With the Sowbug Roundup coming up this week, the Twin Lakes Area and those in the fly-fishing industry are mourning the loss of Tom Schmuecker. The long-time owner of the Wapsi Fly Company in Mountain Home died last Tuesday at the age of 89.
North Arkansas Fly Fishers board member Davy Wotton tells KTLO, Classic Hits and The Boot News Schmuecker’s contribution to the fly-fishing industry and the world of fly tying was immense.
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Schmuecker was originally from Iowa and ran a poultry farm with his brother and father through the 1960s. He purchased the Wapsi Fly Company, located in Independence, Iowa, in 1973. Nearly five years later, Schmuecker and his wife Ann relocated the business to Mountain Home. Wotton says poultry feathers are often used for fly-tying material, and that was what peaked Schmuecker’s interest in the material.
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Schmuecker was also heavily involved in the community. He served on the Baxter Health Board of Directors from 1986 through 2016 and was a member of the Mountain Home Chamber of Commerce and Mountain Home Rotary Club.
In addition Schmuecker served on the American Flyfishing Tackle Manufactures Association Board and was a recipient of many awards from the Federation of Fly Fishers, including the Lee Wolf Award for Outstanding Fly Fishing Business in 1995. The South Council of the Federation of Fly Fishers awarded him with the Fly Tyer of the Year Award.
Schmuecker’s contributions to the annual Sowbug Roundup, one of the country’s biggest events for fly-fishing enthusiats, include his teachings to those attending on the process of tying flies. The 26th edition of the event will begin its three-day run this Thursday at the Baxter County Fairgrounds, and Wotton says the North Arkansas Fly Fishers will be commemorating Schmuecker to make sure his legacy lives on.
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The Sowbug Roundup will be held Thursday through Saturday from 9 to 4. The entry fee is $10 for all three days, and adults being accompanied by a child age 11 and under will be admitted free of charge.
Memorial donations may be made in Schmuecker’s name to the Peitz Cancer Support House.
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