Channeling Ernie

I’ve been lost in his words once more…

Just yesterday the mail arrived with a book to add to my angling library: “The Complete Schwiebert” a 1990 compilation edited by John Merwin. I ripped away the packaging with gusto and settled in immediately!

A legendary angler, scholar, world traveler and captivating writer, Dr. Ernest G. Schwiebert, Jr. passed on just over nineteen years ago, on December 10, 2005. All who dream of tying and casting a fly owe Ernie a great debt, for he more than any other transcribed the essence of the magic we encounter on bright water.

From boyhood spent on rivers and streams in Michigan, he developed the inquiring mind and thoughtful intelligence that would lead him to a wholly remarkable life, a life he was thankfully inspired to share with his brothers of the angle.

I met him three times, the first in the infancy of my own angling journey. Then I found myself so awed that our conversation was brief and respectful. I failed to find the words to engage him in lengthy conversation, though his kind, gentlemanly manner offered the opportunity.

Our second meeting came at an angling book show in Carlisle, Pennsylvania where I was introduced by my mentor, the great fly tyer and angler Ed Shenk. The two were well acquainted from years earlier, seasons spent upon the nearby Letort. This time I managed a bit of small talk, offering praise for his books and questions regarding his current impressions of the fair limestone springs that had so fervently captured my heart.

Our third meeting was truly special. I had sat enthralled with his presentation at the annual banquet of the Fly Fishers Club of Harrisburg the night before and was surprised and delighted when he arrived at a gathering held streamside by the Big Spring Watershed Association the following afternoon. The group had finally convinced the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection of the pollution from the Fish and Boat Commission’s ill-conceived hatchery that had been strangling this legendary limestoner for decades. Schwiebert, ever the conservationist, retained a deep affection for the Cumberland Valley spring creeks, and was interested to see what was being done to protect and restore these legendary waters.

We walked along the stream and talked, one on one for a couple of hours, he borrowing a rod to make a few symbolic casts at one point. We spoke of the troubles of Big Spring and the need to shutter the State’s hatchery, as well as the first positive signs of recovery. He mentioned some successes with restoration efforts on the historic Broadhead’s Creek. As the first President of the Henryville Flyfishers, he had a long history with that hallowed ribbon of trout water.

In his 1998 book chronicling that history, Schwiebert made a valid case for the Broadhead’s place as a focal point for the beginnings of fly fishing in America. It was clear from his conversation that he remained haunted by that lovely stream, and he urged me to fish it when I divulged the deep interest in our angling history which had drawn me to the Cumberland Valley.

I didn’t manage to find my way to Broadhead’s Creek during those next two years, and my heart sank to read of Schwiebert’s passing late in 2005. I still have not made the journey.

When this New Year 2025 draws nigh to it’s close, the twentieth anniversary of his death will stand before us. Time seems to pass in brilliant flashes. Perhaps this year I will make my way to Ernie’s Broadhead’s at last; to cast a fly and offer thanks for all of the beauty he shared with us!