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

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Page 1: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

American

Journal of the American Museum of Fly Fishing

The

Fly Fisher

Page 2: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Richard G. TischPresident

Karen KaplanVice President

Gary J. Sherman, DPMVice President

James C. WoodsSecretary

William E. AndersenFoster Bam

Peter BowdenJane CookePeter Corbin

Deborah Pratt DawsonE. Bruce DiDonato, MD

Patrick FordRonald Gard

George R. Gibson IIIJames Heckman, MDArthur Kaemmer, MD

Karen KaplanWoods King III

William P. Leary IIIJames Lepage

Anthony J. MagardinoChristopher P. Mahan

Walter T. MatiaWilliam McMaster, MD

Peter Millett, MD

Bradford MillsDavid NicholsRobert A. Oden Jr.Erik R. OkenStephen M. PeetAnne Hollis PerkinsLeigh H. PerkinsFrederick S. PolhemusJohn RedpathRoger RiccardiFranklin D. Schurz Jr.Robert G. ScottNicholas F. SelchGary J. Sherman, DPMRonald B. StuckeyTyler S. ThompsonRichard G. TischDavid H. WalshAndrew WardJames C. WoodsNancy W. Zakon

James HardmanWilliam Herrick

David B. LedlieLeon L. Martuch

Parker CorbinBailey HallingbyWoods King IV

Alexander KinseyRobert Longsworth

John NeukomAlbert NicholsDavid E. Nichols Jr.Ben PastorJason M. Scott

L the American FlyFisher, especially those of you whohave kept up with feature stories and

have read Spring cover to cover:you’re in good shape for diving into thisissue full of follow-ups.In the last issue, we promised you a

public brawl. Now that you’ve had time todigest Andrew Herd’s “Marston v. Kelson:The Little Inky Boy Controversy, Part I,”we bring you Part II, in which things gofrom bad to worse as both parties fightfor the last word on the tying and effec-tiveness of a salmon fly. “There are tworules that no journalist should ever for-get,” began Herd in Part I. “First, it istempting fate to pick an argument withan editor in his own magazine’s corre-spondence columns. Second, if one haspreviously got at cross-purposes withsaid editor, the outcome of a secondround will generally be fatal to one’sinterests.” Reader, to see how this ends,turn to page .The Spring issue also featured a story

by Rhey Plumley, “The Governor AikenBucktail: The Official Fishing Fly of theState of Vermont.” Since the writing ofthat article, Plumley—who was instru-mental in making the state fly a reality—received news that a friend might know thewhereabouts of the lost painting to whichhe referred. Turn to Notes and Comment,“Postscript to the Governor Aiken BucktailFly Story” (page ), for more.And in a follow-up to an article pub-

lished seventeen years ago, Fred Bullershares a better, clearer reproduction of animage first seen in his “A Fourth-CenturyEuropean Illustration of a Salmon Angler”(Spring , vol. , no. ). You can find iton page .As for the goings-on at the museum

itself, staff had an exceptionally busyspring, organizing the two-day DeborahPratt Dawson Conservation Symposiumhere in Manchester (page ), presentingthe Izaak Walton Award to Tom N.

Davidson in Key Largo (page ) and the Heritage Award to Tom Brokaw inNew York (page ), and hosting otherevents (see Museum News, page ).We’ve also welcomed three new ambas-sadors to our ambassador program, whichwas created to expand our outreach andaugment membership nationwide. Youcan read all about them on page .I’m happy when we can include some-

thing from our collection within thesepages. In this issue’s Batten Kill Beat(page ), Communications CoordinatorPeter Nar dini highlights the Hardy Fairyfly rod in the museum’s collection—theone that used to belong to ErnestHemingway—and the letter fromHemingway’s son that accompanies it. But wait! There’s more! Michael Hackney first saw a D print-

er in operation in the early s. He builthis first in . Hackney’s a reel maker,among other things, so it was just a mat-ter of time before he began trying to printa working fly reel. After two years of finetuning, he released his version design inDecember . In “A D-Printed Fly-Fishing Reel with Click Check” (page ),Hackney first offers up a helpful primerin D printing, then describes how hedeveloped a fully functioning, completelyD-printed fly-fishing reel. He’s willing tolet you download his designs for free—allyou have to do is print. Michael Hackneywill be demonstrating D printing at ourannual Fly-Fishing Festival on August—come check it out in person! (I’mpretty excited about this.)However, I’m sad to note that the fly-

fishing community has lost another pil-lar: Judith Bowman, the founder ofJudith Bowman Books, passed away inMarch. On page , book enthusiast andangler John Mundt remembers thisgrand uncaged woman of our sport.

K AE

Catherine E. ComarExecutive Director

Yoshi AkiyamaDeputy Director

Sarah FosterDevelopment Associate

Peter NardiniCommunications Coordinator

Samantha PitcherMembership and Events Coordinator

Patricia RussellAccount Manager

Sara WilcoxDirector of Visual Communication

Paul Schullery

George R. Gibson IIITreasurer

Martin Zimmerman

But Wait! There’s More!

From Albert Bigelow Paine, TheTent Dwellers (New York: Harper& Brothers Publishers, ), .

Page 3: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

the American Museum of Fly FishingJournal of

Roger AltmanLouis BaconE. M. Bakwin

Foster Bam and Sallie BaldwinAustin and Meg Buck

Mark ComoraJane Cooke

Jon and Deborah Pratt DawsonEric Dobkin

Gardner Grant Jr.Tim Hixon

Summerfield JohnstonKaren KaplanPeter Kellogg

Robert KleinschmidtDan Lufkin

George MatelichRobert McGrawBradford and Pamela MillsDavid and Margaret NicholsThe Orvis CompanyLeigh and Anne PerkinsEric and M. C. RobertsRobert and Karen ScottNicholas and Jean SelchThree Forks RanchRichard G. TischTed TurnerPaul VolckerDavid and Jade WalshAlan and Nancy ZakonLaurie Zimmerman

Will AndersenWilliam E. Andersen

Michael BakwinDick Beattie

Bessemer Trust Co.Peter Bowden

Timothy and Andrea CollinsTom DavidsonH. Corbin Day

E. Bruce and Denise DiDonatoChris DorseyEzra FieldDavid Ford

George and Beth GibsonJim Head

Intercontinental ExchangePaul Tudor Jones

Arthur and Martha KaemmerWoods and Wendy King IIIBill and Francesca LearyChristopher MahanWilliam and Lynn McMasterPeter Millet, MDTeresa and Robert Oden Jr.Erik and Jennifer OkenHenry M. Paulson Jr.Stephen and Roberta PeetJohn RedpathWilliam RowleyFranklin Schurz Jr.Ronald and Joan StuckeyTyler and Francis ThompsonAndrew and Elizabeth WardMark and Dorinda Winkelman

Josh AlexanderStu ApteBill Ayers

Gregg BelldockShannon Brightman

Robert and Debbie BruckerTom Colicchio

Anthony DavinoTom Evans

Timothy GeithnerJon Gibson

Philip HansteenJames and Susan Heckman

Harry HillHollenbeck Club

Fred and Oli Kambeitz

Charlie KaplanKharlovka Company LimitedThe Lodge at Jackson Fork RanchAnne Lovett and Steve WoodsumWalter and Pam MatiaRebecca PattersonJoseph R. PerellaJack PittardLewis SachsSouth Holston River LodgeGeorge Van HookPat WelshKen WilsonJames WolfensohnDaniel ZiffMartin E. Zimmerman

Kathleen AchorEditor

Sara WilcoxDesign & Production

Sarah May ClarksonCopy Editor

space for FSC info

A D-Printed Fly-Fishing Reel with Click Check . . . . . . . Michael Hackney

Marston v. Kelson: The Little Inky Boy Controversy, Part II . . . . . . . . . . . . Andrew Herd

Notes and Comment:Postscript to the Governor Aiken Bucktail Fly Story . . . . Rhey Plumley

The Batten Kill Beat:The Curious Case of Ernest Hemingway . . . . . . . . . . . Peter Nardini

In Memoriam: Judith Bowman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . John Mundt

Tom Brokaw Receives Heritage Award. . . . . . . . . .

The Deborah Pratt DawsonConservation Symposium . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tom N. Davidson Receives Izaak Walton Award . . . . . . .

Our Newest Ambassadors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Museum News . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Letter to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

:Michael Hackney’s second reel prototype CAD model,created as he developed a fully functioning, D-printed fly-fishing reel.

We welcome contributions to the American Fly Fisher. Before making a submission, please review ourContrib utor’s Guidelines on our website (www.amff.com), or write to request a copy. The museum cannotaccept responsibility for statements and interpretations that are wholly the author’s.

The American Fly Fisher (ISSN -) is published four times a year by the museum at P.O. Box , Manchester,Vermont . Publication dates are winter, spring, summer, and fall. Membership dues include the cost of the journal() and are tax deductible as provided for by law. Membership rates are listed in the back of each issue. All letters, man-uscripts, photographs, and materials intended for publication in the journal should be sent to the museum. The museumand journal are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, drawings, photographic material, or memorabilia. Themuseum cannot accept responsibility for statements and interpretations that are wholly the author’s. Unsolicited manu-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 © , The AmericanMuseum of Fly Fishing, Manchester, Vermont . Original material appearing may not be reprinted without prior per-mission. Periodical postage paid at Manchester, Vermont ; Manchester, Vermont ; and additional offices (USPS). The American Fly Fisher (ISSN -) : [email protected] : www.amff.com

: Send address changes to:The American Fly FisherP.O. Box

Manchester, Vermont

Larry Wright

Page 4: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

P causing quite aworldwide buzz. And no wonder:new D-printing technologies and

their awe-inspiring applications likeprosthetic hands and ratchet wrenches

printed on the International SpaceStation make national and internationalnews almost daily. As prices drop andcapabilities rise, thousands of new Dprinters are making their way into homesand small businesses every month.

These mini–desktop factories are capableof manufacturing all sorts of fun, utilitar-ian, and even revolutionary items.In the early s, I had the opportuni-

ty to see one of the first commercial Dprinters in operation. The technology cap-tured my imagination, but the cost wasprohibitive for a hobbyist. A decade and ahalf later, Adrian Bowyer founded theRepRap Project with the mission to createa self-replicating machine and make thedesign freely available to everyone. RepRapis credited with starting the open-sourceD printer revolution and was my entryinto personal D printing. No one can real-ly predict how D printing will affect us asindividuals, businesses, or even fly fishers.The future will certainly bring manyadvances we can’t even imagine today.In the first part of this article, I’ll

describe the most common form of per-sonal D printing called fused filamentfabrication (FFF). This is the technologythat is getting much of the attention, butthere are many other types of D printersthat create objects from liquid polymers,metal powders, and even cookie dough! Inthe second part, I’ll describe how I devel-

oped a fully functioning, completely D-printed fly-fishing reel with a click check(Figure ).

