Favorite remembrances of Flaptail

[nightfighter]

I loved how he would post stories and photos of fishing the Cape in early March, "Adventures with Stiffy", and the numerous trips with George. He was a master of the verbal needle as well as the wood!
I've also included a couple of his sketches, which demonstrate his love of the fish, as well as his friends...

[JohnR]

There are a lot of memories but one that I will always remember is running into him on one of the back beaches one night and just fishing and talking about everything under the moon.

Great conversation, the kind you have in near solitude while casting.

[spence]

I remember the sketches, great folksy quality to them...

-spence

[UserRemoved1]

I enjoyed most anything he wrote. He was a wealth of knowledge. I loved those sketches too.

Any time he traded barbs with George and Stiffy were the best.

Olive White needle discussions. We always talked for a while at every show in the booth. He always had good things to say.

I was going to ask him to speak at my surfday show

George I feel bad for you more than anyone else. You will be remembered for the things you did for him.

[Backbeach Jake]

Fishing the "Pipe" with him on a rainy, raw windy May day. Like today. Catching fish and looking like drowned rats, smiling the whole time.
Reading his, numby and stiffy's barbed filled posts and knowing the love and respect that was behind all that.
His impromptu lectures on fishing, like drinking from a firehose, so much knowledge in that man's head.
Taught me HOW to read Daignault's books . How information was hidden between the lines.
Man, I'm gonna miss Flap..but I'm very grateful that our paths crossed.

[ProfessorM]

This post is what I will miss most.
http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripert...ito-fleet.html

We both shared a real luv for this particular stretch of beach and fishing it in tin boats. I will miss seeing him out there this spring, big tall goofy guy standing in a little boat. I will miss his PM telling me that the fish are here as he would do most springs being he lived on Cape and I don't anymore. Gave him a one ups on me which I know, he luved, being the first to get that first fish every spring in that area, usually with Dave along side from shore. I would try to reciprocate some info and PM him that fishing from my boat the fish were stacked on Scorton Ledge in fall so he could fish another of his favorite shore areas, which he did with great results this year. He usually knew though but I felt it was common courtesy as he would clue me in, spring wise. I'll throw a few pond shiner sluggo's this spring and summer for him. Enjoy everyday to the fullest, it could be your last.

[BigFish]

I posted this story in the "Tall Tales" thread last week...but I will post it again!

One of the spots I fish infrequently is a spot that I knew Steve fished quite a bit....in fact I had fished it with him once before! Well one night a few weeks ago I go there fully expecting to bump into Steve! So I get there, and I slide into the water, and I see this big silhouette......he was one of the few people bigger than me that I would see out.....so I knew it was him! I got over within about 50 feet of him and I fished for awhile watching him and making sure it was in fact him.....he did not know it was me...not yet! So it was pretty quiet and I said loud enough for him to hear....."Boy.....I did not know they stacked it that high!".............Steve paused a moment, and I saw him begin to turn in my direction and he says to me....."Excuse me?"..... I busted out laughing because I think he was about to come over and address my comment so I said "Steve its me...Larry"......and we both laughed pretty good.....it was funny. We talked for awhile, fished and caught some nice fish! Steve was a truely gifted fisherman.....the guy could flat out fish....and he enjoyed it! The last time I went out was the same spot......I got there early and there was nobody else there....I pounded fish for awhile before anyone else showed up.....Steve came along......and we caught fish for awhile....and Numbscull showed up......we fished some more and Steve had to go. I saw him last at the MSBA meeting about 2 1/2 weeks ago.....he gave his usual informative and entertaining seminar. I helped him take his gear out to his truck, we shook hands and said goodbye. I had no idea that would be the last time I would see him......who thinks such a thing? I am glad I got to spend some time with Steve recently.....I will cherish the memories always, and I will think of him often I am sure as I fish. I learned more from Steve than anyone else........he will be missed.

Sidenote: I can't remember a meeting we ever had when he did not speak lovingly of his wife and his 2 daughters. Thats the kind of guy he was.....I am sure they will miss him greatly. He loved them so.

[Slingah]

Every time I ran into Steve, he always had something to talk about. I always listened contently as I knew I was being given a bit of well thought out information or advice. I had the pleasure of fishing with him twice, once on his turf, once on mine. It was like a history lesson when we were traveling back from his spot.....telling tales and spouting off facts pertaining to the area that we traveled. His passion, admiration and knowledge of the sport goes unrivaled.

[Jenn]

I never had the chance to meet him in person but yet loved him for what he could do with words. I often felt his articles were written just for me only because he captured exactly how I FELT while fishing these places. I think he touched a lot of people simply because he could share his passion "on paper" and in a way we could all relate. It may sound strange to say this about someone you never met but then again it isnt. It is no different I suppose than say reading a good book that changes you life or how a movie can make you cry. You may not have a face to face, real life encounter with the characters but yet it still evokes that true human emotion.


