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The American Fly Fisher

OFFICERS

Museum Slide Program Now Available

The Museum is pleased t o announce the completion of its traveling slide program. The program is designed to introduce the work of the Museum to organizations of anglers throughout the country b y giving them a brief tour through the collections and an introduction t o the history of angling in America. I t features many of the Museum's most prized possessions, in excellent color slides taken by Lefty Kreh, Sid Latham and others. Through a combination of photographs of Museum holdings and early angling art, the history of angling is briefly traced, from the solid wood rods of the young republic to the graphite wonders of today.

The 16%-minute program iq accompanied by a casette-tape sound track, so that the program requires no reading or narration by the borrower. The slides are shipped right in their carousel unit, ready for viewing.

The Museum of American Fly Fishing is a national institution, with objects on display from all parts of the country. Since the Museum can only be located in one part of the country, i t is necessary t o find ways to share our collection with those anglers who are too far away t o visit. The slide program will help in that. Not only will it encourage more people to join us in our work, but also it will take the Museum t o them.

To arrange for a loan simply write t o the Executive Dir- ector, The Museum of American Fly Fishing, Manchester, Vermont, 05254.

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President Leon Martuch

TRUSTEES

Robert Barrett David B. Ledlle Richard Bauer Alvan Macauley, Jr. Joseph Spear Beck Leon L. Martuch Stanley Bogdan Dudley Mills Kay Brodney Carl Navarre Charlie Brooks Ed Oliver Dan Callaghan Leigh H. Perkins Roy Chapin Mrs. Romi Perkins Charles Eichel Steve Raymond G. Dick Finlay Kick Robbins William Glassford Willard Rockwell Gardner L. Grant Ben Schley George Griffith Ernest Schwiebert, Jr. Alvin R. Grove Col. Henry Siege1 Austin S. Hogan Prescott A. Tolman Susie Isaksen Ben Upson Sam Johnson Ralph Wahl Martin J . Keane Roger G. White Capt. R. A. Kotrla Dickson Whitney Peter Kriendler Donald D. Zahner Dana S. Lamb Ed Zern

Vice President Steve Raymond

Vice President Austin S. Hogan

Treasurer Leigh H. Perkins

Secretary and Ass't Treasurer Mrs. Laura Towslee

Executive Director Paul Schullery

Tllc American Fly Fisher Published by The Museum of American Fly Fishing

for the pleasure of the membership.

SPRING 1978 Vo1. 5 No. 2

Editor Paul Schullery

Assistant Editor David B. Ledlie

Art Directors Anne K. Secor Ann Pendleton

TABLE O F CONTENTS

The Arte of Angling, 1577, Walton and Topsell by Professor Thomas Harrison P. 2

Daniel Webster as a n Angler by Charles Lanman (1888) P. 5

Annual Meeting News P- 8

Sara McBrider Pioneer Angling Entomologist by Ken Cameron p. 10

Entomology For Flyfishers by Sara McBride (1876) edited by Ken Cameron p. 11

The Lye Brook Pool p. 13

Adirondaek Museum Historical Exhibit Collection Highlights: Historic Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Flies p. 15

A Fight With A Trout by Charles Dudley Warner (1878) p. 19

Collection Highlights: Our Oldest Fly Rod p. 21

Fly Casting by H. P. Wells (1885) and James Henshall (1881) p. 22

Fly Fishing for Shad (1882) p. 26

Tommy Brayshaw: The Ardent Angler-Artist Article and Book Review by Steve Raymond p. 28

Museum Membership Information p. 32

Books and Museum Publications IBC

THE AMERICAN FLY FISHEK, the m a g a ~ i n e of THE MUSEUM O F AMERICAN FLY FISHING, is published quarterly by the MUSEUM at Manchester, Vermont 05254. Subscription is free with payment of membership dues. All correspondcnce, letters, manuscripts, photographs and materials should be forwarded care of the Editor. The MUSEUM and MAGAZINE are not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts, drawings, photographs, materials o r memorabilia. The Museum cannot accept responsibility for statements and interpretations which are wholly the author's. Unsolicited manuscripts cannot be returned unless postage is provided. Contri- butions to THE AMEKICAN FLY FISHER are to be considered gratuitou5 and become the property of the Museum unless otherwise requested by the contributor. Publication dates are January, April, July and Oeto- ber. Entered as Second Class matter at the U. S. Post Office, Manchester, Vermont 05254.