A D-PRINTING PRIMER

Printing in D is a form of additivemanufacturing technology. In traditionalmachining, material is removed from alarge block (e.g., wood, metal, plastic)—an expensive and wasteful process. Inadditive manufacturing, material is addedto build up the item—a more economicprocess that conserves raw materials.The idea of making three-dimension-

al objects from small particles or strandsof material is very old; our prehistoricancestors built up coils of clay into func-tional pottery thousands of years ago.The process used in D printers is similarexcept that molten plastic filament takes

the place of the clay coils and computer-controlled movement replaces the pot-ter’s hands.Before tackling how D printers work,

it’s useful to understand how a D drawing,or model, is prepared to print. Considerthe pyramid drawn in computer-aideddesign (CAD) software like the one shownin Figure . The three directions, or axes,are labeled X, Y and Z. Using special soft-ware (appropriately called a slicer), themodel is cut into a stack of two-dimen-sional layers, called slices, along the Z (up-down) axis. Each slice is a two-dimension-al drawing of a cross-section of the originalpart on the X-Y plane. Many slices packedclose together are required to accuratelycapture the shape and detail in the originalmodel. These slices are fed to the printerone at a time, starting with the bottomslice and working toward the top slice.

A D-PrintedFly-Fishing Reelwith Click Checkby Michael Hackney

All photos and drawings by the author, except where noted.

Figure . Slicing the digital model.

Figure . The Classic, printed in D by Michael Hackney.

Page 5: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Now that we see how the model isprepared, it will be easier to understandhow D printing works. Take a look atFigure . An FFF D printer pushes, orextrudes, a thin plastic filament throughan orifice in a heated nozzle. The nozzleand heater are mounted on a platform(not shown) that can be moved in the X,Y, and Z directions by special computer-controlled motors called stepper motors.To start, the nozzle is lowered to thebuild plate, and the first slice of theobject is printed using the X and Y coor-dinates in the slice. As the filament cools,it sticks to the plate and its neighbors.Once the layer is complete (Figure ),the nozzle is raised to the height of anindividual layer, and the next layer isprinted on top of the first layer. The newlayer fuses to the lower layer, creating arigid structure. This process continues,layer by layer, until the entire object isprinted, as shown in Figure . Thinnerlayers (more slices) give higher-resolu-tion prints. Typical consumer printersex trude through a .mm nozzle with a.mm layer height. This exampleshows a solid-filled part, but printedobjects can be hollow or partially filled.Of course, this description is an over-

simplification. In practice, there is alearning curve, and every printer, mater-ial, and even printable object is different.One of the biggest hurdles for beginnersis persuading the first layer to stick to thebuild plate so the part does not shear offhalfway through the print. Because thelayers are very thin, typically .mmthick, there is little margin for error.

PLASTIC FILAMENT

Many types of plastic filaments areavailable, and new filaments are beingdeveloped all the time. The D-printingcommunity has settled on two sizes offilament—mm and .mm in diame-ter—and you must match the filamentto the extruding system of the printer.There really isn’t a significant advantageof one size or the other, and every fila-ment that I’m aware of is offered inboth.The RepRap crowd favors a renewable

and biodegradable polymer called poly-lactic acid, or PLA, made from corn orother plant starches. Theoretically, afarmer in a remote village could growcorn, easily process it into PLA filamentor granules, and print this on a RepRapD printer to make a replacement partfor a broken irrigation system; that is thevision and mission of RepRap. PLA isrigid and comes in many colors. I espe-cially like the translucent colors; they arequite beautiful (see “A Look at Some 3D-Printed Reels” on page ).

Figure . Starting the first layer.

Figure . Part complete.

Figure . First layer complete.

Page 6: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Another popular D-printable fila-ment is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene(ABS). You would recognize it if you sawit—it’s the plastic from which Lego™blocks and many common householditems are made. ABS is more flexiblethan PLA, opaque, and a little trickier toprint. Recently, many other filaments(printable Nylon™; wood-, bamboo-,copper-, or bronze-filled filaments; con-ductive filaments; polycarbonate [sodabottle plastic] filaments; and even water-soluble filaments) have become availableto the hobbyist. Each filament has its owncharacteristics and learning curve to mas-ter, but that just contributes to the fun ofbeing an early D-printing enthusiast.

THE D-PRINTED FLY REEL

Along with my other angling interests,I’m a reel maker. I design and manufac-ture fly-reel kits in aluminum and brass. Itwas only natural that my interest inmachining and fly fishing would convergewith my interest in D printing. I built myfirst D printer in from one of theearly RepRap designs. It was a simpledevice, but I was able to use it to print use-ful things like whistles, a friend’s weddingrings (I kid you not, they were translucentblue PLA [Figure ]), and for prototypingideas for reel designs and parts. I outgrewthis little machine quickly and built a new,larger, and more capable printer from a

kit. This printer, the SeeMeCNC RostockMax, is large (I can print a -inch-diam-eter cylinder inches tall), fast (relativelyspeaking), and accurate. It sits on my desknext to my computer, so it is always avail-able to try out a new design idea or printsomething interesting I find on one of themany D-printing sites.In late , as my skills in both CAD

and D printing improved, I ponderedwhether I could design and D print aworking fly reel. I set some goals for theproject:

• All of the parts had to be D printable.• No additional hardware or screwscould be used.• The reel had to have a pleasingdesign and not look clunky.• The parts should be small and simpleenough to print on consumer Dprinters.• The design had to have a low partscount and relatively simple parts.• The foot had to fit modern fly-rodreel seats.• The reel should have some form ofcheck mechanism.• And, of course, the reel had to catchfish!

My original intent was to develop adesign that could be snapped or fastenedtogether with no need for adhesives.Early in the project, I decided to lift thisrestriction and allow adhesives if needed.Now, with more than two years of expe-rience designing and printing fly reelsand other items, I believe it is possible tobuild a reel with no adhesives and havebeen working on an updated design.I worked on the reel project off and

on for about a year, and slowly the firstprototype emerged. This first reel—myalpha reel—had seven parts (shown inFigures and ), a silent friction check,

Figure . D-printed wedding rings. Photo courtesy of Chris Bennet.

Figure . First reel prototype assembled.

Figure . First reel prototype printed parts.

Page 7: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

and was printed in ABS. The alpha reelhad a few design issues, though. Forexample, the foot was blocky and had aflat bottom that required machining tofit a reel seat. The foot was glued to thereel frame, a weak mechanical joint atsuch a critical juncture. The spool wasprinted in two pieces and requiredreaming to fit the spindle, printed aspart of the back plate. All in all, it was agood first effort, and I caught brooktrout with it. I considered the alpha reela minor success. With the alpha reel completed, I

quickly set to work on version two, thebeta reel (Figure ). This new design hadmany significant improvements, includ-ing a functional D-printed foot (Figure) that was securely attached to theframe, a three-part spool assembly thatdid not need to be reamed to fit, and asimple click check. The click-checkmechanism (Figure ) is based on thecheck I developed for my aluminum andbrass fly-reel kits. It uses a short lengthof ⁄ inch (or . mm) Nylon rod or fil-ament—the pawl—that engages theteeth on a ratchet wheel. The check issimple and reliable, works and soundsgreat, and can be easily printed.As the mechanical design of the beta

reel evolved, I started thinking aboutways to improve the reel’s appearance.Rather than try to make D-printedparts look like machined or moldedparts, I took it as a challenge to see if Icould incorporate the unique patternand texture of printed parts into thevisual design. This is akin to a furnituremaker using wood grain as a decorativefeature on a piece of furniture.From a design perspective, I needed

to take into consideration that a fly reelis handled and seen from all sides. Onmost D-printed parts, like a vase orYoda figurine, the base is not seen, soimperfections don’t matter. Surface fin-ish and quality on D-printed parts pre-sent two distinct challenges: () the visi-ble layer lines on the sides of the partsand () the top and bottom surfaces.The printed layers on most D-printedparts are visible and can detract fromthe part’s appearance, so they needed tobe incorporated into the reel’s design insome way. The bottom surface is espe-cially challenging because imperfectionsand texture of the build plate are trans-ferred directly to the part. Printed reelparts would require a pristine build sur-face and careful thought both to textureand how that might be incorporatedinto the part.I spent countless hours testing differ-

ent build surfaces and printing tech-niques to improve my printed parts’visual characteristics. An early success

Figure . Second reel prototype CAD model.

Figure . D-printed reel foot.

Figure . Click check.

Page 8: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

involved printing on plain printer paper(Figure ). I simply stuck the paper tothe build plate with a glue stick andprinted. The paper leaves an attractivematte finish, and the PLA adheres to thepaper quite well. I can usually print fiveor six parts on a single sheet of paperbefore needing to replace it. Paper shardsleft clinging to the part can be removedwith a quick rinse in water.More recently, I’ve started to print on

a plastic material called polyether imide(PEI). It has many of the advantages ofplain paper but doesn’t need to bereplaced. I’ve been printing on the samesheet of PEI for more than a year, and itstill looks and works great. The PEIarrived as a thin (.-inch) sheet withone glossy and one matte side. I use the

matte side to get an attractive matte fin-ish and the glossy side when I want a partto shine.To save material cost and time and to

minimize the potential for warp, partsare not generally printed with per-cent internal fill (called infill). Slicerapplications have the ability to print theinfill at lower density and in several pat-terns (cross-hatching or an octagonalmesh pattern, for example). I realizedthat some of these patterns are quiteattractive and shouldn’t be hidden insidethe printed part. This was my ticket toexploit the unique properties of Dprinting to create attractive fly reels. Afternearly a year of experimentation andrefinement, I figured out both how todesign parts so that their interior fill pat-

tern could be exploited and how to printthe part to show the fill. Figure is aclose-up photo of my favorite circularinfill pattern; it looks like a fancy lace.Notice that the lacy fill can be seenthrough the translucent teal frame. I takeadvantage of this and use different fill pat-terns and densities on different parts ofthe reel to achieve unique visual effects.Once I had perfected my printing

techniques and completed the betadesign (see Figure ), I decided to showthe D-printing community my work.Surprisingly, a number of folks were alsofly fishers and wanted to know if theycould print one of my reels. I took this asan opportunity to test and further refinemy design. The comments were very pos-itive, and I started getting feedback about

Figure . Printing on paper.

Figure . Exposed infill.

Page 9: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

others’ experiences printing and fishingthe reel. This led to a constant stream ofmodifications, which I released to befurther evaluated.The beta reel was a great improvement,

but I soon discovered that it required a lotof tedious and manual trimming and fit-ting to assemble and fine tune. It also hadseveral parts that were difficult to print—in particular, the tiny protrusions on theframe ring that fit into holes at the top ofthe pillars. The handle was a bit too smalland fragile also. I continued to refine thedesign over a nine-month period andsigned up new recruits to test and printmy reel designs. By December , I had accumulated

enough changes and innovations to releasemy version design. I gave this new design(Figure ) to twenty-five D-printing/fly-fishing enthusiasts for further testing offand on the water. The feedback was excel-lent. Not only was the design much easierto print, it performed extremely well.The version design grabbed a bit of

attention when several fly-fishing blogsand websites posted photos and stories.Some of the designs I create are a bitnontraditional, even for a D-printedreel. For instance, the Alien reel is vipergreen and has an alien’s face printed onits back plate (Figure ).Whenever I show one of my printed

reels to a group of anglers, I’m alwaysasked, “Do they work?” No matter howmany fish I claim to have caught withone, or explain that many other anglershave printed and caught fish with them,nothing is quite as convincing as a videoshowing exactly what these reels can do.Shortly after I released the version design, Joe Cermele, fishing editor atField & Stream, contacted me to ask howhe could obtain one of my reels to fishand make a video about it. It was anopportunity I could not pass up. I askedJoe if he had a preference for colors, andhe requested red and black, the signaturecolors of his “Hook Shots” (video series)logo. I did him one better and printed ared and black reel with the “Hook Shots”skull printed on the spool retainer (youcan just make it out in the center of thereel shown in Figure ). I sent the reel tohim in early January . Several weekslater, I received an e-mail from Joe witha link to the video he posted on the Field& Stream website. Now when someoneasks “Yeah, but can you catch a fish withit?,” I pull out my iPhone and show thevideo. I enjoy the silence as that some-one watches, mouth agape. I make this version design freely avail-

able for others to download and printtheir own fly reel. To date, I’ve providedthe files to more than individuals, highschools, colleges, and youth groups, and I

Figure . Version design.

