Fly Fisher Journal of the American Museum of Fly Fishing

The American Fly Fisher Journal of the American Museum of Fly Fishing

FALL 2000 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 4 Time Flies

Arhor-Hoch

T ' s M I D -AU G u s T as I write this, and for once I don't have the ouvortunitvL L to revrint some of the articles from that series. to imagine what fall feels like-today it's here. The tempera- and I intend to do so from time to time. In this issue, we're Itures have dropped, and this morning it feels like late pleased to include "Fly Lines and Lineage." Betts argues that September. As I prepare for a canoe camping trip, I wonder if the evolution of the forms of dry and wet flies is a direct I'll be warm enough. This Vermont summer couldn't have been response to changes in tackle. As fly line changed, the rods more different from the one our western readers had. needed to cast the line changed, and new casting techniques So fall is here, and in keeping with the anticipation that had to be learned: all of which meant that flies cast such a dis- tends to accompany that initial chill in the air, this issue brings tance had to be designed to either float on their own or to sink you news of some of the exciting happenings at the Museum appropriately. Betts focuses the bulk of his discussion on fly over the last year. After months of preparation, our traveling line and wet flies. His article begins on page 17. exhibit, "Anglers All,'' is now on display at the Museum of the In March 2000, the Flyfisher's Classic Library (Devon, Rockies in Bozeman, Montana. Several staff members took England) published a new reprint edition of William Samuel's photos during preparation and installation. We've shared a few The Arte of Angling. To honor the occasion, Frederick Buller of these with you, starting on page lo. takes the opportunity to provide us with some history of the And some news that is causing quite a stir among fly-fishing second earliest book on angling written in the English lan- historians: the discovery in our collection of what may be guage. He retells the story of how authorship was determined among the oldest flies in existence. While preparing for when the sole surviving copy was missing its title page, gives us "Anglers All," staff discovered an assortment of flies in a pair of detail into the author's life. and in varticular. sheds historical three-ring binders, dating as far back as 1789. Originally orga- light on the only two illustrations included in the volume. His nized by J. R. Harris during research for his 1952 book An article. "Sidelights" and Reflections on William Samuel's The Angler's Entomology, a number of the flies are older than the Arte of Angling (1577):' begins on page 2. first color illustrations of flies (1816). More than three-quarters And that, my friends, is what you'll find in these fall pages. of them have accompanying documentation. Sara Wilcox tells As happens at the end of every summer, Little Long Pond and the story in our Gallery piece, "A Century of Flies," on page 15. the Ausable are calling my name-the time has come to put "First Impressions of the Harris Flies," a piece by historian and this issue to bed and head west before the loons take off for former registrar Ken Cameron, follows on page 16. Ken and his their wintering grounds. son Christian visited the Museum in July to study the flies. KATHLEENACHOR John Betts-longtime Museum friend who for several years wrote a regular feature in Fly Tyer magazine-has offered us Preserving the Heritage Flv Fisher of Fly Fishing Journal of dthe American Museum of Fly Fishing FALL 2000 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 4 TRUSTEES E. M. Bakwin John Mundt Michael Bakwin Wayne Nordberg Sidelights and Reflections on William Samuel's Foster Bam Michael B. Osborne Paul Bofinger Leigh H. Perkins The Arte of Angling (1577) ...... 2 Donn Byrne Sr. Allan K. Poole Frederick Buller James H. Carey Robert D. Priest Roy D. Chapin Jr. John Rano Anglers All: Humanity in Midstream 10 Peter Corbin Roger Riccardi ...... Thomas N. Davidson Pamela B. Richards William J. Dreyer Ernest Schwiebert Gallery: A Century of Flies ...... 15 Charles Ferree Robert G. Scott Sara Wilcox Duncan Grant James A. Spendiff Gardner L. Grant John Swan First Impressions of the Harris Flies ...... 16 Arthur Kaemmer, M.D. Richard G. Tisch Woods King I11 David H. Walsh Ken Cameron Walter T. Matia Richard J. Warren James C. Woods Fly Lines and Lineage...... 17 John Betts TRUSTEES EMERITI 22 G. Dick Finlay David B. Ledlie Museum News ...... W. Michael Fitzgerald Leon L. Martuch William Herrick Keith C. Russell Contributors ...... 27 Robert N. Johnson Paul Schullery Stephen Slodn o N THE c ov E R: These flies from 1789 were recently discovered in the Museum's collection. Their receipt, which is also pictured, makes them the OFFICERS oldest documented flies in the world. See related stories on pages 15 and 16. President Robert G. Scott Vice Presidents Pamela B. Richards James A. Spendiff David H. Walsh Treasurer James H. Carey The Amenciin Fly Fisher i\ publtahed Secretary James C. Woods four tlmes a year by Lhe Museum at PO.Box 42, Manchester, Vermont 05254. Publlcatlon dates arc wlnter, spring, summer, and fall. Membership dues lnrludc thc cost of the ~uurnal($30) and are tax deductible as provided for by laiv Melnbcrship rates are Ilsted in the back of each Issue STAFF All letlers, manuscripts, photographs, and materials intended Tor puhllcation m thc Journal should be sent to IExecutive Director Gary Tanner the Museum. Thc Museum and journal air not responslblc for unsal~citcd manuscripts, drawings, photographic material, or memorabilia. The Museum cannot accept respoiisihilily Tor statements and interpretation? thdt are Events &Membership Diana Siebold wholly the .iuthar's. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned unlcss pastage is provided. Contributlans to The Art Director John Price American Fly F~sherare to be ronsldcrcd gratuitous and the prnperty of the Museum unless otherwise requested Special Projects Sara Wilcox by the cantilbutor. Articles appearing in this journal are abstracted and indcaed in Htsloriiiil Abstracti and America: Admin./Advertising Toney Pozek History and Life. Coyynght 0 2000, thc Ainerican Museum of Fly Flshlng, Maiichcstcr, Vermont 05254. Origmal nlaterial appearing may not be rrprlnted w~thoutprror permlsslon. Second Class Permit postage pad ,it Collection Manager Yoshi Akiyama Manchester, Vermont 05254 and additional offices (LISPS 057410). The Anlericnn Fly Fzshri- (ISSN 0884-3562) 130siMAsrhn:Send address changes in The Arrieiican Fly F~sher,YO. Box 42, Manchrster,Veimunt oj254. THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER LMAIL:.imff@togethernet w~ssir~:www.amff.com Editor Kathleen Achor Design B Production John Price Copy Editor Sarah May Clarkson Sidelights and Reflections on William Samuel's The Arte of Angling (1577) by Frederick Buller

Figure I. This is a view of the twelfih-century church of St. Mary's in Godmanchester where the author of The Arte of Angling preached. The river Ouse runs within sixty yards of the church boundary--very handy for a vicar who was also an angler. No list of vicars is on view in St. Mary's, as there open is in old English churches, but one was printed in Philip Dickenson's A Little History of St. Mary's Church, Godmanchester (1942). In his list, some eighty vicars are named from the year 1210 to the most recent appointment in 1992. Photograph by Frederick Buller.

RI N T E D IN 15 77, The Arte of Angling is the second ear- text it was stated that the book was "Imprinted at London in liest book on angling in the English language. Fleetestreate at the Sign of the Faulcon by Henrie Middleton PRemarkably, only one copy has survived, but it is incom- . . .Anno 1577." plete: its first three (or more) leaves, presumably including a The story of how this little book found its way to America title page, had been cut out. In 1953, the late Edgar Chalmers by way of its purchaser Carl Otto von Keinbusch, and finally to Hallam, a dealer in angling and other books on field sports, its home in the Princeton University Library, is a fascinating bought this imperfect copy from Ted Lowe, of the one that has been well told in the three facsimile reprint edi- Birmingham (England) bookdealers Lowe Brothers. tions (1956 and 1958 by the Princeton University Library, and According to Lowe, it had come from a minor house sale March 2000 by the Flyfisher's Classic Library; these "reprints" somewhere in the West Midlands. are editions, really, because the preliminaries are different). The next year, Hallam took the book to the British Museum This last reprint edition includes an extremely informative and Library (now the British Library) where D. E. Rhodes, deputy detailed preface by R. J.W. Coleby, an antiquarian book dealer. keeper in humanities and social sciences, established its Coleby's preface retells the remarkable story of how, after authenticity before writing a bibliographical note about it that years of speculation, the name of the author was eventually was published in the museum's journal, The Library, in 1955.' discovered. It is a story of serendipity-of a trained historian The identity of the author of The Arte of Angling was not evi- discovering something of great importance to angling while he dent from this copy, and it was not known whether it was given was researching other matters. The mystery was solved by in the missing preliminary leaves. However, at the end of the Thomas P. Harrison of the University of Texas who, while he

2 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER Figure 2. St. Mary's Church, Eynesbury. Photograph by Frederick Buller.

