Meet the Co-Author

Release day is getting closer and closer for Fly Fishermen of Caldwell County. We've even selected a subtitle that explains everything: North Carolina Life Stories. That way the reader isn't confused about what is in store. This is not a "how to fly fish" book. It is a collections of life stories about twenty-eight fly fishermen of the county where I live, Caldwell County.

For three years one of those same fly fishermen collected the stories (and wrote his own chapter). He visited. He made phone calls. He followed up on suggestions. He took a chance and stepped into his uncharted waters of writing a book. It's been a bumpy ride, but like the true adventurer he is, he sailed through with flying colors.

Let me introduce him to you.

Ron Beane

He brought the materials to me...raw materials in some cases. We interviewed a few fishermen and came up with chapters from those. We revised. We selected photographs. We debated style and format, details like font and placement on the page. We revised again. And again. And even with the final proof in our hands, we found issues that needed attention. Whew!

Each chapter starts with a profile of the fisherman, a list of vitals important to understanding the individual before the reader can continue. Here's Ron's: 

Favorite fishing rod - Winston 8′ 4 wt with either an Orvis Battenkill reel or a Ross reel with a 4 wt-forward air cell supreme fly line, and never with a tippet shorter than 9′

 

Favorite flies – Wulff, the Beane Wulff and the Caddis flies sizes 14, 16, or 18

 

Favorite angling waters – Streams that are known for holding browns

 

Largest fish caught – In the 20″ plus class

 

Fishing partners - Son, Dr. Scott Beane, and his daughter and my granddaughter, Peyton Beane; Cap Wiese, Cecil Harman, and Joe McDade; Randy Benfield and Jim Childers

You know, important stuff.

After it was all said and done, we still weren't said and done. We had to insert the upfront and online info like key words for the search engines and author description. Here's Ron's:

• North Carolina native, Ron Beane, is a former teacher, coach and school administrator. During his tenure as a Caldwell County (NC) Commissioner, a local stream, Wilson Creek, was designated as a Wild and Scenic River. Serving on the National Public Lands Steering Committee and the State of North Carolina’s Clean Water Management Trust Fund Committee gave him a greater appreciation for protecting natural resources and for passing on that passion to our younger generation “to pick up the mantle and carry on.” Through his love of fly fishing, he was fortunate to have met and fished alongside several extraordinary men with equally extraordinary life stories that he felt needed to be preserved. Fly Fishermen of Caldwell County, North Carolina is his response. Ron and his wife live in western North Carolina. They have two children and four grandchildren.

I can't wait for you to read the book, but be ready. Some chapters are real tear jerkers and some will have you rolling in the rivers.

Catch of the day,

Gretchen