Figure . Hook Shots reel.

Figure . Alien reel.

Page 10: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

have photos of several dozen reels thatothers have printed. If you would like toprint one of my reels, you can get a copyof the files and detailed instructions andjoin the fun. If you don’t have access to aD printer but would like a D-printedreel, maybe one in wild colors or with aspecial design, I also offer custom printedreels for sale.

My goal was to explore the possibilitiesfor D printing as it applies to fly fishingand, in particular, fly reels, and to sharemy results with fellow D-printingenthusiasts and anglers all over the world.I realize that these D-printed reels arenot as refined, durable, or sophisticatedas classic Hardy and Bogdan reels—butthey are a lot more fun.

. Steve Henn and Cindy Carpien,“Video: -D Printer Brings Dexterity toChildren with No Fingers,” NPR, June ,www.npr.org/blogs/health/////-d-printer-brings-dexterity-to-children-with-no-fingers. Accessed December .

. “Space Station -D Printer BuildsRatchet Wrench to Complete First Phase of Op -erations,” NASA, December , www.nasa.gov/miss ion_pages/s ta t ion/research/news/Dratchet_wrench. Accessed Decem -ber .

. Louis Columbus, “Roundup of DPrinting Market Forecasts and Estimates, ,”Forbes, August , www.forbes.com/sites/louiscolumbus////roundup-of-d-printing-market-forecasts-and-estimates-/. Accessed Jan uary .

. RepRap (http://reprap.org) was found-ed in by Adrian Bowyer from theUniversity of Bath in the United Kingdom.

. SeeMeCNC, http://seemecnc.com/products/rostock-max-complete-kit. Ac cessedMay .

. Joe Cermele, “Video: First-Ever On-the-Water Test of a D-Printed Fly Reel,” Field& Stream, www.fieldandstream.com/blogs/the-lateral-line/video-first-ever-on-the-water-test-of-a-d-printed-fly-reel. Accessed January .

. You may download the files andinstructions to print the D-printed fly reel atwww.eclecticangler.com/d-printed-reel-plans.

. Custom D-printed fly reels fromthe author’s website can be found at www.eclecticangler.com/d-printed-fly-reels.

A LOOK AT SOME D-PRINTED REELS

These reels demonstrate some of the fun and creative dimensions I explore with D printing. I like to incorporatenontraditional colors and translucency with unique patterns such as the lacelike effect on the side plates.

The Sweetheart reel.

The Sea Dragon reel.

The Bling reel.

The Tranquility reel.

Page 11: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

R that at theend of Part I of this article aboutthe extraordinary confrontation

that took place in / within thepages of the Fishing Gazette betweenRobert Marston, its editor, and George M.Kelson, the doyen of salmon fishermen,Kelson had begun his reply to Marston’scharge that salmon flies did not have to betied with extreme accuracy to be success-ful. Marston’s comment had appeared as apostscript to a letter by Lieutenant-Colonel Bartley, which had asked a num-ber of innocent questions aimed at clear-ing up, once and for all, exactly how theelusive Little Inky Boy should be dressed.On November , Kelson re -

sponded to Marston’s comment, whichhe did in a long letter that veered betweenpathos and indignation.Kelson remainedun swervingly bound to the conclusionthat the reason for his success lay in thefine detail of his favorite variation of theLittle Inky Boy, and he reiterated his con-

viction that the reason the pattern failedin so many other anglers’ hands was thatit had not been dressed correctly.

That every one of my friends appreciatethe improved dressings of these flies isattested by the constant communica-tions, telling of their increased anglingsuccesses. As a matter of fact, they aredevoted to Inkies, all of which, in theirhands, frequently have the desiredeffect. Unfortunately, almost all other ofmy correspondents appear to fail withevery one of the different sorts.

Kelson’s reply was long enough forhim to have dealt at length about how todress the Little Inky Boy, but in hisannoyance at Marston’s note, Kelson rel-egated his answer to Bartley to secondplace. Bartley’s queries were dismissed ina few short sentences, which nonethelessleft the strong impression that readerswould have no trouble supplying thenecessary feathers.

This is all I wish to say. I am sorry youdo not seem to agree with me on thispoint. And had my only object been to“add to the interest of fly-making,” myletters would not have been so curious-ly devoid of information on that branchof the subject as those which you haveso generously published.Colonel Bartley can get the “collerette

de magnifique,” as well as the “touro-cou,” from Jacquet, in any quantity andat a nominal price, as I said in a formerletter. If strips of either mandarin drakeor summer duck are put in the wings,they must be extremely narrow ones.The drake’s feather is not barred, but, ofcourse, the summer duck’s must be so.One or two extra fibres will make but

little or no difference. The wings must beas thin as possible, and in looking atthem, holding the loop of the fly towardsyou, they should resemble the closedwings of a butterfly, and not those whichspread over the sides of the body andgive the fly a lumpy appearance in thewater.

Marston v. Kelson:The Little Inky Boy Controversy, Part II

by Andrew Herd

A Little Inky Boy dressed by Kelson’s pupil, Violet Fane, around . This patternfails the Kelson test, chiefly because it is tied on an eyed hook. The detail of the dressingdoes not correspond with any published dressing, but at least the wing is not heavy.

Photo by Andrew Herd, copyright Andrew Herd and Sir Peter Cresswell.

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I am sending an old pattern, made bya “pupil” of mine to Farlow. Anyone cancall and see the style of thing wanted.The pattern is attached to a sheet ofpaper, with remarks in writing for fur-ther guidance.

The editor tailed Kelson’s letter with areiteration of his previous comment,agreeing with his correspondent that itwas “only common sense and commonexperience that salmon and trout whichare constantly fished for with one pat-tern of fly get shy of it,” repeating hisview that “slight variations are not ableto convert a deadly salmon fly into onethat fish will [not] look at.” That was thegood news.The bad news for Kelson was that

Marston added that two letters to M.Jacquet had failed to procure any turacoat all. Immediately after this footnote,Marston published a letter from JohnJames Hardy, who, somewhat unhelpful-ly, had supplied the original dressing ofthe Little Inky Boy, which Hardy hadrecalled that George Kelson had pub-lished in the Field some years previously.

Tag.—Silver twist and two turns ofcrimson seal’s fur.Tail.—A topping.Body.—Black horsehair, closely coiled.Throat.—Two or three turns of silvercoch-a-bonddu dyed yellow.Wings.—A few tippet strands, two orthree strands of golden pheasant tail,two narrow strips of unbarred summerduck, and a topping.

Incidentally, when Kelson and otherwriters of this period used the wordhorsehair, they meant strands from the

tail of a horse, ideally a gelding or a stal-lion, rather than horse body hair. Becauseblack horses are rare, Kelson would havemeant strands from the tail of a bayhorse, which have black tails and manes.For readers’ benefit, the dressing of theLittle Inky Boy that appeared in Kelson’sThe Salmon Fly () is given below; donote that apart from the change fromseal’s fur to wool for the tag, the bodymaterial had been changed from horse-hair to fine silkworm gut. Part of the fogof confusion that surrounded the dress-ing was caused by the way he changed thebody material back to thick horsehair inthe version of the pattern.

Tag.—Silver twist and one turn ofcrimson Berlin wool.Tail.—A topping.Body.—Fine trout gut dyed black,closely coiled.Throat.—Three turns of silver coch-a-bonddu dyed yellow.Wings.—A few tippet strands, two nar-row strips of unbarred Summer Duckand a topping.

Hardy obliged Marston by sendingthree variations of the Little Inky Boy, thesecond of which was identical to Kelson’sOctober dressing. The third lackedpheasant tail in the wing and happenedto be Hardy’s favorite, presumably beingtied to the recipe given above. Marstonsigned Hardy’s letter off with the words,“These flies are so nearly alike that I can-not believe any salmon seeing one passover him would refuse it because it wasnot exactly like one of the others.”

At this stage, Kelson must have begunto have second thoughts about persistingwith the correspondence, which may

account for why the next act in thetragedy opened with a letter by ReginaldKelson, who defended his father with aplea couched in conciliatory terms.

Despite this, Reginald’s letter was foot-noted by Marston, as was a letter byGeneral Beresford in support of GeorgeKelson. In these notes, the publisherstuck to his guns, coolly correcting theKelsons’ interpretation of previouspoints he had made and always returningto his original thesis, which was “thatsome trifling variation in the dressing [ofa salmon fly] will not cause a fish to takeit or refuse it.”One thing Marston couldnot be accused of was being inconsistent.By now, the tone of Kelson’s letters

made it clear that desperate though hemight have been to end the correspon-dence before it did any further damageto his reputation, he wasn’t prepared toback down, either. So he wrote, underthe title “Inky Boy—Mr. Kelson’s FinalWord,” “. . . [K]indly remember that hadI not found a way of improving the flythere would not have been anything likethe number of fish caught with it duringthe last four or five years as there havebeen.” Which Marston cheerfully foot-noted with the paragraph, “A HappyChristmas to you, Mr. Kelson, and tightlines with the Little Inky Boy! I hear Boyis finding his way into the fly-books oflots of salmon anglers who never heard ofit before this correspondence appeared.”

And there the matter might have rest-ed, had not Reginald Kelson been unableto resist the temptation of writing a lastletter. It is not clear why Reg did this—and how much his father was involved—beyond a suicidal desire to have the finalword. I will leave it to the reader to judgethe worth of the opposing arguments,but after this reply was published, ahappy ending was never in the cards; theKelsons would have done well to acceptMarston’s Christmas wishes and leave thematter there. Instead, Reginald wrote:

Would it not be as well for you tochange your attitude towards outsidersand reassure your readers? It strikes methat you might modify your formerplaisanteries so as to save some of thefruits of my father’s experience for theclose of this long and undervaluedentertainment?You could easily dip a brand new pen

into quite fresh ink and announce offi-cially that these little flies are absolutelyred hot when Farlow, the recognisedhead of the trade, makes them for ouruse.You could tell us that a fisherman’s

happiness depends less upon his mis-fortunes than upon the way in which hetakes them, and you could tell us how tomount and how to succeed with poor,dear Inky.

Wompoo fruit dove breast feathers dyed in the correct shade for the LittleInky Boy. These feathers were also known as collerette de magnifique.Photo by Andrew Herd, with thanks to Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch.

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You might do more. You might tellmy father to send you many more cart-loads of his fruitful experiments for thesake of others who, like myself R-eallyW-ant K-nowledge to intensify happi-ness by taking misfortunes properly. Iguess you will oblige us!

By now, even Marston was tiring of theexchange, and he footnoted Reginald’sletter with the conciliatory words:

I understand from Messrs. Farlow thatthey hope in a day or two to have aspecimen of their dressings of the flywhich has been passed as correct by Mr.“G.M.K.” I can assure Mr. “R.W.K.” thatI have no wish to turn his father’s argu-ments “topsy-turvy,” and am very gladto be with him in objecting to see “lead-ed lures” called flies.

