In addition to the stories and photos here, you can share your memories of Tim in the comments section at the bottom of this page. If you have a photo to share, please email it to info@smallmouthangler.com and we will add it to this page.
Click here to see Tim’s Full Obituary
You can honor Tim Holschlag by making a donation to The Nature Conservancy. Tim supported this group by donating guided trips, books, etc. over the years.
Memories of Tim
Tim Holschlag with Dan Johnson in August 2021 at Tim’s underground house in Michigan
Tim at the Mississippi River
From Jay Bunke
Rochester, Minnesota
Tim was The Best! I will miss the joy and enthusiasm he derived from every single fish. He made each moment on the water an adventure and never lost his explorer spirit. When the SE MN smallmouth shut down Tim was always game for exploring new water, a dry fly mooneye competition, a creek chub tournament or trying to entice a carp with flies. He delighted in each and every hookup.
From Clare Grendler
Circle Pines, Minnesota
Tim was a great guy to be around to talk to and of course to fish with. A Hall of Fame angler to be sure. I learned a great deal about Smallmouth Bass from Tim and met many friends through The Smallmouth Alliance founded by Tim. I am shocked and saddened to hear of his passing. He used some of my photos in his books which made me feel good. I will think of him the next time a catch a Smallmouth Bass. He was a pioneer in smallmouth conservation, a visionary, a Vet, and a very knowledgeable person. The angling world will miss him!
Memorial Events
Tim’s “Final Expedition”
To honor Tim Holschlag’s love of exploring, Tim’s ashes have traveled to rivers and lakes across the US and Canada where Tim has fished. Tim was taken on his “final expedition” by an array of friends, anglers, fishing guides, conservationists, authors, and others who share Tim’s love of the outdoors.
Memorial Event at Slippery Winds Lodge, Ontario, Canada
After taking groups of fly fishers trips to Slippery Winds Lodge in Ontario for 20 years, Tim Holschlag had a special relationship with the guests on these trips. On the summer 2022 trip, the guests at the lodge had a special memorial event to remember Tim.
On May 22, 2022. the group gathered on the dock at Yoke Lake to toast Tim and share memories. Then they put Tim’s ashes into the lake. To read more, go to Tim’s Final Expedition Page.
Family Memorial Event at New Hampton, Iowa
A memorial gathering for family and friends was held in New Hampton Iowa on April 23, 2022. A portion of Tim’s ashes were buried there at St. Mary’s Cemetery near the graves of other family members.
Tim’s family also planted a tree to remember him, in Runion park. Tim’s tree joins 3 other trees that have been planted in this park for other family members who have passed away.
Tim doing what he loved– exploring, fishing new waters, and teaching others:
Rich Peters with Tim
From Rich Peters
California
This was our last guide trip with Tim on July 26, 2021 on the Menominee River. Tim was in his element and we loved every minute of it. RIP.
From Lyn Verthein,
at Smallmouth Angler.com
Norway, Michigan
Wow, Tim Holschlag inspired so many people that I don’t know and never heard of. We will keep distributing his books and knowledge as widely as possible so that he can keep inspiring more anglers.… I received this email from a customer who ordered flies the week that Tim died …
Hi Lyn,
I received my fly order. Thanks for taking such care with my selections. Tim Holschlag and I never met, but his enthusiasm and dedication to the fishing craft – and smallmouth bass! – was inspiring. I also appreciated his honesty and integrity. I’ll be making a donation to The Nature Conservancy.
Thank you again,
Andy Sutthoff
… A huge “Thank You” to Andy and everyone who is giving to the Nature Conservancy. This is a heroic group, and Tim donated several guided trips and other things to them over the years.
Edward Hoffman, Tim & Dan Johnson
From Edward Hoffman
Apple Valley, Minnesota
This is the last photo I took of Tim on June 5th, 2021. Jerry and I had been in Norway fishing with Tim and Dan for that entire week, and we took Tim out to dinner every evening after whatever the activities were that day. I have many stories about Tim and will try to gather my thoughts about this remarkable person.
From Sheldon Bolstad
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Sheldon Bolstad on the river in Tim’s boat.
