Mike Folden, 1960-2021

There has been a lot of joy, along with a bit of frustration, since I “reenlisted” in fly fishing six years ago. (It seems like sixty!)

Catching fish on a fly I tied. Catching some really big fish. Helping my wife catch some really big fish. Improving my casting. Making a cast that both the boat captain and my boat mate congratulated me for . . . But really, the number-one joy has been the people I’ve had the privilege to meet.

What is it about fly fishing that seemingly 99.9 percent of the people involved are first-class men and women who will stop what they are doing to talk with and teach others who are passionately involved in this sport?

Among the top folks in this class was my friend Mike Folden.

Sadly, I have to say “was,” because Mike passed away on June 8, 2021, after a heroic battle with a rare lung disease.

Many of us knew Mike for his guiding on rivers on the North Coast, in the Sierra, and in the Sacramento Valley, as well as a sales associate at Orvis, Kiene’s Fly Shop, and most recently, at Fly Fishing Specialties in Citrus Heights.

Mike’s enthusiasm for fly fishing and fly tying was contagious, while his professionalism and personal demeanor (it was always about those he was talking with, and not about Mike himself) was a quality that stood out and was inspiring. The example he set of how to share with others while making things fun and memorable will always be with us.

Tight lines, my friend. May the big ones always bite hard, run fast, and jump high!

— Ed Migale

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