was reading a copy of Edward Topsell's book, on The Historie yards of the right bank of the river Ouse in Huntingdonshire. of Serpents, spotted a comment on "a little booke about He was the incumbent of St. Mary's from 1549 to 1554, at which angling:' which named the author, but not the title of the date he was probably ejected by Queen Mary3 for defending book.2 Subsequently Harrison, with consummate skill, was beliefs that were irreconcilable with the new queen's unrelent- able to argue convincingly the case for William Samuel as ing Catholic imperative.4 Mary returned the benefice of the author of The Arte of Angling. church to the Benedictines, who had held it before Henry The full details of Professor Harrison's exciting discovery VIII's Dissolution of the Monasteries.5 There is evidence that were published in the October 1960 issue of the academic jour- Samuel (and his wife) moved to Geneva, Switzerland in 1557,~ nal Notes and Queries, but anglers seemingly knew nothing of where he joined John Knox's congregation and became a self- this discovery until 1975 when the late Arnold Gingrich, one of exile during Mary's reign. the most sensitive and informed of modern angling writers, Samuel returned to England sometime after the death of revealed the "new evidence" in a piece that he wrote in the Queen Mary in 1558 and was reinstated as vicar of St. Mary's spring issue of The American Fly Fisher (vol. 2, no 2). in 1559. In 1560, the succeeding queen, Elizabeth I, changed the vatronage of the church back to the Protestant cause SAMUELAND HIS CHURCH whek she reGstated the benefice to Westminster Abbey7 One susvects that Elizabeth or one of her servants must have had William Samuel was a man of many parts. Beside being an a high opinion of Samuel because she used the device of her author, he was the vicar of St. Mary's in Godmanchester letters patent to commit "the management of the town's (Figure I), an ancient church that stands within a hundred Grammar School [subsequently known as Queen Elizabeth's

FALL 2000 3 Gerald Ea~iesBentlev notes in tlie preface of the .,j6 reprint edition that the last survi\/ingcopy of '/'he r\rtc o!'rltlg/itlg has suffered "hard usage; pcrhaps cvcn days in the pocktbt of '1 fisherman." 1 le continues: "O11e \vondcrs if'lll the other iopics . . . were \\lorn into con7- plcte extinction by the hands of other fishcbrmcn." Eloise Pafort, in her "Sotes on thc \Vynkyn d \Vc)rde Editions of the Bokc oj' St. r11O~tljand 11 Separates," proposes a similar explanution for the ral ity oi early small-format pocket-si/ed ~olumesand instances ,In edition of 'l'/r~,'1i.t.rrtysc in quarto size dated circa I 532 to 1534, of \vhiih there is onlv one extant copy.' She states:

I'he b177rllI li)r~n‘~t\.olu~lic\, the clunrto ii7c 1)i. \\'arc. li)und $0 protit;lble . . . ,~ntlsuit~~bly ad,~ptcil fjr his trcit- rises on sports, provccl for thc i>ibIiographcrof today Ic rilodL'lc jilrill. RCC,ILISCof it5 size, works ot' this type \\ere ~',~iilylost, ;inti iopiei drc cithcr cstreniclv rarc or the* record is n,irro\ved doi~~ito 111iic1~1e sopie\ . . .' The vulner,ibility of pocket-sized \,ol~~niesis under- lined by the f~ctthat in a larger format, there are at least scvcntecn known surviving copies uf the e'irlier ( 1496) edition of the Bokt, ofst. All?trr1j, which includes T/ic Trc~jtysc.j

ENDNOTES

Figure 3. A photograph of the list of rectors on view iur St. Mary's Church at Eyaesbury. Photograph by Frederick Buller.

Grammar School] to William Samwell [Samuel], vicar of although dialogue is one of the earliest literary forms, the Godmanchester, and to fourteen other named inhabitantsl's author of The Arte of Angling was the first to use it in an Samuel's public service didn't end with the extracurricular angling context. This statement is not strictly true, because activity described above. It is likely that he was an outspoken Elfric the Abbot used the device in his Colloquy, the oldest individual who made his views and beliefs known to all. From treatyse on fishing, which he wrote at the end of the tenth cen- Fox's The History of Godrnanchester, we learn that Samuel was tury-although it has to be said the dialogue is about fishing given the Freedom of Godmanchester.9 Doubtless it was his for a living rather than angling for sport. Gerald Eades Bentley, sincerity, his enthusiasm, his humility, and his energy that got professor of English literature at Princeton University, edited him further preferment, for in 1559, besides regaining his living all three reprint editions, and his profiling of the unknown at Godmanchester, he became the rector of St. Mary's Church author for the second reprint edition is considered by Coleby at Eynesbury (some ten miles further upstream) and remained in his preface to the third reprint edition "to be nothing short so until his death in 1580 (see Figures 2 and 3). of astonishing in its accuracy." My interest in The Arte of Angling started when, in the early VON KEINBUSCH,BENTLEY, AND COLEBY 1960s, my friend, the late Richard Walker (see also the sidebar on page g), loaned me his copy of the first reprint edition. All three reprint editions of The Arte of Angling have an Because both of us had spent much of our time fishing the introduction written by the one-time owner of the book, von river Ouse and exploring its environs, we were initially hope- Keinbusch, who has done a fine job setting the scene in the ful that we might discover the name of its author. I remember context of other early English books on fishing. He tells us that us marveling at the accuracy of all the fishing information that

4 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER Figure 4. The quill float. Courtesy of Figure 5. This drawing of Frederick the Second's copper ring Princeton University Library. precedes the text in Samuel's book. Notice that the inscription running round the ring is in Greek. Three previous owners of the book have scribbled notes in ink on some twenty-one pages. Two of the owners have inscribed their names on the ring drawing. Courtesy of Princeton University Library. the book contained, and we were conscious that in this respect joining two sections of swan quill so that the top half fits it was so much better than the Compleat Angler-indeed, the tightly over the bottom half. A horsehair line is pushed only bit of misinformation that we could find was in Samuel's through the two float rings fashioned from thick slices of reference to perch having "throat teeth or pharyngeal teeth swan quill before these are slid over opposite ends of the float (page 26 in all three reprint editions), like members of the carp so as to grip the line (the angler having first set the distance family, which is quite wrong. needed between hook and float). The hooks illustrated are In the third reprint edition of The Arte of Angling, published extremely small and delicate (probably roach hooks), possi- this year, all the main contributions to the understanding and bly size 16 or 18. The fineness of the hooks contrasts with the authorship of the book are included and held together by crudeness of those illustrated in The Treatyse (1496), but this Coleby's splendid preface. However, the scholars who have may reflect the advances made in the printer's art during the added so much to our knowledge of Samuel and his little book interim. have taken little notice of its illustrations. It is nly intention to The second illustration is of considerable interest. It is a redress that neglect. drawing of a copper ring that Samuel said was attached to a pike taken in 1497 from a lake near Haslepurn, the imperial city of Swethland (Sweden; Figure 5). The ring was fitted about the pike's gills and it was engraved with a message There are only two illustrations in Samuel's book. One of translated into Greek by the scholar Johann von Dalberg, who these-a pen-and-ink drawing-depicts a float rig (float, line, became bishop of Worms near Mannheim in 1482.1° The mes- and hooks; Figure 4). The body of the float has been made by sage on the ring reads: Figure 6. "The Emperoh Pike." Color photograph courtesy of the Picture Library, the Natural History Museum. Provenance-John C. Thackray's A Catalog of Portraits, Paintings and Sculpture at the Natural History Museum, London. Earlier black and white photo re$: Toi816/R File: FIS Pike. By permission of the British Library.

I am the first fish of all, put into this lake by the handes of Although the story of the emperor's pike was first men- Frederick the Second, ruler of the world. The fifth day of October, tioned by Gessner and repeated in standard works on freshwa- in the yere of our Lord 1230. ter fishes as well as countless angling books, few people realize Samuel continued with the following commentary: "There that the Natural History Museum (London) possesses a price- upon is gathered the sum of 267 years. And verily before it was less seventeenth-century oil painting of this famous fish of Frederick the Emporour so marked, a good while it have (Figure 6).l4 The artist has overpainted an inscription with a lived, and if as yet it had not been taken, it would have lived a legend that tells the same story (with small differences) as the longer time."ll Samuel credited Gesnerus (the Swiss naturalist engraving on the ring. Conrad von Gessner) for the story of the pike and reproduced This is the biggness of the pike, which the Emporour Frederick the Gessner's diagram of the ring. Second with his owne hand, hath put the first time into a poole at D. E. Rhodes of the British Museum Library, writing in The Lautern; and hath marked him with this ring in the yeare 1230. Library, noted that the story (printed in Latin) came from Afterwards hee brought him to Heydelberg the 6 of November Gessner's Nomenclator aquatilium animantium.12 Samuel, 1497. When hee had beene in the Poole 267 years. however, as Bentley pointed out, had mixed up his geographi- cal locations: Gessner put the weight of the emperor's pike at 350 pounds Haslepurn, the imperial city of Swethland: the author [Samuel] or and the length at lg feet. The skeleton of the pike was preserved his printer, has created confusion here, for no "Haslepurn" is in Mannheim Cathedral and, as a consequence, the story of known, and "Swethland" is a common sixteenth-century form of this colossal pike impressed early writers such as William Sweden. Properly translated it should read "Heilbron, the imperial Samuel and Isaak Walton. Curiously, Walton-in The Compleat city of Swabia." [Heilbron, Germany, is about fifty miles southeast Angler (1653)-seems to have copied Samu/el's mistake when he of Mannheim.] 13 stated that the emperor's pike was taken in Swedeland (yet

6 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER another name for Sweden). In my book Pike, I reported that the story of the emperor's pike was proved fraudulent by a naturalist who found that the pike's back- bone had "acquired a considerable number of extra vertebrae.15 Keen Buss, a noted American fishery biologist, gave a new twist to the dismissal of the claimed length when he wrote "according to the nor- mal length-weight ratio found in 'modern' pike, a nineteen-foot pike could weigh about 3,000 poundsl'l6

As far as we know, unlike its predecessor, The Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle, Samuel's The Arte of Angling had no illustration of an angler, so should we wish to see what a sixteenth-century angler looked like, we have to rely on an image of an angler that appears in Figure 7. The frontispiece of Leonard Mascall's A the frontispiece of Leonard Mascall's A Book of Fishing with Hooke &- Book of Fishing with Hooke & Line. Notice the Line (1590; Figure 7). wicker creel placed on the bank beside the angling Recently I discovered another contemporary image of an angler figure. The second figure is setting up a fued embroidered in a table carpet (Figure 8). The angler depicted on this engine that looks powerful enough to catapult a silk-embroidered table carpet-the so-called Bradford table car- sheep out of the water. Image is from an edition pet-shows how a gentleman angler would have dressed in William owned by the author's friend David Beazley (sometime librarian of the Flyfishers' Club).

