughout California. 

He said, “Not only do I love it, but I need to be out there. I just gotta be outdoors, There's something about it."

His scope of adventures has made him one of America’s most traveled anglers, fly fishing for trout on Hat Creek near Burney, and bass at Lake Berryessa, Clear Lake and many lakes in Florida, Alabama, Georgia and beyond. Baker came close to catching the California Game Fish Grand Slam, a sturgeon, halibut, striped bass and salmon, in a single day when late in the afternoon he lost a 50+-pound salmon after a 2 1/2-hour fight off the Marin coast.

After missing this great accomplishment, he said, “You know, ‘The Old Man and the Sea' was one of my favorite books, because I didn't know whether I was pulling for the old man or the fish. That day that fish (50+-pound salmon) got me, took me in the rocks, and he won. You want to win all the time, but you have to tip your hat to the opposition. I didn't lose. He beat me. There's a difference."

For his love of the outdoors, Dusty credits his dad: “I really love my dad for turning me on to fishing when I was a kid. We fished almost every weekend. The thing that I remember the most was getting up at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning. My dad would already be up, ahead of the alarm, and I would say, 'Hey, Dad, let's go.'”

Baker said, “Those are some of the best times I've ever had." and they led him to pass along his passion for the outdoors, by taking youth on adventures to waterfowl marshes, allowing children to experience the magic of the marsh coming to life at dawn, while he regales the kids with talk of the various birds, their behaviors and calls. 

Baker has contributed his dynamic and inspirational speaking skills to fundraise for several organizations and is a champion of the California Waterfowl Association. His success led to All American Speakers, where he is contracted to provide inspirational speeches to groups across North America. 

"When I was 23 on the Braves, Luke Appling (baseball Hall of Fame shortstop) took me aside and told me, "To be lucky, you've got to think lucky." That goes for anything. If you don't think lucky in fishing, you don't catch any fish. Am I lucky? It's true, I'm lucky. If you think you're lucky, that's what you get."

Among their many baseball accomplishments, Dusty Baker and Ted Williams share being inducted to an outdoors hall of fame for their love of and prowess as anglers.

BELNO “BEL” LANGE

Bel Lange

Pioneer outdoor broadcaster. Angler. Hunter. Passionate outdoorsman.

Every fisherman and hunter raised in the Sacramento/Stockton region from the mid-’50s through mid-’80s grew up to the voice and image of Bel Lange and his ‘The Outdoorsman’ TV show. 

Upon Bel Lange’s passing, the Mountain Democrat (California’s oldest daily newspaper and then home to Lange’s tales of the outdoors) reported that, “His written words put us in the boat, at the shoreline or in the water to reel in that prized catch while his descriptive hunting excursions put us behind the sight and pulling the trigger from deep in the brush.

“We traveled far and near with Bel Lange — to Alaska to seek salmon and halibut; to right here in our backyard in search of trout, mackinaw and bass.

“Lange … delivered keen insight to his readers on how to fish, hunt and enjoy the outdoors. … Lange is probably best known for his weekly TV show, ‘The Outdoorsman’ that won an Emmy in 1955 for best sports show in Northern California.”

Lange started the television program on Stockton’s ABC affiliate in 1954, eventually moving it to  CBS’s KOVR, Channel 13 in Sacramento, where he served as Executive Producer, Production Manager and General Manager. 

‘The Outdoorsman’ lasted 28 years on TV. Thereafter, Lange hosted the hour-long call-in radio show, ‘The Outdoorsman with Bel Lange’ on Sacramento’s KMJI station. Through it all, each show ended with Bel’s memorable closing line, "Take Time to Enjoy the Great Outdoors." Those oft-repeated words encouraged many to do just that.

A beloved feature of his show was Bel’s Bafflers, trivia about the Great Outdoors that entranced  people who’d never cast a line, bagged a pheasant or hiked a mile along a forest trail. He compiled them into the book (still being sold on Amazon), “Bel’s Bafflers, Outdoors trivia, recipes and cartoons” that featured on its cover, the baffler, “Can you name the bear that is pigeon toed?” If you named any bear, you were probably right, as most bears are pigeon toed. Lange had a knack for engaging people in becoming interested in outdoor topics, through the use of minutiae, humor, oddities, curiosity and little-known facts. Though, he backed up his entertaining delivery with solid information about camping, hunting and fishing.

Lange passed away on April 1, 2013, at 88. He is remembered as “an avid fisherman, hunter, camper and guide to many. Lange’s paramount scope of outdoor adventures retold colorfully on air and in print were an introduction to outdoor sports for generations of Californians. He provided motivating memories, entertainingly described, for nearly six decades. During that long tenure, he was credited with inspiring tens of thousands to mimic his adventures and “Take Time to Enjoy the Great Outdoors.”