@ Copyright 1978, THE MUSEUM O F AMERICAN FLY FISHING, Manchester, Vermont 05254. Original material appearing may not be reprinted without prior permission. Credits: The ornate capital letters used in this issue are from ANGLER'S EVENINGS (1880), by the Manchest- er Angler's Association, RECOLLECTIONS O F FLY FISHING by Edward Hamilton, and HALCYON, b y Henry Wade. Museum photos by David B. Ledlie. Printing by Thompson, Ine., Manchester Center, Vermont.

The Arte of Angling, 1577 Walton and Topsell

by Thomas P. Harrison

The following paper has been submitted to us by Thomas P. Harrison, Professor Emeritus of English at the University o f Texas, Austin. Professor Harrison's keen interest in the history o f science, specifically in ornithology, led him to a perusal of Edward Topsell's "The History o f Serpents" (London, 1608). In this lengthy tome, he found mention o f William Samuel, Vicar of Godmanchester, and identified him as the probable author o f the heretofore anonymous "The Arte o f Angling," 1577 (see "Notes & Queries," October 1960, p. 373). For a full discussion o f Professor Harrison's discovery m d its relation to Walton's "The Complete Angler" (1653) please see "The American Fly Fisher," Vol. 2, No. 2, 1975. I t has been our opinion for some time now that Professor Harrison has never received due credit for his remarkable detective work. In an effort to partially rectify this situation, we publish below Professor Harrison's recent paper which suggests that Samuel may have authored perhaps another (as yet undiscov- ered) volume dealing with fly fishing.

Thomas P. Harrison was born on May 9, 1897 in Davidson, North Carolina. He received a B.A. degree in 1918 from the University o f North Carolina. After a short stint in the infantry (World War I), he matriculated at Cornell University from which he received his PhD. degree in English in 1924. His teaching career spanned forty-eight years: two years at Cornell and the remaining years at the University o f Texas. His areas o f interest include Shakespeare, Milton, Spencer, and the history o f science. He is the author o f scores o f literary articles for a number o f learned journals and has published several books. Professor Harrison tells us that "As a boy, I did some fly fishing for trout in the mountain streams of North Carolina. Bait fishing was common only among disreputable persons."

Professor Thomas P. Harrison

HE relationship of the Arte to Walton's Masterpiece has been explored with considerable thoroughness by Professor Bentley, who thus sums up his conclusion:

Clearly Walton took the general plan and structure of The Arte of Angling for his famous book; he took from it the names of the two principal characters in his first edition; and he also took, almost verbatim, his instructions for the cultivation of gentles and the preparation of malt bait.1

Professor Savage's notes in this edition include sixteen parallels from Walton, some of which are cited below as of possible signi- ficance. So completely traditional had the lore of angling become that Samuel's own modest admission of his authorities is stated by Piscator in his promise to Viator: "But what I do know by report, by reading, or by experience, by myself a t home or abroad, I will, God willing, not hide it from you, . . ." (p. 32). He cites Gesner once (on the pike), and likely he knew also the Hoke of St. Albans, his only known English predecessor on the art of angling in print. From this he seems to have drawn

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nothing. In addition to the two long passages referred to by Bentley,

others from Walton which appear t o trace to the Arte have to do with ruff, perch, pike, carp, and roach. To save space, only

The Arte of Angling, 1577, ed. Gerald E. Bentley, Introduction by Carl 0. V. Kienbusch, Explanatory Notes by Henry L. Savage, Prince- ton University Press, 1958; see also Marcus S. Goldman, "Isaac Walt- o n and The Arte of Angling, 1577," (Studies in Honor of T. W. Bald- win, University of Illinois Press, 1958, pp. 185-204). Subsequent quotations herein are from Walton's first edition, 1653, and from the modernized text of the Arte, ed. Bentley.