I am reasonably certain that bothsides believed Kelson’s footnote would bethe end of the argument, and had it hap-pened that way, Kelson would have beenable to walk away bloody but unbowed;then two weeks later a cartoon by R. W.Vernon appeared. Although the drawingwas probably intended to be amusing,the timing of its publication couldscarcely have been worse. Immediatelybeneath appeared a letter from ThomasBrayshaw junior, who at that time was anapprentice in a shipyard on the Tyne andwho fished every Saturday on theCoquet. Brayshaw explained that inaddition to being extremely short of“touracou,” M. Jacquet hadn’t thefaintest idea which species of turaco wasrequired to dress the Little Inky Boy andhad sent a bird with a blue crest ratherthan a green one at first request.

Brayshaw emigrated to Canada, where hewould make his name as an illustrator.Later in life, he confessed that he neverdid establish what “colerette de mag-nifique” was.

A muddled response to Vernon’s car-toon appeared on January , theconfusion being caused by Kelson’s fail-ure to distinguish adequately betweenpublic and private correspondence thatwas by then in progress between him andMarston. Aware that he was beginning tolook isolated, Kelson’s second paragraphbegan, “[T]he local postman . . . cameover-burdened with letters this morning,nearly all of which objected to the way Ihad been ridiculed in the FishingGazette.” Readers can make their ownminds up about that. The remainder ofthe letter veered between a comparative-ly sober, but not particularly specific,discussion of the materials required totie the Little Inky Boy via an attack on aFrench correspondent and a new com-plaint about the editor’s failure to accept

Kelson’s rather astonishing attribution ofthe invention of the Alexandra fly toKelson’s own father. Marston retaliatedby penning an extended footnote inwhich he repeated his challenge that hiscorrespondent should back up his claimswith documentary evidence, finishingwith the words, “I have always acknowl-edged how much we owe to him, but thatis not the same as admitting to all that heclaims.”

Reginald Kelson replied to Marston’snote two weeks later:

My father took upwards of two years incollecting the authors’ names and otherdetails concerning several flies which hedescribed in his books. All the fliesinvented by my relatives, save“Wilkinson” and “B O B” were namedby my father, so that it is impossible foryou to know anything more about themthan what he told you or has published.My father still retains all particulars ofthe flies in question, and therefore the

challenge you lay down is not onlypuerile, but absolutely beside the ques-tion. . . . My father says he neither wish-es you to read his books nor refer tothem in any way, as your previous refer-ences have tended to mislead people.

This was a phenomenally silly letter,and it begged the question about whyKelson had published the books in thefirst place if he didn’t want people toread them, but very fortunately, Marstondidn’t pick up on that point. Equally, ifKelson did have firm evidence of theprovenance of the patterns, it makes onewonder why he had not produced it sofar. Once again, the editor appended afootnote, this time longer than the letteritself. In it, Marston challenged Kelson touse his records to publish the dates onwhich he invented or named the flies inquestion and took the opportunity torepeat his rejection of Kelson’s claim tohave invented the mixed wing.

The Little Inky Boy cartoon by R. W. Vernon that firstappeared in the Fishing Gazette on December .

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By now the correspondence regardingthe Inky Boy had been grumbling on forsix months, and the readership musteither have been heartily fed up of it orkeenly awaiting the next installment. Thelatter group was destined not to be dis-appointed, for on January ,George Kelson chose not only to contin-ue his battle to bend Marston to his will,but also decided to revisit the publisher’s review of The Salmon Fly. It was thisletter, more than anything else thatKelson had written in this long debate,that turned out to be a fatal move.

I regret that the correspondence aboutthe Inky Boy fly, which was a matter ofgeneral interest to salmon fishers,appears to be degenerating into a per-sonal controversy between myself andyou, which is neither a matter of gener-al interest nor, as far as I am concerned,a matter of any interest whatever. Noblame can be attached to me for thismisfortune. All the letters I have writtenhave been gratuitous, and have con-tained no sign of reflection on you. It istrue that I was anxious to show you thatI was not unmindful of a remark youmade not long since, which resulted inthe sale of two of my books, and I saidso in a private communication, but Isaid nothing whatever about your review of my book. . . .Having reached the age allotted to

man by the Psalmist, and having devot-ed many more years to salmon fly-fish-ing than you have to writing about it, I

have no wish to see the calm current ofmy declining years muddled by a spateof whirling words. In such conditionsno one will get a “rise” out of me.

There was much more, including arambling attempt to rebut Marston’s dis-agreement with his claims about themixed wing. Kelson’s arguments werefrequently evasive, but this particularone rested on a frankly deceptivedescription of how the early nineteenth-century dressers had winged their flies,which made their method sound solaborious that readers must have won-dered why his predecessors had botheredwith mixed wings in the first place.Kelson then turned to another ofMarston’s points in the review, whichwas an observation that he had notinvented striking from the reel, and hedealt with that in an equally unsatisfac-tory fashion, without quoting enoughevidence to get the editor’s tanks off hislawn. The Gazette’s spellbound reader-ship was rewarded with Kelson’s finalparagraphs:

You also say in the same number (Jan): “In other matters Mr. Kelson’s claimswill not bear investigation.”When translated into the vernacular

this sounds like: “Mr. Kelson is a bit of apromiscuous liar and braggart, but Ihave not time or space vacant at thepresent moment available for pilloryinghim in detail.”

In reply, Marston footnoted Kelson’sletter with the remark, “As usual, Mr.Kelson gives us a long epistle containingno answer to criticisms, but it will be awaste of space to devote any more to thissubject.” A long letter from theViscount de Poncins followed this note,the viscount being none other than theFrench letter writer who had had themisfortune to be attacked in print byKelson on January . De Poncins wrote:

True it is that Mr. Kelson in his last let-ter says that his friends have been ableto understand him perfectly, but thatdoes not matter. Surely Mr. Kelson has agreat many friends, but in the world atlarge there are surely many more fisher-men who are, like me, not yet initiated,not yet acquainted, not yet friends ofMr. Kelson. These are, like me, “uniniti-ated,” and I envy the initiated.Seeing how difficult it is to obtain

one simple but accurate description ofthis fly, I even begin to think that it hasnot yet hatched out completely, it is notinvented, because if it was, it would beshorter and easier to describe it exactlythan to say so many things, none ofthem exactly to the point.

Now the correspondence entered itsfinal phase, with Kelson forced to defendhimself on several fronts simultaneously.He gained a little respite when, onFebruary , a letter of support was pub-lished from General Beresford, a loyalmember of the “initiated” and the only

Two green turaco skins. Photo by Andrew Herd.

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member of this group who seems to havebeen prepared to stand up and defendhis friend in print. Beresford cannot havebeen following the correspondence veryclosely, because he recommended usingthe older version of the pattern listed inThe Salmon Fly, rather than the modifi-cation that Kelson was defending, but heanswered, for the first time, the long-standing query about what size of hookshould be used, suggesting a Wyers FrèresKelson hook, no. . Beresford also con-firmed that a single strand of horsehairshould be used to make the body andwrote that the throat hackle could beblue, red, or yellow. The most valuablecontribution the general made was topoint out that the Little Inky Boy onlyworked if the angler kept out of sightand fished the pattern on a very longleader—an anticipation of modern low-water tactics that explains why Kelson’sinner circle could catch fish with the pat-tern when no one else could. The secretof the Little Inky Boy lay not in the par-ticulars of the dressing but in the way itwas fished.

By now the dressing of the Little InkyBoy was the least of Kelson’s concerns.He returned to the Gazette a week laterwith a pathetic letter that reverted to theissues of the mixed wing and striking offthe reel, and mounted a ragged defenseof his crediting of patterns in TheSalmon Fly. Kelson seemed oblivious tothe danger of prolonging the correspon-dence, although a slow realization wasdawning that he could not win the argu-ment. Marston, annoyed by now, foot-noted this letter with a dismissive com-ment, provoking Kelson, beside himself,to come back at him on February , thistime giving Marston an ultimatum toprovide proof of the accusations he hadmade in the review of The SalmonFly—as if Marston had not done soalready. It was a long way from thegenial banter of the previous August and,ominously, Marston replied that if hecould find time, he would “give Mr.Kelson all he wants—chapter and verse—next week.” It was not an empty threat.The article that appeared in the

Fishing Gazette on Saturday, February

, must have made Kelson’s heartsink. Marston’s words sprawled overthree pages, under the title, “Mr. Geo. M.Kelson Tracing the ‘History’ of SalmonFlies, etc.” In it, the editor of the Gazettetook the opportunity to reprise all thesalient points of his critical reviewof The Salmon Fly, quoting extensivelyfrom it, while addressing the issues thatKelson had raised more recently inexcruciating detail.Kelson’s nature made him vulnerable

to challenges on matter of fact—he was ashowman, and grand gesture, ratherthan detail, was his strong point—and,having tested him in the columns of theGazette, Marston must have known thathis foe was temperamentally unlikely tomarshal his facts well enough to back uphis assertions. So, for the last time,Marston drummed out the paper’s staffand oversaw the ceremonial dragging ofall the skeletons from their well-knownplaces in the cupboards: questioningKelson’s description of the Toppy to theriver Usk, rather than as a Tweed fly; theattribution of the Thunder and Lightning

A coil of horsehair said to have been sent by General Beresford, who features in this story. I have rarely seen horsehairthicker than the best in this sample, yet it has been labeled as “too small” for use in the body of the Inky Boy. Good

luck finding a heavier gauge. Photo by Andrew Herd, copyright Andrew Herd and Sir Peter Cresswell.

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to Jimmy Wright, rather than to PatHearns; and of the Durham Ranger toJames Wright, when it was well known tobe the invention of Roger Scruton; not tomention the Black Dog to his Kelson’sown father, when a letter by P. D. Mallochin the same edition of the Gazette con-firmed that it had been first dressed as amixed wing by the Edinburgh tacklemaker Mrs. Hogg; and extraordinaryattribution of the Wilkinson to Kelsonsenior, when everyone and his dog knewit to be the invention of P. S. Wilkinson.Marston went on to question the

attribution of the word standard to sev-enty patterns that Kelson had invented,of which, Marston contested, only fourwere in common use among otheranglers. He drew attention once again toKelson’s alleged use of copyrighted illus-trations from the Fishing Gazette; dis-agreed with Kelson’s claim to haveinvented striking from the reel; pouredcold water on Kelson’s assertion that “itused to be the fashion to employ nothingbut golden toppings” in the tail ofsalmon flies (which really was outra-geous); and for the umpteenth time,scorned Kelson’s assertion that he hadbeen a pioneer of the method of makingsalmon flies with mixed wings, a chargein which Marston was backed by the verywell-respected Malloch, in addition toother sources too numerous to quotehere. In many respects, the accuracy ofMarston’s words no longer mattered; itwas the quantity of them that swampedKelson’s case like a tidal wave.

Kelson, weary by now, replied on March . In the first few paragraphs,Kelson charged Marston with giving thedate of publication of The Salmon Flyincorrectly as and confirmed thatthe editor’s review of the book had dam-aged its sales. Then, rather than challeng-ing any of Marston’s charges, helaunched a last-ditch attempt to destroythe editor’s credibility by attacking hisexperience as a salmon fisherman, usingtheir mutual friend, John Traherne, whohad died in , as a proxy witness.