YANCEY FOREST-KNOWLES

Described as the “embodiment of the authentic outdoorsman,” Yancey Forest-Knowles has experienced what few other California outdoorsmen or women have.

An avid hunter, fisherman and conservationist with 70 years of experience, Forest-Knowles is also a staunch supporter and advocate for our hunting and angling heritage.

He is highly respected and served on several of California’s leading committees to restore water and wetlands; and he worked to inspire protection of waterfowl, fish and other wildlife.

This great outdoorsman is one of California’s most traveled hunters and anglers. His passions are waterfowl hunting and fly fishing, leading to multiple national and international trips.

As a young man, Forest-Knowles leased hunting rights on ranches and marshes. Later, he became the managing partner in a north Sacramento Valley duck club.

Fishing for both fresh and saltwater species throughout the world has played an equal role in Forest Knowles’ life. A white-water raft guide, Forest-Knowles led trips for over a decade, and helped to develop several of the state’s rivers for commercial and public rafting. He also sailed in races across both the Pacific and the Atlantic oceans. Forest-Knowles is also a winning competitive sporting clays shooter.

His travels led to a deep appreciation for wildlife. Forest-Knowles became a leader, advocate and supporter of organizations and projects to benefit waterfowl and fisheries. He met with two Interior Secretaries in Washington, D.C., and helped gain the first dedicated water rights for Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge.

As California Waterfowl Association Chairman, he successfully led the effort to conserve and protect our outdoor heritage. Forest-Knowles continues to serve on the Regulations and Traditions Committee and serves as Secretary of the Klamath Water Committee. He also is a member of the California Waterfowl Hall of Fame Nominating Committee.

Among his many leadership roles, he served on the Board for the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance, was the California representative for the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, was a Founding Member of the Golden Gate Salmon Association, and helped organize a successful sporting clays competition and fundraising event supporting the Wildlife Officers Foundation. He is also a key member of the Pacific Flyway Center Advisory Committee.

Forest-Knowles was inducted into the International Order of St. Hubertus, the oldest (1695) hunting fraternity in the world. As past President of the Russian River Fly Fishers, he led the effort to build a professional casting pond.

Forest-Knowles has authored or appeared in several national outdoor magazine articles and co-authored a highly acclaimed book, “Pacific Flyway – Historical Waterfowling Images.”

His commitment to leaving a healthy environment with abundant wildlife inspires hunters, anglers, conservationists, the public and politicians to take part in the wonders of the natural world and protect all nature for future generations.

BRIAN RILEY

Brian Riley is the California originator of what has become a national trend in outdoor youth education.

His lifetime of work in the outdoors began in the 1980s, when at 22 he was hired as a bird boy at Red Bank Outfitters, one of California’s oldest hunting and fishing institutions. He worked his way up, eventually buying the operation from his boss. 

Soon after, Riley began offering occasional youth-specific experiences, and realized his deeper purpose in the outdoors… to turn youth into safe, ethical and passionate hunters and anglers.

For over 25 years he has done this, conducting yearly youth-focused outdoors camps and hunts and employing California youth who go on to become outdoor professionals themselves. In just this, he has contributed immeasurably to protecting California’s traditions of conservation and outdoor appreciation.

Many of his young wards are so inspired by his approach that they pass along their new-found love of the outdoors and outdoor sport to other youth. Whether it is through Riley’s camps, seminars and hunts or just by example, Brian has made his life’s work that of introducing youth to the outdoor sports of hunting and fishing. 

In youth camps alone, he and his team have educated over 5,000 kids about their opportunities and responsibilities in enjoying the wildlands wildlife around them.

Riley didn’t even realize that his life’s work had transformed from running a hunting lodge to youth outdoor development until 2021, nearly 25 years after he began youth programs when he established the Red Bank Outdoor Academy. 

Riley’s Academy is not just for kids; the RBOA team offers opportunities for anyone who wants to learn more about safely exploring wilderness activities, especially hunting and fishing. Red Bank also actively raises funds, providing scholarships for campers who might not be able to attend otherwise.

Three generations of young outdoorsmen and women have now been inspired by their sojourns  at Red Bank. Brian’s devotion is not just to make youth skilled in the outdoors, but to inspire safety and ethics among them.

Brian entered into this business because of his love of hunting, hunting dogs, and guiding, and despite the 24/7/365 demands of running a hunting business (and living on the same property) he has managed some adventures of his own.  Brian has hunted birds and big game extensively in his beloved California, but also in Idaho, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Mexico and South Africa.  In nearly every trip, he has taken  staff members with him, with an eye to learning about other operations and bringing new ideas back to Red Bank Outfitters and Red Bank Outdoor Academy.  Notably, Brian accompanied a group of his youth campers on their first South African safari–but opted out of hunting his own game, in favor of coaching them on theirs.

