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Most people have probably never heard of Lee and Joan Wulff -- unless of course you fly fish, whereby the two names are as well known as Caesar and Cleopatra. Lee Wulff is considered the father of modern fly fishing. As a young man, Wulff spent time in Paris learning the art of painting and watercolors in the 1920's before making his way to New York. He developed an intense interest in trout fishing and the art of angling. His interest in fly-tying and fly fishing occupied much of his time, but the need to make a living forced him to work full-time as a package designer at the Cellophane company. During the fishing season, on weekends he would drive six hours up to Vermont in a friend's Model A Ford to fly fish for trout. Wulff's love of fishing the streams of Vermont convinced him to become a freelance designer, allowing him more time to fly fish. This new immersion in fly fishing led to opportunities to write for sporting magazines and journals. By the 1940's, Wulff had become a well known writer, lecturer, photographer and fly-tier. He lived in a house on the Battenkill River in Vermont with his family. "I felt strongly that my boys should grow up in the country where they could have a private world of their own instead of being in New York City, where no child can ever escape the continual presence of grownups, whether it be on playgrounds, parks or vacant lots," Wulff wrote late in his life. One of Wulff's best know fly fishing creations was the Royal Wulff, which has probably been cast millions of times by hundreds of thousands of fly fishers.
In the 1950's, Wulff met Joan Salvato. A champion fly caster and avid fly fisher, their relationship resembled that of Georgia O'Keefe and Alfred Stieglitz, filled with passion for their art and life. The two were married and Joan Wulff became as pivotal as Lee in the advancement of fly fishing. The two opened a fly fishing school at Lew Beach, New York in 1979, where thousands still learn the graceful arts of casting and fly-tying. Sadly, Lee Wulff died when his airplane crashed on April 28, 1991. Flying was Wulff's other great love in life and many could think of no more fitting way for Wulff to leave this realm. Today, Joan Wulff is probably the best known fly fisher in the world. Her books, videos and lectures on fly casting are the standards by which all others are measured. Her dedication to technique and teaching have created a following that shows no sign of slowing. To learn more about The Wulff School of Fly Fishing, go to www.royalwulff.com.
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