Walton is now quoted with page reference to the Arte. Identical words and similar phrases are italicized. Perch: Walton, p. 181:

But bite the perch will, and that very boldly, and, as one has wittily observed, if there be twenty or forty in a hole, they may be at one standing all catch'd one after another; they being like the wicked of the world, not afraid, though their fellows . . . perish in their sight.2 [Of the ruff, Arte, p. 39, and of the perch. pp. 40-411

Pike or pickerel: Walton, pp. 143-144, called the freshwater-wolf. " [Pp. 148-149,?? His feeding is . . . sometime a weed of his own, called pikrel-weed3 . . . you may fish . . . either with a ledger or a walking bait." [Arte , pp. 41, 43.1 [Walton, p 143,] Gesner mentions a pike taken in Swedeland in the year 1449 with a ring about his neck, declaring he was put into the pond b y Frederick the Second more than two hundred years before he was last taken, as the inscription of that ring, being Greek, was interpreted b y the then Bishop of Worms. " [Arte pp. 46-47] .4

Carp: Walton, pp. 161-173, a fish that bath not been . . . long in ~ngland? Carps . . . breed . . . especially all the summer season; and . . . more naturally in ponds than in running water^.^ . . . y o u must put on a very large measure of patience . . . either early or late . . . bites either at wormes or at paste . . . and as for pastes there be . . . many sorts . . . which . . . should be thrown into the pond . . . some hours before . . . your tryal of skil . . . either grains, or bloud . . . but still as you are fishing, chaw a little white or brown bread in your mouth, and cast it into the pond about the place where your flote swims. [Arte, pp. 50-541

Roach and dace: Walton, p. 226, . . . a good bait is . . . the thick blood of sheep, being half dryed on a trencher7 that you may cut it into such pieces as may best fit on the size of your hook, and a little salt keeps it from growing black, . . ." [Arte , pp. 60-62, dace not named] Preceding this appear the two long passages almost verbatim

from the Arte. The first describes how to breed and "keep gentles all winter": Walton, p. 224:

Take a piece of beasts's liver, and with a cross stick hang it in some corner o v a a pot or barrel, half full of dry clay; and as the gentles grow big, they will fall into the barrel, and scour themselves, and be always ready for use whensoever you in- cline to fish; and these gentles may be thus created till after Michaelmas. But if you desire to keep gentles to fish with all the year, then get a dead cat or a kite, and let it be fly-blown; and when the gentles begin to be alive and to stir, then bury it and them in soft, moist earth, but as free from frost as you can, and these you may dig up a t any time when you intend to use them; these will last till March, and about that time turn to be flies. [Arte, pp. 65-66] Cited by Goldman, pp. 198-199.

' Savage, pp. 41-42. See full account by Savage, pp. 46-47. Gesner names Swabia as the site; only Walton and the Arte erroneously name Sweden ("Sweth- land" in Arte). "Introduced into England as early as the 14th century" (Savage, cit- ing NED, p. 50) . Savage, p. 50. Savage, p. 6 0 . Without quotation Goldman remarks that "baits such as snails. congealed blood, and the caddis echo similar discussion in the Arte" (p. 199, n. 39). At thiqcpoint Piscator abruptly concludes his role with the announce- ment, It is time I were gone." As Walton's Viator departs he invokes "the blessing of Saint Peter's Master" (p. 2 2 6 ) which echoes the earlier Viator, "St. Peter's Master be with you" (Arte, p. 24 - cited by John P. Cooper, The Art of "The Compleat Angler" Duke University Press, 1958, p. 148.

