Joe Howell

Fly Fisher, Fly Tier, Guide, Author

The North Umpqua River has been Joe’s passion since he first fished it when he was eight years old. He had the privilege of living on this river with his wife for 45 years. He enjoyed sharing his love of fly fishing through 30 years of guiding and by owning The Blue Heron Fly Shop. During that time he created many new steelhead fly patterns. Though now retired, he is still active in the fly fishing community and enjoys coming up with creative patterns, sharing them with other fly fishermen.

He is a contract tyer for Umpqua Feather Merchants, where his Starlite Leech, Joe's Prawn, Coon Muddler, and Tiger Paw are produced and sold commercially. The Starlite Leech can still be found in many of the fly shops and is one of the most copied and productive patterns for steelhead and salmon. He received the Oregon Council of the Federation of Fly Fishermen's Fly Tyer of the Year award in 1992.

Joe will be tying at the annual Fly Tying and Fly Casting Festival hosted by the Fly Fishing Veterans and Umpqua Valley Flyfishers at the Douglas County, Oregon Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 24, 2026.