The American Fly Fisher Journal of the American Museum of Fly Fishing FALL 2013 VOLUME 39 NUMBER 4 For the Record CATCH AND RELEASE THE SPIRIT OF FLY FISHING Our Mission: The American Museum of Fly Fishing is the steward of the history, traditions, and practices of the sport of fly fishing and promotes the conservation of its waters. The museum collects, preserves, exhibits, studies, and interprets the artifacts, art, and literature of the sport and uses these resources to engage, educate, and benefit all. FRIENDS OF THE MUSEUM E. M. Bakwin Thomas Belk Jr. Harold Brewer A. S. Cargill Gary Grant Atlantic salmon by Timothy Knepp. Courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Melvyn Harris WO-ART-40-CDKnepp1. http://digitalmedia.fws.gov/cdm/singleitem/collection Tim Hixon /natdiglib/id/2334/rec/5. Accessed 25 September 2013. James Houghton Peter Kellogg Charles Lee Jr. ACK WHEN WE were preparing our this year’s Fly-Fishing Festival (page 24), Stephen Myers Graceful Rise exhibit and putting held on a beautiful August day. The festival Joseph R. Perella Btogether an issue (Fall 2011) that is an excellent opportunity for me to chat Walter Shipley showcased the women anglers featured in with authors, potential authors, members, John Taylor that exhibit, Fred Buller was already hard at and potential members. There’s ample work on his own project: an article about opportunity for everyone to learn about fly female Atlantic salmon record holders. tying, casting, and the missions of fly-fish- STAFF “Having just devoted much space to lady ing organizations. Meanwhile, talented Catherine E. Comar anglers in your current journal with ‘The artists, artisans, and discerning collectors Executive Director Women of A Graceful Rise,’ I expect my tempt us with art, antiques, books, and enclosure will come as a bit of a shock,” he fishing gear. Please join us next year! Yoshi Akiyama wrote a few weeks later. On September 18, Leon L. Martuch Deputy Director That enclosure included photos, de scrip - received the American Museum of Fly Christina Cole tions of fish, stories of catches, and his own Fishing’s prestigious 2013 Heritage Award Coordinator of Events charted list. “There is no question that ladies at a dinner in New York City. Martuch, have figured prominently in the catching of working with his father, Leon P. Martuch, Sarah Foster large Atlantic salmon,” he begins. “Indeed, at Scientific Anglers, developed, produced, Development Assistant all seasoned salmon anglers are aware that a and patented fly-fishing equipment inno- Laura Napolitano lady holds the British record for a rod- vations that revolutionized the sport. For Coordinator of Membership caught salmon at 64 pounds. Another more on this event, see page 22. Patricia Russell landed the largest fly-caught salmon at 63 In looking ahead, the museum hopes to Account Manager pounds, and yet another the largest spring- not only conserve fly-fishing artifacts and caught fish at 59 pounds.” Buller features history, but also document the history of Sara Wilcox these catches and more, noting women’s conservation. Executive Director Cathi Director of Visual Communication accomplishments from the late nineteenth Comar details some of the plans for our century through the early twenty-first. This conservation initiative in “A Game Fish Is THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER lengthy feature is a welcome addition to our Too Valuable a Resource to Catch Just Kathleen Achor catalog of female anglers of note. “A List of Once,” found on the inside back cover. Editor Large Atlantic Salmon Landed by the Go on, now. Take a look at some of these Ladies” begins on page 2. big salmon. Sara Wilcox Here at the museum, we’ve been our reg- Design & Production ularly busy selves, hosting summer events KATHLEEN ACHOR Sarah May Clarkson (see Museum News, page 26), including EDITOR Copy Editor TRUSTEES Michael Bakwin Bradford Mills Foster Bam David Nichols Pamela Bates Erik R. Oken Jane Cooke Stephen M. Peet Peter Corbin Leigh H. Perkins Deborah Pratt Dawson Frederick S. Polhemus E. Bruce DiDonato, MD John Rano Patrick Ford Roger Riccardi Ronald Gard Eric W. Roberts George R. Gibson III Kristoph J. Rollenhagen James Heckman, MD Philip Sawyer Arthur Kaemmer, MD Franklin D. Schurz Jr. Journal of the American Museum of Fly Fishing Karen Kaplan Robert G. Scott Woods King III Gary J. Sherman, DPM FALL 2013 VOLUME 39 NUMBER 4 William P. Leary III Ronald B. Stuckey Christopher P. Mahan Richard G. Tisch A List of Large Atlantic Salmon Landed by the Ladies ...2 Walter T. Matia David H. Walsh Frederick Buller John R. McMahon Andrew Ward William C. McMaster, MD James C. Woods Leon L. Martuch Receives 2013 Heritage Award .......22 Peter Millett, MD Nancy W. Zakon Fly-Fishing Festival ........................24 TRUSTEES EMERITI Museum News ...........................26 Charles R. Eichel Contributor .............................28 