FALL 2000 Figure 8. A detail of the Bradford table carpet (No. Ti34-1928). Reproduced by kind permission of the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

Samuel's time. According to Linda Woolley, assistant curator, and probably took a team of embroiderers years to complete. department of textiles and dress at the Victoria and Albert Notice that the carpet angler possesses a creel. This is prob- Museum, "He is wearing what is probably meant to be a ably one of the earliest illustrations of a wicker creel. Its shape woollen jacket and breeches, and his hat may well be of felted (less handles) was subsequently adopted by almost every creel- wool."l7 maker for the next three hundred and fifty years. The carpet, of which Figure 8 shows only a detail from the border, was originally thought to be late sixteenth century (i.e., contemporary with William Samuel), but after recent closer scrutiny of all the garments, is now thought to date between There is more, probably much more, to add to the story of 1605 and 1615, some twenty-five or so years after his death. It is William Samuel. We may yet find a second volume of his book thirteen feet long and five feet, nine inches wide and is meant that will reveal all that was printed or pictured on the missing to illustrate five stages in civilization and man's relationshiv leaves. We may yet be able to locate the author's house or vic- with nature. The caFpet, now in London's Victoria and Albe;t arage, because many houses built during Samuel's time still Museum, came from Castle Bromwich Hall, home of the earls stand in his hometown. of Bradford. Table carpets, as one may suspect, were made for One last thought. Izaak Walton failed to acknowledge the owners of big houses to place on top of their board tables (often name of the author whose book he used as a model for The wrongly called refectory tables). The delicate embroidery on Compleat Angler. Was it because the book that he used is the the Bradford table carpet was tent-stitched onto linen canvas very same one that is now in Princeton? e

8 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER After we had begun work on this article, Frederick Buller elsewhere they are otherwise defined simply as fishing wrote me a letter in reference to some recently found notes of places. his friend, the late Richard Stuart Walker (whom he identi- Thev used to erect PLATforms in the fens so that anrrlers" fies-as the most famous name among modern British angling could fish despite wide rush-fringes. writers, and certainly the most influential). I'd like to share a Page 40. Reference is clear about the use of a single hair. part of that letter and the notes for interested readers of The Page 42. Arming refers to a link-shanked hook, the links Arte of Angling. of wire. -EDITOR Page 49. Great bear worm-this has nothing to do with barley. It means what children still call the "woolly bear," I went to see his widow, Patricia Walker, last weekend [in caterpillar or larva, usually of the garden tiger moth. From May] and we found a draft of his (unpublished) this ultra-hairy larva, so-called palmer flies were copies. notes-tucked into a copy of the first reprint of the book. Palmer is the old word for caterpillar. The latter was a gift copy sent (December 1956) by Page 54. The punning here starts with the very first sen- Princeton University on behalf of Carl Otto von Keinbusch tence; the "house carp" is a carping person (in the house) to Patricia Walker's father, the late R. L. Marston, who was to the treatment of whom the advice about patience, at the time editor of The Fishing Gazette. silence, sufferance, and the application of a hazel wand His notes have to be read in conjunction with one of the without a line (i.e., with which to whip the person) are

three "reprints," but it may help some readers to under- intended to avvlv.LL 1 stand statements made by Samuel, the meaning of which Presumably, Walton's sense of humor (never his strong voint) was insufficient for him to verceive that the whole might otherwise seem obscure. LC -F. B . of the page and the first paragraph of the next are all writ- ten in jest. NOTES Note 92 is an amusing conjecture on somebody's part, Page 16. "Give them the bag." Does not this mean give but it isn't what Viator meant. them the sack, discharge or dismiss them from their job? Page 57. The reference to the fly probably refers to the Page 18. By and by. Does this mean "immediately"? The use of a live rather than an artificial fly, used floating on the expression is used still in country districts to mean "later surface. on," "in time." Page 58. "Herring fulln--means fully as large as a herring, Page 21. "Ledgar" (correctly ledger) fishing does not nec- not necessarily one charged with roe. essarily involve the bait being anchored in one place. See Page 59. "Light of the skull." Skull was an old alternative rolling leger, swinging leger, etc. to "shoal." This probably means "if you light upon (find) Page 26. "'Lead him hard" doesn't mean securely; it the shoal." Dace are shoaling fish. means near, as in hard by. There is no reason to assume the Page 64. A 17-inch roach will weigh well over 3 pounds, perch had bitten through all but one hair. Piscator had, as a tremendous fish by present-day standards. The record he says on the following page, gone roach fishing, and for stands at 3 pounds, 14 ounces [This record has since been that a single hair was commonly used, not only in the six- broken.]. Note again the reference to catching roach "with teenth century but up to the beginning of the present one one hair." (twentieth). I have myself caught roach, dace, and bream Page 66. "Full-blown" means with plenty of the eggs of on single hair. blow-flies deposited on it. In fact, meat in full decay will Page 37. "Plats" are here defined as flat-bottomed boats, not breed maggots well.

vol. ii (London: The Institute of Historical U. Gerald Eades Bentley, p. 78 in the second and ENDNOTES Research, University of London, 1938), p. 112, Pat. 3 third reprint editions of The Arte ofAngling. Eliz. pt. xm. 14 (no. 972). 14. The 66 mm by 168 mm oil painting was pre- 1. D. E. Rhodes, "Bibliographic Notes," The 9. Robert Fox, The History of Godmanchester in sented to the museum by Robert Few in 1881, but Library, fifth series, vol. lo, no. 2 (1955))pp. 123-25. the County of Huntingdon (London: Baldwin and the name of the seventeenth-century artist is 2. Edward Topsell, The Historie of Serpents Craddock, 1831), p. 336-43. Commenting on unknown. An image of the painting before it was (London, 1608). Samuel's appointment, Thomas P. Harrison (Notes restored by the Victoria & Albert Museum in the 3. See Eynesbury manuscript collection and Queries, October 1960, pp. 373-76) noted, late 1960s was first reproduced in Frederick Buller's UMSIEYNESI2zja at the Norris Museum, St. Ives, "This appointment is a signal recognition of Pike (London: MacDonald and Co., Ltd., 1971). Huntingdon. Samuel, not a university man, as a responsible and 15. Frederick Buller, Pike (London: MacDonald 4. Victoria County History for Huntingdonshire, literate churchman and distinguished citizen of and Co., Ltd., 1971; reprinted London: Robert Hale, vol. ii (London: The Institute of Historical Godmanchester." ~OOO),p. 25. Research, University of London, 1938), p. 112. lo. Presumably later translated into Latin and 16. Personal correspondence to the author (20 5. Personal correspondence to the author from subsequently picked up by Conrad von Gessner in April 1968) from Keen Buss, head of Pennsylvania the secretary of the vicar of St. Mary's, the his Norneizclator aqlratiliutn animantitiin (Zurich, Fish Commission, with gifted reprints from the Reverend Neil Follett, 8 February 2000. 1560), p. 316. Pennsylvania Angler of the Commission's The 6. T. P. Harrison, ed. William Samuel, The Arte 11. From the recto side of the twenty-sixth leaf Northern Pike: A Benner Spring Research Station of Angling (Ashburton, Devon, England: Flyfisher's in the original The Arte ofAngling (pages not num- Special Plrrpose Report (1961). Classic Library, ~OOO),p. 96. bered). 17. Correspondence from Linda Woolley, assis- 7. Personal correspondence to the author from 12. D. E. Rhodes, "Bibliographic Notes," The tant curator of the department of textiles and dress the secretary of the vicar of St. Mary's, the Library, fifth series, vol. lo, no. 2 (1955), pp. 123-24; at the Victoria and Albert Museum, 23 February Reverend Neil Follet, 8 February 2000. Conrad von Gessner, Nomenclator aqtiatilitim ani- 2000. 8. Victoria County History for Huntingdonshire, mantiun? (Zurich, 1560),p. 316. Humanity in Midstream apturing nearly two thousand years of fly fishing history in only two thousand square feet of floor space was a very tall order, but Anglers All: Humanity in Midstream does just that in a visually and intellectually exciting exhibition. The opening section is a time line that 'C in 200 A.D. takes the visitor from Elian's comments on fly fishing to the developments and issues A Brazilian Bluewing carved surrounding the sport in 2000. Other sections in the exhibition include "The Fly," "The Rod," by artist Bill Herrick adorns "The Reel," and "The People." In all, more than $i,ooo,ooo worth of the Museum's collection is on the entry of the exhibit. display-currently at the Museum of the Rockies in Bozeman, Montana-for the world to enjoy.

Exhibition codesigner Yoshi Akiyama with the first crate to go on the transport van. It is The panelsfiom "The People" section of A filled with many of the Museum's most important fly rods.

A few of the thirty-two crates it took to Flies and art by Louis Rhead. move Anglers AU to Montana.

THE AMERICAN PLY PISHER Concept drawing of the exhibit by Yoshi Akiyama.

Yoshi arranges a panel in "The Fly" section that explains why British imperialism was important to the development of flies.

The rod-building tools of Hiram Leonard, Streamers from Frank Hiram Hawes, and Letcher Lambuth are Woolner's fly box. displayed on an old rodbuilder's bench.

