Gordon Wickstrom asks which are more essential in fly fishing: lyrical (feminine) or epic (masculine) skills? Perhaps if you are a steelheader, the epic wins, but for dry flies, finesse takes the prize. "That doyen of American fly-fishing, Sparse Grey Hackle, insisted that women are better equipped physically for fly-fishing. They have a finer sense of the delicacy needed, especially in dry fly-fishing. They are apt to be more skillful in approaching a fish, and then to cast more delicately to it."

Just a couple of weeks ago Wickstrom wrote the first part of this essay on women and water.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

For almost 100 years, the Flathead Lake Salmon Hatchery near Somers, Montana (just southwest of Glacier National Park) has been doing things the old fashioned way: collecting eggs from wild kokanee salmon and maintaining as pure a strain of fish as can be found anywhere. "The troughs and baskets holding fingerling kokanee salmon are exactly the same, and the incubation methods basically are as well. The manager, now Mark Kornick, still lives in a nearby bungalow also built in 1912. [Brian] Strohschein, who has worked at the hatchery for 24 years, is proud to still collect eggs from the wild, as opposed to using eggs from domesticated fish 'brewed in ponds or concrete raceways.'" Article by the Associated Press.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Virtual Angler blogger Nick Mills tells an interesting story about an abortive attempt to catch trout in Afghanistan and his subsequent research, which turned up some history on the country's brown trout, which were first mentioned in the writings of Herodotus and Marco Polo. "As for the origin of the brown trout, Jean-José wrote a book, La pêche à la truite en Afghanistan, in which he theorizes that the trout migrated from Europe in meltwater streams at the end of the last Ice Age." In Maine Today.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If there is a "classic" largemouth bass fly, the Gerbubble Bug -- originally a square-bodied cork or balsa-wood fly developed by Tom Loving for fly fishing bass in the tidal waters of the Chesapeake -- would get many votes for the top position. But writer Amy Hotz is stymied in her search for the Bartlett's version, which is mentioned by Lefty Kreh in his 2004 book Fly Fishing for Bass. "My search for the elusive Bartlett's Gerbubble Bug continues. So far, I've visited every outfitter in Wilmington. I've traveled to Myrtle Beach and given the Bass Pro Shop the third degree. I've searched the library and the Internet and enlisted others to do the same. Still, no Gerbubble. Not even a recipe to make one." In North Carolina's Star News Online.

Well, Amy, we suggest noting William Tapply's description of the original Gerbubble's features -- hackle feathers inserted into slits cut along both sides of the cork body so that the fibers stuck out perpendicular to the hook shank, creating the effect of dozens of legs kicking at the water’s surface -- and substituting marabou for the hackle feathers. Then take the recipe to a handy fly tier who should be able to whip one up in about 5 minutes. It doesn't answer the question of why you can't find a commercially tied Bartlett's Gerbubble, but it's guaranteed to feed your addiction.

For more on the history of bass bugs, see "From Bobs to Bugs" on MidCurrent.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This week on MidCurrent Paul Schullery looks at the strange history of streamer flies and their authorship in "A Dreadful Scourge." If anything, it seems, streamer patterns have excited what Thomas McGuane calls the "self-aggrandizing ardor" of fly fishers to take credit for various patterns, something only a good history can sort out.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

