John Simms on the water, wearing the kind of practical, performance-driven gear he helped pioneer—an approach that reshaped modern fly-fishing apparel and influenced generations of anglers. (Photo courtesy of Simms Fishing Products)
June 04, 2026
By Fly Fisherman Staff
John Simms, pioneering fly-fishing innovator, entrepreneur, and founder of Simms Fishing Products, died on the morning of June 3, 2026, after a lengthy battle with cancer. He was 89.
Born April 26, 1937, and raised in the Allegheny Mountains of western New York, Simms developed an early love for trout streams, skiing, and figuring out better ways to do things—an instinct that would define his life’s work.
A Navy veteran who served as a radarman in the late 1950s, Simms carried a technical mindset into the outdoors, approaching problems analytically and rarely accepting the status quo. His career began in the mountains of Colorado, where as a ski...
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