Remembering Al Brunell
Al Brunell passed away on November 21st, 2007. I met Al in January of 2002. At the time he was the chair for the Northwest Fly Tyers Expo. He had been given a database with all of the tyers info in it and he needed help to print letters, labels, and other items. He did not like to use computers and didn’t have much interest in learning how to use one. He got my name from somebody in the Oregon Council FFF and gave me a call. I gladly accepted the challenge and helped him with the next two Expo’s. The third expo I became chair and he helped me out with that one as well. While working with each other to put on these Expo’s we became good friends. Al organized a weekly tying night at his house. I looked forward to these tying events every week. A bunch of guys would get together in his fly tying den and tie a few flies. His wife Letha, often baked cookies for us. Sometimes we tied, and other times we just told fishing stories and talked about life in general.
Al was a great friend and a mentor and will be greatly missed.
Magazines with Al Brunell Featured:
Northwest Fly Fishing – Summer 2006 (Innovative Fly Tier by John Shewey)
Books with Al Brunell flies:
Steelhead Flies by John Shewey – There are at least a dozen of Al’s flies in this book.
Oregon Blue-Ribbon Fly FIshing Guide by John Shewey – Pages 85-86 (some examples of Al’s doubles)
Steelhead Fly Fishing Journal – Volume 1, Number 3 (Page 44 has 18 of Al’s half-pounder flies)
Al Brunell’s Flies
Below are a collection of Al’s flies. Click on the fly for a larger photo and more info about the fly. More to come as pictures are taken.
Robin Winchester
28 Dec 2011I found your article when looking for an obit for Al. I never met him, but we had a common ancestor, and I was sorry to hear he had passed away. Did he ever speak to you of any family stories, or mention anything about his heritage? Thanks for your story – it’s so nice when someone recognizes a life!
Gina Orr
14 Aug 2012Thank you again, Mr. Wood, for this remembrance. Robin- I am Al’s niece! Please feel free to contact me via Facebook and we can talk about our common ancestor.
Barbara Cripe
15 Sep 2014I took fly tying classes from Al when I was living in Gold Beach. He was a very generous and kind man. Those of us who attended his classes not only learned a lot about tying flies, but we had a great and fun time. He was a great man and friend.
james
27 Jan 2018I have about thirty Al Brunell Flys that have never touched water if anyone is interested. burlap ,brindle bug silver ant, red ant, royal coachman bucktail, spruce fly, blue boy ,yellow fever, green butt skunk ,golden demon, tiger paw2, silver Hilton some are multiples some are singles,
Robin Winchester
15 Mar 2021James, did anyone ever take the Al Brunell flys? If not, as a relative, I’d love to have one (or more).