Love of the River
There's nothing easy about the Sol Duc River. Rising in the rugged northern Olympics, it's a notoriously steep, rocky boat-eater with unrivaled beauty and a reputation for not giving up its secrets easily. It also holds the largest population of bruiser-class steelhead and salmon on the Coast. All of which makes it absolutely perfect for J.D. Love.
J.D.'s been living and working on the Sol Duc since the late '70s, and it's fair to say he's developed a deeper understanding of its fish and fly water than nearly any other human being. Back when he started, fly anglers were so rare, during the few times he saw one, J.D. says he felt like "running up and giving them a hug." Which might partially explain why fly fishing was so slow to take hold here in the first place.
These days, J.D. is on the water 250 days a year, guiding anglers of all abilities in one of the most challenging fisheries on the planet. Whether it's steelhead, salmon, trout or char, in these parts, if you can't cast, you might as well be sitting on the couch watching TV.
That makes J.D. the ideal person to work with Sage rod designer Jerry Siem in the quest to perfect our new Z-Axis rods. Beyond his own expert opinion, he can offer perspectives on fly rod performance through the eyes of his clients. The goal, of course, is to create rods like the 11-foot Z-Axis prototype that helped an 80-year-old client cover the water, while becoming the go-to rod for some of his most vigorous anglers as well. We probably won't be getting that one back.
Even after all these years, when he thinks about the next day's fishing, J.D. frequently gets so excited he tosses and turns at night. "Hey, I'm still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up," he says. In the meantime, his goal is to have fun and learn something new every day. In our estimation, he's doing a damn fine job of it.
J.D.'s been living and working on the Sol Duc since the late '70s, and it's fair to say he's developed a deeper understanding of its fish and fly water than nearly any other human being. Back when he started, fly anglers were so rare, during the few times he saw one, J.D. says he felt like "running up and giving them a hug." Which might partially explain why fly fishing was so slow to take hold here in the first place.
These days, J.D. is on the water 250 days a year, guiding anglers of all abilities in one of the most challenging fisheries on the planet. Whether it's steelhead, salmon, trout or char, in these parts, if you can't cast, you might as well be sitting on the couch watching TV.
That makes J.D. the ideal person to work with Sage rod designer Jerry Siem in the quest to perfect our new Z-Axis rods. Beyond his own expert opinion, he can offer perspectives on fly rod performance through the eyes of his clients. The goal, of course, is to create rods like the 11-foot Z-Axis prototype that helped an 80-year-old client cover the water, while becoming the go-to rod for some of his most vigorous anglers as well. We probably won't be getting that one back.
Even after all these years, when he thinks about the next day's fishing, J.D. frequently gets so excited he tosses and turns at night. "Hey, I'm still trying to decide what I want to be when I grow up," he says. In the meantime, his goal is to have fun and learn something new every day. In our estimation, he's doing a damn fine job of it.
