In Membrance of Mr. Jimmy Charron

[ddawatson]

According to an email received yesterday, Mr. Jimmy Charron passed away two days ago from a heart attack.

I did not know Mr. Charron well, only in passing small conversations. He seemed to be a highly focused and personal man, and I respected his space.

What I do know is that all of the guides in the Southern Catskill area are in awe of his expertise in knowledge of the rivers, hatches and other tangibles surrounding the Delaware River system. Additionally, this gentleman is regarded as the finest fly caster in the area. His reputation of easily hitting long casts on a moment's notice is well known by many insiders in the area.

I have two vivid memories of Mr. Charron:

1.) Watching Mr. Charron provide casting instruction and demonstrating his smooth style to many budding fly fisherman-students at Al Caucci's casting area in the back of his hotel suite. I knew, after watching this gentlemen effortlessly rollout the line, that this moment of admiration of his mechanics and grace were a memory I needed to hold.

2.) During a long guided trip down the Delaware River with Ryan from Al Caucci's shop, Ryan and I talked about guides and soon it moved to discussion of his personal moment's of awe surrounding the fishing in the area. He specifically mentioned that during a personal off-day, he and Jimmy fished together while on a float trip down the Delaware River. Ryan vividly pointed out that a breaking fish was spotted way across the river, and he knew that his longest cast and even the slightest thought of hitting that target would be too late and short. Delaware fish are notorious for being quick targets. Not for Jimmy, however. He quickly double hauled his cast in the matter of seconds, hit the target and promptly hooked the fish on an extremely long cast. Just another day for this modern-day Jesse James. Guides like Ryan are not easily impressed, yet Mr. Charron left deep impressions within the tight circle of the elite professionals in the area.

I wish his family well, and I hope that they realize that his reputation even reaches across state lines down here in Maryland. His ashes are to be spread on the West Branch of the Delaware, near Balls Eddy. How appropriate.


Sincerely,


Dennis T. Watson
A Jesse James admirer