Something about fly fishing—and in particular, fly fishing for trout—brings some of the world’s best artists to a rather forgotten corner of the world. There’s no doubt many of the writers, painters, and photographers could make significantly more money in a different line of work, but like the rest of us trout nerds, these fish are alluring enough that we often check our common sense at the door.
One such artist who I’m sure could be successful in any discipline he picked is Bob White. You’re probably familiar with Bob’s paintings, even if you haven’t heard his name. His paintings accompanied John Gierach’s column in Fly Rod & Reel Magazine for over a decade, and they’re still appearing alongside the late Gierach’s yet-to-be-release work in Trout Magazine.
That’s just the tip of the iceberg for Bob’s career. Like many of us, though, his love for fly fishing, and all things outdoors, started when he was a young boy.
The Fishing Bug
“When I was a little kid, all the fishing and hunting magazines relied a lot more on art than they do today,” Bob told me one rainy afternoon this fall. “The first photos in those magazines were kind of grainy, almost newspaper photographs. I was exposed to a bunch of sporting art as a kid. I found that artwork to be transformative for me. I enjoyed the articles, but it was the artwork that drew my attention and kept me there.”
Like many of us, Bob fell into his career by accident. He’d never set out to become a sporting artist. In fact, he graduated from college with a degree in psychology and worked as a counselor for kids and their families for three years. After one particularly trying day, Bob was at his evening job at a sporting goods store, which he kept because “he wanted to be around people whose biggest concerns were what the fish were eating, or what shotgun shell to use.”
Guiding
He knew a man there who’d recently been to Alaska and asked to be put in contact with the lodge owner. That lodge owner took a liking to Bob, who’s been guiding in Alaska ever since. He also guides in South America, as well.
“Once I got my job in Alaska, I had my winters free, so I started painting again,” Bob said. “Painting my experiences I had in Alaska.”
“I’d have a little art show one night a week at the lodge, and I sold out all of my work, and was able to trade time painting and guiding, then I woke up 40 years later, and here I am.”
Bob’s most memorable fish he’s caught was actually on a guide trip, but not in Alaska. He was guiding a client named Ron, an older gentleman who saved up to fish with Bob in Argentina. Since Ron was older and knew he’d probably never do another trip like that, he wanted to fish in Chile while down there. So, Bob and Ron set off on a bus for Chile, where they spent time fishing at a lake.
“Ron caught his first fish on a dragonfly, just a really cool experience to be a fly on the wall, in the boat with him. I felt like I caught it, but he pulled the trigger on it. I actually have a photograph of him in the studio from that trip. It was a brown trout in Chile, probably 14 or 16 inches long. But he caught it throwing into a pocket in the reeds where the fish were feeding on dragonflies.”
In Bob’s own words, guides often view the fish their clients catch as “their own catches” too.
“As a guide, you come home at the end of the day, I’ll talk to my wife about the fish I caught, but I was never holding the rod,” he told me. “Is there a differentiation between the most memorable trout I caught or guided? I’m a much better guide than I am a fisherman.”
Current Work
These days, Bob focuses a lot on painting reflected color and light.
“There’s probably nothing that allows you to explore that more than a trout,” he said. “They’re all just color and reflected light. Each one is like a little jewel; they’re all different.”
He’s shying away from painting fish portraits and focusing more on almost macro-style shots of details of the fish, with very limited human interference.
“I’m still drawn to painting fish, but it’s less about the fish and more about the color and reflected light,” Bob said. “One painting I’m working on now is the pectoral fin of a grayling. The only evidence of human connection is one finger that’s shown.”
“I don’t doubt that probably, at some point, I’ll start painting abstractions of water, too,” Bob said. “As I paint more and more of the landscapes, the scenes, the landscapes become more and more important, and the figures diminish in importance.”
At heart, though, Bob is still an angler who loves to venture off after his favorite trout, the brookie. Even where Bob lives in Minnesota, there are still places where properly motivated anglers can find native, genetically pure brook trout.
And chances are, Bob might find a few worthy of painting while he’s on the river.
You can view all of Bob’s art and learn more about his career at his website.