James Hardman William Herrick ON THE COVER: Lettice Ward with a 50-pound salmon, caught with a 4/0 David B. Ledlie Kate Fly in the Alderns Stream, River Tay, on 12 October 1928. Photograph Leon L. Martuch courtesy of Kinnaird House, Dunkeld, Perthshire. Paul Schullery OFFICERS David H. Walsh We welcome contributions to the American Fly Fisher. Before making a submission, please review our Contrib utor’s Guidelines on our website (www.amff.com), or Chairman of the Board write to request a copy. The museum cannot accept responsibility for statements and James Heckman, MD interpretations that are wholly the author’s. President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President The American Fly Fisher (ISSN 0884-3562) is published four times a year by the museum at P.O. Box 42, Manchester, Vermont 05254. Publication dates are winter, spring, summer, and fall. Membership dues include the cost of the journal Richard G. Tisch ($50) and are tax deductible as provided for by law. Membership rates are listed in the back of each issue. All letters, man- Vice President uscripts, photographs, and materials intended for publication in the journal should be sent to the museum. The muse- um and journal are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, drawings, photographic material, or memorabilia. The James C. Woods museum cannot accept responsibility for statements and interpretations that are wholly the author’s. Unsolicited manu- Secretary scripts cannot be returned unless postage is provided. Contributions to The American Fly Fisher are to be considered gra- tuitous and the property of the museum unless otherwise requested by the contributor. Copyright © 2013, The American Charles R. Eichel Museum of Fly Fishing, Manchester, Vermont 05254. Original material appearing may not be reprinted without prior per- mission. Periodical postage paid at Manchester, Vermont 05254; Manchester, Vermont 05255; and additional offices (USPS Clerk 057410). The American Fly Fisher (ISSN 0884-3562) EMAIL: [email protected] WEBSITE: www.amff.com Philip Sawyer POSTMASTER: Send address changes to: Treasurer The American Fly Fisher P.O. Box 42 Manchester, Vermont 05254 JUNIOR COMMITTEE Parker Corbin Bailey Hallingby space for FSC info Woods King IV Alexander Kinsey Casey Knoll John Neukom Albert Nichols David E. Nichols Jr. Ben Pastor Jason M. Scott Jeff Yates A List of Large Atlantic Salmon Landed by the Ladies by Frederick Buller Lady Helen Bridge, who caught a 43-pound salmon c. 1890. From The Badminton Magazine of Sports and Pastimes, vol. XIV (London: William Heinemann, 1902), 600. Photo by F. C. Burnham. HERE IS NO QUESTION that ladies trating efforts on those rivers that are licenses to fish for salmon in England have figured prominently in the known to have runs of them. To compare were scrutinized—but if the ratio of 200 Tcatching of large Atlantic salmon. the performances of male and female to 1 is correct, the performance of the Indeed, all seasoned salmon anglers are salmon anglers, we have to take account ladies is quite astonishing. aware that a lady holds the British record of the total number of men and women How has this come about? Before for a rod-caught salmon at 64 pounds. practicing the art. The only figures that I launching into the list, it may be helpful Another landed the largest fly-caught have been able to find are those given on to look at what I believe could be possi- salmon at 63 pounds, and yet another the page 87 of Jack Charlton and Tony ble explanations for the results that lady largest spring-caught fish at 59 pounds. Francis’s book Salmon Run (Stanley Paul, salmon anglers have achieved during the All these catches and more feature in this 1992), where the authors state: “There’s last hundred or so years. incomplete roundup of large salmon only one woman for every 200 male The success of lady anglers has at - landed by the ladies. salmon anglers.”1 I don’t know how this tracted the attention of some of our Nobody can deliberately set out to figure was obtained—I can only guess best-known angling writers. One of catch big salmon other than by concen- that the statistics for the sale of game them, D. G. F. Rudd, better known as 2THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER Jock Scott, made mention of it in his infinitely detailed masterpiece Game Fish Records (Witherby, 1936). After docu- menting the extraordinary one-day bag of fish—twenty-six salmon and one sea trout—taken by Lady Joan Joicey on the Tweed on 15 February 1935, he wrote: Incidentally, I have often wondered why ladies prove to be so exceptionally suc- cessful at salmon fishing. Curiously enough, their achievements in the sphere of trout fishing have been— comparatively—small. The ordinary onlooker would be inclined to think that trout fishing, requiring as it does great delicacy of touch and “good hands,” would be the sport in which the ladies would excel.