The Fly Shop of Miami was the perfect place to learn about fly fishing the saltwater flats from Miami to Key West when David Olsen was the Managing Partner, Certified Master Casting Instructor, casting tournament champion, and Umpqua Commercial Fly Tyer—photo by Skip Clement.
David Olsen was a good boss and friend and a great fly caster – the best I have ever witnessed
By Skip Clement
David Olsen, a friend of a quarter century and my boss for a time, passed away in September. His ability to fly cast any fly rod, no matter its design purpose, was remarkable.
At the time of his death, he managed White’s Tackle in Vero Beach, Florida.
The natural
David was like Roger Federer but with a fly rod. He appeared to be doing little because it looked so effortless. Every cast of anything from a 6-foot bamboo rod to a 14-foot Spey rod and anything in between was always rhythmic. But the open-mouth awe was not necessarily the amazement of how far he could send a fly but how little it took to get a fly to so neatly land on target every time.
It mattered little to him
If the trend in fly rods went to super-fast action, it meant little to him. It was never an interruption requiring time to figure it out. I was convinced he could cast a flag pole perfectly on the first go.
An example of David’s casting skill
At a regional symposium held decades ago at a Kissimmee, Florida, resort, David asked me to be a backup at the Miami Fly Shop booth. I worked as the weekend guy at the sister shop in Ft Lauderdale, filling in for Dave Goldberg, the store Manager.
The Kissimmee resort show was poorly attended, and on the last day, the promoters staged a makeshift casting skills event with memorably forgettable prizes.
There was the usual distance event
I wanted to try it, so I signed up for the parking lot event with my IM8-rated 7-weight fly (-foot rod made in Miami. It was a slow-loading rod, its flaw, but it only cost $99 and suited my walk-in South Florida canal fishing needs. It couldn’t cast 80-feet no matter how hard I tried.
Dave was an excellent fly fishing teacher, especially casting. Here at a Fly Shop of Miami hosted event held at a resort in Miami with Chico Fernandez and Flip Pallot in 2010. Dave works with a Miami executive to fine-tune his technique.
I wasn’t expecting to win the distance event
David stood by, encouraging me to try the distance event. However, during warmups, guys let their hookless flies rip beyond my 70-foot limit.
I told Dave I could never win the distance but had a chance at the accuracy event. The accuracy event was staged as a series of three rings set out at 40-feet, one at 30-feet, and one at 30-feet with an obstacle requiring a cast with a turn to the left or right. I cannot remember which.
At the last minute, David decided to enter the distance event, borrowing my wimpy 7-weight. I warned him. The winning distance into a slight breeze was 138-feet, beating out the second contender’s 119-feet by a guide friend of David’s from the Orlando, Florida, area. Each contestant had three tries. David only took one try, 138-feet. He gave the prize to a tearful little girl who competed in the juvenile event (12-year-old limit) and had come in second to a boy who needed a shave.
I was ready for the accuracy event
Coming from South Florida, bending a fly left or right to avoid an obstacle was everyday stuff, and the wimpy rod would pay off on the short casts.
Shite, it ‘ain’t’ easy hitting a Hula Hoop at 40-feet
Contenders’ casts that didn’t land in the circle were tag-marked. One person hit about 6-inches outside the hoop circle and looked like he would be a winner.
Dave cast the last of the seven contestants. Dave was the only one to hit the circle interior. David also won the 30-foot hoop, landing a few inches short of dead center. I won the curved cast, and Dave came second.
Bonefish illustration by Thom Glace. David was an enthusiastic catch-and-release Albula vulpes and tarpon angler.
It was decided there would only be one winner
David’s cast was the last of the seven contestants. He borrowed my rod again. Dave was the only one to hit the circle interior. David also won the 30-foot hoop, landing a few inches short of the hoop ring. I won the curved cast, and Dave was second.
It was decided there would only be one winner
So, David, with my rod, won the post-rules conference, ruling that there would only be one winner (they only had one prize left to give). The rules committee called three different events one event. David gave me the memorably forgettable prize, and I gave it to a bystander kid and made his day.
David Olsen was a good boss and a great fly caster—the best I ever witnessed. He was also an avid flats fishery habitat protector and, thus, a strong supporter of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust.
