Favorite remembrances of Flaptail

[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.

[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.