The world is a little grayer today because one of us has moved on to fish new waters and join old friends that have preceded him. Wilf Kipp has passed away at the age of 87 and those of us that knew him will take comfort knowing he left the world a better place than he found.

I first met Wilf and his fishing partner Bob Allen when I moved to Kamloops and foolishly decided to get involved with the BCWF. They decided that I was kind of dumb but I had potential. They both proceeded to remind me of that fact for many years but at the same time shared their knowledge and their vision with me and anyone who would listen. Much of the recreation that we share today came about because of that vision and Wilf's unflinching ability to use every opportunity that presented itself to put forth those visions. Many's the Government MLA that learned the hard way to accept Wilf's suggestion at the beginning of the conversation rather than wait to test the waters and suffer the pain.

Wilf's word was his bond. He had the type of integrity that insisted on that and he insisted that others kept their word as well. He had little time for empire builders or single interest spokespeople. He had all kinds of time, however, for people that had a global vision of the region even if that vision was different than his. Many's the time fishing trips were postponed because he ran into a cattleman or a logger he liked and they chose to discuss the future of the world while sitting on pick-up tailgates. Sometimes they even agreed but never was there animosity displayed or voices raised. For the fishing partner it was an incredible educational experience. Wilf was an accomplished angler and one of the best shot gunners when hunting migratory birds. His flybox could not be described as a thing of beauty since most of his flies resulted from salvaged materials that were then mounted on hooks that became beat to ribbons by fish and then returned to the box for future use. His favorite fly was the Idaho Nymph but all of you can look forever and you'll never find the pattern. I learned early on that you needed to go beside the boat to see the fly he was using because none resembled the names he gave them.

Wilf had all kinds of time for new anglers. It was not unusual to see him pull anchors and row over to a newby having trouble and spend an hour with them. All of the help was accompanied with observations about the world around the boats so the lesson would be remembered and the pupil would understand their place on the waters. Partings would always be cheerful and several flys would be donated before he would row back and proceed to out fish the rest of us.

Other of you will have memories of Wilf as well. Whether you met him in a meeting to discuss the resource, at a work party to improve access to waters or even at the World Flyfishing championship where he hosted the venue I'm sure you'll feel a sense of loss. We all will, but knowing Wilf, he would probably tell you to continue to work for the resource and your fellow anglers and, sometime, when the moon is full and the sedges are flying raise a glass of Crown Royal and toast the privilege that you and he are allowed to share.

Phil Hallinan
Past President