[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 148 (2002), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 5165]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MILTON FISHER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                          HON. DARLENE HOOLEY

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 18, 2002

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize 
the life and legacy of one of our Nation's leading sportsmen and 
environmentalists. Milton Lee Fischer, of Nehalem, Oregon, recently 
passed away in a traffic accident near his home in Nehalem.
  Milton, who was a California native, was one of the top fly-fishing 
guides in the world. He was also a fierce advocate for maintaining and 
improving the health of the streams he fished. Despite the large number 
of trout and steelhead that he caught, Milton nearly always released 
the fish, including hatchery fish. Milton's fly-fishing guests would be 
treated to lessons in conservation and biology, at the same time 
learning from his expert fly-fishing technique.
  Milton used a slack-line fly-fishing technique developed in 
California for catching small stream trout that very few people are 
able to master. When most anglers would hang up their fly rods for the 
winter steelhead season, Milton would still be leading trips along the 
small streams of Oregon's northern coast.
  The Oregonian newspaper quoted him as saying, ``You give me equal 
conditions and I think I have as good or better chance of hooking a 
winter steelhead as anyone with bait. In fact, I'll follow you 
downriver and still find the fish.'' Milton's confidence came from his 
long hours spent perfecting his casting, as well as his broad knowledge 
of the biology and ecology of the rivers he fished. His business, River 
House and Pleasure Outfitters, was a favorite among fishermen and 
sportsmen across the country, including Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber.
  Mr. Speaker, very few people rise to the top of their profession. The 
consensus among both amateur and professional anglers is that Milton 
Fischer was among a handful of the most elite fly-fishermen in the 
world. Please join me in honoring the memory of this outstanding 
American.

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