I first met Eric when we were both young Directors of the Steelhead Society of BC, back in the early 70’s. The SSBC was having a meeting on Vancouver Island, at then President Barry Thornton’s house in Comox, I think it was. Both of us travelled to the Island with Secretary Cal Woods, as fine a man as was ever made.
The next day after the meeting, Barry took us all to his favorite river, the Oyster, where Eric and I being the young and super keen angling bucks, covered far more water than the older, more experienced, and definitely more patient senior directors ( gawd, wish I could remember them all but I think Dr. Joe Sladen was there, along with Jim Culp and Peter Broomhall) Well, as expected we caught more fish than the others and we felt pretty damn smug about that … till the next day when we had a few hours to fish before catching the ferry back to the mainland. Barry took us a single, long run in the lower river, where Eric and I were properly schooled by these seasoned and oh so skilled anglers! We were humbled, to say the least!
Later on, Eric, Cal and I fished the Cheakamous and Squamish twice, and they both came to fish my home river, the Vedder, a few times. Good times with good people.
Last time I saw Eric was perhaps 3 years ago when Lew Chater and I met him in the upper Chilliwack River when we were looking for garbage for a river cleanup. He was fishing for summer chinooks and after greetings, showed us a photo of a huge wild summer steelhead he had caught and released from the Seymour River just recently … the look on his face showing us that picture reminded me of him on the Oyster so many years ago.
Great memories, and RIP Eric.