About the Honoree
Charles Gaines—a pioneering outdoorsman, celebrated writer, and true renaissance figure who has spent more than eight decades living at the exhilarating intersection of literature, sport, and the natural world—is the recipient of the 2026 Heritage Award.
Charles is the author of twenty-five books, including the National Book Award–nominated novel Stay Hungry and the highly regarded fly-fishing essay collection The Next Valley Over, which is considered one of the finest works on the sport. His literary work has graced the pages of magazines such as Harper’s, Esquire, Sports Illustrated, Garden & Gun, Town & Country, Architectural Digest, and Audubon. He has twice received Emmy Awards for his screenwriting. In 2020, he was awarded the Alabama Truman Capote Prize for Distinguished Work in the Short Story or Literary Non-Fiction. A founding board member of Fly Fishing Team USA and a former board member of the Atlantic Salmon Federation, Charles has long championed cold-water conservation and ethical angling. He is also the co-editor—with his nephew, the author and journalist Monte Burke—of two collections of salmon stories: Atlantic Salmon Treasury and Leaper: The Wonderful World of Atlantic Salmon Fishing.
Charles is the co-author of Pumping Iron, which inspired the later documentary that not only catapulted bodybuilding into popular culture, but also introduced the world to Arnold Schwarzenegger. In a life that already seems so extraordinarily accomplished, Charles also is, in the words of his nephew, “a mountaineer, canoeist, skydiver, grouse and woodcock guide, gourmet chef, unpretentious oenophile, early adopter of the game of pickleball (he had his own court fifteen years ago, well before the craze), and founder and owner of a sporting travel company named Pathways. Oh yeah, and he happens to be a co-inventor of the game of paintball.”
He earned his MFA from the University of Iowa, where he was mentored by Kurt Vonnegut. His passion for adventure shines through in his masterful storytelling, which has captivated millions of readers and audiences. Today, Charles divides his time between Alabama and Nova Scotia, and continues to be a gifted, thoughtful, and enduring voice for the sporting life.
Highlights of the Event
A sold-out crowd gathered at the New York Yacht Club on the evening of Thursday, April 23, for a celebration worthy of the occasion. The Model Room buzzed with energy from the start of cocktail hour, filled with friends, fellow writers, anglers, and admirers who had traveled from across the country and beyond to be part of the night.
AMFF President Gardner Grant Jr. served as master of ceremonies, welcoming the crowd and setting the tone for an evening marked by warmth, wit, and genuine admiration. Author Monte Burke offered opening remarks honoring his uncle, Charles, and reflected on his singular place in the sporting world: “That unquenchable curiosity, that generosity of spirit, that love of fun, adventure, art, and literature, and that ability to age well and gracefully, that ability to stay hungry—all of it is just like his writing. It’s worth imitating and emulating. And in the process of that imitation, hopefully finding your own way.”
The evening’s centerpiece was a wide-ranging and deeply personal conversation between Charles and his daughter, Greta Gaines. Their exchange touched on fishing, writing, aging, travel, and the deeper meaning found in a life spent outdoors, before concluding with audience questions that prompted some of the evening’s most resonant reflections.
“As you get older,” Charles shared, “your passion for catching a lot of fish—the bigger fish, more fish than the guy you’re fishing with—starts to wane, and you start to appreciate the experience of being there, wherever you are. I’ve had the great good fortune to fish in fabulous places with a lot of interesting people, and that happens to be my focus now… though I still do enjoy catching fish!”
Later, reflecting on the spiritual dimensions of angling, he observed: “Every time you cast a fly, you’re throwing a question into something you can’t see, and I’ve always seen the metaphor between questioning why we’re here, what we’re supposed to do with our lives, as analogous to fishing in that way. Because every morning when we wake up, we’re casting a fly into the unknown. And so, I think there’s a profound connection between angling and spiritual life.”
The live auction, led by Letitia Frye, was among the most spirited in recent memory, with more than sixty bidders rising to the occasion in support of the Museum’s mission. The room rose in a standing ovation, and it was clear that everyone present felt the rare privilege of honoring someone whose life’s work has genuinely made the world a better place. Congratulations, Charles!
We extend our deepest thanks to the event committee—Tyler Thompson (Chair), Topher Browne, Monte Burke, Tracey Clarke, Greta Gaines, Nana Lampton, Galen Mercer, Bill Taylor, and Gabe Tishman—whose dedication and creativity made the evening possible. Our sincere gratitude goes as well to our generous auction donors (Atlantic Salmon Federation, Berkshire Rivers Fly Fishing, BAJÍO, Scott Biron, Alan Bourgault, Jaime Boyle, Monte Burke, Salvatore Campfranco, Cheeky, C. D. Clarke, The Club on the Bonaventure, Mark Comora, Frank Conroy, Derek DeYoung, The Delphi Club, Paul Dixon, Emerald Water Anglers, Rachel Finn, Charles Gaines, Greta Gaines, Justin and Christa Jackson, Eric Kiel, Val Kropiwnicki, Nana Lampton, Jonathan Larrabee, Dan Marini, Walter Matia, Galen Mercer, Montana Rodmakers Guild, John Mundt, Nervous Waters, Smugglers’ Notch, Soul Fly, Poncho Outdoors, Paul Puckett, Mark Rockefeller, Simms, John Swan, Bill Taylor, Tyler Thompson, Travel Creel, Turtlebox, VAER, Jess and Laura Westbrook, Ben Whalley, Emily Whitlock, YETI, and Dan Zazworsky) and to all who bid with such enthusiasm. Every dollar raised goes directly toward the Museum’s mission of preserving and sharing the history, traditions, and practices of fly fishing for future generations.
Looks life a fabulous evening!