This ones for you Flap! I know you know right where this is and next time a I feel the "presence" there I hope you are part of that presence.

[TheSpecialist]

I remember running into him on a backside beach, he was with stiffy and they were meeting up with BM, Kadir, and Crazy Alberto. Talk about some great fishermen..

[piemma]

I could go into stories from the back but there are others here better suited to doing that. My fondest memory of Flap is something he taught me about turning wood.
I had just gotten a lathe and was having trouble figuring out how to turn correctly. He sent me a note saying that turning wood was like making love: You did it slow, easy and with skillful purpose.

[spence]

I also remember some years ago making a remark about most fishing writers not being that good, but I like the stuff from Dave Manzi and Joe Lyons...

He really didn't like that comment

-spence

[RoyL]

My biggest memory of Steve has to be the first time I met him. Molly Benjamine had wrote a two page article in the Cape Cod times about all my time spent on the water. Steve had read it and approached me at the MSBA expo about it. We ended up spending the whole day together talking fishing, swaping stories and techniques and then he introduced me to alot of guys on here. He was one of the first well known fisherman in our area that made me feel like someone.

[Slipknot]

I will always remember the way he would hold a plug he was inspecting up close and that way he tilted his head so his view around his glasses allowed him to get a good close up view of the plug and he would dissect it and critique it precisely. It was just one of those things I noticed about Steve, he was an individual for sure.

I was honored to have been given one of his pencil sketches last year at plugfest, I have plans to frame it and display it along with my only Flaptail plug, a purple needlefish plug he gave me years ago.

I always enjoyed reading his OTW beach reports and all his posts online, he knew what he was talking about.
I have some memories of fishing with him 6-7 years ago out on the outer beaches many times Bassmaster, Steve and myself would go out on what Steve would call Spaghetti Wednesday , we'd take turns driving, his truck one week, mine the next, Dave's the next after meeting up at Dave's house and fish from before sundown till well into the night chasing bass, the shadow line, the mung lines, fishing 10 ft seas with tins, you name it we did it. The stories and times were good.
Gonna miss Steve, glad I had a couple of chances to see him recently out fishing and at MSBA. It's gonna hurt for a while.
God Bless you Steve

[Sea Dangles]

When the dust settles I hope we,the fishing community,can think of something special to do annually as a way to remember someone who gave so much to those with the time to pay attention. Steve had always reminded all to embrace the history of the sport that consumes us. He knew nothing lasts forever,but I'm sure the memories will.

[BigFish]

Remember he hated tournaments.

[luds]

I didn't know him very well at all but he was friendly on the few occasions we met. He made quite an impact on me with many of his posts particularly when I was just getting into chasing fish. Most of all he taught me how to make a dusty basement into a world of refuge. For that I'm very thankful.

[justplugit]

Still remains in my mind's eye walking into my first Plugfest and seeing
this tall guy( Flap) along with a less tall guy (Karl F) walking together laughing and
exchanging barbs as Clammer came up to me with a big smile and outstretched
hand making me feel "at home".

All three became friends and were,along with many others,
showed me what the true meaning of S/B really stood for.

I'll always remember how proud he was of his original Gibbs, the Plug History Thread and his plug talks while BM and the crew would bust his chops, all in great fun..

Something about the snake like action of a needle.

[Luthier]

Where to start......

All the years we hung out together from first grade thru high school

All the summers, hanging around at his families' camp fishing in Charleton

All the years we traveled from Worcester to the Cape in the seventies and eighties coming down to fish the Cape beaches and canal.

All the times we fished in RI for stripers and squeteage.

All the times we stopped at tackle stores to add plugs to our collections on all the fishing trips and cruising around we would do

Along with hitting concerts and the like for a couple of decades....

With forty seven years of calling Steve my friend, it's hard to pick any single time that stood out the most. He will be missed greatly by myself and family.

Rest in peace, my friend. I will see you again when it's my turn.

Fran

[BigFish]

Luthier......you obviously go back aways with Steve.......I offer you my sincerest condolences on your loss. We will all miss him greatly.

[Luthier]

Bigfish

Thanks. Yeah, we go back a long way. Outside of family, Steve is the one person that I have known longest on this planet. We had some great times.

[BasicPatrick]

I was not close to Steve but we have known each other for quite a few years and our paths have crossed pths on many occasions and in the last few years we started talking more and fishing a bit as well. Like many I have more than one fond memory of Steve and my favorite memories have little to do with the catching of fish. Here are two of my favorites:

1. Steve used to openly tell a story about a sign on his lawn and the mistakes he made trying to balance being a good husband and father to a family he loved more than anything and being an obsessed fisherman. His open sharing of this has helped many. I found his willingness to share this as a sign of true humility, courage and love.

