Sheridan Andreas Mulholland Anderson (18 September 1936 — 31 March 1984) was an American cartoonist, fly fisherman, outdoorsman, illustrator, author, and sign painter.
He is primarily known for being the author of the cult classic Curtis Creek Manifesto, a 48-page illustrated guide to fly fishing that has sold close to one million copies and has been reprinted over 20 times since its first publication in 1978.
His father, first enrolled in the Army, then a car salesman, moved the family to Salt Lake City where Anderson spent most of his early life drawing and painting.
[1] In his vagabonding Anderson eventually met climbers that led him to Camp 4,[1] a campground in Yosemite National Park that was the epicenter of the American rock climbing scene during the 60s.
[4] When he wasn't spending summers in Yosemite, Anderson wintered in places like Reno, Bishop, and, mostly, San Francisco, where he sometimes made ends meet as a sign painter and regularly haunted the Golden Gate casting ponds and local fly shops.
[4] The idea for Curtis Creek Manifesto began to form at Camp 4, where Anderson had to "[supply] a half-dozen fellow pirates with fresh trout" and reported being encouraged to monetize his talents—fishing and drawing—so as to live his bohemian lifestyle more comfortably.
Living off of the royalties from the book, the modest revenue from Curtis Creek Stalker, and the occasional stint as a fly fishing guide for the Sierras, Anderson bought a weathered cabin in the high desert around Chiloquin, Oregon, close to the Williamson and Sprague rivers.
[4] He shared the cabin, dubbed by Anderson as the "Visqueen Manor", with Polly Rosborough, a pioneer of modern fly-fishing and author of Tying and Fishing the Fuzzy Nymph.
[1] Anderson himself was notorious for drinking often and abundantly,[30] showing up in camp with a bottle of Jack Daniel's,[18] emptying his friend's cabinets[31] and drunkenly calling them in the middle of the night.