When pressed about his own hunts, he still marvels at his dream New Mexico hunt-–made possible by a longtime client, who wanted to see Brian experience what he had provided to so many others.  This client insisted that Brian “be the client,” and introduced him to the most majestic wild elk in the country. Brian obliged, and harvested a grand old bull that the guides still talk about.

The hunting lodge may be where Brian’s bread is buttered, but it is through his development of young and new anglers and hunters that he is unique among guides, outfitters and lodge operators.

When Brian Riley and his team began inspiring youth to be outdoorsmen and women,  youth outdoor camps weren’t yet “a thing.” Today, many lodges and outfitters have followed his trail.

J D RICHEY

J D Richey is one of California’s preeminent outdoor guides, authors, photojournalists, writers, an innovative angler, and an ardent conservationist.

 Known to readers of the Western Outdoor News, Field & Stream, Western Angler, Western Outdoors, California Game & Fish, and Auburn Journal, Richey started a guiding business that focused on Central Valley salmon. He continues to guide in California, Alaska and Nevada.

 He became a popular seminar speaker, TV show guest, radio program contributor and created the online class, Catch More Steelhead.

 State agencies have sought his expertise for river restoration work and to catch fish for tagging studies.

 He has written several fishing-themed books, including Side-drifting for Steelhead and contributed columns and feature articles to Salmon Trout Steelheader, GuideFitter Journal, and Salmon Steelhead Journal. His website, fishwithjd.com, receives 20,000 to 50,000 visits a month.

J D Richey was a charter officer of the 3,800-member Nor-Cal Guides & Sportsmen’s Association, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving hunting and fishing opportunities throughout The Golden State.

GARY COE

Gary Coe is a top winning tournament fisherman, fishing instructor and ambassador for his sport. He is recognized for having spent 20 years enhancing fisheries through hatchery programs, educational scholarships and grants, promotion of ethical sportsmanship, tournaments, and youth development.

 To drive these efforts, he established the charitable non-profit Kokanee Power and built it to 1,200 volunteers who donate their time, money and energy toward making California freshwater fishing programs better for all anglers.

 His fundraising generated over a half million dollars toward improving fish pens, kokanee egg collection and events. Along the way, he formed partnerships with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and many organizations to create the foundation to restore and enhance fisheries at many lakes across California.

 Coe bought, delivered and donated food for ten independent projects to grow and release large trout, including at Shasta, Lewiston, Siskiyou and Collins. He developed partnerships with the U.S. Forest Service, which designed pens and the Mt. Shasta Rotary Foundation, which built three pens and set them in a single huge dock structure to grow trout to 4 to 7 pounds for release every April. Coe also has put together volunteers to assist in kokanee egg taking for CDFW at the Little Truckee River.

 As an outdoorsman, he developed trolling methods to catch large kokanee, trout and salmon and fished at nearly every inland water in California. If the lake has large fish, Coe has fished it. His favorites include Shasta, Whiskeytown, Almanor, new Melones, Don Pedro, Shaver, Berryessa, Bass, Stampede, Tahoe, New Bullards Bar, Union Valley, Donner, Pardee and many others. He is a master angler at choosing rods and reels, rigging, downriggers and tackle selection per water.

 There's no secret fishing hole with Gary Coe. He's an angler who doesn't hide what he knows. He is an ambassador for his sport, passing on his knowledge at sport shows and events across the state.

 His enthusiasm is contagious with all who have met him. His nomination to the Hall read, “You leave with the faith that, as long as Gary Coe is involved, the chance of something special happening is just ahead." Asked why he has devoted his life to developing Kokanee fisheries, Coe said, “We do it to allow people, especially parents and their children, the chance to catch a fish of a lifetime that otherwise would be near impossible.”

JAY FAIR

“Stillwater” fly-fishing guide Jay Fair was a pioneer in the use of unique fly and conventional fishing tackle techniques. He created innovative, highly effective and simple-to-tie fly patterns, and was known as a champion of northeast California's Eagle Lake and its strain of rainbow trout. His innovations in fly fishing tackle have made profound impact on the sport, worldwide.

When many people think of fly-fishing for trout, they invariably envision mountain streams with anglers making delicate casts to rising fish. But, there is another fly-fishing venue that is often overlooked: lakes and ponds, a.k.a. “stillwaters”. Perhaps no one did more to create awareness of this type of fly fishing (now growing in popularity world-wide) than did the late Jay Fair of Eagle Lake, California.

Growing up in the Great Depression, Fair learned to be a successful fisherman out of necessity to help feed his family. In the 1950's, he began fishing northeast California's large lakes including Lake Davis and Eagle Lake, near the town of Susanville.

He quickly became enamored of their big, hard-fighting trout and was soon an expert in the nuances of stillwater flyfishing. As Fair's reputation for phenomenal catches grew, he began guiding clients to this specialized form of angling. Along the way, he created special flies that were highly effective, yet easy for anyone to learn to tie, such as his “Wiggle Tail” which is a staple throughout the western U.S. Throughout his life he exhibited a willingness to share his tying recipes and techniques with the public.