FALL 2000 "The Gentle Art of Angling" is part of "The Fly" section and includes the art, flies, and tackle "The Rod" section features more than forty of Louis Rhead, Charles DeFeo, John Atherton, and Ernest Schwiebert. readies rods for display.

12 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER ~rfinestrods. Inset: Art Director John Price "The Reel" section displays sixty-one of the Museum's reels, including our Leonard marbleized trout reel and one of only seven existing reels made by Edward Hewitt.

Visitors are treated to video presentations of "Gone Fishin"' is a display of more than one hundred Edward Hewitt, George LaBranche, and John years of pack or travel rods. Alden Knightfishing as well as to a lesson in Bamboo rod construction by Everett Garrison.

FALL 2000 Cook hle~lson

14 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER ---- GALLERY ----

A Century of Flies

'm sure everyone has had the experience of looking for tying and, according to Harris, they are older than the first a particular object and then stumbling upon some- color illustrations of flies (Bainbridge's The Fly-Fisher's Ithing else you didn't even remember you owned. That Guide in 1816). Most are tied on Limerick-style hooks, pre- very thing happened here at the Museum not too long ago dating the first mention of Limerick hooks in fishing lit- as we gathered together the artifacts we'd chosen for our erature by about eleven years. Two of the flies are tied to traveling exhibit, "Anglers All" (see pages lo to 13). We horsehair leaders, the rest on gut. Harris speculated that came across an assortment of flies in a pair of three-ring the horsehair snelled flies might have been used with a binders. The moment we opened up the first notebook, crossline. we realized they were some of the oldest in our collection, Another of the oldest flies is a salmon fly with a note with the earliest dating back to 1789. dated August 1791, proclaiming the fly had taken four Arranged chronologically, they spanned more than a salmon at Galway. Harris believed it to be a variation of century, ending with a group of salmon flies tied circa the King's Fisher Fly. It is of particular interest in that it 1916. In between were wet flies, dry flies, and salmon flies shows how early the Irish were experimenting with exotic of various sizes and colors, representing more than a hun- plumages: the wing features golden pheasant head and dred years' worth of fishing. They all hailed from the neck feathers. The explosion of color in Irish salmon flies British Isles, particularly Ireland and England, and most is usually credited to Pat McKay's creations, which include were in excellent condition. the Golden Butterfly and the Parson, in the early 180os, However, what makes these flies so special and mean- but this fly indicates that earlier tyers were also tinkering ingful to the Museum is not just their age, but the docu- with the beautiful foreign feathers brought back by British mentation accompanying so many of them. More than explorers. three-quarters of these flies include some form of paper- Of course, these are by no means the only flies of inter- work-usually either a bill of sale or a letter-identifying est in this collection. Others of note include artificials for the year it was tied. Having that kind of provenance for white trout made in 1797 (years before any reference such a variety of fly types provides us with valuable his- Harris could find to sea-trout fly patterns) and flies tied in torical insight into the evolution of flies, hooks, and lead- 1902 by world champion fly caster and greenheart rod- ers from the late eighteenth century to the early twentieth. builder John Enright. One fly, tied circa 1803, includes a Unfortunately, we discovered the flies toward the end of note providing the fly's recipe, a rarity at a time when our work on 'knglers All" and were unable to include most of the population was illiterate and patterns were them in that exhibit. However, we wasted no time in passed on through word of mouth. Because this particular putting together a display here at the Museum where they pattern calls for cuckoo feathers and light fur from the are currently one of the highlights of our exhibits. sides of a rat, among other materials, it isn't a fly we see a As far as we can tell, the history of the flies in the lot of these days. binders goes something like this. While researching his As you'd expect for flies of this age, the hooks are 1952 book An Angler's Entomology, author J. R. Harris among the earliest examples of Limerick, O'Shaughnessy, organized and annotated a number of Irish, Scottish, and and Dublin hooks, showing us how these styles evolved as English flies collected primarily by two men, Richard tying needs changed. In a similar vein, many of the flies Gregory and J. C. Gardiner, both of Galway, Ireland. are attached to leaders, again providing a look at how this Gregory, an ancestor of Irish literary figure Lady Gregory, essential piece of tackle developed over the years. lived at the turn of the nineteenth century, Gardiner at the Any angling historian could spend many hours with turn of the twentieth. The flies eventually made their way this treasure trove we unwittingly uncovered. And as he or into the hands of Dorothy Downs of Branford, Con- she studied these flies, pondering what they reveal about necticut, who donated them to the Museum in 1991. the way we fished more than two hundred years ago, the The oldest grouping, a dozen trout flies tied by Thomas most valuable insight might just be this: always save your Cummess, include their bill of sale dated 1789. In Irish receipts. You never know when they'll come in handy. Trout and Saln~onFlies (1984), E. J.Malone implies that SARAWILCOX these flies are the earliest known examples of Irish fly SPECIALPROJECTS

FALL 2000 15 First Impressions of the Harris Flies

by Ken Cameron

Ken Cameron is a former registrar of the Museum. He is writing a book on eighteenth-century fishing with his son, Christian. In July the two were among the first outside the Museum staff to study the Harris flies. Some of the flies to which he refers are pictured on page 14. A numbered key is included below.

HE P H o T o s OF eighteenth-century flies in J. R. Harris's look like the parrot-wing fly in E. J. Malone's Irish Trout and book An Angler's Entomology have for more than thirty Salmon Flies (1984); they would seem to be early (183os?),and, Tyears been the only authenticated ones available, and, for therefore, we'd expect them to have been wiped out by the at least a couple of decades, a number of us have been trying Kelson "classic" look. but smaller versions of much the same to locate the originals. Now, to have them turn up in the flies are in the collection from circa 1900. A herl-bodied Museum's collection is like a gift. Although I know some peo- salmon fly of the 1790s (no. z), which Harris thought probably ple will disagree, I believe that these flies comprise the most a King's Fisher (I disagree), shows an Irish tyer already tying a important collection of antique flies in the world (but I am gaudy at that early date. And the notion that English sports- prejudiced in favor of early flies). men and officers brought fly tying to Ireland isn't supported In our few hours with the collection, we concentrated on the by this collection; the influence looks as if it went the other pre-1816 flies. They alone would justify words like "unique" way, with a long indigenous tradition needed to explain these and "im~ortant."Here are the oldest authenticated trout flies peculiarly Irish elements. we know (1789; no. I); the earliest salmon flies; the earliest use Not all of the collection is Irish, to be sure. An 1816 fly from of golden pheasant, an exotic material that we have always Stockbridge (no. 4) on the Test should be compared with those dated at 1800 from a reference in Samuel Taylor (Angling in All in Reverend Richard Durnford's Diary of a Test Fisherman Its Branches, 1800) but which here shows up (topping) in a tail (1911). There is a Tartan salmon fly, a pattern first mentioned and (crest) in a whole-feather wing ten years earlier (no. 2). early in the nineteenth century. There are many later English Here, and very importantly, are hooks that predate the and Scottish flies (but no American ones, I believe). It is, how-

O'Shaughnessy family makers and do not look quite like the ever. the vervi earlvi flies-most of them Irish-that giveu this col- racy Limericks to come, as well as hooks (on flies by Corny lection such enormous importance, especially in the context of Gorman) that Harris's notes ascribe to the O'Shaughnessys the Museum's already large holdings. but that don't look like the O'Shaughnessys we know. Some of The Harris flies will justify a lot of close examination. We are the hooks are blue, most black but not Japanned; they will going to learn new things from it. It is a major acquisition of reward much study of dimensions and tool marks and bends, the sort historians dream on. - as well as finishes. All the hooks are eyeless, of course, and have snells of (mostly) gut or twisted horsehair (to ten hairs). Three flies, however, appear to have snells of-a discovery of Christian's; I had missed it-that elusive early material, sea grass (no. 5). A dozen flies by Thomas Cummess (1789; no. I) show the use of pig's wool (dyed, mixed, and teased) that would mark Irish flies into the twentieth century. Some of these have high- cocked wings but no hackle and, therefore, connect back directly with flies of the seventeenth century. The sea-trout flies by Hynes of Gort (no. 3), on the other hand, are small and delicate and look forward to very similar flies by the Irish- American tyer John McBride and his daughter Sara (1860s). The use of jointed bodies-including an eighteenth-century Orange and Black that is very like one described by W. H. Maxwell (Wild Sports ofthe West, 1832) in the 1830s-and bright feathers like blue jay and macaw underscores the influence of the Irish on the fancy flies that were to come in the later nine- teenth century, from the Royal Coachman to the McBrides' Tomah Joe. This collection will be essential to any future study of the salmon fly. A number of people, for example, have ascribed the introduction of the gaudy salmon fly to Irish tyers; the collec- Key to Gallery photo on page 14. tion will support that theory. Six undated, huge Shannon flies

16 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER Fly Lines and Lineage by John Betts

