If you have been to Craig in the last decade then you have probably seen Jimmy B. He has been on the staff at CrossCurrents, fished Trico’s all morning long, chased risers eating Caddis after dark, and once he caught bobberitis when someone snuck a nymph rig into his boat. The inventor of the Jimmy’s Bugger, an Orvis Zero Gravity rod tester, and soft hackle swinging king one could say this man has done it all.

The heat of summer and lack of dry fly fishing has sent Jim back to his home base in Mountain Home, AR. I call it his home base because Jim only spends minimal time in his back yard fishing The White River. The rest of the time he is scouring Montana for big browns, fishing in the salt for various sea critters, or visiting fly fishing lodges around the globe. This life of chasing fish is what he calls “retirement” but we all know he is just a professional trout bum.

Since Jim’s departure the days have gotten a little slower around the shop. We aren’t sure if it’s just because there isn’t someone sitting at the door heckling the staff about their poor work ethic or if we just miss the distraction of his stories. Anyways, there is a bad case of the Jimmy B. blues going around. It’s disappointing to know we might have to wait until next summer to see that white truck cruise in with a camper on top and skiff in tow. We are all looking forward to his return. It’s great to have his knowledge around the shop and on the river. Maybe if we are lucky we will see him this fall tossing that Jimmy’s Bugger out on the river.