See Tim Holschlag’s memorial page, with photos and stories
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.
Tim’s “Final Expedition”
To honor Tim Holschlag’s love of exploring, Tim’s ashes will travel to rivers and lakes across the US and Canada where Tim has fished. Tim is being taken on his “final expedition” by an array of friends, anglers, fishing guides, authors, conservationists, and others who love the outdoors.
If you can help to take Tim on his “final expedition,” simply contact us with your name and your proposed destination. Everyone who participates will be listed on our Final Expedition page, with photos of the places where Tim’s ashes are taken.
Obituary for Timothy Joseph Holschlag
Timothy J. Holschlag, age 72, died Friday, Sept 10, 2021 at his home in Norway, Michigan. Tim was born on May 6, 1949 in New Hampton, Iowa, the son of Carl Holschlag and Maurine (Johnson) Holschlag. He grew up in New Hampton, attending school at St Joseph’s Community School and graduating from New Hampton High School. He served in the U.S. Army infantry from 1968 to 1970, and was a member of the 82nd Airborne.
Upon his discharge from the Army, Tim he returned to Iowa and studied at the University of Iowa in Iowa City. In 1976 he married Elizabeth Michael at Iowa City. They lived in Chicago, Illinois, for 2 years, then moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota. In Chicago and Minneapolis, Tim attended trade school and worked as a machinist. In 1984, Tim united with Lyn Verthein, living with her in Minneapolis, and they married in 1990. In 1989 they bought a home near the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, where they lived for the next 31 years until they moved to Michigan in 2020.
Throughout his life, Tim had a passionate love for the outdoors. As a youngster in Iowa, he spent every minute he could outdoors hunting or fishing (only interrupted by having to go to school or to work). In adult life, his free time was devoted to the outdoors, including frequent camping trips in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness. Working as a machinist, then a few other jobs, he spent more and more time outdoors, until 1988, when he quit all other employment to become a full-time outdoor writer and fishing guide.
Tim Holschlag’s first book, “Stream Smallmouth Fishing,” was published in 1990, and became a much-loved classic on smallmouth bass fishing. He went on to write and publish several more books and produce DVDs. He wrote for outdoor and fishing magazines as well, with over 600 articles and hundreds of his photos published. He became a nationally recognized authority on smallmouth bass. Tim and his wife Lyn also established a business, Smallmouth Angler, to serve smallmouth bass fishers, with books and DVDs, guided fishing trips, seminars and speaking, smallmouth fishing schools, custom-tied flies and specialty tackle, at SmallmouthAngler.com
Tim loved to travel and explore new fishing waters. All of his vacations were fishing trips. He has caught smallmouth bass in practically every place that they can be found (even in Hawaii on a trip with his wife, and on a month-long trip to South Africa). All together, he fished more different waters than any known angler– over 400 rivers and hundreds of lakes in the U.S., Canada, and South Africa.
Tim was also well-known as an avid conservationist. He co-founded The Smallmouth Alliance river conservation group in 1988, which has grown into multiple chapters in several states including Minnesota, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Missouri. Smallmouth Alliance groups have been instrumental in getting new fishing regulations and Scenic River designations to protect many waters and their fish. Recognizing his conservation efforts, Tim received the Federation of Fly Fishers James Henshall Award. He was also given the Dr. Thomas F. Waters Stewardship Award for smallmouth bass conservation.
Since catching his first smallmouth bass at the age of 12, over 60 years of fishing, Tim Holschlag developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the fish and fishing techniques, which he loved to share with others. His passion, expertise, and enthusiasm made him an inspiration and a mentor for hundreds of anglers and outdoorspeople across the U.S.
Although Tim suffered from kidney disease since being diagnosed with it in 2016, he continued to fish, explore, guide, teach and inspire until nearly his last days. In 2020 he moved to his favorite fishing area, the upper peninsula of Michigan. He lived in a unique underground house there, fishing with a variety of clients and friends who visited, many of them staying in “the underground” with him. Still fishing, guiding and instructing, Tim was out on the water nearly 30 days of his last fishing season, until just 3 weeks before his death.
Tim Holschlag is survived by his sister, Geraldine Brummond of New Hampton, Iowa; his sister-in-law, Paula Holschlag of Iowa; his wife, Lyn Verthein of Norway, Michigan; his former wife Elizabeth Michael of Iowa; seven nieces and nephews: Becky Schoenfeld, Kathy Roethler, Randy Brummond, Cindy Kellogg, Dan Brummond, Brad Holschlag, and Craig Holschlag; and their children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Tom Holschlag, brother-in-law LaVern Brummond, brother-in-law Bob Clasen, nephews Dick Brummond and Ryan Holschlag; step-nephew Miles, great-niece Mandy Brummond, and great-nephew Matthew Schoenfeld.
A memorial gathering for family and friends was held in New Hampton, Iowa, on April 23, 2022. Tim was cremated, and a portion of his remains are buried in St Mary’s cemetery in New Hampton, Iowa. Portions of his remains are also going to rivers and lakes across the US and Canada where Tim loved to fish. Tim’s ashes are being taken to these waters by select fishing guides, anglers, conservationists, authors, magazine publishers and others who share Tim’s love of the outdoors.