-Photographs by John Betts

NTIL RECENT- designs, most investigators LY, I accepted follow either of two courses. the conventional One is to use fly patterns wisdomu that wet flies themselves, attempting to came first and were later trace the lineage of modern redesigned to become dressings. But we run into the earliest dry flies. But problems if we try to deter- it seems more likely that Horsehair lines (this one was made by the author) were in common mine the development of the traditional forms use until the 1800s. Typically, a line 25 feet or less in length was cast flies by studying patterns or of wet flies and dry with a rod that might have been 15 feet. With such tackle, an angler tying techniques. Palmered fliesYthat is, the styles did not needfloatingflies in order to fish on the surface-he could flies, or =palmers; remained familiar to modern suspend his flies by elevating the rod and keeping most of the line unchanged for centuries and anglers-developed at off the water. Knotless, tapered lines that could be cast longer dis- are still made the same way about the same time tances made it impossible for anglers to hold theirflies on top of the today. The historical line is and from common water and created the need forflies that couldfloat on their own. without a blemish. on the ancestors. other hand, the Yellow Sally, England is the primary source of our fly-fishing heritage. In a stonefly imitation in Richard Bowlker's Art of Angling (1747), that country, before the mid-i8oos, the terms "wet" and "dry" becomes an upwing mayfly dun in the 1806 and later editions referred to the condition of a fly at the moment; a fly could be of the same work. Charles, Richard's son, listed himself as the wet or dry, depending on how and how recently it had been author of the book soon after the first printing. In these used. The modernization of early designs into traditional wet- reprints, the last in 1792, the Yellow Sally remains a stonefly. In and dry-fly forms began around 1800; by the middle of the 1806, a new edition appears. Charles is still the author in spite century, dry flies were designed to float on their own and wet of the fact that he died in 1779.' Much in the new edition has flies were made to sink on purpose. changed, including the Yellow Sally. Unlike the continuity The change seems to correspond to two events: advances in found in the palmered flies, the history of the Yellow Sally is the rope and textile industry and silkworm gut. These devel- not continuous. In fact, the more closely you look at fly-tying opments had their start in the 17oos, but did not become fully history, the more you find exceptions, contradictions, and dis- integrated into angling until much later. Together, they may continuity. have had a profound, yet generally overlooked effect on how The other course is to subscribe to the ideas of angling his- trout flies are tied. torian John Waller Hills, the author of A History of Fly Fishing In trying to establish a sequence in the development of fly for Trout, first published in 1921. In his view, deliberately false casting to dry a fly before the next presentation is the defining moment. This article originally appeared in the Winter 1999 issue of That view, however, is fundamentally inaccurate. In 1851 Fly Tyer and appears here through their generosity. G.P.R. Pulman wrote, " . . . let a dry fly be substituted for a wet

FALL 2000 I one, the line switched a few times to throw its superabundant moisture. . . . "2 Hills interpreted this to be the first evidence of false casting to dry a fly and, by extension, the beginning of modern dry-fly fishing. Hills, however, overlooked a similar passage in A True Treatise on the Art of Fly Fishing, published in 1838 by William Shipley and Edward Fitzgibbon: " . . . and the quick repetition of casting whisks the water out of your flies and line."3 This "quick repetition" might not have meant false casting as we use the term, but there's no doubt that Shipley and Fitzgibbon used casting to dry the fly. Overloolung Shipley and Fitzgibbon, however, is the small- er of the mistakes made by Hills. He made an obvious error in taking Pulman's "its" to mean the fly. Clearly the antecedent of "its" is the line. In his book Royal Coachman (1999), Paul Schullery points out that Pulman himself says that he exchanged" the wet fly for a dry one, which obviously could not have had any moisture on it. Pulman was switching moisture only off the line. Until Schullery, angling historians have acclpted and quoted Hills and his con~lus~onthat Pulman's suggestion to "switch the line marked the beginning of mod- ern dry-fly fishing. But fly fishers used false casting to dry their flies and line before Pulman recommended the practice-and before the forms of wet and dry flies diverged-because it was the natural thing to do. Thinking about lines and casting, however, does put us on the right track. The modern forms of dry and wet flies seems to have come about in response to changes in equipment. Lines that encouraged upstream fishing and longer casts forced

2,flv tvers, to devise Datterns that could float on their own. These are the oldest surviving examples of which the author knows. Every early fishing writer, including the author of the They were tied by James Ogden and are contained in special Treatyse of 1496, was aware of trout feeding on the surface, cutouts in W H. Aldam's Quaint Treatise on Flees and the often referred to as "at" or "on the top of" the water. The word Art of Artyfichall Flee Making, published in 1876. Ogden had "float" also appears in old angling books, though the interpre- been selling such floatingflies to his customers by 1875. tation of it differs slightly from our own. The difference lies in how floating is accomplished; it seems likely that modern dry flies began to develop when surface flies were no longer sus- Eventually, the rod became vertical and picking up the line to pended in a "floating" position, as in dapping, but were tied to make the next cast became practically impossible. Fishing float on their own. Patterns deliberately tied to sink developed downstream or, in some cases, across the stream eliminated at the same time and from the same causes: changes in the way the problem. fly lines were made and the acceptance of silkworm gut. As late as 1800, anglers were still using rods 15 feet long or Until the Industrial Revolution, fly-fishing lines were made longer and horsehair lines 25 feet in length. Presenting a fly to of horsehair. Twisted or braided sections or "links" of horse- fish feeding at the surface was easy if the angler was upstream, hair, each about 20 inches long, were knotted together to make above the fish, and with the wind at his back. A "floating" fly a line. A tapered line was made by using fewer hairs in each floated because it was suspended at the surface and prevented successive link. A good craftsman can easily make a horsehair from sinking. The angler held the fly afloat by holding all or line about 25 feet long in a day. most of his line off the water. Whether the vattern would float The line was longer than the rod and was either tied direct- on its own didn't matter. ly to the rod or to a running line (often made of silk) that came The chanee" from knotted to knotless lines was made vossi- out through a top ring or loop. The running line was attached ble in the 1700s by machinery used in the textile and rope to a reel "winch." Only the horsehair line was employed in lay- industrv. That machinerv could svin hair or hair and silk into ing out the fly, and the angler made all of his presentations continuous, smooth, knot-free lines tapered at one or both with a fured length of line, generally 25 feet or shorter. ends. A few old books mention twisted-silk running lines, but Fishing upstream with such tackle was difficult, and very knotless fly-casting lines did not begin to come into common few authorities recommended it. One needs only to try it with use until well into the eighteenth century. a f~edlength of line to understand why. As the line drifted Knotless lines were accompanied by new leaders. In the early back toward the angler, the only way to recover slack was to I~OOS,silkworm gut had been introduced as leader material, raise the rod; the knots in the line made it impossible to strip and for the next half century it competed on roughly equal line through the top ring and the guides (if the rod had any). footing with horsehair tippets. As knotless lines brought about

THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER -. - The ways in which anglers presented theirflies changed profoundly as a result of the knotless lines and gut leaders that displaced horsehair lines and tippets. These pages are from Theophilus South's Fly Fisher's Textbook, published in 1841. The author believes that they provide the earliest instructions for modern fly casting, roughly speaking. South's instructions and diagram are accurate and comprehensible.

changes in casting styles and increased the length of casts, forth through the guides, and for this smooth, knotless line is horsehair tippets gave way to silkworm gut. The forces gener- required. With false casting, the line could be extended beyond ated by the new casting style exceeded horsehair's capacity to the points at which the fly had formerly been suspended. withstand them. The tight loops at the end of fore and back When this became possible, dry flies had to be redesigned to casts will break horsehair. float on their own, and wet flies would be given time to sink. The union of knotless, tapered lines and gut leaders made They could do this best if they had the right configuration. The possible the development of modern fly fishing and modern contention that fly designs were forced to change into specific flies. Thanks to the new lines and leaders, and to the new styles types because of changes in line manufacturing technology is of rods made to take advantage of them, anglers could cast flies supported by Herd's observation on the change in false cast- well beyond the distances they had formerly reached. By 1875, ing. And so, in the early i8oos, anglers began to develop the a good caster could reach out eighty feet-a respectable dis- forms we recognize as drv flies. tance even today. Fishing upstream became a practical method Anglers hadvalways fished some flies below the surface. In because slack knotless line could be pulled back through the 1662. Robert Venables wrote. " . . . a fish will sometimes take the rod's guides and maintain the resistance if the line on the water fly much better at the top of the water, and at another time needed to load the rod for the back cast. Fishing upstream was much better a little below the superfecies [sic],and in this your a common practice by 1850. own observation must be your constant and daily instructor. . Fly designs and tying methods remained largely unchanged . . "4 But until the widespread acceptance of knotless lines and from at least the late fifteenth through the early nineteenth gut leaders, very few flies had been designed to sink to any centuries. Anglers had no reason to change them. But then, appreciable depth. Indeed, the only weighted pattern in the old because of new lines, leaders, rods, and casting techniques, flies literature is one Venables described in the 1670s, and it did not could be cast much greater distances. Before this development, reappear until the late 1800s. flies did not need to float on their own; an angler working with Knotted, horsehair lines had made it unnecessary to tie a fixed, relatively short length of line could hold a fly on the buoyant flies, and they had also made quick-sinking flies surface. The effect of a longer cast was to put the fly too far impractical; perhaps "irrelevant" is a better word. The fured away from the angler for him to hold it suspended at the top length of knotted lines was probably not sufficient, even when of the water. cast upstream, to provide enough time for a fly to sink very far. Andrew Herd, English physician and angling historian, has Once fly fishers could cast farther, they created time for the made a significant observation regarding the false cast. flies to sink. Just as today's dry flies are the progeny of knotless Originally, a false cast was any cast that did not present the fly lines, so too are modern wet flies. Both groups grew from com- to the fish. Today, it is used not only as that, but as the means mon ancestors, and both developed at the same time. But by which line is extended. False casting to extend the line can while a great deal of attention has been lavished on the devel- only be done if the line is not fixed but can run freely back and opment of dry flies, relatively little has been paid to wet flies. The sparse, graceful forms of traditional wetflies also grew from nineteentk- century changes in fly-fishing tackle. They represent something of a paradox: although crafted to penetrate the water's surface and sink rapidly, classic wets have the wings characteristic of the adult insects found on top of the water.