If you wish to know why MajorTraherne was annoyed at your posing asan authority on salmon fishing, as I toldyou last week, and why he (Traherne)after inviting you once would not haveyou the second time, and postponedindefinitely his second invitation toyou—the reason was that after seeingyou stand and cast, or, rather, throw, a- Jock Scott in trout water—that iswater where no salmon could possiblyrest—he was disgusted that a hand, soincompetent with a rod, should attemptto wield a bungling pen on the samesubject, as though from the chair of amaster.

Kelson went on to complain—truthful-ly—that he had not copied any of theillustrations in The Salmon Fly from theGazette and that any similarities betweenthe two were purely coincidental, beforefinishing:

By this time your readers will be able toput the epithet on the right shoulders—those of the man who has been a prac-tical fly fisherman all his long life, whohas invented flies and studied at thebankside the habits of the fish under allconditions of weather, etc., or those ofthe man who throws a - Jock Scottinto “trout water,” and then goes back toa leather-bottomed chair and evolveshis criticism (like the German) from hisinner consciousness.

Although Kelson made a limp attempt torespond to the dispute about his claim tohave invented striking from the reel, hefailed to respond to any of the publish-er’s other charges, and his letter dribbledaway into childish insult.With the publication of that ill-

judged letter, the editor, who probablyhad had no intention of letting things getthis far, was presented with a defenselessopponent, and he took advantage of it.Disposing of the Traherne incident bypointing out that it had occurred a quar-ter of a century previously, Marstonwent on to write that he had made itclear to Major Traherne that he “had hadfar more trout than salmon fishing, andasked him kindly to coach me, and kind-ly he did so.” Then Marston delivered thecoup de grâce:

As regards the date of publication ofMr. Kelson’s book, although it has on the title-page, I have since found outthat it was not published until March,—I believe Mr. Kelson told me ithad been delayed. The date given in theEnglish Catalogue of Books is March, and I will back that against Mr. K’smemory or mine. . . .I have unfortunately not had so

much leisure for salmon angling as Ishould like, or as Mr. Kelson has had;but since I fished with Major Traherne Ihave killed salmon with a fly in many agood salmon river, and though neverclaiming to be an expert have by incom-petent bungling, as Mr. Kelson wouldcall it, killed my two and three andmore fish a day. I had the good fortuneto get six clean fish besides kelts one day(wading and casting, or “throwing,” asMr. K. would say), and as I was notusing his patent lever reel, I had grandsport—they did not come in without “akick or a struggle,” as he says so many ofhis salmon do—poor beggars!—mes-merised by G.M.K. Well he never mes-merised me.

It was over, but there was one final let-ter from Kelson. Had he been a differentcharacter, he would never have startedthe correspondence in the first place, butnow he knew that there was no point incontinuing it. Kelson wrote:

Dear Sir,—You commenced this con-troversy by making totally unfoundedcharges against me. You made them inan offensive manner, and without ascrap of evidence to support them. As

A specimen feather of collerette de magnifique (i.e., dyed Wompoo fruit dove breast)dyed by M. Jacquet himself, with a pair of touraco hackles. Rare treasures indeed.

Photo by Andrew Herd, with thanks to Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch.

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fast as I knocked down one of yourassertions, you start a score more—likethe Hydra which grew two new necksfor every one that Hercules severed. Youare incapable of finding out that yourarguments have received a trenchantblow as the man was who, having beenskillfully beheaded, complained of thedilatoriness of the headsman, and wasonly convinced of his decapitation bytaking a pinch of snuff, when hesneezed and his head fell off! Life wasgiven to us for other purposes thanendeavouring to cut blocks with a razor,and I am advertising this as the lastappearance on your stage.I would remind you that my book,

“The Salmon Fly,” is recognised as theauthority on this subject. You, yourself,describe me in your issue of Dec. ,, as “the most famous maker andinventor of salmon flies that this worldhas ever seen or heard of”. . . .The fruitlessness of a controversy

where I say “It is so” and give proof, andyou say “It isn’t so” and completelyignore all the proof I give from first tolast, must be patent to everybody. All wedo is spoil so much honest paper.

The controversy over the Little InkyBoy played its part in creating an aware-ness that salmon flies did not need to beparticularly complicated to be success-ful. Later in life, Tommy Bra yshaw, theshipyard-apprentice-turned-artist,would com ment that the only reason he

tied fully dressed salmon flies was that heenjoyed fishing with them, and within afew years of the dust settling on theFishing Gazette correspondence, it wouldbe established that salmon could becaught on plain hooks with paintedshanks. Nevertheless, despite the grow-ing body of evidence that they weresuperfluous, fully dressed flies enduredfor at least three more generations, and afew old die-hards could still be foundusing them in the s and s. Bythen the patterns that Kelson had doneso much to popularize had becomeanachronisms, and simplified hairwingswere the rule.Time is a great healer. Despite contin-

uing confusion about what constituted aproperly dressed example, the Little InkyBoy remained available through theHardy catalog until , which isn’t abad run by anyone’s standards. RobertMarston stayed at the helm of the FishingGazette for many more years and hasgone down as an angling giant becauseof his astonishing track record as a pub-lisher and a benefactor of angling in gen-eral. He died in . And GeorgeKelson? He, too, is deservedly remem-bered as a giant, the irony being that TheSalmon Fly has stood the test of time andis regarded by many as the best volumeon the subject ever written—just don’ttrust the attributions of the salmon flies,and never, ever, get into dispute about

them with an editor in the columns ofhis own magazine.There is one last thing. In the course

for Kelson’s very long career, one of hismany achievements was to establishsalmon-fly dressing as an art form. Thisaspect of Kelson’s writing has attractedso much attention that the tremendouscontribution he made to explaining andpopularizing other aspects of salmonfishing has been completely eclipsed. Inthe process, an important aspect ofKelson’s character has been forgotten,which is that he was a relentless modern-izer—had he been alive today, the version of the Little Inky Boy would be avery different item indeed. I will agreethat it verges on heresy to mention syn-thetics in the same breath as the master’sname, but had he lived to see such mate-rials, I have no doubt that George Kelsonwould have pounced on them. Progressdoes not wait upon tradition, and maybethe Little Inky Boy was too fast a movingtarget for anyone to be able to capture itsspirit in as conventional a medium asnewsprint.

This article could not have been pre-pared without the help of Sir PeterCresswell, Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch,and the Flyfishers’ Club of London.

At last, the real Querula cruenta! A tuft of purple-throated fruitcrowthroat feathers, confirming that even Jacquet’s dyed magnifiquefeathers were a pale imitation of the real thing. Photo by Andrew

Herd, with thanks to Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch.

A selection of dyed magnifique feathers, with a few interlopers, preservedin a folded notepaper from the Hotel de États-Unis in Paris, whereKelson frequently stayed. The reference to Cotinga susanglantè is hard tofathom; I can find no references to it, not even historical ones. Photo byAndrew Herd, with thanks to Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch.

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. George M. Kelson, “Inky Boy—Morefrom Mr. Kelson,” The Fishing Gazette (vol.LV, November ), –.

. Ibid., . . Ibid., . . R. B. Marston [editorial note], The

Fishing Gazette (vol. LV, November ), . . J. J. Hardy, “Three Variations of the

Inky Boy,” The Fishing Gazette (vol. LV, November ), .

. George M. Kelson, The Salmon Fly(London: George Kelson, ), –.

. George M. Kelson, “The Little InkyBoy,” The Fishing Gazette (vol. LV, October), .

. R. B. Marston, editorial note, TheFishing Gazette (vol. LV, November ), .

. Reginald Kelson, “More About InkyBoy,” The Fishing Gazette (vol. LV, November ), .

. R. B. Marston, footnote to ReginaldKelson, “More About Inky Boy,” The FishingGazette (vol. LV, November ), .

. George M. Kelson, “Inky Boy—Mr.Kelson’s Final Word,” The Fishing Gazette(vol. LV, December ), .

. R. B. Marston, footnote George M.Kelson, “Inky Boy—Mr. Kelson’s FinalWord,” The Fishing Gazette (vol. LV, December ), .

. Reginald Kelson, “Inky Boy—AnAppeal of Vital Importance,” The FishingGazette (vol. LV, December ), .

. R. B. Marston, footnote to ReginaldKelson, “Inky Boy—An Appeal of VitalImportance,” The Fishing Gazette (vol. LV, December ), .

. Thomas Brayshaw, “Tourocou, ‘SpecialScotch,’ and Fungus,” The Fishing Gazette(vol. LV, December ), .

. Stanley E. Read, Tommy Brayshaw: TheArdent Angler-Artist (Vancouver: Uni versity ofBritish Columbia Press, ), .

. George Kelson, “‘Inky Boy’—Mr.Vernon’s Caricature and the Corres -pondence,” The Fishing Gazette (vol. LVI, January ), .

. Ibid.. Reginald Kelson, “‘Inky Boy’—Mr.

Vernon’s Caricature and the Corres -pondence,” The Fishing Gazette (vol. LVI, January ), .

. George M. Kelson, “Inky Boy and theCorrespondence,” The Fishing Gazette (vol.LVI, January ), .

. Ibid.. R. B. Marston, footnote George M.

Kelson, “Inky Boy and the Correspondence,”The Fishing Gazette (vol. LVI, January), .

. Viscount de Poncins, “Won’t BeHappy Till He Gets It,” The Fishing Gazette(vol. LVI, January ), –.

. General Beresford, “Inky Boy,” TheFishing Gazette (vol. LVI, February ), .

. George M. Kelson, “The Inky BoyCorrespondence,” The Fishing Gazette (vol.LVI, February ), .

. George M. Kelson, “The Inky BoyCorrespondence,” The Fishing Gazette (vol.LVI, February ), .

. R. B. Marston [editorial note], “TheInky Boy Correspondence,” The FishingGazette (vol. LVI, February ), .

. P. D. Malloch, “Salmon Fly History,”The Fishing Gazette (vol. LVI, February), . The Black Dog was, of course,described in Mackintosh’s Driffield Angler,which means that if Kelson’s father hadinvented it, he would have had to have doneso as a boy. Another traditional dressing wasgiven by Francis Francis in , and yetanother by John Henry Hale in , this lastbeing a duplicate of a dressing sent in by P. D.Malloch and published in the Fishing Gazetteon June . Given the type of iron thatFrancis and Mackintosh quote, this was avery old pattern indeed.

. R. B. Marston, “Mr. Geo. M. KelsonTracing the ‘History’ of Salmon Flies, etc.,”The Fishing Gazette (vol. LVI, February), –.

. George M. Kelson, “Mr. Geo. M. KelsonTracing the ‘History’ of Salmon Flies, etc.,” TheFishing Gazette (vol. LVI, March ), .

. Ibid.. R. B. Marston [editorial note], “Mr.

Geo. M. Kelson Tracing the ‘History’ ofSalmon Flies, etc.,” The Fishing Gazette (vol.LVI, March ), .

. George M. Kelson, “Mr. KelsonTracing the History of Flies…,” The FishingGazette (vol. LVI, March ), .

A group of Little Inky Boys that were probably tied by George Kelson. For those who arehaving difficulty, the pattern nearest the dressing is at top right. These were probablyexperimental variants tied by Kelson in the course of developing his final choice of pattern.

Photo by Andrew Herd, copyright Andrew Herd and Sir Peter Cresswell.

