Jack Dennis has a firm belief that teachers can change lives.

As a teacher of fly-fishing, Dennis has affected many lives, including those of world-famous politicians and celebrities.

The renowned fly fisherman, guide and author was in Bend this week as part of a stillwater fly-fishing seminar, hosted by the Central Oregon Flyfishers at Aspen Hall in Shevlin Park.

Dennis took a break from speaking Tuesday to chat about his life as one of the world’s most well-known fly-fishing personalities, a life that has allowed him to meet some fascinating figures.

”Every one of those well-known people, what they like about fly-fishing is the learning,” Dennis said. ”Every one of them could tell you a teacher that made a difference in their life. When I look at what’s important to me, it’s been when somebody looks up and says, ‘Man, I can’t tell you what you did for me.’ ”

Dennis, who owns a guide service and outdoor shop in Jackson, Wyo., is close friends with Vice President Dick Cheney and has introduced fly-fishing to legendary golfer Arnold Palmer, former NBA star Julius Erving and actors Harrison Ford and Tom Selleck, among many others.

Dennis sold his first flies at the age of 12 and started guiding on Wyoming rivers when he was 14. At 19, he founded the Jack Dennis Outdoor Shop in Jackson, and the store has been a mecca for fly anglers for the last 40 years.

Dennis has appeared on several outdoors television shows, and he now spends much of his time traveling throughout the country to speak to clubs like the Central Oregon Flyfishers.

As the coach of Fly Fishing Team USA, Dennis traveled to Central Oregon two years ago for the U.S. team trials on the Crooked and Metolius rivers.

No part of the competition was held on the Deschutes, but Dennis did spend some time there.

”I conveniently thought the best time to have the U.S. trials was during the salmonfly hatch,” said Dennis, with an infectious laugh and his ever-present, gap-toothed grin.

Dennis has also fished the Deschutes on several outdoors television programs.

”I still say the Deschutes River is probably one of the best in the world, because there’s only one other river I know of that has great steelhead fishing and great trout fishing,” he said. ”It usually doesn’t work that way.

Dennis has fished all over the world, and he has landed nearly every species of fish an angler can catch on a fly. But there are two that have eluded him, which he is quick to point out: the Nile perch in Africa and the peacock bass in Brazil.

”As you get older, you realize life is short,” said Dennis, 59. ”I’ve got places I want to go fish.”

The fly-fishing ambassador also hopes to get Americans excited about fly-fishing competitions. Team USA stages a national championship each year and competes with teams from around the world (mostly European) at the annual world championship.

Dennis noted that while younger anglers are attracted to competition, it sometimes roils older fishermen, who tend to see fly-fishing more as a way of life than as a competition.

”The youth are so game-oriented, when they came to fishing they weren’t looking for inspiring literature,” Dennis said. ”Life changes. What’s tough for older guys to understand is that the younger guys don’t see it through their eyes.”

Whether it’s competitive angling or just spending a few hours on a trout stream, the allure of fly-fishing can be described in many ways, according to Dennis. He likens the sport to a good mystery novel, in which there’s something the reader/angler is trying to discover. He also compares fly-fishing to surfing:

”It’s difficult, not everybody’s gonna get it, but it takes you to so many different places,” Dennis explained.

And, for Dennis, the sport has given him the chance to meet many different people from all walks of life.

He first met Cheney, the vice president, in Wyoming when the two competed against each other in American Legion Baseball as teenagers. They got reacquainted later in life, and Dennis taught Cheney how to cast a fly. Cheney invited Dennis to Washington, D.C., to join family and other friends when he was inaugurated as vice president in 2001.

Though they remain close friends, Dennis is quick to point out that he and Cheney don’t share the same political views.

Another memorable personality Dennis helped introduce to fly-fishing was comedian Richard Pryor, who died in 2005.

”The perception of him (Pryor) was a crazy lunatic,” Dennis said. ”But he was a shy, intelligent man who loved the outdoors. He was trying to find some hope in life through fishing. When he discovered he had MS (multiple sclerosis), he went to a trout stream. He was fascinating, because what you saw on the outside was totally different than what you saw on the inside.”

Dennis points to the famous sportscaster and outdoorsman, Curt Gowdy, as his second father. Gowdy, a Wyoming native who died last year, hosted outdoors television shows with Dennis and helped Dennis found the One Fly Foundation, an annual competition that helps raise money to protect threatened fish species.

Dennis – who has three grown children and two grandsons – said that when celebrities come to his shop nowadays, he usually lets other guides take them fishing. He said he is focused on spending time with his wife, Sandra, who is suffering from skin cancer.

”To me, it’s more important I go fish with my wife,” Dennis said. ”People say, ‘Tiger (Woods) is coming, why don’t you take him?’ Celebrities come now, I let the guides take them. To me, the most important thing is doing things like this (this week’s seminar), where I can touch a few lives.”

Jack Dennis at a glance

Age: 59

From: Jackson, Wyo.

Professional Life: * He founded the Jack Dennis Outdoor Shop at the age of 19. It’s still in operation 40 years later.

* He’s the coach of the Fly Fishing Team USA, which competes in the sport internationally.

* His books, Western Trout Fly Tying Manual, volumes I and II, have sold more than 300,000 copies, making them, unofficially, the most read fly fishing books in the world.

On the Web:

* flyfishingteamusa.com

* jackdennis.com