course, called for putting wings on flies, but the momentum of tradition may only be part of the reason that wet flies devel- Nearly all of the flies we know of up to the late 1800s repre- oped as they did. sent winged, adult insects. Among the exceptions are palmers Another possibility is that fish caught below the surface had or caterpillars, the Venables Caddis Pupa of 1662, and its adult insects in their stomachs when no adults could be seen weighted form of the 1670s. Until roughly a century ago, the on the surface. This could happen after the hatch was over. vast majority of trout flies looked more or less like adult Some anglers may have concluded that winged insects were insects. found both on top of and down in the water. Set against the Patterns copying immature forms of aquatic life were absent entire history of fly fishing, any understanding of the meta- for good reason: trout were regularly seen feeding on winged morphosis of aquatic insects became common knowledge only insects on or above the surface, and fly fishers copied what fairly recently. they saw. Of course, trout were known to eat minnows, But although most anglers insisted that wet flies have wings, nymphs, frogs, worms, and maggots-the evidence was inside the form of those wings changed. Until about 1800, nearly all fish that were caught-but anglers apparently saw little need to flies had reversed wings: the material was attached with the craft imitations of bait that was easy to obtain and use. Keep in tips pointing forward, then lifted upright or even forced to lie mind that anglers of bygone years fished as much for a full bas- rearward, and then bound in place. We still use this type of ket as for sport. If minnows or frogs catch fish and are them- construction; the wings of Catskill dry flies begin as reversed selves easily caught, why go to the trouble of making artificial wings. Reversing a wing may mean that the material ends up lures? Only a few live insects make good bait: stonefly nymphs, in a more or less vertical position. The flies shown on the cover grasshoppers, and even adult green drakes have been used for of this journal all have reversed wings and show their tendency centuries. to end up in a vertical or advanced position. The overall usefulness, abundance, and huge variety of baits George Bainbridge's A Fly Fisher's Guide, published in 1816, precluded the need for imitation-except for smaller insects. contains the earliest color plate of which I know showing The little adult mayflies, caddis, stoneflies, and two-winged wings made of left and right quill slips. These wings are set on flies were unusable because of their size, delicacy, and elusive the hook with their tips pointing rearward toward the nature. Artificial lures proved ideal substitutes. They were eas- bend-they are not reversed. After Bainbridge's book, quill-slip ily made in endless variety, were effective, didn't rot, wings became increasingly common in the literature. and-because they could be used over and over-were inex- Eventually, quill-slip wings mounted with their tips to the rear pensive. They were also available at any time of the year. became the distinguishing mark of the standard wet fly. In the early nineteenth century, the forms of wet and dry Why did this style of wing become standard on wet flies?For flies diverged. In the case of wet flies, it seems odd that rather two reasons: first, it was easier, and second, we can again look than make imitations of the larvae that anglers knew lived in to nineteenth-century improvements in tackle. As we've seen, streams, most tyers continued to make representations of the tapered, knotless lines and strong, slender gut tippets allowed winged, adult insect found on top of the water. Tradition, of fly fishers to make longer casts. The new tackle forced fly tyers

20 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER The fascination with adult mayflies remains constant. The universal allure of the mayfly, says the author, "can be found in its name, in the romantic tragedy of its life, and in the water and countryside where it lives."

to come up with patterns that could float on their own, but it fly" and "dry fly" referred not only to lures constructed to sink also made possible wet-fly fishing as we understand it: longer or float, but also to angling methods, rod actions, line and casts and better leaders gave subsurface flies time to sink and leader tapers, types of water, and indeed to entire schools of allowed them to swim. To work properly, a wet fly must thought and approaches to the sport. As many anglers paid embody two features: it must be streamlined so that it can more attention to the submerged, immature forms of aquatic enter the water quickly and swim without twisting, and it must insects, nymph fishing grew in popularity, eventually eclipsing be sparse enough to sink quickly. The new style of wings ful- the traditional wet fly. Technological improvements in the filled all of the requirements, and a new school of fly fishing eighteenth-century textile industry reshaped fly fishing and, was created. inevitably, fly tying. The classic, winged wet fly is primarily a product of south- Throughout all the changes and evolution, however, we have ern England and looks very different from its wingless cousin remained fascinated by the adult mayfly and by floating, up- used in the north, a type of fly now known as a soft-hackle wet. wing mayfly imitations. Why do adult-mayfly patterns still Both styles developed simultaneously, and the differences dominate fly lists and tying books, even though we know that between them could largely be attributed to the types of rivers they constitute only a small part of the trout's diet? for which they were made: the winged wets were tied for the The appeal of the mayfly is universal. Its allure can be found smooth chalk streams of southern England, where large num- in its name, in the romantic tragedy of its life, and in the water bers of fully hatched adults could be found on the surface. The and countryside where it lives. For many people, including me, wingless soft hackles created for the turbulent north country the winged mayfly is the most elegant shape in the natural streams represented the tumbled and often drowned adults world. When drifting silently among natural duns our imita- found in those conditions. That the winged style of wet fly tion becomes much more than bits of feathers and wisps of fur became popular should suprise no one. Their appearance is cleverly fastened to a hook. A trout rising to take a floating fly much more appealing, and southern England was the center of is a unique and personal experience. It is an electric moment, the angling press. just as much for us as it was for early fly fishermen. - The evolutionary path of fly design split around 1800 as advances in lines and leaders created new reauirements and new opportunities. Before the nineteenth century, the terms ENDNOTES "wet" and "dry" referred simply to the condition of a fly. Floating flies began to appear in shops in the 1840s and were 1. Ernest Schwiebert, Trout (New York: E.P. Dutton, 1978), p. 84. called "dry flies" shortly thereafter. After 1850, more and more 2. G.P.R. Pulman, The Vade-Mecum of Fly-Fishing for Trout (London: anglers began to fish upstream, taking full advantage of the Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1851), p. 132. 3. William Shipley and Edward Fitzgibbon, A True Treatise on the Art of Fly possibilities offered by their knotless, tapered lines and their Fishing (London: Simpkin, Marshall, and Co., 1838), p. 78. gut leaders. In 1879, James Ogden published the first instruc- 4. Robert Venables, The Experienced Angler (London: R. Marriot, 1662), p. tions for winding a modern dry-fly hackle, telling his readers 10. to "keep it well on edge."5 By the early twentieth century, "wet 5. Iames Ogden, Ogden on Fly Tying (Cheltenham: J.T. Norman, 1879) p. 4.

FALL 2000 21 'l'he American Museum of Fly Fishing Box 42, Manchester,Vermont 05254 Tel: 802-362-3300. Fax: 802-362-3308 EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.amff.com JOIN! lahn Price Membership Dues (per annum) INDIVIDUAL Associate $35 Sustaining 560 Benefactor $125 Patron $250 GROUP Club Trade Membership dues include four issues of The American Fly Fisher. Please send your payment to the Membership Director and include your mailing address. The Museum is a member of the American Association of Museums, the American Association of State and Local History, the New England Association of Museums, the Vermont Museum and Gallery Alliance, and the International Association of Sports Museums and Halls of Fame. We are a nationally accredited, nonprofit, edu- cational institution chartered under the Patlla "Stick" Welch (left) passing the fish on to Diana Siebold who will take her place laws of the state of Vermont. I as events coordinator. SUPPORT! As an independent, nonprofit institution, the American Museum of Fly Fishing Staffing News corporate ladder. After looking into a relies on the generosity of public-spirited number of ideas, they opted to move to individuals for substantial support. We The Museum is pleased to announce Vermont, becoming owners of the ask that you give our museum serious that Yoshi Akiyama, who codesigned Battenkill Inn. They also started up their consideration when planning for gifts and "Anglers All" with Laine Akiyama, his wife own business, Our House Design Studio. bequests. of eight years, will be staying on at the Realizing innkeeping left little time for Museum in the months to come, helping design, they sold the inn in 1999 to con- VISIT! us reorganize and sort through our collec- centrate on their studio full-time. Hours are lo AM to 4 PM. We are closed tion under the title of collection manager. According to Laine, "Yoshi became on major holidays. Although Yoshi graduated from Tokyo interested in fly fishing in California and University with a bachelor's degree in nat- practiced casting nightly in our bedroom BACK ISSUES! ural sciences in 1971, his passion ever since with yarn at the end of his line-there Available at $4 per copy: he was a boy was art. That passion led him weren't really any places for him to prac- Volume 6, Numbers I, 2,3, 4 to participate in the first Japanese ex- tice except a nearby concrete pond, so his Volume 7, Number 3 change program between his school and John Price Volume 8, Number 3 the University of Michigan, which in turn Volume 9, Numbers I, 2,3 led to a job in Florida in 1972 as an exhib- Volume lo, Number 2 it builder on such projects as the Kennedy Volume 11, Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 Space Center and Walt Disney World Volume 13, Number 3 Village. Yoshi moved on to a position at Volume 15, Number 2 Volume 16, Numbers 1, 2,3 Walt Disney World in 1975. Working his way through the ranks at Disney, Yoshi Volume 17, Numbers 1, 2,3 eventually became the executive produc- Volume 18, Numbers I, 2,4 Volume 19, Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 erldesigner of Tokyo Disneyland, respon- Volume 20, Numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 sible for the design and construction of 1 Volume 21, Numbers 1,2,3,4 the park before its opening and for Volume 22, Numbers 1, 2,3, 4 enhancements and additions as the park Volume 23, Numbers 1,2,3, 4 grew. Volume 24, Numbers I, 2, 4 In 1996, Yoshi and Laine, who met while Volume 25, Numbers I, 2, 3, 4 both were working for Disney, decided Volume 26, Numbers 1, 2 they'd had enough of trying to scale the Yoshi Akiyarna with his wife/partner Laine.

