BOB MALLARD
Bob Mallard with a wild native brook trout from the Dead Diamond River. (Diana Mallard)
“When it comes to fish conservation, we’ve never really gotten it right. The emphasis has been too gamefish centric, too accepting of nonnatives, and too reliant on artificial propagation and other forms of husbandry. Nowhere is this more evident than in the trout conservation arena...”
BOB MALLARD first fished New Hampshire in high school, when a friend took him to a family camp in the White Mountains region. After thirty years in Massachusetts, the last ten of which were spent less than two miles from the New Hampshire border, Bob moved to New Hampshire where he spent ten years before moving to Maine. He is intimately familiar with the state’s fisheries and their history, and spends roughly thirty days a year fishing small streams and remote ponds for wild native brook trout. Bob is a founding member of Native Fish Coalition. He served as NFC’s National Vice Chair from its inception until April 2020 when he stepped into the role of Executive Director. Bob also serves as an Advisory Council member for the Maine and Massachusetts chapters. He was a founding member and former president of Somerset County Trout Unlimited, founding member of Dud Dean Angling Society, and a former member of Sportsman's Alliance of Maine’s Fishing Initiative Committee. Bob is one of Maine's, and the nations, most visible, vocal, and active native fish advocates, and has been for close to 20 years. He has fly fished for roughly forty years and logs 100 or more days a year on the water. Bob is a former fly shop owner, Registered Maine Fishing Guide, blogger, writer, and a staff fly designer at Catch Fly Fishing. He is an Ambassador for Epic fly rods, and on the Scientific Anglers Pro Staff. Bob was the Publisher, Northeast Regional Editor, and a regular contributor to Fly Fish America magazine, and is a freelance fly fishing and native fish conservation writer. His writing, photos, and flies have appeared in Outdoor Life, Angling Trade, Fly Fisherman, The Drake, American Angler, Fly Rod & Reel, American Fly Fishing, Fly Fishing & Tying Journal, Fly Tyer, Eastern Fly Fishing, MidCurrent, OrvisNews, Fly Life Magazine, The Fiberglass Manifesto, Tenkara Angler, On The Fly, Fly Fishing New England, The Maine Sportsman, Northwoods Sporting Journal, R.L. Winston catalog, and numerous blogs and local and regional newspapers. Bob has written five books, 50 Best Places Fly Fishing the Northeast , 25 Best Towns Fly Fishing for Trout, Squaretail: The Definitive Guide to Brook Trout and Where to Find Them, Favorite Flies for Maine: 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts, and Fly Fishing Maine: Local Experts on the State’s Best Waters. He has contributed to several other books as well. Bob can be reached at Info@NativeFishCoalition.org
