The Fishing Diaries of Jack ShawThe Pleasure of His Company
Compiled by Ralph Shaw - Edited by Robert H. Jones - Illustrated by Larry E. StefanykIn his lifetime, internationally known fly fisherman Jack Shaw changed the face of fly fishing in British Columbia. He authored two best-selling books Fly Fish the Trout Lakes and Tying Flies for Trophy Trout on fly fishing and inspired fly fisherman around the world. Readers will learn intimate details spanning 19 years of Jack's fishing experiences through his personal diaries, and will find out how he discovered the secrets of making the imitator fly patterns for which he is famous. Jack also shares his secret fishing tips and personal observations which makes his diary an invaluable resource for those interested in the sport of fly fishing. About three years ago Ralph embarked on a journey to write a book based on these same 19 diaries. Little did he realize the monster task he was facing of condensing 19 diaries of his friend and teacher into one valuable book. Ralph started the project with funding from the BC Fly Fishing Federation, Doug Robertson, Dorothy Shaw, and other fly fishing clubs and members. When Ralph had them transcribed, the diaries had a staggering 322,000 words, thousands of 35 mm slides, additional stories, letters and fly fishing patterns. Between Bob Jones's professional editing and a great deal of deleting by Ralph, they managed to reduce the treasure of material to a book which they were pleased and more than a little proud of. Ralph says the book captures the magic of the attractor pattern conversion of the Bill Nation era to the transition period of imitation patterns by Jack Shaw and many of his pioneer colleagues such as Barney Rushton, John Dexhiemer, Hebe Smith, Cyril Pinchbeck, and many others who fished with this group. They were pioneers in a new method of fly-fishing. The diaries tell of successes and failures but throughout the years they reveal the wisdom of this talented man and his colleagues. Ralph self-published this book because he felt Jack's methods are special. He printed a limited edition of 150 copies at a cost of $135.00 each. Each limited edition is numbered, signed by himself and Larry Stefanyk, with a copy of Bob Jones's signature, who sadly passed away this summer before publication. This edition is leather bound, hardcover, in a cardboard shipping case and has a copy of Jack's famous Black and Gold Chironomid with a red tail displayed inside the front cover. The profit from the sale of the limited editions are being used to subsidize the cost of printing the regular first edition. The book is printed on environmentally-sensitive green paper. The limited editions have now been fully subscribed. The book has 70 hand-painted watercolours of Jack's flies by Larry Stefanyk, plus over 130 photographs of flies, fisherman, and scenery, most of which were taken by Jack Shaw. Ralph believes this special book on the history of fly fishing development, and fly fishing will make a great gift for any fly fisher. The regular first edition of this book is a conservation project with all proceeds going to the McQueen Lake Environmental Centre in Kamloops and the Freshwater Fisheries of BC, to assist in teaching children about the environment and how to fish. 
... about the authors
Ralph is an award-winning author and a lifelong fly fisherman. He has co-authored several books on fishing and writes a regular outdoor column for the Comox Valley Record. He also writes the end column for Island Fisherman magazine. In fly fishing circles, Ralph is best known for his promotion of the Tom Thumb fly as written about in "The Gilly". In 1984 Ralph received the Order of Canada for his work setting up the McQueen Lake Environmental Centre, McQueen Lake Environment Centre, an outdoor school in Kamloops BC, where students can learn about the natural environment. While not related to Jack Shaw by blood, Ralph and Jack were related by spirit. The fished together for more than 30 years.
Bob was known throughout Canada and the US as an award-winning outdoor writer specializing in recreational fishing. He personally wrote three books and co-authored many more, including the Compendium of Flies Canada which features more than 1500 patterns. He also edited and compiled Fly Fishing Canada: From Coast to Coast to Coast and has edited many other prominent fishing books. Bob first met Jack Shaw in 1989 while writing a feature for BC Outdoors Magazine. A lasting friendship developed and Bob went on to write and edit many articles about Jack. Sadly Bob passed away prior to the publication of this book, his final editing project. At the time of his death he was the editor of Island Fisherman Magazine.
Larry's hand-drawn illustrations of the files pictured throughout this book give an artist's impression of the soul of a fly book. If not found on a river or lake fly fishing for trout, or bobbing about on the ocean chasing salmon, Larry is usually at home in his studio drawing or engraving. Larry is the publisher of Island Fisherman magazine and has co-authored, with Bob Jones, books on recreational halibut, trout and salmon fishing on Vancouver Island. His paintings are in a number of collections, including the Granville Island Museum-Sport Fishing Museum.
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