Page 19: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

W I writing “The Governor AikenBucktail: The Official Fishing Fly of the State ofVermont” (The American Fly Fisher, vol. , no. ,

Spring ), I thought that was the end of the story, but I wasin for a surprise. After sending out my holiday letter, in which Ibriefly recounted the story of how the Governor Aiken Bucktailbecame the official Vermont state fly, I received an intriguingreply from a friend, Pam Karr Loranger. Pam thought she mightknow the location of the long-lost painting of the GovernorAiken Bucktail that I mentioned. Her father, Prentiss Karr, wasbest friends with Russell (Russie) Merriman, the fly’s originator,and Pam said that what might be the original painting washanging on a wall at her family’s homestead in Montpelier.The photo of the painting that Pam provided shows a pastel

that is signed and dated by the artist Pierre Zwick. Zwick wasthe director of arts for the state of Vermont under the WorksProgress Administration (WPA) during the s. At the time,he was also considered an artist of some prominence, withworks on display in Middlebury and at Middlebury College.,

An obscure fishing fly was not a typical Zwick subject, suggest-ing that Merriman may have commissioned the painting.The previous information I had was from my interview with

Governor Aiken’s widow, Lola Aiken, who thought that thepainting was created by Merriman. Lola’s misconception isunderstandable; she left Vermont to join Aiken’s staff inWashington, D.C., in . For Aiken’s entire tenure in theSenate, he and Lola resided mainly in D.C. and may not have

been aware of the details of the painting. In hindsight, it seemspossible that while the Aikens were more or less full-time D.C.residents, Merriman retrieved the undelivered commissionedpainting from Governor Ernest Gibson’s office and at somepoint entrusted it to his best friend, Prentiss Karr. The missingpainting has probably resided at the Karr family homestead allthese years.

Thanks to Pam and Al Loranger and former Vermont StateRepresentative Bill Koch for sharing Russell Merriman factsand stories, and to Sheila Reid for her support and editing.

. “Federal art in New England, –; arranged by the officersof the Federal art projects in New England, in cooperation with NewEngland museums. With a history of the art projects in New England,”Internet Archive, http://archive.org/stream/federalartinnewefede/federalartinnewefede_djvu.txt. Accessed March .

. “Emma Willard Memorial,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emma_Willard_Memorial, last modified February . Accessed March.

. The Middlebury Campus, “Let Us Now Praise Famous Men,” March , http://middleburycampus.com/article/let-us-now-praise-famous-men/. Accessed March .

. “Lola Pierotti Aiken,” obituary posted by Guare and Sons/Barberand Lanier, www.barber-lanier.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=&fh_id=. Accessed March .

Postscript to the Governor AikenBucktail Fly Story

by Rhey Plumley

Photo of Russell Merriman, creator ofthe Governor Aiken Bucktail Streamer,a gift to the author from the Pam Karr

Loranger collection.

The Governor Aiken Salmon Fly painting by PierreZwick, . Photo by Pam Karr Loranger.

Page 20: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

P privilege of working for a museum is theconstant discovery—or rediscovery—of an exciting pieceof history and access to learn more about it. For me, this

piece of history was hiding in plain sight. In our very own LeighH. Perkins Gallery sits a lightly used Hardy Fairy fly rod, the corkstill in impeccable shape, that was once owned by Ernest MillerHemingway. The letter accompanying it perhaps paints the per-fect picture of one of the greatest writers of our time. It is common knowledge that Hemingway was an avid out-

doorsman, but the literary man’s man ultimately refused to flyfish for trout. This is not because he was in pursuit of biggergame fish, like the giant marlin he so eloquently depicted in TheOld Man and the Sea. This is also not to say that he gave up hischildhood passion of fly fishing altogether; he fished for otherspecies on the fly, mainly in salt water. Rather, he gave up flyfishing for trout thanks to an ordinary snafu, as discussed by hisson in this September letter to Field & Streammagazine.It reads:

To Whom it may concern:This rod, a Hardy Fairy, one of only two surviving items of troutfishing tackle, owned by my father the late Ernest Hemingway, isthe one with which he fished on the lower Cottonwoods sectionof the Big Wood River on the one occasion that he trout fishedhere in Idaho. It and another rod, a John James Hardy in poorstate of repair, were the only items of trout fishing tackle he hadwith him when he first came to Sun Valley in the Fall of along with reels and lines and few flies. The other items havesince been lost and the balance of his tackle a trunk full of flies

and other tackle items were lost the following year by theRailway Express Company. (This date is to the best of myknowledge). He was very discouraged by the loss of his accu-mulation of many years and never trout fished again except forthe one occasion mentioned above. The Hardy Fairy was alwaysone of his favorites and with it he fished wet with Hardy Coronalines and a St. George reel, tapered gut casts, usually with two orthree flies. His favorite three fly cast was a Woodcock Yellow andGreen, for a dropper, Shrimp fly in the middle and a worm flyor Coch-y-bondhu for a tail fly. I hope that whoever bids on thisrod successfully will give serious consideration to giving it, orhaving his estate give it eventually to the American Museum ofFly Fishing.

Very Sincerely,John H. N. Hemingway

Hemingway was famous for the Iceberg Theory, or theory ofomission, in which his words on the surface were only a frontto the hidden world of real hopes, fears, and feelings that hischaracters were experiencing. As with many things in Hem -ingway’s life and literature, this letter leaves questions. Whatmade him change his mind and agree to go trout fishing onemore time in Idaho? Where did his lost equipment end up?One thing’s for sure: the attendant who lost his luggage prob-ably received one of the most eloquent talking-tos in the his-tory of talking-tos. (Our condolences.)

—P NC C

Left: Hemingway’s Hardy Fairy, along with its bamboo rod case.

Images from the collection of the American Museum of Fly Fishing.

The Curious Case of Ernest Hemingway

Above: A teenage Ernest Hemingway brings in a trout.

Page 21: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Every healthy boy, every right-minded man, and every uncagedwoman feels, at one time or another, and maybe at all times, theimpulse to go a-fishing.

—Eugene McCarthy, Familiar Fish, Their Habits andCapture (Appleton & Company, , page v)

T - bade farewell to one of the granduncaged women of our sport this past spring. The NewYork Times notice of March described Judith

Bowman as “an entrepreneur, sportswoman, mother, and wife.”Judy was also a great friend to many who loved the art of flyfishing and its vast body of literature. A skilled and well-trav-eled angler with a wonderfully dry sense of humor, she took themoniker of the “uncaged woman” and made it her own.Fly fishers worldwide knew Judy through her role as a lead-

ing dealer in antiquarian sporting books. She once shared herfrustration about phone calls received in the middle of thenight when some eager collector from a far-flung locale over-looked the difference in time zones. Judy was a fixture at mostof the high-profile auctions where the printed treasures of thesport came onto the open market, some for the first time ingenerations. Her clients ran the gamut from casual readers toprivate collectors with libraries worth millions of dollars.Judith Bowman Books was founded in after Judy

learned about the trade by flipping through dealer catalogs tohelp her husband Jim find titles for his own collection. Thesewere the pre-Internet days when a collector’s choices were lim-ited to working with a trusted dealer, visiting used book shops,or bidding at auction. Collectors eagerly awaited the arrival of

Judy’s catalogs, and callswere frantically placedwith the hope that some-one hadn’t gotten to herfirst. It was Judy’s practiceto mail all her catalogs onthe same day to provide alevel playing field for allof her clients.Book auctions were

not simply sales but socialevents at which fellowenthusiasts got togetherto enjoy the thrill of thechase and witness thedrama of a heated bid-ding war when a particu-lar rarity hit the block. Ialways enjoyed steppingoutside with Judy to chatwith her about the pro-ceedings when she needed

a cigarette break or to let off some steam when the bidding gotserious.Fly fishing is a sodality in its own right, but book enthusi-

asts are a distinct group within that fold. There was always talkof a particular collection coming up at auction, gossip aboutso-and-so finding a book worth thousands for three dollars ata tag sale, or astonishment at what a first-edition Walton justsold for and who the buyer might be. Judy was a central figurein all of this action, and her counsel was valued by many.With the advent of the Internet, the playing field has

changed dramatically for both sellers and collectors, but I willalways look back fondly on those days when Judy’s latest cata-log would arrive in the mail and I’d hope that there would notbe a busy signal when calling her number. Judy Bowman was atrue keeper of the flame, and she will be missed by many.

—J MS, C

The Uncaged Woman:Remembering Judith Bowman

Judith Bowman. Image courtesy of Reed Bowman.

Judith Bowman’s book catalog.Image courtesy of John Mundt.

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T A M Fly Fishing honored TomBrokaw with the museum’s Heritage Award at theRacquet and Tennis Club in New York City on April .

The award honors and celebrates individuals and organiza-tions whose commitment to the museum, the sport of fly fish-ing, and the conservation of our natural resources set stan-dards to which we all should aspire. Tom Brokaw is an American icon, best known as a television

host and author who has won numerous awards, including thePresidential Medal of Freedom—the nation’s highest civilianhonor. In addition to being the anchor and managing editor ofNBC Nightly News for more than twenty years, Brokaw is alsoa lifelong angler and a regular on the Outdoor Channel fly-fishing series Buccaneers & Bones. He was an early advocate ofconservation initiatives and has supported organizations suchas Bonefish & Tarpon Trust, the American Museum of NaturalHistory, and Conservation International. “Part of the appeal [of fly fishing] to me,” said Brokaw, dur-

ing his acceptance speech, “is the camaraderie, the commoncause that brings us together, the great idea that people can goout on the trout stream, the salmon river, the flats . . . or go tothe far corners of the world, and there you are with a fly rod andsome kind of imitation fly, and you are in a zone that is unlikeanywhere else I’ve ever been in my lifetime. Hours go by, and youare surrounded by the most beautiful forms of life—not just inthe water, but on top of the water and all around you. And it is, Ithink, the greatest kind of therapy that you can possibly imagine.”This successful Heritage Award celebration would not have

been possible without the support of Honorary Chair LeftyKreh and event committee members William E. Andersen, JaneCooke, Chris Dorsey, George Gibson, Grant Gregory, LesterHolt, Paul Tudor Jones, Karen Kaplan, George Matelich, DavidNichols, Thomas R. Pero, Fred Polhemus, Gary Sherman,Richard Tisch, Ted Turner, and Brian Williams. Additionally,many thanks to our guest auctioneer Nick Dawes; master of

ceremonies Richard Tisch; and Andie Simon, Tom Brokaw’sdaughter, for all of her help preparing for the event and finish-ing the evening with an interview with her father.We would also like to thank the Leadership Circle, including

Mike Bakwin, Foster Bam and Sallie Baldwin, Dick Beattie, YvonChouinard, Peter Clarke, Fitz Coker, Jane Cooke, Chris Dorsey,David Ford, George and Beth Gibson, Alan Gnann, Tim Hixon,Paul Tudor Jones, Karen Kaplan, Leon Martuch, George Matelich,Bruce McNae, Henry Paulson, Leigh and Anne Perkins, FranklinSchurz, Richard Tisch, and Kendrick Wilson.We also appreciate the individuals who supported and

donated items for the live and silent auctions: -Tand Reels,Above All Vermont, Yoshi Akiyama, Alert Stamping, Stu Apte,Samantha Aronson, Pete Bakwin, Rick Bannerot, the BarrowsHouse, Berkshire Rivers, the Briarcliff, Cheeca Lodge, ChefMichael’s Restaurant, the Clark Art Institute, Robert Cochrane,Mark Comora, Costa Del Mar, Bert Darrow, Robert J. DeMott,Paul Dixon, the Dorset Inn, El Pescador, the Equinox Resort &Spa, the Fly Shop, Flyvines, George Gibson, Jim Head, Holland& Holland, Iron Horse Vineyards, Summerfield Johnston, SaraLow, the Mark Hotel, the Manchester Country Club, WalterMatia, Nick Mayer, Michael Monier, Joe Mustari, Pearl StreetSlate Company, Dave Pecci, Jack Pittard, Fred Polhemus, JoshAlexander at ProTravel International, Rio Products, theRyegrass Ranch Owners Association, Steven Jay Sanford, Sci -entific Angler, Dr. Mark Sherman and Dr. Gary Sherman,Arthur Shilstone, Sierra Grande Lodge, Simms, Skida, SouthHolston River Lodge, TED Restaurant, Jim Teeny, SteveThomas, Tierra Patagonia Hotel & Spa, Tight Lines Jewelry,Jacques Torres, Urban Angler, the Vermont Kitchen SupplyCompany, Vermont Paddleboard Outfitters, Vermont Spirits,Paul Volcker, Whistlepig, Ron and Cheryl Wilcox, Wild RiverPress, and Yellowdog. Several other auction item providers alsocontributed to the success of this event.