It was difficult to take the call from Dan to hear of Tim’s passing. My sadness turned to fine memories going through the photos of fishing with Tim over our 35-year friendship. Most years I spent more time fishing with Tim after his guiding season was over. It made for very memorable outings as trophy smallmouth bass were much more active during cooler water periods than smaller fish.
Pictured in the photo album I uploaded are a number of photos where we caught numerous smb in winter conditions in the Mississippi River in the reg section. One memorable day was on New Years Eve Day where we landed numerous smb fish between 18″-20″. That particular day we chipped off the ice on our guides and guzzled coffee and soup to keep warm.
I still have the topwater fly (with the hook clipped off) hanging in my garage from 25 years ago when I tagged Tim in his eyebrow. At first I thought the fly stung him in his forehead, until his favorite hat went overboard and he did not seem to be concerned. I jumped to the front of the boat & inspected that the fly hook had pierced the thin skin and protruded out a 1/2” away. Grabbing my needle nose pliers I cut the barb end of the hook and removed the fly. Phew! It missed his eye by an inch or so. We then proceeded to retrieve his favorite hat & fished the rest of the day until sunset!
Tim was a walking encyclopedia of knowledge of warm water fisheries. I learned a great deal about smb fisheries and their habitat. It prompted me to read all I could find to attempt to keep up with Tim. I recall fishing an urban dam in Minneapolis with Tim and he identified 13 species of fish that we caught that day. My gosh! Who ever heard of a quillback carp sucker? Tim did and I will forever remember that day. We both came up with other rough fish nicknames: Sheephead were lavender bass, or Iowa trout etc….(both Tim and I grew up in Iowa) There was no end of laughs fishing with Tim!
One of my favorite tactics during quiet periods of travel back to town from fishing was to “pull his chain” over a current event story — which would lead to 15-30 minutes of non-stop “enthusiastic” verbiage on the subject. It was easy to flush out his opinion on nearly every subject. Haha.
Tim was on a first-name basis with most warm water stream fisheries managers across the country and led the organizing efforts to develop quality fishing regulations across the country. I hope that he will be awarded membership into the Freshwater Fishing Hall of Fame in October.
In my mind Tim was a world-class character and valued friend. I will miss Tim greatly, but I have my photos and a few videos to remember him by.
It will be an honor to help scatter his ashes in one or more of his favorite waters.
RIP Tim
Photos from Sheldon Bolstad —
From Greg Kozak
Lansing, Michigan
Stories….Tim could tell some GREAT stories.
Like his nickname in Vietnam: Headshot. But not why you might think…..
Tim told me he’d go out on patrol w/ his platoon for various missions that would take them away from the base camp for several days in a row. What they had to eat was carried on their backs, typical Army rations at the time; canned everything.
Now as you know, Tim was a seasoned hunter since he could first pick up a rifle, and Tim hunted everything back home in Iowa; if there was a season for it, Tim would hunt. And consume what he harvested; he told me about squirrels and how to dress and cook them when I inquired while on the phone with him and seeing a few squirrels in the yard.
So here’s Tim, been hunting all his life, out on patrol in S.E. Asia, Vietnam war era, with nothing but Army rations to eat. Looking for an alternative, Tim discovers what he described as a pheasant-like bird that were fairly abundant. And being the crack shot that he is, Tim can easily bag these birds with a single shot to the head from his Army issued M-16 rifle, which makes it easier to clean and consume the bird. Hence, Headshot.
Well……. time to cook the feast. How to do that in the middle of the Vietnam jungle? Simple; disassemble a Claymore mine, and use very small pieces of C4 plastic explosive to fuel a soup pot. After cooking the bird ostensibly by boiling in some liquid, add a variety of Army canned rations for a true rainforest feast.
Sounds rather innocuous, right? Until you learn a bit about Claymore mines and C4 plastic explosive. Taking apart the Claymore wasn’t the hazard since the detonation systems could be safely disconnected and C4 plastic explosive is like putty; soft, easily moldable, needs specific ignition source to detonate. It’s the igniting just enough plastic explosive with a Zippo lighter for the C4 to burns steadily, but doesn’t realize it’s intended purpose; detonation.
That Vietnam pheasant must’ve awfully tasty to risk blowing your head off to cook it.
Headshot….
From Eric Sacks
Chicago, Illinois
Here are some photos of Tim on the water.
