[river water gently flowing]
[bee buzzes]
[fishing line squeaks]
[fishing line whips]
NARRATOR: Frank Moore loves to fly fish.
[fishing line squeaks]
For most of his life, the North Umpqua River
in Southern Oregon has been his canvas.
I'm of the opinion if you quit, you're done,
and I'm gonna keep going as long as I possibly can.
I think it'll be a few years yet
before I give up completely.
Anyone under 70 is young to me. [chuckles]
[river water gently flowing]
And when I'm out here fishing, I visualize different people
that I've known fishing up here for the last 70 years,
and I can see them and I can hear them talking to me
and I can feel their love.
[birds chirping]
When you're out in the river casting a fly rod,
you can appreciate so many other things around you.
And I do.
[river water gently flowing]
[birds chirping]
NARRATOR: Fly fishing has been woven
into the fabric of Frank's life.
On the North Umpqua, he and his wife, Jeanne,
have built their home.
We had the opportunity to buy this 80 acres here
and what a wonderful place to have
and nice place that we can build a retirement home.
That was back in 1975 when we started
and I still don't have it finished,
and I never will now at 90 years old.
I dream of Jeanne with the light gray hair.
Yes, Frank, thanks a lot.
Now stand up and gimme a good one.
Yeah.
We built this and it'll be 70 years
that she's had to put up with me.
[bombs exploding]
NARRATOR: A World War II veteran,
in 1944, Frank landed on the beaches of Normandy, France,
for the D-Day Allied invasion.
[guns shooting]
This is the highest military honors in the world,
the French Legion of Honor.
When you get involved with something like that,
you don't really live, you exist.
But the one thing that really did help
more thing else was that dear wife of mine,
she was an angel when I came back,
and really, she pulled me through some tough times.
She was just wonderful all the time I was gone
and it brought me back to life,
and that made me realize,
hey, you got some life, you gotta get back to that.
And I was grateful I did get to come back.
So many of 'em didn't.
[guns shooting]
[water gently gushing]
NARRATOR: A life of fly fishing
on the North Umpqua River was waiting for Frank
upon his return to Oregon.
[birds chirping] [river water gently flowing]
[car engine roaring]
A lot of times I'd drive up here,
every day from Roseburg,
and it took an hour and 45 minutes for the trip up,
and I'd come up just for an hour or so's fishing every day.
I feel very blessed to have been able to fish this area
when there was no one really fishing up here.
With a lot of the pools, it wouldn't be fished all summer.
I love the feel of the bend of the fly rod
and the line carrying out,
and anticipation of a big fish grabbing
or even a little one.
I love the experience of being on a river.
They're alive and thank gosh at my age, I still am.
Oh, a trout. [chuckles]
We've been fishing for summer steelhead
on the North Umpqua River,
which is one of the elite fisheries of the world.
It's very difficult sometimes
for beginners to fish this stream
because it is known as the graduate school of fly fishing,
and especially of wading.
When you're really trying to wade hard,
and the first thing that'll come loose
are your feet, and away you go.
You're wading across some of the water,
and all of a sudden you're gone,
just [squawks].
These rocks are so slippery.
And so many of these spots,
boy, you can slip and bust your tail in a hurry.
I have done it.
[Frank groans]
Because of the character of the river,
it makes steelhead angling
with a fly a wonderful experience,
because most of your fish will hook right above a rapid.
And if you have one of 'em go over,
makes that old reel really hum.
That is an exciting thing to hear,
that whine of a reel when a fish is going out or jumping.
The creature that is a steelhead
has a spirit that no other fish that I have ever seen has.
They come up here and live for a whole,
some of 'em, darn near a year, out of the ocean,
and they'll hold right here in the river
or up Steamboat Creek.
They're always looking for that soft spot
and they find it.
[river creek flowing]
You hook one of 'em, play him the best you can,
get him in, release him without touching him,
release him without taking him out of the water,
pat him on the butt, and say, "Come back another day."
[birds chirping] [river water gently flowing]
Most people, I guess, that really start fishing this river,
they develop an intense love for the river.
[river water gently flowing]
And that's one of the things that this river does to people.
It attracts 'em, it draws 'em and stays in their heart.
What more can you say about a river?
[Frank chuckles]
[birds chirping] [river water gently flowing]