22 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER interest really took off once we arrived in radio in various marketing and public HFA (Hammonassett Fishing Associa- Vermont and he could fish in real relations capacities, two years ago she tion), by Daniel James. Jim Carey of rivers!" Luckily for us, he was able to founded her own marketing firm, Manchester, Vermont, gave us the bring together his love of fly fishing and Promotion Works. The Museum is reserved deluxe edition of Joseph D. his amazing design ability in the creation happy to have someone of her talents on Bates and Pamela Bates Richards's of "Anglers All" and will be able to con- board. Fishing Atlantic Salmon. Molly Mulhern tinue pursuing both passions here at the As for Paula, she intends to spend of the International MarineIRagged Museum. some quality time with her husband Mountain Press in Camden, Maine, And proving the old cliche that "as Danny, wash her car daily, and otherwise donated four books: Fly Fishing: A one door closes, another opens," the enjoy her free time. All of you who've Woman's Guide, by Dana Rikimaru; A Museum bid farewell to Paula Welch met or worked with Stick know how Fly Fisher's Guide to Saltwater Naturals, even as Diana Siebold was welcomed to much her humor, kindness, and warm by George V. Roberts Jr.; Underwater the staff. Paula finished her second stint spirit will be missed by everyone here at Flies for Trout, by Tom Fuller; and A at the Museum at the end of August, the Museum. Master's Guide to Atlantic Fishing, by Bill passing the fish . . . er, torch . . .to Diana, Cummings. who stepped into her shoes as both Recent Donations Several authors sent us copies of their events coordinator and membership own work: Don Phillips of Marco director just as our fall auction season Some of our readers may have noticed Island, Florida, donated a first edition of kicked into high gear. that our "Recent Donations" column his book, The Technology of Fly Rods. Diana, who lives in East Dorset with disappeared for the year that we've been Ken Abrames of Providence, Rhode her husband Cliff Beebe, brings a wealth between curators and working feverishly Island, donated copies of two his books: of experience to her work at the on the "Anglers All" exhibit. We apolo- Striper Moon: Fly Fishing Technique and Museum. No stranger to the ins and outs gize for the delay in recognizing donors. Flies for Striped Bass in Estuary, River, of nonprofit fundraising, Diana has We hope to include everyone by the Bay & Surf and A Perfect Fish: Illusions worked for the Manchester Music Winter 2001 issue. in Fly Tying. And Austin McK. Francis Festival, Hildene, the Vermont Sym- Several people added to our ever- of New York City donated a copy of his phony Orchestra, and Manchester's expanding library. Peter Lapsley of book, Land of Little Rivers (Beaverkill Prelude to Christmas, in addition to her London, England, donated The Test and Press). extensive background in public rela- Itchen Association Ltd. Millenium Report, Quite a few rods have been added to tions. Having worked for the Bromley by Jim Grasspool. Joseph M. Agro of our collection. R. H. Miller of Ski Resort, Manchester Advertising (as Wilford, Connecticut, sent us no. 271 of a Louisville, Kentucky, donated a 7%-foot co-owner and president), and WJAN limited-edition run, A Hundred Years of South Bend cross model 1500 rod.

FALL 2000 23 The Museum's second annual "Definitely Not the Battenkill" saltwater fun tournament was held June 17 out of Northrop's Landing in Westport, Connecticut. Weput ten teams out on the flats of Long Island Sound, and from all reports, a good (read: we caughtjish!) time was had by all. Pictured are the tournamenti winning team of Trustee Gardner Grant and Executive Director Gary Tanner. An obvious computer scanning error should be noted here, because no director in his right mind would catch a fish bigger than a trustee's! The fishing ended at noon, when the teams headed out for a great lobster bake.

James Heyworth of Lake Forest, Illinois, Peter Tinns of Ashburnham, Massa- gave us George W. Harvey's waders with gave us an 11%-foot and a 15-foot C. F. chusetts, donated a Weber Henshall No. a description on his business card, as well Murphy bamboo rod. Wallace Murray 003 reel and an Ashaway fly line box. Ron as Harvey's original hatch chart. of Arlington, Vermont, donated a 6-foot, Larson of Roseburg, Oregon, sent us a Shirley D. Clapp of Great Barrington, 9-inch Orvis impregnated "Yamame" Loop USA No. 3 reel. Bill Vamer of Massachusetts, donated the following bamboo fly rod. Paul Bujalski of West Evergreen, Colorado, donated an AYR fly items in honor of the late Robert S. Haven, Connecticut, donated a 9-foot, 6- reel. Katherine M. Glynn of Norwalk, Clapp: five photographs of Helen Shaw inch Leonard bamboo rod and an 8-foot, Connecticut, gave us a homemade wood- taken bv Hermann Kessler: one vhoto- 7-inch bamboo rod of an unknown en line dryer with lines. graph Af Hermann ~esslkr;an2 one maker. William J. Treadway of Bristol, Bob Warren of Princeton, Massachu- photo album containing photos of Shaw Connecticut, gave us a 7-foot, 3-piece setts, donated a presentation Gaudy Fly and Kessler, as well as fly-fishing articles Bristol steel fly rod. And Carl Caiati of that he tied from Blacker's 1855 classics and letters. Coral Springs, Florida, sent us a custom- for the "Anglers All" exhibit. For the same William Prescott Bonbright of Grosse made 9-foot graphite fly rod. exhibit, Paul Rossman of Bolton, Pointe Farms, Michigan, donated an Trustee Allan Poole of Orange, Connecticut, donated a presentation Ogden Smith leather fly vault containing Connecticut, donated ten bamboo fly salmon fly he tied, the MOM (Mary trout and salmon flies, a Vom Hofe rod rods, including a 7-foot Edwards Orvis Marbury). repair kit, and a fish scale; an Orvis CFO quadrate and a 7-foot Sam Carlson James B. Buchok of Riverton, no. 9 fly reel in a leather pouch; and a quadrate; two Pflueger Medalist fly reels; Connecticut, donated a handwritten let- Bogdan no. 3 salmon fly reel. a Hardy Uniqua fly reel; a Messelbach ter from Harold Gibbs to Austin S. Karen Myers and David Zincavage of Airex fly reel; an Abu Garcia Delta 5 fly Hogan, six no. 22 flies tied by Harold Newtown. Connecticut. sent us Salmon reel; volumes 1 and 2 of the Marston edi- Gibbs, and one saltwater fly tied by Al and Trout magazine issues from April tion of Isaak Walton's The Compleat Brewster. Walter W. Schroeder of 1922 through January 1952 (excluding six Angler; and a limited-edition etching by Williamstown, Massachusetts, sent us issues in the 1940s). W. J. Schaldach. articles on Wes Jordan and a letter from Robert H. Miller of Chicago. Illinois. Tom Rosenbauer of Bennington, Gloria Jordan sent to Wally Schroeder donated two limited-editionvfly-fishing Vermont, donated an 8%-foot Orvis (his father). Paul Schullery of prints, one by C. E. Monroe (4841500) boronlgraphite powerflex fly rod; an 8%- Yellowstone Park, Wyoming, donated and one by Robert Abbott (5061850)And foot Orvis HLS graphite rod; two Orvis some newspaper articles about fly-fish- James S. Taylor of Santa Barbara, presentation reels; and three Orvis SSS ing legend Francis Betters. Marcia and California, donated an acrylic painting series antireverse reels. Hank Woolman of The Plains, Virginia, by Peter Corbin, Battenkill Afternoon.

24 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER p,, PF*W ...... i -,. 1 i The new Trident 905. Available in mid-flex and tip-flex. First choose the then choose the action. Whether you prefer the distance and accuracy of the - tip-flex, or the versatility and superior tippet protection of the mid-flex, you'll The TrLdrntTL enjoy the lightest, most responsive five-weight Orvis has ever built.

905 IS available in either mid. or YOU'V~got 10 Cast these rods. That's the only way you'll fully appreciate just how tip-fiex. $470. light these rods really are. High-modulus graphite combined with an exclusive

compound taper means less material in a stronger rod - lighter than any five- weight we've ever made. You'll also benefit from the vibration reduction of the exclusive Trident grip- damping technology that increases your distance and accuracy on every cast. Visit your O~V~Sdealer. With its distinct green blank, handsome gold anodized and maple burl reel seat, and sleek titanium carbonitride guides, the Trident TL 905 is as stunning as it is light. Come see for yourself. Visit your local Orvis is proud to support Orvis dealer for a test cast. Or two. OR^ The American A SPORTING TRADITION SINCE 1856 Museum of www.orvis.com Fly Fishing

Historic Route 7A, Manchester, Vermont 05254 Call toll free 1-800-333-1550 MI. 802 for further information on our dealers world-wide or for a free Fishing Catalog.

FALL 2000 25 Fishing Hunting

Specializing in rare and out-of-print sporting books with one of the largest inventories in the U.S. Executive Director Gary Tanner and S. A. Neff Jr., angling bookbinder, in front of Neff's Fresh and salt water color study for his binding of Volume 1 of Jim Brown's A Treasury of Reels. The Museum hosted an opening reception for Nefs show, "The Collector as Bookbinder: fly fishing Fly tying The Piscatorial Bindings of S. A. Nef Jr." on July 9. The show ran through September Upland game Big game 29. Before its stay at the Museum, the exhibit visited the Cleveland Museum of Natural Sporting dogs etc. History and the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, among other venues. Neff's work was featured in the Spring 2000 issue of this journal.

