Guiding William Tapply by Dave Bollinger

Dave Bollinger wrote a nifty little piece about William Tapply, who recently passed away, and kindly consented to allow me to post in on the blog. It's a great story.

My First (and Only) Guiding Experience

by Dave Bollinger
 
I have spoken from time to time about my first and only "guiding" experience.
 
In 1996, at the request of the Tioga County Chamber of Commerce, I took Bill Tapply (of Field and Stream fame) fly fishing for trout on the Owego Creek and then fly fishing for carp! on the Susquehanna River. Bill came to Owego on that visit with his very close friend Marshall Dickman. We caught some beautiful trout in the creek but in the river no carp at all, even though there were hundreds in plain sight. We did stay late on the river and caught many smallmouths just as the white fly hatch was beginning. Bill stayed at Turkey Trot acres during his visit to Tioga County.
 
Bill and I remained friends through the years and kept in touch. He published many books (40!) on both fishing and as a mystery writer. He was a nice guy, great fisherman and writer and he will be missed.
 
You may better remember Bill's father Tap Tapply and his well-known book of years passed: Tap's Tips.

Bill was indeed a fine person and we spent the three days fishing and simply talking fishing. It was a great experience.


Thanks for the great story, Dave! It's a nifty account of a man who seems to have been universally liked. For those who missed it earlier in the week, here's a link to Bill Tapply's obituary.

-- Dr. Todd