Most of us who evolve as fishermen, from bait to lures and finally to flies, usually meet and are mentored by older anglers who guide us along the way. Sometimes those anglers become friends, and some actually become fishing buddies. I’ve mentioned a fair number of their names in this column over the years, referencing those men who had a significant impact on my life as a budding angler. Some of those men mentored me during my teen years and had a profound influence on my development when I was learning to tie flies. But other than my friend Ted, with whom I fished on a few occasions during college, there were no others that I fished with on a regular basis. 

That all changed in the mid-1980s. That is when my friend Frank Mele invited me to share a small cabin on the banks of the East Branch of the Delaware with him and his friend Alfio Pinotti. Both Frank and Alfio were professional musicians, with storied careers as violin players and teachers. Alfio taught at a university in Michigan and came to the East Branch for the summer to fish. Frank taught the violin and viola from his studio in Woodstock. 

While I don’t know how these two became fishing friends, it certainly had something to do with music. Anyway, at the time, Al Carpenter and his wife, Beulah, owned and operated Al’s Wild Trout in Shinhopple, NY, which is about 10 miles southwest of Downsville on Route 30. Al also owned two small cabins on a side road, just off the bridge in Shinhopple. Frank and Alfio rented one of those cabins. I joined them during the spring of 1985. Frank and I fished with Alfio on weekends, usually arriving Saturday afternoon, returning home late Sunday.

One late spring afternoon, right about dinner time, a white van pulled into the small parking area in front of our cabin. Close inspection relegated the vehicle to the late 1950s; I identified it as a Ford Econoline. The vehicle had a number of patches along sections of the body, indicating the owner to be a handy do-it-yourself kind of guy. There was no shortage of duct tape. When the door opened, a fit, older man, who appeared to be in his late 60s or early 70s, stepped out. “I’m Bill Dorato,” he said, extending his hand.  

After introductions, Frank called us to dinner, which more often than not consisted of chicken cacciatore, salad, crusty bread and red wine. After dinner, there was Frank’s famous, very strong coffee.

It didn’t take long for me to see that Bill was a very nice, affable man, and from the way he spoke, he loved to fish. Very soon, we began to fish together. That’s when he told me that friends called him “Willie.” Yet I preferred to call him Bill.

Al sold the cabins in 1987, so after a year using an apartment in Downsville for our fishing headquarters, we were forced to look for other lodging, which is when we decided to purchase a travel trailer. At the time, Herman’s Trailer Sales operated off Route 206 between Downsville and Walton. Because there were no alternatives, the three of us purchased a 35-foot travel trailer, which Herman’s delivered to the Oxbow campsite on the lower East Branch of the Delaware in May of 1988. The three of us stayed and fished from that location for two years before moving upstream to the Peaceful Valley Campground, which offered better fishing. 

That’s when Bill and I really began to fish together, almost every weekend. We would meet at my house in Hurley and head to Peaceful Valley on Friday afternoons, and fish through Sunday evening before returning home. Frank would arrive Saturday afternoon and leave after lunch on Sunday. During the years we spent at Peaceful Valley, Bill and I would fish all over the East Branch of the Delaware or sometimes go over the mountain to fish the Beaver Kill or on to the West Branch of the Delaware River along Route 17.

Over the years that we fished together, I learned early on that I had made a very good, loyal friend, a fine fishing companion and in some ways a mentor. And although Bill had very big hands and fingers like sausages, he tied the most exquisite flies. And only years later did I learn that he invented the Dorato Hare’s Ear, a famous dry fly that imitated the Cinnamon Caddis and was featured in the Orvis catalog. Turned out my friend was a humble man, not inclined to promote his accomplishments as a world-class fly tier. 

For 15 years, we fished and spent a great deal of time together. One could not ask for a better fishing companion and friend. Then in May of 2000, Bill became ill one evening while we were at Peaceful Valley. I never did learn what he became afflicted with, but after that May evening at Peaceful Valley, and once Bill returned home, to Albany, I never saw him again. His pride just would not let friends share in his physical decline. This wonderful man and probably my best friend ever, passed away in November of 2000. I cried at his wake and at his service, and I miss him every day. A truly wonderful man, fishing companion and an even better friend!