Isaak Walton Walton adds a second bait "if you be nice to fowl your fingers," pp. 224-226:

Get a handful of well-made malt, and put it into a dish of water, and then wash and rub it betwixt your hands till you make it clean, and as free from husksas you can; then put that water from it, and put a small quantity of fresh water to it, and set it in something that is fit for that purpose over the fire, where it is not to boil apace, but leisurely and very soft- ly, until it become somewhat soft, which you may try by feeling it betwixt your finger and thumb; and when it is soft, then put your water from it: then take a sharp knife, and turning the sprout-end upward, with the point of your knife take the back part of the husk off from it, and yet leaving a kind of inward husk on the corn, or else it is marred; and then cut off that sprouted end, I mean a little of it, that the white may appear, and so pull off the husk on the cloven side as I directed you; and then cutting off a very little of the other end, that so your hook may enter; and, if your hook be small and good, you will find this to be a very choice bait, either for winter or summer, you sometimes casting a little of it into the place where your float swims.[Arte, pp. 62-64]

The foregoing passages afford ample evidence of Walton's re- course to the Arte of Angling, extant only in the unique copy at Princeton. The author of this manual, William Samuel, Vicar of Godmanchester in Huntingdonshire, has been identified through a casual reference in Topsell's H i s t o y of Serpents, 1608.9 Examination of this in relation-to the ciosing pages of the Arte appears both to establish the author's purpose to con- tinue the dialogue and to disclose in part the content of this supplement.

Present writer, "The Author of The Arte of Angling, 1577," Notes and Queries, new series 7 , no. 10, October, 1960, pp. 373-376. Re- view by Arnold Gingrich and David B. Ledlie (The American Fly Fisher, vol. 2 , no. 2 , Spring, 1975, pp. 4 6 .

Page 3

Topsell's allusion appears on the last page of the long chapter "Of Caterpillers, o r Palmer-Worms."l0

They are a very good meat to divers Birds and Fowls, . . . and t o sundry fishes likewise, as to the Tench, Pike or Pikerel, and . . . also to the Trout, and some others, who are easily deceived with a Caterpil- lered hook. Which kind of fishing fraud, if you would better be instructed in. I must refer you . . . to a little Book dedicated t o Robert Dudley, late Earl of Leicester, written by Master Samuel Vicar of Godmanchester in Huntingtonshire.

Either Topsell was ignorant of the contents of the Arte as represented in the unique battered copy or he was familiar with certain passages not included in the extant book, for there neither caterpillar nor palmer worm appears on any page. The latter alternative seems probable. He names tench, pike, and trout, absent except for the pike 11 from the extant Arte. His "some others" would doubtless include those other fish unmen- tioned in the present text but discussed b y Walton, barbel and salmon, 1 2 for example. The concluding pages of the Arte appear t o confirm the existence of an addendum which may well have been bound together with the preceding text.

Immediately before the two long passages copied b y Walton, Viator says: " . . . so a word o r two of t h e ordering of your baits afore spoken of and promised; and then, an end for this time" (italics mine). Then: ". . . you have not yet spoken of the killing of the tench, barbel, and the trout," t o which Piscator replies: "It is true. Let these suffice you, friend, for I will speak of those and other in m y next addition" (pp. 6 2 and 64). He is re- luctant t o deal in t h e angling of the t rout "for displeasing one of our wardens," fo r whom he obviously entertains little respect; but Piscator, vaguely mentioning one of this man's baits, promises further sessions with his pupil. These are anticipated in Via- tor's final words, "Well, if you hie no t apace, I will be a t the river before you."

Two of the fish named by Viator are tench and trout, which, according to Topsell, are detailed b y "Master Samuel." If this is not dismissed as coincidence, it seems t o establish the existence of supplementary matter not only planned bu t possibly completed and printed as an integral part of The Arte o f Angling. The abruptness of Piscator's final words, "It is time 1 were gone," so o u t keeping with the grace with which the dialogue has been conducted hitherto, is consistent with the promise of further matter, concluding, one may surmise, more formally.

