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"Cyril 'Bing' Lempke was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1917. When a pre-teen, his family moved to Idaho and his lifelong interest in angling began. As a teenager, he frequented the Henry's Fork and the Teton River. Fly fishing fascinated him. He traded fish for flies to be models or disassembled to reveal construction techniques. In the late 1930s, he moved to California to work for Southern California Gas Company. Next, he put personal interests aside during World War II to serve in the Merchant Marine transporting supplies in the Pacific. In 1947, Bing and wife Dorothy returned to Idaho where he resumed fly fishing and fly tying. His interest in aquatic entomology grew, especially in the 1960s. Thus, Bing began on the path of being a significant developer of patterns to simulate mayflies, stoneflies and terrestrial insects. Soon he was passing knowledge and techniques on to others through discussions, fly tying demonstrations and on-the-stream sessions. By the 1970s encounters that became most frequent with him were in the early season around Last Chance on the Henry's Fork. On the stream or over tying flies at local establishments, Bing dispensed information on how to fish, read water, tie effective flies, and on aquatic entomology. These became events anticipated by anglers from across the nation.

Bing first participated in a nationally acclaimed fly tying event at the Federation of Fly Fishers 1978 Conclave in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. About this time he revealed his extended body techniques for tying mayfly duns. These gained national attention and quickly following came his array of dying techniques and specialized tying tools. Almost forgotten, however, are equally elegant mayfly duns, stoneflies and grasshoppers he tied in the traditional mode.

In 1988, his awards culminated with the Federation of Fly Fishers' Buz Buszek Memorial Award for fly tying accomplishments. This was followed in 1990 with the Idaho Citizen's Achievement Award presented by then Governor Cecil D. Andrus.

Bing maintained a legendary and gracious approachability and generosity. Sadly, declining health sapped his abilities to fish and tie flies as the 1990s began. He died in February, 1991 leaving a void in fly fishing heritage that cannot be filled."