Dave H
Well-Known Member
For those of you who have been involved in or followed fishery matters the past 20 years or so it will be sad news to learn that John passed away recently from a rare lung condition. Just prior to his passing he had been one of the recipients of the National Recreational Fisheries Award, and the following is a bit of a bio about John from that:
"Mr. John Brockley is well recognized for his “knowledge, tenacity and dedication to the advancement of the recreational fishery in British Columbia.” He has dedicated a major portion of his life to working for the betterment of the fisheries resource and recreational fisheries. He has worked tirelessly as an advocate to federal and provincial governments on key policy areas affecting the recreational fishery and was a key participant in a multi-sectoral forum dealing with the Pacific salmon allocation process. Mr. Brockley’s association with the Sport Fishing Advisory Board spans over 25 years. In whatever capacity Mr. Brockley participates, his contributions are considerable and productive."
I first met John in Feb. of 1990 when he came to the Charlottes to help set up the first Sports Fishing Advisory Committee (SFAC) He was a fellow SSBC member and I'd been asked to host him when he visited. I phoned him before he came and introduced myself and he asked if he should bring any fishing gear. He lived in Houston then and in Feb. there isn't much flowing water around there, so he was anxious to wet a line. Ended up I took him to the Copper and he caught his first ever Charlotte steelhead, and on a fly too, something he couldn't get over, considering the time of year.
He was a great guy and we quickly became pals and it was he who caught a grilse in the Tlell River when I took him, Dave Peacock and Bill Otway there to check out stories they'd heard about grilse way up the river in March. Dave is a DFO Biologist and positively identified the fish.
Funny thing is that several of the local fly guys had been targetting those fish for years......but it was news to DFO.
Later, in September of 1990 ,I stayed with John in Houston for a week and fished the Morice and Bulkley for steelhead.
We met up a couple of times to go fishing in later years, Cicuta Lake being a memorable time, and stayed in touch by phone mostly.
Life takes you on a wandering journey sometimes and so we slowly lost contact over the years, but I knew of his heart attack and having to step down as Chairman of the SFAB. That's when Jeremy Maynard became Chairman, and ironically, it was in Jeremy's column in the local paper this past Friday (that I just read) that informed me that John had passed.
He did a tremendous job on behalf of recreational anglers in BC, even the majority who probably never knew of him, and his contributions will be sorely missed.
R.I.P. John Brockley......taken way too soon.
Condolences to his family too.
Take care.
"Mr. John Brockley is well recognized for his “knowledge, tenacity and dedication to the advancement of the recreational fishery in British Columbia.” He has dedicated a major portion of his life to working for the betterment of the fisheries resource and recreational fisheries. He has worked tirelessly as an advocate to federal and provincial governments on key policy areas affecting the recreational fishery and was a key participant in a multi-sectoral forum dealing with the Pacific salmon allocation process. Mr. Brockley’s association with the Sport Fishing Advisory Board spans over 25 years. In whatever capacity Mr. Brockley participates, his contributions are considerable and productive."
I first met John in Feb. of 1990 when he came to the Charlottes to help set up the first Sports Fishing Advisory Committee (SFAC) He was a fellow SSBC member and I'd been asked to host him when he visited. I phoned him before he came and introduced myself and he asked if he should bring any fishing gear. He lived in Houston then and in Feb. there isn't much flowing water around there, so he was anxious to wet a line. Ended up I took him to the Copper and he caught his first ever Charlotte steelhead, and on a fly too, something he couldn't get over, considering the time of year.
He was a great guy and we quickly became pals and it was he who caught a grilse in the Tlell River when I took him, Dave Peacock and Bill Otway there to check out stories they'd heard about grilse way up the river in March. Dave is a DFO Biologist and positively identified the fish.
Funny thing is that several of the local fly guys had been targetting those fish for years......but it was news to DFO.
Later, in September of 1990 ,I stayed with John in Houston for a week and fished the Morice and Bulkley for steelhead.
We met up a couple of times to go fishing in later years, Cicuta Lake being a memorable time, and stayed in touch by phone mostly.
Life takes you on a wandering journey sometimes and so we slowly lost contact over the years, but I knew of his heart attack and having to step down as Chairman of the SFAB. That's when Jeremy Maynard became Chairman, and ironically, it was in Jeremy's column in the local paper this past Friday (that I just read) that informed me that John had passed.
He did a tremendous job on behalf of recreational anglers in BC, even the majority who probably never knew of him, and his contributions will be sorely missed.
R.I.P. John Brockley......taken way too soon.
Condolences to his family too.
Take care.