The possibility of a second book has been suggested by Mr. D. E. Rhodes, of the British Museum, not in relation t o the author's promised "addition," bu t t o "the stubs of a t least three more leaves" preceding the present binding of the Arte. ". . . these leaves must have belonged t o another book" related to the Arte. "For present purposes, i t is assumed that whether the 1577 volume represents the remains of one book o r two, the whole was printed and bound together with the object of being sold together . . ."I However, the "addition" would appear as

lo The History of Serpents, second edition, by John Rowland, 1658, pp. 665-671. In this passage only the designation of a "little book" etc. to the end of the sentence is original with Topsell; the rest is translated from the Theatrum Insectorum. bv Thomas Moffett (Charles E. Raven, English Naturalists f r o m ' ~ e i k a m to Ray, Cam- bridge, 1974, p. 225.

l1 Although frogs or other fish are usual baits, the pike "will bite at a -. gentle . . . He will be killed with a great red worm" (Arte, p. 42).

With Walton's comparison of perch with "the wicked of the world" (see above p. 2), clearly from the Arte, compare the similar manner of Walton's passage o n the salmon: "(as one has wittily observed) he has (like some persons of honour and riches, which have both their winter artd summer houses) the fresh rivers for summer, and the salt water for winter . . ." (p. 134).

l3 "A New Line for the Angler," Library, Fifth ser., X (1955), pp. 123- 124. As to the three stubs, more likely is Rentley's conclusion that they belong to the title page and dedication or address to the reader or commendatory statement (p. 72).

a continuation following the present ending. Walton spends three chapters on the t rout "for which I love

t o angle above any fish" (p. 84); and in early spring for trout "the best fishing is with the Palmerworm" (pp. 109-110). What- ever he may have derived elsewhere from Samuel's supposed addendum, Walton's fascination with the caterpillar-butterfly transformation leads him t o Topsell's f l istory of' Serpents. ' From the chapter "Of Caterpillers, o r Palmer-Worms called of some Cankers" (pp. 665-671) some four pages are rifled by Wal- ton, who cites "our Topsel" with some regularity. ls

Considering the extent of this indebtedness Walton was probably not unaware of Topsell's direct reference to Master Samuel's "little book." In view of Walton's acknowledgement of his use of preceding angling books and their authors-Dennys, Markham, Barker, and Mascall--it is disappointing but not remarkable that he nowhere names Samuel. Perhaps the very free- dom with which he adapted passage after passage from the Arte inclined him t o silence regarding book and author.

Until its discovery by Mr. Kienbusch in 1954, The Arte of Angling was completely unrecorded, and except for the colo- phon the date of its issue and the name of the printer would be unknown. By the year 1577 Henry Middleton had become a well known printer. Ten years before he was admitted t o the Company of Stationers, in whose Register he entered books by such distinguished authors as Roger Ascham, Humphrey Gilbert, and George Gascoigne. By 1583 he was working three presses, and in the last year of his life, 1587, he served as a Warden of the Stationers' Company. 1 6 Yet Middleton chose not t o enter Samuel's fishing book " t o be sold at his shoppe in S. Dunstanes churchyarde." Thus The Arte of' Angling takes its place among the estimated one third of the books published in England at this time which were not entered in the Register. 17 As a respected vicar, perhaps Samuel would have agreed with the Reverend G.W. Bethune, whose name nowhere appeared in his monumental edition of Walton (1847) "owing t o the public feeling against the propriety of such a book by a clergyman" (Dictionar.y of American Biography). But according t o Topsell's report the names of both author and patron must have appeared in the book.

In conclusion, the extent of Walton's dependence upon both the imperfect copy of The Arte of Angling and upon Topsell's History of Serpents is clear-cut. On the other hand, conclusions which have been advanced concerning what Samuel promises as "my next addition" must kemain tentative.

l4 First issued in 1608, citations below are from the reprint of 1658.

1 5 Topsell, pp. 665-669; Walton, pp. 98-102. Information o n frogs is similarly derived: Topsell, pp. 720-724;Walton, pp. 88, 151-152.