"The development of what became known as the gaudy salmon fly is attributed to Irish fly tyers who were pioneers in the development of bright and complicated salmon patterns. These Irish tyers took advantage of silk, silver and gold tinsel and rare feathers imported for the millinery trade." Don MacLean gives short history lesson on the origins of the Atlantic salmon fly in Canada's Cape Breton Post.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Though his friend Carrie Stevens won wide acclaim for her streamer flies, it was Welch who virtually invented the streamer for catching trout and salmon in the Rangeley watershed. Herbie Welch came to the Rangeley area in 1903, according to Graydon and Leslie Hilyard's wonderful book Carrie Stevens, and established himself as the region's premier guide, fly-tyer and taxidermist, the latter skill enhanced by his training as an artist in Paris (France)." Blogger Nick Mills gives a short history lesson inspired by a visit to the Fly Caster's Club of Boston.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In the early nineties, Sears was throwing out its spinning gear and dealers were taking down their "live bait" signs, while the Orvis store in Manhattan was cheek-to-cheek with women in soft-brimmed Brad Pitt hats. Only 15 years ago Barry Maier was writing exuberantly about "The Growing Lure and Profits of Fly-Fishing" in The New York Times. In retrospect, one has to question how long a sport defined by its "upper-class allure" could hold its own without redefining itself as a populist sport, complete with Korean-made rod blanks and Pakistani forceps. "This year, mail orders for fly-fishing equipment sold by the Orvis Company surged 40 percent. Some rod makers, like the Sage Manufacturing Corporation, have had to run double shifts to keep up with demand. And enrollments at fishing schools run by L. L. Bean Inc. and others also reached record highs this season."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Andrew Stiles, while visiting the IGFA headquarters in Florida, uncovered an episode of ABC's "Wide World of Sports" that featured Joe Brooks and Curty Gowdy testing their skills against two Argentinian anglers in the 1960s. Stiles, the head of the Virginia Capital Chapter of Trout Unlimited, had a particular interest in the program because Brooks lived in Richmond, Virginia for a period of 14 years before his death. "The footage is a treasure. The rugged peaks of Patagonia soar in majestic beauty. Curt Gowdy banters like a buddy as much as a polished sportscaster. And Brooks shines as a regular guy with a brilliant gift. The show pits Gowdy and Brooks, as the U.S. team, against Erick Gornick and Tito Hosman of Argentina. Their quarry: Eastern brook trout." Lee Graves in the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's a fascinating story about the discovery of "organic pollution" created by the harvesting of watercress on the famous Bourne tributary of the River Test. Discovering that mustard oil released by watercress reduced biodiversity in part of the stream, the company cultivating the plant changed its process for filtering released water. "The Bourne Rivulet, a tributary of the River Test near Andover in Hampshire, is the idyllic spot which inspired Harry Plunket Greene to write Where the Bright Waters Meet. The Victorian opera singer and key figure in English music, was also a keen fisherman who caught three fat, wild brown trout in the crystal-clear waters of the little chalk stream on August 29 1904." Paul Eccleston in the U.K. Telegraph.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

During my first few weeks of fishing in Montana in the late 1980s, I developed a bad habit. The problem was that every time I rigged my leader with a fly, I had a hard time not reaching for a size 16 or 18 parachute Adams. This was all well and good except for the fact that some of the places we were fishing -- Nelson's spring creek, Buffalo Ford, the upper Missouri, and Slough Creek -- deserved more attention than that. There were specific hatches coming off, and I usually caught fish when I tied on a close imitation.

Still, my guides invariably responded, when I dared to suggest trying an Adams, "Yeah, that'll prolly work." "Prolly work" from an experienced guide carries about the same weight as any do-or-die command, so I happily tied on a highly visible, high-floating and all-around pleasant-to-fish Adams at every opportunity. I didn't learn as much as I could have about the hatches specific to those streams and rivers. But I sure had fun.

In "A Great Salesman," Paul Schullery ponders those things that make the Adams such an important fly: its versatility, its simplicity, its irresistibility. But its pedigree, Schullery finds out, is what makes it really interesting. New on MidCurrent.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's all about the wiggle, glug, and burble. This week we're happy to feature William Tapply's extensive look at the history of bass flies. "From Bobs to Bugs" is from his newest book, Trout Eyes, just out from Skyhorse Publishing (Tony Lyons's new company) and it traces the history of bass bug development from deer tails and cork to finely crafted works of art.

Trout Eyes on Amazon.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

On the theory of larger hooks catch larger fish, archaeologists are somewhat amazed at the size of the hook artifact hunter Eric Henley found in a gravel bar on the Missouri river recently. Some guess the quarry hook users were after was either the now-endangered pallid sturgeon -- which can grow up to 85 pounds -- or a giant catfish. "The hook is made of bone and covers his entire palm, making it much larger than most bone hooks. Joe Harl, of the Archaeological Research Center of St. Louis, said the size of the hook suggests the fisherman who used it was after a larger fish." Well, I guess so. On Yahoo.com from the Columbia [Missouri] Daily Tribune.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 4:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

