John Merwin was born in Norwalk, Connecticut on November 9, 1946. He studied fisheries management at the University of Michigan but did not graduate. He worked as a newspaper reporter before trying to make a living farming. He decided he could write better articles than those he read in Fly Fisherman magazine and eventually became its managing editor. In the late 1970s, he founded Rod and Reel magazine, which was renamed Fly Rod and Reel. He also started Fly Tackle Dealer, the industry's first trade magazine. He joined the staff of Field and Stream in 1994 and became its fishing editor in 2003. He retired from that position in 2010 but continued to write articles and blog posts. He also wrote numerous books including Stillwater Trout, Fly Fishing: A Trailside Guide, and The New American Trout Fishing. He died on February 20, 2013 at the age of 66.
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