Recognizing that not everyone could master the art of fly casting, Fair developed a method of trolling flies with conventional tackle so that even beginners could experience the thrill of catching an Eagle Lake rainbow. Thousands of anglers from all walks of life have benefited from his innovations.

Mr. Fair devoted much of his adult life to educating the public – as well as government agencies -- about the importance of Eagle Lake and its unique strain of trout, which can tolerate waters that are highly alkaline. Because of this ability, Eagle Lake rainbows are used to stock high desert fisheries throughout the West, providing recreational opportunities where none would exist.

In addition to fishing California's lakes, Mr. Fair ventured often to other stillwaters across the western United States – especially Montana – and once fly fished for six weeks straight in remote parts of Chile spending all of his time with locals, staying in their villages and teaching them to fly fish. Upon his return home, he told family members that he'd had “The time of his life!”

BILL JENNINGS

Arriving in California in the early 1980s, Bill Jennings founded the Delta Angler and quickly became involved in protecting fisheries.  

He has labored in the trenches of state and federal water rights, water quality, and fishery permitting processes for nearly four decades.  Bill has authored myriad comment letters, protests, and petitions and frequently testifies in evidentiary proceedings.  He manages an aggressive enforcement campaign that has generated millions of dollars for restoration projects.

Following a massive fish kill, Jennings co-founded Committee to Save the Mokelumne and served as its Chairman.  He has Chaired the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance since 1988 and been its Executive Director since 2005.  Between 1995 and 2005 he served as Delta Keeper.  He is a Board Member of the California Water Impact Network and was one of the original founders and Board Member Emeritus of Restore the Delta.

Bill has received numerous acknowledgments including the International Conservation Award from the Federation of Fly Fishers, the Director's Achievement Award from the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Conservation Achievement Award from the California-Nevada Chapter of the American Fisheries Society, the Quality of Life Award from the Land Utilization Alliance, and the Delta Advocate Award from Restore the Delta. The Outdoor Writers Association of California recognized him as Outdoor Californian of the Year and the Delta Fly Fishers selected him as Fly Fisherman of the Year. His efforts in obtaining an historic cleanup of Penn Mine on the Banks of the Mokelumne River led to awards by California Water Policy IX Conference.

DAVE HURLEY

Dave Hurley, Stockton, is a lifelong northern California angler with deep roots in the California Delta.

His love of the Delta was enhanced by his close relationship with the late Jay Sorensen, founder of the California Striped Bass Association and member of the California Outdoors Hall of Fame.

A lifelong educator, he started the Young Anglers of Morada Middle School to provide opportunities for underserved youth in the outdoors. He has testified as an expert witness before the State Water Board on Delta issues and has presented to the California Fish and Game Commission on numerous occasions. He is a strong advocate of catch-and-release of striped bass in excess of 10 pounds, and he additionally has written articles on the peril of excessive take of white sturgeon. Hurley has been writing stories on outdoor adventures for the past twenty years for a variety of publications including his own Hurley Chronicles, and he is a strong advocate for water issues as a board member of the California Sportfishing Protection Association, Water4Fish, and the California Inland Fisheries Foundation, Inc. 

As a native of Stockton, he covers his beloved California Delta along many other locations as northern California editor for Western Outdoor News. His great grandfather, Guiseppe Busalacchi was a commercial striped bass, salmon, and sturgeon fisherman in the Delta and a partner in the P. Busalacchi and Sons Fish Market in Stockton. He grew up at the right hand of his grandfather, Frank Busalacchi, who instilled the love of fishing, the outdoors, and the California Delta. In turn, Hurley is a master angler with world-class command of the 1,000-mile waterways of the Bay-Delta, and with additional travels across California and beyond.

JIM BROWN

After he developed the program that opened nine long-closed San Diego city lakes to the public, he set rules that helped create the best trophy bass fishing in America. His advocacy for public access elsewhere includes helping open the Owens River Gorge and the Haiwee reservoirs.

Brown is an avid, accomplished angler who has fished lakes across Southern California and an expert turkey hunter who has ventured throughout Southern California and beyond. He has used that expertise to also create a series of youth fishing programs, including one in which off-duty police officers served as fishing guides for at-risk youth, and creation of Chollas Lake as a “kids only” fishing hole. He pioneered the first catch-and-release warm water fishery in America to protect northern strain largemouth bass, expanded a waterfowl hunting program and a hunting program for turkeys that included a blind for hunters confined to wheelchairs. He is the co-founder of San Diego Trout. As co-founder and co-host of the “All Outdoors Radio Network,” many have followed Brown’s travels and adventures throughout his career.