Two 72-page catalogs issued each year with no In the Library Upcoming Events title repeated for three Thanks to the following publishers for catalogs. Subscription their donations of recent titles that have September 23 become part of our collection (all were Patron's Event price is $5.00 for two years. published in 2000, unless noted other- Pine Ridge Winery wise). Napa, California We are always interested The Flyfisher's Classic Library sent us William Samuel's The Arte of Angling. September 27 in buying single books Sporting Clays at Skytop Lodge Atlantic Monthly Press sent us Nick Skytop, Pennsylvania or entire sporting libraries. Lyons's Full Creel: A Nick Lyons Reader. The Lyons Press sent us the newly September go Cocktail Reception, Appraisals done for issued paperback version of Doug Swisher and Carl Richards's Backcountry "Anglers All" Exhibition estate and insurance Fly Fishing in Salt Water (1995); James Museum of the Rockies Prosek's Early Love and Brook Trout; Bozeman, Montana Howard Back's The Waters of Yellowstone October 11 with Rod and Fly; Roderick L. Haig- Philadelphia DinnerIAuction Judith Bowman Books Brown's The Seasons of a Fisherman: A Merion Cricket Club Fly Fisher's Classic Evocations of Spring, Haverford, Pennsylvania 98 Pound Ridge Road Summer, Fall, and Winter Fishing; and November 1 Bedford, NY 10506 four titles in The Orvis Streamside Guide Hartford DinnerJAuction (9 14) 234-7543 (phone) series, three by Tom Rosenbauer (Leaders, Knots, and Tippets; Approach Farmington Marriott Hotel (914) 234-0122 Ifax) Farmington, Connecticut and Presentation; and Trout Foods and Note: Date changed from Their Imitations) and one by Tom Deck November 9 (Fly Casting). Frank Amato Publications, Inc. sent November 3-4 us Darren Banasch's Which Fly Do I Use? Trustees Cocktail Reception, A Guide to Choosing Flies That Catch Meeting, and Dinner Trout; Harry W. Murray's Virginia Blue- The Equinox Hotel Ribbon Streams: A Fly-Fishing Guide; Manchester, Vermont Tom Alkire's There's More to Fishing November 30 (Than Catching Fish); and Lee Clark and San Francisco DinnerIAuction Joe Warren's Fly Tying with Poly Yarn. Patio Espafiol m San Francisco, California

26 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER Sales and mana ement of the Northern Roc!k ies' finest recreational ranch properties. Fay Fly Fishing Properties, Inc. believes the strength of any fly fishing related investment is directly dependent upon the quality of the fisheries and the maintenance of the Northern Rockies' wide-open landscape. We seek to attract conservation.minded individuals with a desire to become responsible stewards of the land by caring for its natural beauty and rural heritage. www.fayflyfishingprops.com for more information on properties for sale and to order a free brochure. P.O. Box 397 - Bozeman, MT 59771

Dan Alsup SBr. $19.95

Bud Lillyfs Guide to Fly Fkhing Inshore Flies: tlae Mew We?& Best Contemporary Patterns from the Jim Schollmeyer and Ted Leeson Atlantic and Gulf Coasts Paul Sehnllery SB: 519.95 BdL@ md Jim Schollmeyer and Ted Leeson ss: $24.95 I18! $34*95 SB: $29.95 HB Spiral: $39.95 For a description of the above books, plus many others, check out our web site at www.amatobooks.com. Order from fly shops, book stores, our web site or call: rn FALL 2000 Members CONTRIBUTORS Only ::;:: Now you can own "one of the most beautiful fishing books ever Frederick Buller, a London gunmaker, has published" (Outdoor Life), at a spent most of his spare time during the last special AMFF member discount forty years researching angling history. He is ($87.50 instead of $107.50 - the author of six books and expects his sev- shipping included, NYS residents enth-Angling, The Solitary Vice-to be pub- add applicable sales tax). lished later this year in a limited edition by Coch-y-Bonddu Books. His most recent con- tribution to this journal was "The French Monk's Alternative 'Reel,'" which appeared in the Summer 1999 issue. He was the 1997 recip- ient of the Museum's Austin Hogan Award.

John Betts began tying flies for his livelihood in 1976 and published his first article a year later. He is a regular contributor to American Angler, Fly Tyer, Fly Rod e5- Reel, and Fly Fisherman. His work has also appeared in This is the book that has created Field e+ Stream, Outdoor Life, and Sports a sensation in the fly-fishing world. Afield, as well as the major fly-fishing maga- Dan Rather said, "Land of Little zines of Europe and Japan. In 1981, he was Rivers is a treasure, eloquently featured in Sports Illustrated and is one of written, movingly illustrated - only a few tyers to be so acknowledged. it will be an instant classic." Nelson Bryant in the New York Times The Museum featured the artistic works of called it "Avisually stunning Betts (drawing, paintings, and mixed media achievement." of painting and tied flies) in an exhibit in 1997. His article, "Some of Marbury's LLR is a big, full-color book: 280 Favorite Bass and Fancy Lake Flies" (for pages, hard cover, 10nx13"with 360 color and duotone images, printed which he received the 1998 Austin Hogan in Italy by one of the world's finest Award), appeared in the Winter 1998 issue. artbook printers. Austin "Mac" Francis, angler/author/raconteur, has spent over 25 years researching and writing about the history of Catskill fly fishing. Land of Little Rivers is his "magnum opus." Ken Cameron, former registrar of the Museum, is the author of more than To order your copy using Visa or twenty-five books, including the award-winning Africa on Film: Beyond Black Mastercard, call 2 12-72 1-4580, or and White (1994). He was a long-time contributor to this journal, and he has send a check for $87.50 to Beaverkill written on fishing history for magazines such as Adirondack Life and Press, 55 East 76th Street, New Antiques. He is the American correspondent of the British fishing magazine York, NY 10021, or visit our web- Waterlog. site at www.beaverkillpress.com. Be sure to mention that you are a member of the American Museum of Fly Fishing.

28 THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER Gifts for

Call (802) 362-3300 to order. Visit your nearestT&T retailer or write for a copy of our full-color catalogue Thomas and Thomas PO.Box 32 Turners Falls, MA 0 1376 (4 13) 863-9727 http://www.thomasandthornas.corn

THE AMERICAN PLY FISHER Back in Print by Popular Demand!

$29 .95 plus shipping Call (802) 362-3300 A Treasury of Reels

Available once again from the American Museum of Fly Fishing, A Treasury of Reels chronicles one of the largest and finest public collections of fly reels in the world. Brought together in this richly diverse and popular book, which includes more than 750 reels spanning nearly two centuries of British and American reel- making, are antique, classic, and modern reels; those owned by presidents, enter- tainers, novelists, angling luminaries, and reels owned and used by everyday anglers.

Accompanied by Bob O'Shaughnessy's expert photography, author Jim Brown details the origins of this fascinating piece of technology, from a 13th century Chinese painting depicting a fisherman using a rod and reel to later craftsmen like Vom Hofe, Billinghurst, and Leonard.

Out of print for almost ten years, A Treasury of Reels is a must-have for collec- tors and enthusiasts alike. It can be ordered for $29.95, plus postage and han- dling, either through our website at www.amff.com or by contacting the Museum at (802) 362-3300. Proceeds from the sale of this book directly benefit the Museum.

FALL 2000 31 Art and the Museum: A Call for Originals

Margot Page

VER THE YEARS,some of the very than any other sport (and it does), it certainly finest contemporary fly-fishing sporting also has its share of two- and three-dimensional 0 art has graced the walls of the Museum, art as well. It's just not here, in this Museum. usually through exhibits of individual artists. My point? We are actively seeking donations of

Graced, then gone. If, as we say so often, the originalV works of two- and three-dimensional art Museum is about the art and artifacts of fly fish- to begin building a collection that rivals our ing, then our art collection (as represented by other collections. Not all vieces will be suitable, paintings and sculpture) is, frankly, sadly lacking. but we certainly hope our members will give us a We are fond of telling the world that we have chance to consider works in their possession for 1,200 rods, 1,100 reels, a library of 3,000 volumes, possible inclusion in the collection. Contribu- and tens of thousands of flies. Oh yes, and maybe tions of this type are tax deductible at their ten original works of art: two Pleissners, one appreciated value. Brackett, one Reneson, one Corbin, several It's time to look in the attic, in the closets, smaller works by DeFeo, Schwiebert, and under the beds-and even on your own walls-so Betts-in a thirty-two-year-old museum dedicat- that we truly can preserve all that is the heritage ed to preserving our fly-fishing heritage for gen- of fly fishing. erations to come. GARYTANNER If fly fishing has more books written about it EXECUTIVEDIRECTOR

HE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF FLY FISHING nationally accredited, nonprofit, education- institution dedicated to preserving the rich eritage of fly fishing, was founded ir Ianchester, Vermont, in 1968. The Museun .rves as a repository for, and conservator to le world's largest collection of angling an( ~gling-relatedobjects. The Museum's wl ctions and exhibits provide the public wit1 lorough documentation of the evolution o y fishing as a sport, art form, craft, and in ustry in the United States and abroad from Le sixteenth century to the present. Rods. reels, and flies, as well as tackle, art, books -~anuscripts,and photographs form the ma ,r components of the Museum's collections The Museum has gained recognition as a nique educational institution. It supports P ublications program through which its na onal quarterly journal, The American Fly isher, and books, art prints, and catalogs are bgularly offered to the public. The Museum' aveling exhibits program has made it possi le for educational exhibits to be viewec :ross the United States and abroad. Thc [useum also provides in-house exhibits, dated interpretive programming, and search services for members, visiting schol s, authors, and students. The Museum is an active, member-orient 1 nonprofit institution. For informatior. lease contact: The American Museum of Fly Fishing, P. 0. Box 42, Manchester, Vermont 05254.802-162-1100.