Tom Brokaw Receives Heritage Award

Tom Brokaw accepting the Heritage Award.

Photos by Jack McCoy

Page 23: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Tom Brokaw is greeted by Honorary Event Chair Lefty Kreh.

Heritage Honoree Joan Wulff withHonorary Event Chair Lefty Kreh.

Tom Brokaw and his daughter, Andie Simon,during the special interview.

AMFF President and Master of CeremoniesRichard Tisch.

Tom Brokaw captivates the crowdwith his acceptance speech.

Page 24: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

T ’ Deborah Pratt Dawson Con -servation Symposium was held on the weekend ofMarch and in Manchester, Vermont. This year’s

theme was “Advancing Conservation through State-of-the-ArtTechnology,” and attendees were treated to a schedule of eventsthat highlighted this contemporary topic.The first day of the symposium commenced with a wel-

come and greeting by AMFF Conservation Committee ChairJane Cooke. In her welcoming remarks, Cooke stressed theimportance of the museum’s recent efforts to present and pre-serve the natural resource conservation projects that directlyaffect fly-fishing waters. She noted that the change in themuseum’s mission to promote conservation initiatives is a sig-nificant addition to our public programming and that themuseum will continue to feature conservation to ensure fishhabitats for future generations. Symposium emcee JimHeckman then introduced the keynote speaker, MichaelCooperman from Conservation International. Cooperman’scomments focused on the importance of understanding thenatural resource conditions before any conservation projectbegins; successes can only be measured against a baseline com-parison.

The day’s list of presenters included:

• Cynthia Browning, executive director of the Batten KillWatershed Alliance: “The Testimony of the Trout:‘Riverwood’ Is Good”• Jonathan Carr, executive director of research andenvironment, Atlantic Salmon Federation: “Unravelingthe Mystery of Atlantic Salmon Migrations at Sea”• Chris Haak, University of Massachusetts doctoralcandidate and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust field researcher:“The Pivotal Role of Technology in Advancing BonefishScience and Conservation”• Amy Singler, associate director, river restoration, AmericanRivers: “Mapping Dam Removal Success: Lessons fromUnited States Dam Removals”• Colin Lawson, Erin Rodger, and Gabe Bolin, TroutUnlimited’s New England Culvert Project team:“Evaluating Stream Resiliency through Hydraulics,Aquatic Science, and Stream-Simulated Designs”• Nick Nelson, New England project manager, Inter-Fluve:“It Doesn’t Have to Look Constructed: River Restorationin a Time of Increased Popularity and Limited Budgets”

The Deborah Pratt DawsonConservation Symposium

Photos by Sara Wilcox

Keynote speaker Michael Cooperman, anavid angler and fishery conservationist.

Symposium attendees included college students, museum members,and members of several conservation organizations.

Page 25: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Each presenter offered a glimpse into his or her organization’suse of different technologies to meet conservation goals andobjectives, as well as encouragement on the general state of nat-ural resource conservation and the number of organizations,communities, and governments that work together.All presentations were filmed for the museum’s archives and

for access by other researchers. In the coming months, filmclips will be posted at www.amff.com and a variety of socialmedia platforms connected with the museum. If you are inter-ested in receiving a DVD copy of the presentations, please con-tact us this summer; one can be ordered for a nominal fee.The weekend symposium ended with four movie screenings

at the local Village Picture Shows: Jungle Fish and Bluefin onthe Line by Costa Del Mar; COLD WATERS by ConservationMedia (a film included in the current Fly Fishing Film Tour);and Return of the River, a documentary directed by JohnGussman and Jessica Plumb featuring the country’s largestdam removal along Washington State’s Elwha River. Thesefilms highlighted the significance of natural resource conser-vation as seen through the local communities affected by theresource. With representatives from all of our conservation organiza-

tion alliances present, we also took the opportunity to meet for

a closed-session discussion with Philip Eppard, chair of theinformation studies department, College of Computing andInformation at the University at Albany, SUNY. ProfessorEppard took the group through a primer of archives develop-ment and archives management as it may relate to anotheraspect of the museum’s conservation initiative: the establish-ment of a conservation research center (potentially onsite andonline), where information about conservation projects can beaccessed. The group discussions that followed his presentationwere well considered and inspiring, and will inform our plansas an archives intern is secured to begin a records survey.The American Museum of Fly Fishing gratefully acknowl-

edges the following donors who helped to underwrite this pro-gram: Berkshire Bank, Costa Del Mar, Jane Cooke, E.&J. GalloWinery, Jim Heckman, Karen Kaplan, Chris Mahan, Rob Oden,Erik Oken, and an anonymous donor. Online marketing spon-sorship was provided by Fly Lifemagazine and This Is Fly. A spe-cial thank you goes to Deborah and Jon Dawson, avid anglerswhose commitment to AMFF and to the preservation of our fly-fishing waters inspire our efforts.

C CE D

Cynthia Browning of Batten Kill Watershed Allianceexplains the importance of wood in waterways.

Jon Carr from Atlantic Salmon Federationdescribes how acoustic telemetry receiversand recorders track migrating fish.

The film COLD WATERS is a collaborative effortbetween Conservation Hawks and Conservation Media.

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O M , the American Museum of Fly Fishinghonored Tom N. Davidson Sr. with the second IzaakWalton Award at the Key Largo Anglers Club in Key

Largo, Florida. The museum established the Izaak Walton Awardin to honor and celebrate individuals who live bythe Compleat Angler philosophy. Their passion for the sport offly fishing and involvement in their angling community pro-vides inspiration for others and promotes the legacy of leader-ship for future generations.As the founding chair of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust and a for-

mer trustee of AMFF, Davidson is a leader in the saltwater con-servation arena and an ambassador to the sport of fly fishing.Aside from being an entrepreneur and successful businessman,he is a dedicated supporter of many nonprofit and fishing-related organizations, including Everglades Foundation andFlorida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. He truly exemplifiesthe spirit of the Izaak Walton Award.It was a lovely evening as the sun set on the Key Largo Anglers

Club. At near-maximum capacity, guests from the Keys andbeyond joined to celebrate Davidson’s many achievements.AMFF President Richard Tisch was on hand with introductoryremarks, and Bonefish & Tarpon Trust President Matt Connollycompleted the night with a heartfelt tribute to Davidson, whose“commitment of wealth, wisdom, and work . . . is unrivaled.” AsConnolly so accurately stated, “[Tom] will keep quietly under-promising and dramatically overdelivering—for that, we [theangling and conservation community] should all be grateful.”This award celebration would not have been possible with-

out the support of museum Trustee and Event Chair NancyZakon and the event committee: Harold Brewer, Russ Fisher,and Alan Goldstein. Their generosity, attention to detail, andsupport are greatly appreciated. AMFF would also like to thankall of the participants of this wonderful event, as well as theexcellent staff of the Key Largo Anglers Club.

Tom N. Davidson ReceivesIzaak Walton Award

Honoree Tom N. Davidson Sr. (left) accepting the IzaakWalton Award presented by AMFF President Richard Tisch.

Matt Connolly, president of Bonefish & Tarpon Trust,gave a heartfelt tribute to his dear friend Tom.

Paul Bishop, Jennalle Shepherd, Joel Shepherd, andChris Fisher at the Izaak Walton Award dinner.

Photos by Carol Ellis

Page 27: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

T ’A Pwas created in to expand our outreach and augment membershipnationwide by raising awareness of the museum, its mis-

sion, and programs. Since profiling our first four ambassadorsin the Fall issue (vol. , no. ), we’ve added three more.Harry Desmond—owner, head guide, and founder of

Berkshire Rivers Fly Fishing™ in Lee, Massachusetts—grew upfishing in and exploring the Berkshires and has an extensiveknowledge of Berkshire river geography and history. His loveof fly fishing and outdoor adventures led to travel in Montana,Wyoming, Idaho, Alaska, and Oregon, where he worked,played, and explored for more than a decade. Harry’s missionis to share his enthusiasm for the outdoors and fly fishingthrough his company as well as teach clients about the impor-tance of sustainable practices within the sport. Michael Carrano is a Berkshire Rivers Fly Fishing guide who

grew up fishing the trout waters of southern Vermont and nowlives in the Berkshires. Carrano earned a B.A. in environmen-tal science and an M.S. in education from Castleton StateCollege—great credentials for an educational fishing guide.When guiding, Michael not only focuses on fishing funda-mentals and reading streams properly, but also shares infor-mation about the water that the client is fishing: where it orig-inates, the species of fish it contains, and particular techniquesand patterns special to that river.Adam Franceschini is a year-round professional guide who

spends his springs guiding for West Branch Angler in Hancock,New York; his summers guiding for Tikchik Narrows Lodge inBristol Bay, Alaska; his autumns guiding on the HousatonicRiver in Connecticut; and his winters guiding on the SouthHolston River in Tennessee. Previously, Adam guided on thefamed rivers of western Montana, the San Juan River, and theAmazon basin of Brazil. He joined the Orvis field and producttesting team in . As the program grows, we hope to establish ambassadors

across the country to better connect with large and small fly-fishing communities nationwide. Our goal is to establish eightdistricts across the United States and assign at least one ambas-sador to each to more efficiently optimize membership devel-opment and growth.We seek ambassador candidates who embody our mission,

reflect our initiatives, and inspire the sport of fly fishing. If youor someone you know would make a great candidate based onknowledge, experience, expertise, and industry alliances, pleasecontact us at -- or [email protected].

Our Newest Ambassadors

Steve Larsen

Michael Carrano

Harry Desmond

Adam Franceschini (left).

Harry Desmond.

Michael Carrano.

Page 28: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Felker Article Receives VOWA AwardEd Felker, author of “Medicine for the Soul”—an article

about Project Healing Waters that appeared in the Fall issue of this journal—was honored by the Virginia OutdoorWriters Association for that piece at an awards ceremony inCharlottesville in March. His article received first place in theoutstanding feature story category. “To be recognized for excel-lence in outdoor writing, in the company of writers I havegreat respect for, in front of a fine organization like VOWA,means more to me than I’m able to express,” said Felker.