George Hommel recalls a classic moment when guiding Don Hawley: "Bonefish! Don would take his time and empty his pipe by tapping it on the side of the boat. That did it! The bonefish were history. My following comments were not positive and Hawley responded by saying, ‘Well, I can’t put a hot pipe in my pocket!’" This from an biography of Hawley on the Don Hawley Foundation Web site. Written by Capt. Bob Johnson for the Free Press in June 1995, the piece summarizes Hawley's adventures in World War I and subsequent involvement in professional life and finally his retirement to the Keys, where he fished with many of the early guides and with Ted Williams and Lynette Simon started the Gold Cup Tournament in 1964 -- the first tarpon tournament to recognize the importance of releasing fish. The Hawley Foundation, as most Keys anglers know, has provided financial support to sick guides and their families for many years. (Thanks to reader David Dalu for this link.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:34 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"The Pflueger reel company had a full page ad featuring the Medalist reel. In 1980 if you were not fishing with a Fenwick rod and a Medalist reel you were out of the loop." In preparation for the future mother-in-law, Bill Thompson peruses the pages of thousands of old fly fishing magazines and discovers how very different the product offerings were in 1980. This is quite an interesting picture, reminding us that not so long ago there was no such thing as breathable waders and that overseas manufacturing is not a new idea -- Marryat was already outsourcing reel production to East Asia. In the Conway Daily Sun.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:38 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A wonderful analogy emerges from this interview with Hoagy B. Carmichael, son of the legendary composer and author of the recently released first volume of a history of the Grand Cascapedia. It ties together qualities that mark both great writers and accomplished anglers: optimism and a willingness to see patterns where others hardly look. "Hoagy's father had always told him that if you look at a piano; there all kinds of new songs waiting there right on the keys ... you just have to find them." Living on Earth producer Bob Carty talks with the author about the river that has produced three quarters of North America's largest Atlantic salmon.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"In a tradition dating back to William Howard Taft's presidency nearly a century ago, the first fish taken from the Bangor Salmon Pool each spring was delivered to the White House. Over the years, dam construction, pollution and fishing took their toll. As the number of salmon counted at the Veazie Dam fell from about 3,100 in 1990 to 535 a decade later, the fishery adopted a catch-and-release rule before closing altogether in 1999." Jerry Harkavy of the Associated Press writes about the history behind the closing and recent re-opening of Maine's Penobscot River Atlantic salmon fishery to fly fishing.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's an interesting historical piece in the London Times on how stocked fisheries changed the angling landscape of England in the 1960s. "Up to the mid-1960s, most trout fishing was where God had made it. The chalk streams of the South were beyond most anglers’ financial reach. The teeming waters of Wales, the West Country and the North were, like the lochs and the loughs, far removed from the centres of population." Brian Clarke writes about Grafham Water.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"When explorer Jacques Cartier visited Labrador in 1534, he called it 'the land God gave to Cain...fit only for wild beasts.' While I doubt he was referring to the native brook trout that thrived in Labrador's nearly countless lakes, he may as well have been." Dave Sherwood writes about the enormous brook trout that populate Labrador's many lakes, ponds and waterways on MaineToday.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bronzeworker Jim Brothers noted an interesting fact about his sculpture of Dwight Eisenhower, who made the final decision about when to send troops into the maelstrom of D-Day. Deciding that he must talk with the individual troops first, Eisenhower touched on an unlikely subject. "At one point, Brothers said, Eisenhower and the men 'were talking about fishing in Michigan. So that's an invisible fly rod he's holding.'" Neil Harvey in the Roanoke (Virginia) Times.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In these days of ultra-rigid composite materials, there's something quite pleasant about a softer, quieter ride in wood. Some Grayling, Michigan students recently built a cedar-strip craft based on decades-old blueprints. "AuSable riverboats historically were made from pine planks and used for fly-fishing on Michigan's AuSable and Manistee rivers. The boats were first crafted in the 1800s during the lumber boom and used to move supplies along shallow inland rivers." Sheri McWhirter in the Travis City, Michigan Record Eagle.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"The earliest fish hooks were probably carved out of wood more than 30,000 years ago by Cro-Magnon man. Other cultures throughout history have used animal bone, horns, shells, steel and even the thorns of hawthorn bushes." Oh, and did we forget to mention deceased anglers' thigh bones? Forbes editors name the fish hook one of the top 20 human inventions of all time.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 5:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Gordon was something of a recluse. He moved from the big city to escape the cacophony of modern life to a small cabin on the Neversink River where he lived until succumbing to tuberculosis." Gregory Rummo talks about Theodore Gordon, the American Civil War's impact on Catskills brook trout, and how modern "water lords" are determining the fate of rivers. On NorthJersey.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Think about this the next time you rig up a Zara Spook on a spinning rod for a youngster: the name derives from the behavior of Panamanian women practicing the oldest profession in the world. "The original wood version, the Zaragossa, was made in the 1920s for fishing in Florida. After watching a prototype lure zigzag across the water in a test tank, a Heddon worker remarked that it wiggled its butt just like the hookers on Zaragoza Street in Panama City." Eric Sharp in The Detroit Free Press.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:17 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A story in the Houston Chronicle today reminds me of when as a boy Phil Gonzalez, later one of the first lodge owners on Montana's Bighorn River, wanted to go fish Yellowstone Park for the first time. He walked into Dan Bailey's shop in downtown Livingston, Montana and told Dan what he wanted to do. Dan gave him a rigged fly rod and box full of flies and said, "Just bring it back when you're done."

