Reprinted from the July 2011 issue of the Northwoods Sporting Journal
Fly fishing has changed a lot over the years. Advances in technology combined with accumulated knowledge of fish and ways to catch them has resulted in an explosion in new gear and methods. But what about the roots of fly fishing? How about the days when fly fishing was simply a man or woman with a rod, a few flies, and a strong desire to fish?
We can uncover some important history of fly fishing by looking back to the early days of the sport. Although it’s been described in ancient books dating back to Isaak Walton and beyond, an explosion of fly fishing related books hit the market around the turn of the 20th century. At this time, fly fishing was well established in England, and was becoming more popular in the United States. Books were written by avid anglers in an effort to educate others on the latest and greatest methods available.
Perhaps the greatest development in the fly fishing arena at this time was the increasing use of the dry fly. This is well documented in many books written in the early 1900’s. At this time, the dry fly was being used extensively in England and other parts of western Europe to imitate insects on the water’s surface. Meanwhile, American anglers were still predominantly using the wet fly. The transition between drifting/swinging wet flies downstream and casting dry flies upstream with a drag free drift was huge. For those willing to master the method, it offered the opportunity to explore a whole new world of fishing.
Frederic M. Halford was perhaps the most influential English fly fisherman of his time. As part of his “The Halford Dry-Fly Series”, he published a book titled “Dry-fly Fishing in Theory and Practice” in 1889. This lengthy handbook of over 400 pages provided very detailed descriptions on fly fishing gear and techniques used at the time. Numerous editions were printed. Chapters included The Dry-Fly Fisherman’s Gear, How to Cast, Studies of Fish Feeding and more. The book was read by many anglers on both sides of the Atlantic.
Similar to Halford’s book, George A.B. Dewar of England published the first edition of “The Book of the Dry Fly” in 1897. Dewar covered a lot of the same topics, while focusing more on technique and less on equipment than Halford. Both angling writers, among others, contributed substantially to what would soon be the vast expansion of dry fly fishing in the U.S.
Other historical fly fishing books from England include John Beever’s “Practical Fly Fishing” (1849), and Afred Ronalds’ “The Fly-Fisher’s Entomology” (1883).
In America, dry fly fishing was just beginning to gain popularity around the turn of the century, and two accomplished fly fishermen made great strides in communicating their methods to the public. In 1912, Emlyn M. Gill published “Practical Dry-Fly Fishing”, where he explained the fact that the dry fly was still very little known in America. Despite the impact that Halford’s book had on England, Americans were still asking “What is the dry fly?” at the time Gill’s book was written. Most Americans back then were still fishing with wet flies, and hadn’t found English chalk stream methods suitable to their waters. However, dry fly fishing was starting to catch on, and would soon spread like wildfire. Gill’s writings showed that the dry fly could be used very effectively in American streams with conditions often much different than those found in England.
Fellow angler and dry fly fanatic George M.L. LaBranche published his popular book “The Dry Fly and Fast Water” just two years after Gill. LaBranche and Gill both fished the streams of New York and Pennsylvania extensively with dry flies. They became pioneers of this new method of fishing American streams.
In fact, LaBranche could be considered one of the first fly fishing purists, since after he mastered the dry fly, he refused to fish with anything else! His methods were certainly interesting, and his attention to detail in describing proper fly presentation was superb. Unlike some of today’s purists, however, LaBranche did not refuse to fish the fly without seeing a rise. He instead devised a method of repeatedly casting a fly over the same fish in the same location until (he believed) the fish was convinced that a hatch was taking place and would rise to the fly. Other similar methods helped set LaBranche apart in the fly fishing world. His book is still read, and his methods practiced, by some anglers today.
After its slow spread from Europe to the United States, dry fly fishing exploded in popularity throughout the 20th century. While dry fly fishing is still practiced exclusive to other methods in some circles, today’s fly fishing community has embraced a variety of techniques. Dry flies, nymphs, wet flies and streamers all have their place in fly fishing today, but those dry fly enthusiasts of a century ago deserve credit for their contribution to the movement.
All of the books mentioned in this article can be viewed on the web, free of charge, by visiting Google Books or www.archive.org.
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