Museum Opens Exhibit of New Yorker CoversThe New Yorker—founded in by Harold Ross and his

wife, Jane Grant, a New York Times reporter—wasted no timein becoming a leading voice in American journalism and liter-ature. The magazine quickly established its reputation forhumor and comic art both on its cover and inside its pages.From until , eighteen New Yorker covers featured illus-trations depicting the sport of fly fishing. These covers werecreated by a variety of twentieth-century artists, many ofwhom were regular cover artists. On March , the museum opened an exhibition of the New

Yorker fishing covers collected, curated, and donated by TrusteeJim Heckman (see the Winter issue for an article byHeckman about the covers). Visit the museum to take a closelook and learn more about the artists who captured the spiritof fly fishing!

Spring TrainingMuch like baseball players, fly fishers need a little tune-up

after a long winter off. Although it wasn’t as warm as Florida

here in Vermont, we were graced with some beautiful weatheron April for our signature Spring Training event. Familiessearched the Leigh Perkins Gallery for answers to a scavengerhunt. Children got an introduction to fly tying by creating dec-orative clown flies, and a few even graduated to the tying tablewith our own Yoshi Akiyama. There was fun to be had foradults as well, tying flies for their first visits to the local streamand casting vintage fiberglass and bamboo rods on the muse-um grounds. One participant was gracious enough to let peo-ple cast his silky-smooth custom-built Blue Halo Gear fiber-glass rod. The museum would like to thank everyone whocame out and made this a great event!

Virginia Outdoor Writers Association Chairman of theBoard Marie Majarov presented the first place award foroutstanding feature story to Ed Felker during VOWA’s

annual conference in Charlottesville, Virginia, on March .Image courtesy of Project Healing Waters.

Robert Thomas

In April, AMFF participated in the Flat Stanley Project byhosting Flat Stanley, sent to us by eight-year-old Tuckerfrom Greendell, New Jersey. When Flat Stanley returned tohis classroom, he brought back information about his visitand what he learned about the history of fly fishing.

Sara Wilcox

Communications Coordinator Pete Nardini helps avisitor tie a clown fly at the Spring Training event.

Sara Wilcox

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Fishing at the Potatuck ClubMembers gathered on May , a near-perfect Connecticut

day, at the beautiful Potatuck Club for an afternoon of fishingand camaraderie. The fish obliged, and almost all the anglershad at least one catch. We would like to thank AMFF BoardPresident and Trustee Richard Tisch for hosting the outingand Potatuck President Mike Osborne and his staff for thewonderful fishing and cookout. Thank you, too, to our atten-dees for joining us for a memorable event.

Recent Donations to the CollectionMark Susinno of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, donated a

framed original pencil drawing of Lefty Kreh titled Lefty. JimHeckman of Manchester, Vermont, donated a copy of the May issue of the New Yorker and a poster/print of the coverof same issue. Craig A. Gilborn of Mount Tabor, Vermont, gaveus a photo album containing photos of the American Museumof Fly Fishing when it was located at corner of SeminaryAvenue and Route A in Manchester, Vermont.

Jim Teeny of Gresham, Oregon, sent us a copy of a first edi-tion of his book, Fly Fishing Great Waters (Jim Teeny Inc., ).And Susan Richards of Gladwyne, Pennsylvania, donated a col-lection of books from the library of the late John Richards.

In the LibraryThanks to the following for their donations of titles that

have become part of our permanent collection (published in unless otherwise noted): Frank Amato Publications, Inc., sent us Skip Morris’s

Survival Guide for Beginning Fly Anglers (). Coch-y-Bonddu Books sent us Robert L. Smith’s The North CounryFly: Yorkshire’s Soft Hackle Tradition. University of WashingtonPress sent us Jen Corrinne Brown’s Trout Culture: How FlyFishing Forever Changed the Rocky Mountain West. AndSkyhorse Press sent us John L. Field’s Fly-Casting Finesse: AComplete Guide to Improving All Aspects of Your Casting.

Upcoming Events

Events take place on the museum grounds inManchester, Vermont, unless otherwise noted.

May –September Blue Star Museums ProgramFree admission for active military personnel and their families

July –Angling & Art Benefit Sale

July Canvas ’n’ CocktailsA paint-and-sip event: p.m.–: p.m.

July Celebrate National Ice Cream Day! Fly-fishing activities and free ice cream: p.m.–: p.m.

August th Annual Fly-Fishing Festival: a.m.–: p.m.

September Members-Only Event: Rare Reel Rendezvous: p.m.–: p.m.

September The Anglers’ Club of New York Dinner and AuctionNew York City

September Smithsonian magazine Museum Day Live!Free admission with a Museum Day Live! ticket

October Annual Membership Meeting

October –Friends of Corbin Shoot at Hudson FarmAndover, New Jersey

November –Fly-Fishing Trip to Belize

December Gallery Program: Hooked on the Holidays: p.m.–: p.m.

Always check our website (www.amff.com) for additions, updates,and more information or contact () - [email protected]. “Casting About,” the museum’s e-mail newslet-ter, offers up-to-date news and event information. To subscribe,look for the link on our website or contact the museum.

AMFF Communications Coordinator Pete Nardinireleases a brookie at the Potatuck Club.

Peter Nardini

Executive Director Cathi Comar was the guest speaker atVermont Fish and Wildlife’s Let’s Go Fishing annual programmeeting in March. This was a great opportunity to introduce themuseum to a group of avid anglers and to outline the history offly fishing as represented in our outstanding collection.

Page 30: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

Andrew Herd works three days a week as a family practitioner in CountyDurham. The remainder of the time he fishes, writes about fishing, or takes pho-tographs of other people fishing, notably for Hardy & Greys in Alnwick, forwhom he has worked for several years.Herd has published many books, including his History of Fly Fishing trilogy

(Medlar Press), and he is the executive editor of Waterlog magazine. His mostrecent work (with Keith Harwood and Stanley David) is Gear & Gadgets, a light-hearted look at some of Hardy’s more harebrained products, and next to presswill be The Anglers’ Bible, a detailed examination of the Hardy’s Anglers’ Guides upto . Right now he is working with Hermann Dietrich-Troeltsch on anothertrilogy, this time about the incomparable Mr. William Blacker.

Michael Hackney is an angling author, historian, fly tier, rod builder, line andleader furler, reelsmith, angler—you get the idea—addicted to fly fishing! He livesin Groton, Massachusetts, and is proprietor of the Eclectic Angler and Reel LinesPress. Hackney’s interests and talents span the gamut from hand-furling taperedhorsehair fly lines to designing and printing D fly reels.

Michael Hackney

Barbara Herd, MD, FRCP

You will remember that the American Fly Fisher publishedmy piece, “A Fourth-Century European Illustration of aSalmon Angler” (Spring , vol. , no. ), wonderfully setout in pages to . On page , there is a photograph of asalmon angler playing a salmon (Salmo salar) on rod and line.This is the earliest known image of a hooked salmon, probablybeing held by a Romano-British angler, who was most likelybait fishing with a gobbet of lobworms on his hook or hooks.Because there was a modicum of overprinting of this

fish/fisherman portrait, I have always hoped that a new print(not so dark) could be made by making use of my -by--inch framed copy that hangs in my study. Accordingly, I askedmy friend David Hatwell to make a fresh print, which I nowsubmit.

F BB, E

Figure of a fisherman and a salmon photographed byFred Buller at Lydney Park in November withpermission from the owner, Viscount Bledisloe.

David Hatwell

Page 31: American Fly Fisher - American Museum of Fly Fishing · Fly Fisher. Richard G. Tisch President Karen Kaplan Vice President Gary J. Sherman, DPM Vice President James C. Woods Secretary

L P, of the AmericanMuseum of Fly Fishing, wrote in his memoirs, “Mostboys learn about fishing and hunting from their fathers.

The great influence in my sporting life was my mother. Shetaught me to fish and hunt, and she was my principal sportingcompanion for the first eighteen years of my life.”* Thesemany years later, it is amazing to look at Leigh’s contributionsto the sporting world as well as his contributions to naturalresource conservation. Anglers, conservationists, and even theAmerican Museum of Fly Fishing owes thanks to KatherinePerkins for inspiring her son! We at AMFF also try to inspire our visitors to learn about the

history of fly fishing and to pick up a fly rod and become part ofthe history of this incredible sport. Over the past several years,we have expanded our outreach, both onsite and online, to pro-vide resources to anglers and those thinking about becominganglers. Some of our programs cater to children who are new tofly fishing (including tying a “clown fly,” playing our exhibition

scavenger hunt game, and feeling the weight of a trout or bone-fish on a fly line). Others cater to experienced anglers (includingour blog, The Batten Kill Beat [americanmuseumofflyfishing.blogspot.com]; our members-only afternoons, when specialartifacts are pulled from storage for close inspection; and ourpermanent gallery exhibition highlighting the history of rods,reels, and flies). The recently added conservation initiative hasgiven us yet another fly-fishing–related project to engage andinspire the public.At the end of a long week, when perhaps we feel our impact

isn’t as great as we’d hoped, we get the phone call, e-mail, orvisitor who stops by to tell us that she’s just caught her first fishon a fly she learned to tie at the museum, or that he recentlybought his first fly rod because he attended a casting workshophere. Now, that is inspiration for us!So thank you to all the parents, siblings, spouses, relatives,

and friends for your inspiration. It is through our collectiveefforts that the fly-fishing tradition will flourish.

C CE D

Inspiration

This wonderful inscription was found in a book recentlyreceived from the angling library of John H. Richards III.

*Leigh Perkins (with Geoffrey Norman), A Sportsman’s Life (New York:Atlantic Monthly Press, ), –.

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Main Street • PO Box Manchester,Vermont

Tel: () - • Fax: () --: [email protected]: www.amff.com

M T isthe steward of the history, traditions, andpractices of the sport of fly fishing and pro-motes the conservation of its waters. Themuseum collects, preserves, exhibits, studies,and interprets the artifacts, art, and literatureof the sport and uses these resources toengage, educate, and benefit all.

The museum provides public programs tofulfill its educational mission, including exhi-bitions, publications, gallery programs, andspecial events. Research services are availablefor members, visiting scholars, students, edu-cational organizations, and writers. ContactYoshi Akiyama at [email protected] toschedule a visit.

VThroughout the year, the museum needs volun-teers to help with programs, special projects,events, and administrative tasks. You do nothave to be an angler to enjoy working with us!Contact Becki Trudell at [email protected] totell us how we would benefit from your skillsand talents.

SThe American Museum of Fly Fishing relies onthe generosity of public-spirited individuals forsubstantial support. If you wish to contributefunding to a specific program, donate an itemfor fund-raising purposes, or place an advertise-ment in this journal, contact Sarah Foster [email protected]. We encourage you to give themuseum con sideration when planning for gifts,be quests, and memorials.

JMembership Dues (per annum)

Patron ,Sponsor Business Benefactor Associate

The museum is an active, member-orientednonprofit institution. Membership duesinclude four issues of the American Fly Fisher;unlimited visits for your entire family tomuseum exhibitions, gallery programs, andspecial events; access to our ,-volumeangling reference library; and a discount onall items sold by the museum on its websiteand inside the museum store, the BrooksideAngler. To join, please contact SamanthaPitcher at [email protected].

Scan with your smart-phone to visit ourcollection online!

Catch and Release the Spirit of Fly Fishing!