In the Chronicle, Joe Dogget describes how learning to fly fish has changed in fifty years. "The concept of a tapered leader was awfully sophisticated. Angling greats Joe Brooks and A.J. McClain recommended a '60-20-20' system graduating from butt to tippet, but such refinements seemed unnecessary on the duck pond."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Moc Morgan talks about the recovery of The River Ebbw in southern England, Jimmy Carter, and how the Cabinet Beat of the Itchen got its name. "It happened apparently during World War I - in the summer of l917. The then Foreign Secretary (Lord Grey of Falden, I believe) invited the Prime Minister, Lloyd George, and his Cabinet to Itchen Abbas for a Cabinet meeting - because the mayfly was hatching on the river and he did not wish to be away from his fishing for too long!" On icWales.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Leonard wrote this well-researched, photo-illustrated retrospective on the use of railroad cars in the late 19th century to transport fish across the U.S. "In 1879, for example, [Dr. Livingston] Stone successfully shepherded a shipment of striped bass from New Jersey to California. During the lengthy train journey, the milk cans containing the fry were cooled by ice." From CatskillArchive.com.

Of course at that time the prevailing opinion was "more species in more places is better." (We now know that non-native fish displaced huge populations of other less-vigorous, now-endangered species.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Turns out Hoover's famed camp in Virginia's Shenandoah National Park got started with a publicity stunt: "In a nutshell, William Carson, then a Virginia official, lured Hoover by raving about the land, building a road, buying fishing rights and stocking the river with trout." Lee Graves talks about the former president's approval rating and the camp that sits where the Laurel Prong and Mill Prong form the Rapidan River. In the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jennings Culley recalls his own tutelage under Joe Brooks and the many contributions Brooks made to the sport of fly fishing. "The superstars of the sports world worshipped him. Ted Williams was a neighbor and fishing pupil of Brooks in the Florida Keys. Jack Nicklaus said he read every book the guy wrote. Sam Snead admired his deftness with a fly rod. But it was the average angler who marveled at his technique on TV shows and clung to his every tip. A kind, gentle soul, he would stoop to help anyone." In the Richmond, Virginia Times-Dispatch.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"The westslope cutthroat is an uncommon beauty, silver-green in the flanks and spotted like a cheetah, with its namesake slashes of red under its chin. Its name makes it sound ruthless, but in fact the fish is a mild-mannered soul, content to nibble on the larvae of water bugs and snatch the occasional mosquito from the air." On the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clarke expedition, Ben Long writes about the "discovery" of cutthroat trout and why special protections are needed for special fish. On Tidepool.org.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:24 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"Benny Goodman's Paul Young rod is here; also Babe Ruth's Payne. And there's a Shakespeare glass rod that belonged to Ted Williams, who was as skilled and single-minded on a bonefish flat or salmon pool as he was on the baseball diamond. Williams, according his plaque, liked to tie flies after a game. 'It releases me,' he said, ' . . . Come in after a game, all taut and nervous, tie a few flies and, boom, right to sleep.'" Geoffrey Norman describes the restful charm of the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont. In the Wall Street Journal.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Emilio Gino Segrè, who shared the Nobel Prize in 1959 with Owen Chamberlain for the discovery of the antiproton, was also with the Manhattan Project team in Los Alamos in 1944. There, his preference for taking Sundays off to fly fish puzzled his mentor, Enrico Fermi. "'Fermi asked Segre why,' Rosen said. Segre said he sometimes went fishing. Fermi asked him what was so satisfying about fishing that it took precedence over the extremely important problems they must solve at the lab. Segre replied with a detailed explanation of the technology required for fly fishing in order to outsmart the fish. Rosen said Fermi concluded, 'Finally, I understand and, it is a battle of wits.'" Carol Clark on LAMonitor.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

