Clockwise from top right: Tom as a youngster in western New York, as part of the Orvis Fly Fishing School faculty, on the water in Vermont, and with a huge Labrador brook trout.
The American Museum of Fly Fishing–in Manchester, Vermont–has announced that the recipient of this year’s Izaak Walton Award will be our own Tom Rosenbauer. The Izaak Walton Award was established in 2014 to honor and celebrate individuals who live by the “Compleat Angler” philosophy. Their passion for the sport of fly fishing and their involvement in the angling community provides inspiration for others and promotes the legacy of leadership for future generations. Tom will be joining other fly-fishing leaders who have received this award including Ed Jaworowski (2014), Tom Davidson (2015), James Prosek (2016), Jim Klug (2017), and Rachel Finn (2018).
In the announcement of this year’s award-winner, here’s what the museum said about Tom:
Tom Rosenbauer, host of the Orvis Fly Fishing Guide Podcast, has been with the Orvis Company over 40 years, where he has served as a fishing-school instructor, copywriter, public-relations director, merchandise manager, catalog director, and editor of The Orvis News for 10 years. He is currently Marketing Director for Orvis Rod and Tackle.
Tom has been a fly fisher for more than 45 years, and was a commercial fly tier by age 14. He has fished extensively across North America, as well as on Christmas Island, the Bahamas, in Kamchatka, and on the fabled English chalk streams. He is credited with bringing beadhead flies to North America, and is the inventor of the Big Eye hook, Magnetic Net Retriever, and tungsten beads for fly tying. He has more than a dozen fly-fishing books currently in print, including The Orvis Fly-Tying Guide, which won a 2001 National Outdoor Book Award.
For his extraordinary knowledge, accomplishments, and innovations in the sport of fly fishing and his dedication to sharing his skills through his podcast, as a writer, and teacher on the water, Tom is truly a worthy honoree for the 2019 Izaak Walton Award.
Tom will receive his award at a ceremony at The Angler’s Club of New York in March.
Click here for more information and to buy tickets to the ceremony.
Well deserved Tom. Congratulations friend.
Congrats Tom! Well deserved!
Congratulations to Tom. Well deserved.
Congratulations Tom! It couldn’t go to a more deserving person.
Congratulations Tom for a well deserved recognition of your talents and dedication to fly fishing! Looking forward to seeing you at our Oklahoma City Eighty Niner Chapter TU meeting on February 12th.
Well done sir. It’s crazy you’re so humble. Always hoping to see you on the water.