John Townsley was one of the founding members of MAKO Fly Fishers. He had a unique passion for the sport of fly fishing, enjoyed sharing his experience and knowledge and was a pure joy to be around. Members who were fortunate to have had the opportunity to spend time with John, still enjoy describing the unique individual and telling interesting stories and tales of his experiences. He enjoyed swinging streamer flies in the current and wouldn’t be caught dead using a strike indicator or “bobber” as he called them. “We ain’t crappie fishin” as he would say. There are many stories about John that some old time members still laugh about. There was a rumor that one Thanksgiving, John decided to smoke the turkey by placing it on a grill rack on top of the fireplace chimney at his home. John wore boots, rarely laced up, he preferred to leave them untied. It was also a rare sight to see John wearing socks. His method of choice for making campsite coffee was to boil the grounds and then toss egg shells in the pot to settle the grounds. This, however, rarely worked. The stories about John are endless and would fill volumes. The years finally caught up with John and he passed away in 1998 of natural causes. He truly loved fly fishing and the club was unanimous to attach his name to this award soon after he left us.