The retired manager of the San Diego City Lakes Program fought for public recreational access

by Bryce Miller, San Diego Union-Tribune

To understand why Jim Brown will be inducted into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame on Saturday in Sacramento, imagine the fancy footwork of Fred Astaire mixed with the determination of marathoner Meb Keflezighi.

Brown, the retired manager of the San Diego City Lakes Program, championed public access to recreational opportunities. Where he found walls, he patiently and persistently built doors. When he encountered tired or outdated resistance, he partnered rather than pound fists.

Bureaucrats responded more effectively to bridge-building than bellowing, he reasoned — so he shook hands instead of shoulders.

“I found ways to build relationships with people who might have been opposed to ideas initially,” said Brown, a Tierrasanta resident who turns 73 on Sunday. “If someone said Fish and Game wouldn’t allow me to do something, I’d make them a partner.

“That’s how we started the turkey-hunting program at Lake Sutherland, which might be the only program of its kind on city-owned land.”

This Astaire figured out when to lead … and when to follow. This Keflezighi understood some races required sustained focus and effort, not sprints. That unique combination inspired friends Bruce Bochy, the former Padres and Giants manager, and Poway’s Kevin McNamara to nominate Brown for the hall.

Brown will enter with a class that includes fearless climber Alex Honnold, the subject of the Oscar-winning documentary “Free Solo.” Although Brown’s contributions lack Honnold’s cinematic splash, the commitment to ensuring the public shared in San Diego County’s outdoor riches became a dogged climb of its own.

In eighth grade at an outdoors career conference, the Roosevelt Junior High student joined others asked about what job path they might consider. Some said wardens. Others said rangers. Brown pointed to county lakes manager Orville P. Ball.

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“I said, ‘I want Mr. Ball’s job,’ ” he said. “It was greeted with laughter, but 14 years later I had it.”

At age 15, Brown faced off with the city’s water department about decisions that damaged spawning fish and the false denials that followed. He later forced the hand of that same department, opening Lake Hodges to the public after two decades of closure.

Openings at Barrett Lake and Upper Otay followed.

While shepherding the city’s lakes from 1974 to 2003, Brown launched a program that began in Barrio Logan, collaborating with police to introduce kids in the city to fishing. He wrote a longtime outdoors column in the San Diego Tribune and connected with others by co-hosting a radio show on KCBQ called “The All-Outdoors Radio Network.”

Brown also taught outdoors-related courses as an adjunct professor at San Diego State and the former United States International University.

There’s no one in San Diego I know better than Brown, to be fully transparent. He befriended me without reservation or conditions upon my Union-Tribune arrival. Those same traits and tools, I discovered, helped him to navigate tangled red tape to the recreational benefit of thousands upon thousands across the county.

The number of people Brown has taught fly-fishing techniques to alone staggers. Trust me, there’s no more patient pursuit.

“I really appreciate the recognition,” Brown said of the hall induction. “It’s more like something given to a utility player, who can do quite a bit rather than the guy who hits the most home runs or something.

“The reality is, I feel that I’m in there because there’s a whole bunch of different things on different platforms that I’ve done.”

Humble framing from someone entrusted to oversee and foster, at its zenith, the largest municipally operated reservoir recreation program in the country.

At boat ramps across San Diego County, fishing guides and others lament how the program has wilted without Brown’s visionary, sleeves-rolled leadership. Some talk about the fisherman and game-bird hunter with reverence, like a celebrity dressed in camo.

The road Brown followed seemed somewhat inevitable for a kid who claims he learned to read by thumbing through Field & Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield. A few days a week, he would wander to the National History Museum in Balboa Park to soak up information on every animal he could.

An unquenchable fascination with the outdoors fueled advocacy as an adult. Countless scores benefited.

“My approach was, if it’s a public resource, I should find a way to give the public access to it,” Brown said.

Slick, steady footwork indeed.

TERRY KNIGHT

He is the consummate woodsman, an expert hunter and fisherman in many areas, yet has also reached thousands with his writing, seminars and free skill clinics. As a master outdoorsman, he has guided trips for bass fishing, turkey hunting, deer hunting and pig hunting, as well as nature walks and history tours. The late Rick Copeland (Class of 2008) recognized Knight as the rare talent who was capable of instructing even the most skilled, veteran hunters, and brought him in to teach at seminars hosted by Wilderness Unlimited. Knight is also a historian who has long studied the natural history of California and occasionally gives talks about it, with a specialty of his home water, Clear Lake, Mount Konocti and the surrounding area.

For more than 30 years, Knight has been a staff writer for ESPN Outdoors, Fishing and Hunting News, Western Outdoors, Bay Nature Magazine, Wilderness, Unlimited plus a number of newspapers, and currently writes a twice-weekly column for the Lake County Record Bee and the Ukiah Daily Journal. He has broken the barrier and is able to connect to the nonhunting/nonfishing public by writing about wildlife behavior, the environment, nature and, in turn, how it can affect fish and wildlife.

