Peter Van Gytenbeek

An Inside Look at an Extraordinary Background


It is with great pleasure I am able to share the following wonderful news with all of you. My father, Peter Van Gytenbeek, has accepted the position of Executive Director of the Federation of Fly Fishers. This promises to be a “match made in heaven”. Not only does Pete’s background read as though someone planned his career path for this job, but his extraordinary love and commitment to fishing and the environment makes this a dream job for him. (Complete bio and history by clicking read more)






Growing up in the east, Pete spent most of his formative years fishing in one way or another, Adirondack Lakes, New Jersey brooks and many of Florida’s wonderful waters, fresh and salt alike. He shared his love of the outdoors with his father and later with his wife. Moving west after getting married, he passed his fervor on to his 3 children. I thank him now for packing us into the car on Friday afternoons to head off for a weekend on a river or steam hours away. We were not the only children he shared his time with; I have memories of him teaching countless fly casting classes for TU, the FFF or the local store to armies of kids and adults alike, forests of fly rods slashing the air, back and forth along the bank of some park pond. As a child I also distinctly recall falling asleep many a night in the fly fishing store belonging to Jim Poor in Denver Colorado as the men chatted the hours away. From my perspective, my childhood was one long adventure in pursuit of some kind of fish on some new water, but the reality was that it was a special way to grow up, bond with my family and learn the utmost respect for nature.

A favorite story of mine happened when I was approximately 6 years old. We were fishing on the Platte River. It was one of those rare times when we were near a very crowded spot filled with worm and egg fishermen. I was cruising up and down behind all the men. One man hooted as he pulled in a big, gorgeous Brown Trout and, after showing all his buddies, left it gasping on the grass. Unable to grasp such a maneuver, I waited until no one was looking and dutifully lugged him to the river and tossed him back. Well the “fisherman” who had brought the trout in turned, realized what had happened and started screaming at me, “That was a record fish! What the hell have you done!”. In about one nano second my huge father appeared between us pacifying the angry man and shortly, they were chatting away like old friends. I was in frustrated tears but when my father turned to look at me he gave me a big wink and the corner of his mouth was twitching with mirth. “That was true catch and release honey”, he whispered, “you did the right thing!”

Pete’s business and not for profit work is impressive. As a Princeton grad who majored in geology and minored in architecture, one might have wondered what he would do with such an odd combination of training. He put it all to great use in a wide variety of senior level jobs During a period of roughly 35 years of involvement in business management, Peter took two unusual breaks in his career.
First, from 1969 to 1974 he was the Executive Director of Trout Unlimited, an international conservation organization dedicated to cold-water fisheries and directed by a blue ribbon Board of Directors. Peter was responsible for all activities of this organization. During that period TU grew from 3800 members to over 20,000 members with chapters in 40 states. In addition, the Canadian chapter of TU was created during his watch. Then, from 1983 to 1985 Peter was president of the Federation of Fly Fishers.

That, however, is just the tip of the iceberg. Additionally here is a list of various key activities in which Peter has been involved.

1965 – 1968 President of Colorado Springs Symphony Association
1965 – 1968 Chairman of Colorado Springs Planning Commission
1972 – 1976 Member of board of directors of American League of Anglers
1974 – 1984 Member of board of directors of Rocky Mountain Center on the Environment
1976 – 1982 Member of board of directors of Trout Unlimited
1980 – 1986 member of board of directors of international Federation of Fly Fishers
1980 – 1982 President of the board of directors of Rocky Mountain Center on the Environment
1982 – 1986 Member of board of directors of American Museum of Fly Fishing
1983 – 1985 President of the Board of international fly fishers Federation
1987 – 1994 Member of board of directors of Streamline, Inc.
1992 to Present Member of board of directors of Teller Wildlife Refuge
1994 to Present Member of board of directors of Trout & Salmon Foundation
1998 – 2004 Member Washington State Fish & Wildlife Commission

Oh yes, and this year is the 30th year of the Wild Trout Symposiums, an idea of Peter’s made a reality with the assistance of Frank Richardson, John Peters, and Nat Reed, then the Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Fish and Wildlife.

In the last decade Pete enjoyed hosting a TV show called Fly Fishing the Northwest which aired for 3 years on Prime Sports Network (early 90s). Next he took a brash step, starting a magazine from scratch called Fly Fishing in Saltwaters. With the help of his wife and daughter, this wonderful magazine grew from nothing to a popular, glossy international title with a definate skew toward environmentalism and conservation through education and awareness. He sold that in 2000 but stayed on with the new owners for a time to insure continuity. It is hard to let a “baby” grow up and move away. Soon after he worked as the Development Director for an environmental group based at UC Davis which focused on protection of the near short waters between Washington State, the San Juan Islands and British Columbia all while maintaining his seat on the Washington State Fish and Wildlife Commission.

So kudos to you Pete, and same for the FFF for hiring you. They are very fortunate to have your history, skills and dedication. I will watch with great anticipation for all the wonderful things you and the FFF will do together…