"'After playing the fish for several minutes he worked him as near the shore as possible and holding his rifle in one hand and the rod in the other, by a rather difficult feat of contortion, got a bead...and fired,' reported the newspaper." Surely careless harvesting, typified by the behavior of famed sculptor Charles E. Tefft, contributed to the near-disappearance of Penobscot salmon. But as this article by Wayne E. Reilly points out, many factors lead to the cycle of decline and recovery. In the Bangor Daily News.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 5:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

There is a class of modern writers who not only recognize literature (which at MidCurrent we like to think of as "news that remains news"), but revel in it. Fortunately fly fishing "owns" one of those authors: Paul Schullery.

This week Paul takes us on a journey along the path of reading trout "rises." Even if you're not a devotee of angling literature, "Reading the Rise" makes an excellent case for becoming a bookworm. And teaches a bunch about riseforms to boot.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Merwin offers this extended look at the famed rivers and streams of New York's Catskills, where American fly fishing found its birth. "People come here as much for tradition as for trout, and both are abundant. The fishing can be exceptional, especially in the spring along less traveled sections of the various rivers. Then, too, there’s the parade of famous anglers. Fishing where Theodore Gordon or Lee Wulff or A.J. McClane wet their lines in decades past is part of the appeal." In Field & Stream.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 4:44 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's some fascinating stuff hidden in this unpretentious site about fly casting, including this history of the double haul.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wonder if Aelius or his progenitors got the idea of fly fishing by watching herons use insects to lure an unsuspecting fish? Turns out there are records of herons doing just this, as reported by Dr. Louis Lefebvre at the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington DC. Stephen White in the Scottish Daily Herald.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:02 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Vic Dunaway offers this comprehensive look at the origins and development of fly fishing for billfish, which demanded outsized creativity from its pioneers. The most interesting parts of the story have to do with Helen and Webster Robinson, who almost single-handedly gave the sport its momentum. "The caster's impulse would be to throw his fly ahead of the fish, but trial and error proved to Robinson that this wasn't the thing to do. A billfish which follows the fly is less likely to hit it, and if he does take it, the straight-on strike seldom results in a good hookup. [Webster] Robinson would throw his fly behind the irritated fish and pop it noisily. His aim was to make the fish wheel suddenly and crash the fly at a right angle. Almost invariably, when this was accomplished, the hook locked up tight." In Florida Sportsman.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:21 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One wouldn't normally make the connection, but no doubt the advent of railroads in Britain changed the angling landscape forever and probably helped turn fly fishing into a "popular" sport. Andrew Herd says as much on his wonderful Fly Fishing History site: "Leisure travel was becoming possible for ordinary people, and the railway was to play a crucial role in the development of fishing in the UK. The first track was laid in Britain in 1825, and by 1870, the country had 13,500 miles of railway open." (Thanks to reader Zach Matthews for this link.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Buried in an article about the rising prices of real estate in the Florida Keys is the interesting story behind Cheeca Lodge, which is undergoing a major transformation/renovation. "The lodge, now managed by RockResorts, was built in the early 1960's after a hurricane destroyed its predecessor, the Olney Inn, where Harry S. Truman was once a guest. The name was derived from a merger of the names of the two new owners, Cynthia (better known as Che-Che) and her husband, Carl Twitchell (an heir to the A.& P. supermarket fortune). The resort soon took on something of a celebrity cachet. Frequent guests included Sam Snead, Ted Williams and Bing Crosby. More recently, former President George Bush has often been a guest — so much so that the resort holds an annual bonefish tournament in his honor." Charles Passy in The New York Times. (Thanks to reader David Dalu for this link.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you're lucky enough to own a house in the town of Hungerford in Berkshire, England, you also own rights to fish for trout in the River Kinnet. "'This is the best chalk-stream fishing in the country,' says Jon Roots, who is this year's Constable of Hungerford, and whose own house has fishing rights. 'Records are kept of all fish taken and 5lb trout are regularly caught.'" In the U.K. Telegraph.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:48 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A pre-World War I reel -- a Roller Back Coxon Aerial made by John Forrest of London -- was purchased in Britain for £6,600 at a November auction, apparently setting a record for antique reel prices. On FishingMagic.com.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bob Saile describes the disease and the cure in this piece about fly fishing for mountain whitefish. "Whitefish are the ugly ducklings of Western fishing, except they never turn into piscatorial swans. Ray Bergman, a famous fishing writer in the mid-1900s, visited Colorado's Elk River and came back home to write about catching 'grayling.' (That's what the locals called whitefish.) He received a deluge of letters telling him he wouldn't know a guppy from a great white shark." In the Denver Post.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