TOM MATTUSCH

Tom Mattusch, Princeton-by-the-Sea, is a master fisherman, hunter, boat captain, with a lifetime of teaching new anglers on the water, world travels of his own, as a leader with ties to many national fishing, hunting and conservation organizations, and county harbor commissioner.

As an outdoorsman, Tom Mattusch has been passionate about fishing and hunting all his life. As owner/operator of the Huli Cat out of Pillar Point Harbor, he has introduced and mentored thousands to saltwater fishing over thousands of days on the water. He has hunted over 20 states and 9 foreign countries.  Tom joined Safari Club International and has held many positions at the state and national level. Tom was a competition freediver sharing his passion with others. As a bluewater spearfisherman, he spearfished the Channel Islands for yellowtail and white sea bass, and the Revilla Gigedo Islands for tuna and wahoo.

Yet Tom Mattusch has made even bigger marks representing fishermen and hunters, preserving and defending rights to hunt and fish. Participating in the MLPA process, he fought to keep as much open for recreational angling and diving as possible. Coastside Fishing Club, the archetype for an internet-based organization with clout, was formed around his dining room table with the purpose to bring fishermen together and give them political strength and voice in California. For over ten years, he has gone back to Washington DC discussing hunting and conservation issues with elected representatives. Tom is a Life member of Safari Club International, CRPA, NRA, CCA and a member of number single specie organizations.  Tom has spent many days before the Fish & Game Commission speaking up for fishing and hunting opportunities and in Sacramento. He’s also a San Mateo County Harbor Commissioner. With his vessel Huli Cat, Tom also participates in a number of scientific research trips. Having seen anglers get steamrolled by ‘best available science’, he dedicated time to filling gaps in fishery information working towards better opportunities off California.

LARRY GREENE

Posthumous

To thousands of California anglers, 4:55 a.m. Monday through Saturday was a special time.  That's because for nearly 20 years the late Larry Greene's extremely popular “Fisherman's Forecast” radio show was broadcast through KCBS 740-AM out of San Francisco. 

 The highly informative program covered fishing reports for much of California and southern Oregon.  If fish were biting anywhere along that 1,000 mile axis, Larry let you know exactly what was going on.  Anyone who ever heard that show can never forget its parting line: “That's the 'Fisherman's Forecast'; I'm Larry Greene.”

 Larry's passion for sharing the joy of fishing went beyond radio.  His angling knowledge was made available through numerous books, countless magazine articles in regional and national publications, as a mentor, and as an instructor where he taught introductory and advanced fishing classes for over 10  years at Skyline Community College in San Bruno.

 And for close to 20 years Larry was Master of Ceremonies for the annual International Sportsmen's Exposition in San Mateo where he introduced featured seminar speakers to their audiences, and served as a de facto “Ambassador of Fishing” as he patrolled the show's aisles, conversing freely with exhibitors,  celebrities, and “Average Joe” show attendees alike.

 A champion of fisheries conservation, Larry was a huge supporter of the efforts in establishing United Anglers of California.

 Larry's angling expertise was garnered from almost 50 years of fishing practically every mile of both fresh and saltwater environs in California, plus adventures in several US states.

Larry died in 2002 when on special assignment for KCBS-TV2 as a cameraman off the coast of Iran when the U.S. Navy helicopter he was riding in crashed. Greene was covering U.S. servicemen serving in the Middle East.

BILL KARR

Some 400,000 youth and their parents have taken part in Karr's "Youth Outdoor Fair" and "Shoot For the Future" programs. Karr invented programs offering hands-on outdoor experiences for kids with their parents, along with 25,000 giveaways. It is little known that Karr has never been paid a cent for the thousands of hours of work required to produce the events. He is the only two-time winner of the Public Service Recognition Award, honored by the Outdoor Writers Association of California, OWAC's most prestigious award.

Karr is better known as the Northern California editor of Western Outdoor News, but he also led a drive to save the fisheries of the Salton Sea. He has managed duck clubs and wildlife preserves and is an expert woodsman, hunter and offshore angler. His adventures span the hemisphere and beyond, and he often hosts groups and introduces them to world-class outdoor experiences. He fishes, boats, hunts or camps some 125 to 150 days per year -- and no one in the past generation has shared this world with more youngsters.

RAY CANNON

“Man’s quest for the goal of complete pleasure can be achieved. But it is seldom blundered into.”

That is the opening of Raymond Cannon’s book “How to Fish the Pacific Coast.” Sunset Publishing released it in 1954 to enormous acclaim. Cannon’s book sold out of its first printing in two months and is one of a handful of epic outdoors books published in the last century. The book helped define Cannon as a preeminent communicator and fishing legend across the western United States.