From Lyn Verthein, Tim Holschlag’s wife
Norway, Michigan
For 36 years, Tim was my partner in life, love, and then in business. Shortly after meeting Tim in 1984 and dating him for a few months, he invited me along on a big trip through the western U.S., which he had been carefully planning for a long time. (This was a slow process back then—ordering paper maps by postal mail, then studying them, making phone calls on landlines to the forest service, etc.)
On Mount Katahdin in Maine
Well, I had never really been camping before. So he bought me a sleeping bag and a basic rain suit, then off we went—in a tiny car with no air conditioning, with his small tent to sleep in, a cheap aluminum cook kit, and lots of maps and enthusiasm. Tim had planned a month-long trip. But it was so fun and interesting that we stayed out for 2 months. We slept in our little tent everywhere, I think, except for 3 nights at a friend’s house in Seattle, and the big trip included 3 different backpacking trips: up into the Rocky Mountains in Wyoming and in Colorado, and along a wild river in British Columbia.
Catching a gar in Florida
This amazing trip sealed the deal, and we were together ever since. It was the first of many adventures together– from the BWCAW, to canoe camping in the Everglades, and many places in between. Tim was the person who introduced me to the outdoors, and he made me an outdoorsperson for life.
Here’s what I’ll say about Tim—He was the real thing. He sincerely loved the outdoors. He got a thrill out of every fish he caught, every river or lake, every trail in the woods, birdsongs, mushrooms, trees, flowers, and wildlife of every kind. He was just glad to be in nature, even portaging through mosquito-infested brush, slogging through mud and sweating with a 63-pound canoe on his shoulders.
Bringing boats on a trip to the U.P. of Michigan
Tim had an amazing mind, “like a steel trap.” Any bit of information he encountered went into his head and stuck there. And he was always curious to learn more. He was not the type of gregarious guy that likes to make friendly small talk. But if you wanted to know something about almost anything, he was a font of information, and he had an opinion on it. Yet he was also empathetic and could understand others’ point of view.
Tim Holschlag was kind-hearted, generous, honest, wise, skillful, hardworking, and physically fit. He was truly a world-class outdoorsman, companion and life partner. I was privileged to share a life with him.
More Photos from Eric Sacks
Chicago, Illinois
I fished the Mississippi River today between Monticello and Elk River. Me and my boat mate caught well over 100 smallmouth bass in what our guide said “ was the best day he has ever seen on this river”. Tim was instrumental at getting the regulations on smallmouth in this stretch of the Mississippi. Thank you Tim, we enjoyed today the vision you had nearly 30 years ago to protect this fishery. My hat is off to you today buddy, a job well done.
I just learned of Tim’s passing, with shock and grief. Tim is the most extraordinary angler I have ever met combining high intelligence with common sense. I was honored to have him and Dan Johnson up to my cabin in Waskish Mn and was so impressed with his ability to carry on a conversation on any topic, a rare combination in todays world. To me as a retired clinical psychologist that is the hallmark of a person of superior intellect and wide perspective. Semper Fi, brave solder,
Sorry to hear of Tim’s passing. His contributions, selfless intentions and forward motion coupled with his boundless passion to Smallmouth Bass habitat and river conservation will echo on to the future.
He first contacted me about his early efforts in 1990 when I lived in the St. Croix Valley. It was apparent then that he knew his direction and was building further forward to his goal. He knew how to communicate selflessly with others to attain those goals without the anchor of fame or want of fortune.
That is the spirit of a true Conservationist – if I may call him that – it’s how I knew him. He lived along and within the River of Life, enjoying it’s currents, and life within it.
Tight Lines Tim.
July, 2022
I am stunned and saddened to learn of Tim’s passing. He was a fine man. I have sung his praises to many-many people and his death won’t slow me down. My friend, Charlie, and I went to several of the May Ontario trips until the illness of Charlie’s wife made it infeasible to come and it was on these trips (and through his books) that I got to know Tim and several others present on this page. I had always thought that I could go back and see Tim again. Tim’s was a well-lived life. He learned what moved him and what nourished him and he lived it out. We should all be so lucky. My condolences to Lyn and to Tim’s dear friend (and another fine man) Dan. I feel the presence of Tim’s passing.