One of our own passed

[Rob G]

Just wanted to mention that a long standing member of the ISA and a good friend to all down here in central IL passed away yesterday.  Dave Franklin, aged 74, will be truly missed.   Dave was a long standing regular at all of our central IL ISA fly tying gatherings and fishing events.  Six years ago Dave came over to our East Central IL ISA outing that I was hosting and asked if I would accompany him back up the Salt Fork river where he had many years before, landed his first 20" smallie.  Only too happy to spend the day fishing with the man, I agreed and so the two of us set off to cover miles  of water and yet we were to land very few fish on that occasion.  It was just one of those days, but Dave never complained once, he just continued on fishing with that big smile on his face, reassuring me that he was just happy to be able to walk that water again.  And that my friends is exactly the type of gentleman that he was.  Gonna miss you Dave !   

  035c by robow 77

[John Gillio]

That is very sad to hear. A few yrs. back Dave and I fished a couple stretches of the Vermilion River near Pontiac together. We had a very enjoyable morning on the water hooking into plenty of small Vermilion River bass and other sunfish species. We were laughing and telling stories when Dave suddenly got quiet and drifted unsteadily to the shore. He said he was suddenly a bit dizzy and just needed a moment to sit. He said he normally would have an orange with him to eat when he started feeling funny like that, but he left it back at the car. Fortunately I had a Gator Aide with me. He slugged it down and soon he was able to get up and make the trip back to the car. I thought it would be best to call it a day , but Dave said he was enjoying himself too much to quit halfway through the day. He suggested going for lunch, so we did. Afterward he was feeling much better, so we headed to another stretch of river. We enjoyed the afternoon as much as the morning and even picked up a couple fish that hit the 12" and 15" mark. I wish I would have made it to some of those fly tying outings so I would have had a chance to see him again.

[rich mc]

 i remember tying with him at the fire station. my prayers to him and his family   rich mc

[Eric]

Really sorry to hear the news. A familiar name synonymous with the early days of the ISA for me. Rest In Peace. 

[Scott Ferguson]

I haven’t talk to Dave In quite sometime but he was a very active member of the ISA when I first joined 18 years ago. He was a genuinely nice, fun guy to be around. I’m sad to hear of his passing. 

[Mark K]

41 minutes ago, Scott F said:

I haven’t talk to Dave In quite sometime but he was a very active member of the ISA when I first joined 18 years ago. He was a genuinely nice, fun guy to be around. I’m sad to hear of his passing. 

yes.  He was a regular at all the conservation stuff we did. 

[Paul Trybul]

I had the opportunity to fish with Dave at Powerton Lake when I first became an ISA member. He was very generous with his knowledge of the lake as I was a first timer there. He will be missed.

[Dick G]

I fished with Dave on a Kaskaskia  River float trip several years ago. He was a good guy.