Mel Krieger was a devoted fisherman since he fished for black bass as a young man in Louisiana and Texas. In 1964 with his wife Fanny and their two children, he moved to San Francisco where he took up flycasting with a vengeance; he becoming an avid tournament caster. His love for the sport and his competitive zeal paid off when he won a flycasting tournament in which the first-place prize was a trip to New Zealand. This was only his first trip to New Zealand, but his love at first-sight for the land and the people inspired him and he created his popular Angler-to-Angler travel program. From this inspiration he, along with Fanny, operated their popular agency for fishing travel to all parts of the world.

Mel had taught flycasting and flyfishing for over 25 years and presently heads the Mel Krieger School of Flyfishing. He taught in Europe, Asia, South America, Australia, New Zealand, the United States and Canada. His widely acclaimed book and videotapes, entitled "The Essence of Flycasting" and the new video "Beginnings: An introduction to Flyfishing," have been used as curriculum for casting schools all over the world. He wrote articles for books and magazines in many countries around the world.

Mel had been involved in the creation of many innovative programs such as the "Flycasting Certification Program," endorsed by the Federation of Flyfishermen and which has been functioning both in the US and abroad.

In 1994, Mel was inducted into the Northern California Council / Federation of Flyfishers Hall of Fame for his contributions in the world of Flyfishing. Mel's love of teaching and fishing took him (and others) on angling adventures to the greatest fishing waters, here in the US and all over the world.

After a short undiagnosed illness, Mel passed away on October 7th 2008 of an incurable brain cancer at the age of 80. His impact on the fly fishing community has been strong and he is sorely missed.