2. Some years ago when Steve gave up writing the insiders column for OTW, I asked him why he stopped writing the column? He told me that he was not willing to be dishonest and was also not willing to rewrite the same info from previous years. He felt that at a certain point a writer had to either change the subject or risk going stale or even worse. He was not willing to sell out his integrity and although I respect many in this business Steve is the only writer I have seen put that ethic into action.

In both of these cases Steve was a a great power of example I aspire to live up to.

[Rockfish9]

At the second plugfest I attended, Flap was looking over my "stash" he picked up a "40" that I had made and painted "old school".. he said he loved the paint,and as he examined the plug I could see the wheels truning in his mind ( on that day he taught me the fine art of HO'ing).. so I told him to take it...I wanted him to have it... he latter told me that he had taken it for a swim and that it's action was "spot on"... that IMHO, was great praise coming from him.. somehow, it still doesn't get rid of the lump that is in my throat right now....

[Tagger]

Originally Posted by Slipknot

I will always remember the way he would hold a plug he was inspecting up close and that way he tilted his head so his view around his glasses allowed him to get a good close up view of the plug and he would dissect it and critique it precisely. It was just one of those things I noticed about Steve, he was an individual for sure.

This also came to my mind . The way Flap would hold a plug .. Like it was precious . When ever a question came up at "plugfest"about a certain plug the reply was always the same "ask Flap". Last time I saw Flap was about 2 months ago . He was coming out of a path Capeside 6a after fishing the canal . I pulled over and we talked about fishing ,, about how "Numby" had some success recently with darters in the canal . I'm really fortunate to have some fond memories of running around the Islands all hours of the night with Flap and Numby.. Remember Flap and Numby came to Hull for a skunking one night. Flap gave me one of his own plugs he built .. Painted it with inks.. It looks vintage .. amazing work . Steve was a good guy . I'll never forget a big man they called Flaptail ...

[eastendlu]

This past spring he stopped by the house we were staying at to say hello and chat he had brought along the first plug ever made by Gibb's and a few others in a few look boxes and proceeded to tell us about the plugs and the history behind them.What i remember the most is the glee in his eyes as he was talking about Gibb's plugs.We also spoke about our families and how proud we both were of our daughters as Steve and i were about at the same point with our families.You meet many a person and make many friends and acquaintances as you journey through life Steve has made his mark in mine and i will forever be better for it.Thanks Steve.

[BassyiusMaximus]

I definitely did not know Mr. Shiraka other than his posts on here and having read his OTW reports over the years but one thing always stood out about him, and always stands out anytime I think of it, and that is/was fly-fishing.

I remember some years ago of how Flaptail told his story of how, for years, he was nothing but a flyfisherman, believing that any and all other fishing methods were "barbaric" at best. I really do think of him and his story any time I think of flyfishing or getting into it. It was a while before he admitted he came to his senses and realized that he was limiting himself by only waving the long wand.

Funny that whenever I think of flyfishing or getting into it, I'll always think of him.

[SAUERKRAUT]

Steve was having a very good fall season for his efforts and in his spots. I was doing just the opposite, making bad calls and not finding any fish to even squeak the drag. Steve calls me down one night. There I am hooked up to a panicked, shallow water 37 lb. bass just going zzzzzzz over the sandbar. So, Steve decides to just stop his own fishing to follow me around, yelling in my ear "are we having fun yet???!!"

After the tide and the fishing, we were talking about the impending winter and how we were going to miss all this. He said, "Yeah, sometime I wake up at night in the winter to the sound of zzzzzzzzzzzzzz."

The three of us (Xman: Numbskull) tend to C&R everything; however, I did kill this bass for our end of season, T.G.I.O. Party (tongue-in-cheek: Thank God It's Over!)-- in tribute to our season long suffering wives. I sent Steve this picture last week, and told him this is the fish we will celebrate. I made a big fish chowder with it. Steve died the morning of our celebration.

[bassmaster]

i use to love they way steve would eye hump lures. man some of the crap we use to say, and if he liked a plug he would just take it LOL
we caught alot of bass.........

[Dad 818]

I only met him twice and he made me feel like one of his best friends. Very outgoing, informative and personable.

I will miss he and numby's back and forth diatribe. Some of the best laughs I have had were reading those 2 going back and forth.

R.I.P. Flap.

[bassmaster]

Spaghetti Wednesday........
Ill never forget the day he got mugged and what he did on that beach LOL