An article by Tom Hundley in the Chicago Tribune mentions something interesting about the hallowed River Test, where Isaac Walton once fished: that it wasn't truly a river until the various feeder streams were restructured by local farmers, 100 years after Walton. So Walton was probably doing his worm fishing in tiny rivulets, not the "classic" beats that are among the most prized in modern fly fishing.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 7:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Alastair Robertson of the Scotsman.com comments on the progenitor of dry fly fishing. "FM Halford was by all accounts a bit of a pain but he is credited with, if not inventing dry fly fishing then at least working out and writing down what you had to do to catch a fish. First you spot a fish eating winged insects. Then you cast a fly at him which looks like one of the insects, making sure it lands the right way up and the right way round. At the same time you have to drop it neatly on the water so that it floats over the fish without creating a terrible kerfuffle."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 5:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Paul Schullery -- author of American Fly Fishing and the classic Mountain Time -- shares his insight and elegant commentary on the origins of fly fishing in "Aelian Lives." Though he admits to sifting skills from hundreds of how-to books, he distills the best knowledge out of an obsession with history. New on Midcurrent.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It's easy to forget the role fly fishing for bass played in the development of fly fishing in the U.S. Dr. James Henshall, considered the "Dean of American Bass Fishing" in the 1870s, was also the first to claim catching a tarpon on a fly rod, using a Vom Hoffe reel, a cane rod, and an Atlantic Salmon fly.

This article by Eric Sharpe recounts both Henshall's and Edson Leonard's role in shaping the sport of fly fishing for bass and discusses opportunity for warm-water fly fishers in Michigan . (Thanks to readers Sid Wales for reminding me of the Henshall-tarpon connection.)

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A pilgrimage to Roscoe, New York still weighs in the minds of some as more than pleasant duty. As one resident (Joan Wulff) says in this New York Times piece by James Prosek, "You see what tradition provides for people; it's like an anchor."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 6:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jonathan Ledgard transports us to hidden geographic anomaly in the Hindu Kush, a valley called the Ajar, the hunting grounds of the Afghan king. This is a place where armies feared to go, but where the king once hunted snow leopards and steppe eagles. That Mr. Ledgard took along his fly rod to a land where 3 walnuts is a fine gift is pretty remarkable. In the Atlantic Monthly online.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bill Sargeant touts Long Key in the Florida Keys as one of the greatest bonefish wading locations. One thing he doesn't mention is that Long Key was also home to the original Long Key Fishing Camp, frequented by Zane Grey and many angling notables of the era before being destroyed in the 1935 hurricane.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Just when I finish shrugging off Sports Illustrated's use of bikini-clad fly fishers to sell magazines, I find out that "In 1946, every ad for fly lines had a girl in the bathing suit," that Hemingway was encouraged to take Castro fishing at gunpoint, and that the Ashaway Company used the same symbol to sell fly lines as the one co-opted and corrupted by the Nazis from an ancient Native American good luck sign.

Vic Johnson's self-published book titled "America's Fly Lines: The Evolution of the Modern Fly Line From Its Horsehair and Silk Beginnings," seems to contain many interesting nuggets like this. According to the author's Web site, the book "profiles ... over 40 of the major firms selling fly lines in America from 1816 to date. It also explains the technology advances in fly line technology over the same period. This book is a valuable resource for anyone purchasing a new fly line as well as classic tackle collectors. It contains a price guide for antique and vintage fly lines."

Leon Chandler wrote the Foreward to the book. With 166 pages and 260 illustrations, looks like a must-read for anyone interested in the history of fly lines and fly line engineering.

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:01 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bill Barker relates a fascinating oral history of the Umpqua and his family's experience -- as fly fishermen and ranchers of land on one of its tributaries -- in catching the river's once-abundant rainbows, salmon and steelhead. It truly points to the value of "the unheralded actions of ordinary people."

Posted by Marshall Cutchin at 8:09 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)