Ray Cannon lived in Southern California and Baja, Mexico. He became well known as the founding outdoors columnist for Western Outdoor News out of Huntington Beach. He evolved into legendary status for his columns on Baja, as well as the success of “How to Fish the Pacific Coast” in the 1950s and beyond. Cannon developed a vast following across the world of the outdoors and appeared across Southern California to draw crowds to learn his expertise. He was an expert angler with a reach that spanned from Mexico to California, Oregon, Washington, Canada and Alaska, and he inspired a generation of anglers to follow and take part in his adventures.

Cannon’s book is a rare, outdoors classic. It was written with great style and a unique mastery of the sport. Rare, well-thumbed copies are found online or in bookshops occasionally, thereafter to be treasured as one of the finest outdoors books ever published. He covered the Pacific coast from Baja north to Alaska, with many of his favorite spots detailed along the entire route. His 150-page “Fish Identification” details 203 species that include: names, drawings, size, color, range, bait, tackle, and whether common or rare. In the character of the era, he referred to a Great white shark as a “Man-eater.”

Though not as famous as John Muir, Raymond Cannon held similar renown among anglers as the poetic scribe of Southern California and Baja waters.

KEITH FRASER

Fraser is a sturgeon master, results-only conservationist, bird lover, educator, 40-year baseball coach, champion of youth and bait man. Bait and tackle shops come and go, but Fraser and his crew hit their 40th anniversary this weekend at his little shop, Loch Lomond Live Bait in San Rafael.

He's 6-foot-5, thin, razor sharp, gruff with politicians, kind to children and always old school, like Clint Eastwood in "Gran Torino." His wife, Gloria, puts up with him.

Out on the water, his rod tip wiggled, and he just sat there with his arms folded. "Flounder," muttered Fraser, able to discern all species by their bites. "Damn flounder."

He reeled in the flounder, let it go and said, "Where's Mr. Sturgy?"

Big numbers

Before Fraser revealed his secrets, many anglers believed it took 20 to 40 hours of fishing to catch a sturgeon, a lifetime to get a 100-pounder. In my first three trips with him, we fished 11 hours, caught and released eight over 50 pounds. I caught 150- and 100-pounders on back-to-back casts.

Nobody believed any of this, so I asked Fraser to keep an exact count of his bites, sets and fish on his trips, which usually span just two to four hours, during the peak time of an outgoing tide.

The numbers tell the story: 41 trips, 86 sturgeon (keepers over 46 inches, two over 200 pounds), all released unharmed. Over this period, he missed only 10 sets, known at KFMPs (Keith Fraser Missed Pumpers). In one period, he had 26 straight bites without a missed set, which obliterated my best streak of 14 straight.

A key to Fraser's success is that he invented a rod cradle for sturgeon fishing. The rod sits on top of it. When you get a bite, it's often so quick that you're late, or you move the rod, spook the fish and it's gone. Instead, when a sturgeon starts to taste the bait, Fraser tips the rod forward, using the end of the board as an axis point, careful not to move the bait.

Waiting to pounce

Fraser then gets in strike position, like a gunslinger waiting for his opponent to draw. If the rod tip is pulled down the slightest bit, often so subtly the untrained would never see it, Fraser sets the hook home like it's a 250-pounder. Sometimes it is.

"What I love about it is that with every bite, you don't know if it's a shaker or a 200-pounder," Fraser said. "The anticipation is unreal as you get ready to set the hook. It's like sticking your finger in a light socket. And it's right here in the bay, 15 minutes from the dock."

Watching the bay-delta fisheries decline has been heartbreaking for Fraser, who dedicated much of his life trying to restore sturgeon, striped bass and salmon populations.

As the founding president of United Anglers, he was a results-only force who intimidated politicians, whom he scorned as life-forms equivalent to potted plants.

He was involved with victories that include the 10-year revival of the striped bass fishery, getting a ban on gillnets that kill marine birds and other sea life, reducing the dumping of dredged mud spoils in the bay, raising millions of dollars for all bay fisheries, and new laws to raise size limits to protect juvenile fish and create a maximum size limit to protect large spawning sturgeon. Of course, many people were involved in each of these conservation wins.

As a former English teacher with a degree from Cal, Fraser can deliver charged eloquence that stirs crowds into froths. A few of his gems:

-- On the decline of bay fishing: "The decline of fishing in the bay and delta will serve as a testimonial to future generations as to man's ability to screw up a good thing."

-- On the delta pumps: "Our government can put a man on the moon but can't design a screen to stop the fish from being sucked down the pumps."

-- On government's onus: "The state has taken the striped bass and salmon from our waters at the delta pumps, so why the hell shouldn't the state then assume the burden for replacing them?"

-- On closing fishing: "Shutting fishing down is like cutting off a guy's toe because his finger hurts. It's the ultimate government cop-out."

-- On studies instead of action: "We shouldn't have to wait until the patient dies before we prescribe the proper medication."

-- On lack of field expertise: "A seagull perched on the railing of a ship in the Mothball Fleet knows as much about the sturgeon population as (the Department of) Fish and Game and other so-called experts."

