Yesterday, we lost one of our own to the great Smelt God in the sky. Jim Christman from Essex, VT. For those lucky and honored enough to have met Jim throughout the years, you could never forget him. I was honored to have been his friend for over 30 years. Jim was a fixture on the Lake for so many years and always had a hand close to the Trout/Salmon restoration program in the 70's & 80's. Jim's boat, the original Gray Ghost, went into charter in the early 80's, and he loved nothing better than to show clients a great time on the Lake. Jim spent quality time at his Sandy Pond camp in NY and in more recent years, could be found building or repairing custom rods through the Classic Outfitters.
We will all miss Jim, his talent, his wit and his sense of humor.
My favorite memory of Jim was on a Bill Saiff Rod n Reel program during a slow day off Sandy Pond for the fleet Wink Whitney panned his camera over to this boat of vermonters playing basketball with a huge landing net and a big nerf ball. Just too funny! Well that was Jim's boat the Grey Ghost a 21 ft center console Starcraft Mariner. That was a product of Jim's unique trademark type of humor.
He was one of the best fishermen on the water anywhere. Tragic loss and in my home town in Essex. Thanks for posting.
Jim was a great guy who always was full of funny stories.
I remember when I was a kid going out on the Grey Ghost with Jim and his son Keith. He was always great about sharing info on the lake here and also his knowledge of Lake Ontario.
He was a great man and the best fisherman I ever met.