-- On money vs. nature: "There will always be poachers and polluters. Greed is a never-ending enemy to the well-being of our bay."

-- On water politics: "There is a never-ending supply of politicians who would gladly divert every drop of water from Northern California to the San Joaquin Valley and Southern California. All that concerns them is their cell phones, their deals and the almighty dollar."

Yet Fraser softens among children, birds and his dogs, like Rooster Cogburn getting his heart melted by Mattie Ross. He has donated hundreds of free trips to take youngsters fishing, has a flock of wild birds that he feeds every morning ("they have more personality than a lot of people"), and his little dogs, like Daisy and Salty, are always aboard for fishing trips.

On our trip, we put the set to a few fish, enjoyed the fight and then, like always, released them all. Because of Fraser's influence and knowing that sturgeon can live to be 70 years old and more than 400 pounds (my life best), I haven't killed a sturgeon for 25 years.

- Tom Stienstra

TOM STIENSTRA

An American author, outdoorsman and columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Tom Stienstra is the consummate outdoorsman and conservationists. He has written numerous guidebooks on the California outdoors including Moon's California Camping, the best-selling and longest running outdoor guidebook series in America. His Moon Pacific Northwest Camping is an Oregon best seller.

In 2018, the Outdoor Writers Association of America awarded Stienstra 1st Place, Outdoor Recreation Photo of the Year. In 2017, the National Academy of Television awarded the Emmy for Health, Science and Environment Special to Stienstra and co-producer Jim Schlosser for their PBS Special, "The Mighty T -- the Tuolumne River." The PBS Special also won the President's Award from the Outdoor Writers Association of America as the best outdoors television show of any kind for the year in America. At the OWAA annual conference, Stienstra was the organization's only member recognized for first-place awards in newspaper, radio and television.

In 2015, Stienstra became America's first outdoors writer to win "The President's Award" as "Best of the Best" for the fourth time from OWAA, when he won best story of the year in the Newspaper Newspaper/Website division at the organization's annual awards banquet in Knoxville. The winning entry was “Paddling with giants,” published in the August 5, 2014 editions of the San Francisco Chronicle. To become a finalist for the President's Award, that story won first place in the Outdoor Fun and Adventure Category of the Newspaper/Website Contest. He is one of OWAA's most awarded members, and in 2009, he won first place for best outdoors column in America.

ED RICE

Ed Rice was founder of the International Sportsman's Exposition, a world-champion fly fisher, and the only living member voted unanimously into the California Outdoors Hall of Fame.

Ed grew up outside of Chico. Like many country boys, Rice fished and hunted everywhere within range. By the time Ed was in his 20s, his range expanded around the world.

He fished in 40 countries on six continents, across North America and had 88 different weeks in Alaska.

In the process, he caught 242 species of fish on a fly rod, more than anybody in the world. Rice is believed to be the only fly fisher to have caught (and released at the boat) the grand slam of the Caribbean twice in three days -- the tarpon, bonefish and permit.

As a maverick promoter, Rice invented the most copied sports show in the world. He featured instruction by experts, a model in North America. He also was the only promoter in America to donate free booth space to conservation groups and fly in world-renown anglers from across the hemisphere.

Rice created sport shows in Sacramento, San Mateo, Eugene, Portland, Seattle, Denver, Phoenix and Southern California.

He was also inducted into the Federation of Fly Fishers Hall of Fame.

For his last trip, he asked fellow Hall member Tom Stienstra to take him to Rufus Woods in northeastern Washington. Though he was blind, he still was the top rod on the lake.

At one trip there, he had 14 straight casts with 3- to 10-pounders. He missed the set on one, then had another run of 11 straight. All catch and release.

At one point, driving up the lake, he asked Tom to move aside at the wheel. "Are there any boats ahead of us?" he asked. "No? Then I'll take the wheel. Move aside my boy." He pushed forward on the throttle and powered ahead while Stienstra watched for obstacles.

"Man, that fresh air in my face . . . feels good."

DICK POOL

Dick Pool started as a tackle inventor with innovative underwater film techniques and then advanced as a leader for the conservation of California salmon and steelhead for more than 30 years. He developed an underwater system to film and watch salmon lures being trolled, and with the information then invented the Salmon Rotary Killer and helped open up the world of downrigger trolling on the California coast.

Pool has served on numerous state and federal salmon advisory committees and has testified as an expert witness on salmon issues before the California Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives. His appointments include the California Fish and Game Upper Sacramento Salmon and Steelhead Advisory Committee; the advisory committee on winter-run salmon for the National Marine Fisheries Service; and the Board of Directors for the American Sportfishing Association.

“When we figured out how to film trolled lures and then watched a big salmon make 17 passes at a lure without getting hooked, it was like watching the greatest secret show on Earth,” Pool said.