16 A Dictionary of Printers and Booksellers. . . 1577-1640, R. B. McKerrow, General Editor, London, 1910.

1 7 C.J. Sisson, "The laws of Elizabethan Copyright," (Library, 15, 1960, pp. 8-20), p. 9.

Page 4

Daniel Webster As An Angler

By Hon. Charles Lanman

Charles Lanman, described by angling historian Charles Goodspeed as "Travelling painter, writer and sportsman," produced several books of outdoor experiences, the most famous being ADVENTURES IN THE WILDS OF THE UNITED STATES AND BRITISH AMERICAN PROVINCES (1856). His writing was praised by such notables as Charles Dickens, Charles Hallock, and Washington Irving. The illustrations for this article were taken from his THE PRIVATE LIFE OF DANIEL WEBSTER (1852). The article itself appeared in the short-lived WILDWOOD'S MAGAZINE in May o f 1888.

T was a fish that made Daniel Webster my friend, and hence, for me to write about him as an angler, is both a pleasure and a privilege. It was early in the summer of

1851 , when, after capturing a fine lot of rock-fish in the Poto- mac, I distributed my plunder among certain friends in Washing- ton. One of those to whom I sent a ten pounder was William W. - - - - -

Seaton, in whose noted journal I had printed many fish stories. About two hours after receiving my present, he called upon me and requested, as a favor to himself that I would let him send the fish to Mr. Webster, with my compliments; and as I had no objection, the prize was duly delivered to the Secretary of State. After the lapse of another two hours, a messenger came to me from Mr. Webster requesting me to call upon him at the State Department, and I did so without delay. On making my appearance before the great man, he put on a very dignified air, and thanking me for my kindness, said he wanted to consult me, on very important business. He desired to know where I had caught that big rock-fish; and after telling him when and where, he added-"I would like to catch one of the same kind in your company." After explaining the necessary points for a full un- derstanding of affairs, I soon after proceeded to arrange with Joe Paine, the Fishing King of the Potomac, and a special day for sport was at once designated.

It was at four o'clock on a bright June morning that Mr. Webster called at my residence in his carriage, and we posted off for the Little Falls. The weather was delightful and the river in splendid condition. Joe Paine had everything in complete order, and was in fine spirits. He decided, as a special honor to Mr. Webster that he would take us in his boat to a central rock in the river, at the head of the Big Eddy where he felt certain we should have sport. As we struggled to pass over the rushing waters, Mr. Webster became excited, and actually clapped his hands with glee. We fished both with bait and a big yellow fly, and it was not long before Mr. Webster hooked a large fish, which was saved with much difficulty, and when in the bottom of the boat the captor uttered a regular yell of delight, and in his excitement nearly lost his rod and reel overboard. The fish weighed sixteen pounds. We continued our sport until near nine o'clock, when Mr. Webster told Joe Paine as he handed him ten dollars that as he was President Fillmore's clerk, it was time for him to return home, so that he could be at the Department before noon-and thus ended the morning's sport.

Before the season closed Mr. Webster made a number of visits to the Little Falls, and though less successful than he had been before, he greatly enjoyed the early morning drives, the wild scenery of the river, the singing of the birds and the com-

panionship of the fisherman who looked after his comfort and pleasure.

Not long afterwards while talking with Mr. Webster about Capon Springs, which I had recently visited, he proposed that I should join him on a trip to that place, where he counted on some good trout fishing. We went and had a grand time, but the Expounder did not have the privilege of wetting a line. The brooks were too wild and his strength was not equal t o a pro- tracted tramp; and so he spent much of his time in talking with the Virginia farmers who came to see him by the score. But that he was not indifferent t o the pleasures of fishing is proven by the following paragraphs in letters t o his son Fletcher: In one of them he says-"there are t rout in the mountain streams, o r some of them, and of pretty good size for such waters, but the streams are too far off for me to visit them. There is a fish in these waters called the 'Fall fish,' resembling the English dace, o r in some degree our chub. He rises t o the fly. And it is curious enough that the people hereabout are unwilling this year, t o eat either the trout o r fall fish. The reason is that the surface of all the streams, is covered by millions of locusts, upon which the fish gluttonously feed, and the popular idea is that by that means they become unwholesome." And then again he wrote the following:

"Mr. Lanman pushed off t o the distant streams and has brought home forty trout. Some of them decent in size and of good color,-two or three being a foot long. But they are not Marshpee, nor Red Brook, nor Wakquoit nor Hinckley's Mills, nor of that brook in which we were always in the 'the worst of it.' " It was in a letter written t o his son, moreover, before going to Capon that he made this allusion to another incident of old time: "If I find a t rout stream in Virginia, 1 shall not have to be thinking out-Venerable men." The allusion here was t o a story that had long before been circulated, that, while pulling out some large trout from Marshpee brook, he was heard to exclaim, "Venerable men, you have come down to us from a former generation!" -as if thinking more of one of his speeches than of t rout fishing.

On our return from Capon Springs Mr. Webster talked a great deal about the pleasures of fishing, and of the wonders he had seen during our trouting expedition, as he called it, and after politely saying to me that expert anglers were very apt to be good business men, he added that he wanted me to resign my ~ o s i t i o n as Librarian of the War Department, and enter the Department of State as his Private Secretary. Knowing that even a dolphin might have a good time in the wake of a whale, I listened and submitted.

When the summer of 1851 was half passed Mr. Webster began t o sigh for the cooling airs of New Hampshire. He wanted to get there before the trout had left their favorite pools, and of course it was my official du ty t o get my tackle in order and accompany him. I did so, and my sojourn at Elm's Farm was delightful in the extreme. The trouting and other expeditions that we ventured upon were not few nor far between, but they were chiefly of the imaginary sort, and the offspring of early mem- ories, on the part of mine host. When a boy, he was wont to catch t rout only with the worm. He remembered the time when the Merrimack was crowded with salmon, but nobody ever thought then of taking them with the hook; and in all his talk, he seemed t o look upon every kind of sporting as really only a sensible excuse for enjoying the companionship of the woods and the streams. And hence if he spent a day without catching many fish or killing many squirrels o r birds, he did not think that he had wasted his time. He talked most lovingly about the Merrimack, and said that when the fish from the sea, reached the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipisiogee the salmon and shad parted company, the shad going onward to the lakes while the salmon continued up the Merrimack to the mountain torrents, until their back fins could be seen above the surface of the water.

But I must confess that while listening t o Mr. Webster talk about the old times and the beautiful scenery which surrounded us, I thought very much less of trout fishing, than I did of re- cording in my sketch book the incidents of his early life, which I was already hoping to utilize in a coming private biography. It was while Mr. Webster was driving me around the country by prox-y (for 1 held the reins) on what he called a fishing frolic, that he took me to see the house where he was born, and of which I took a sketch for Mrs. Webster. In a letter that he wrote to Mr. Everett in 1851 he said: "The house delineated in Mr. Lanman's sketch is the one in which I was born. Some of my older brothers and sisters were born in the first house erected by my father, which was a log cabin. Before my birth, he had become able to build a small farm house which several persons, now living, will remember and which is accurately depicted by Mr. Lanman. This house in its turn gave way to a much larger one which now stands on the spot which was built by those who purchased the property of my father. I have recently repur- chased the spot." An allusion that he made to this house in a speech delivered in 1840, is one of the most touching passages he ever uttered. Another place that we visited was Punch Brook, where he used t o fish when a boy, and while he sat in his carriage only a short distance off, 1 went down and picked out a

Mr. Webster At Marshfield

couple of speckled beauties, the direct descendants of the whoppers that added so much to the happiness of his boyhood. We also visited on that day, a charming little pond or lakelet on the domain, where its owner had a small fish house and a boat, from which he had taken many a pike and perch in previous years.

It was my privilege t o revisit Elm's Farm with Mr. Webster later in 1851, bu t time was now beginning t o tell upon his man- ly physical proportions, and he talked more about the men and books of the olden time, than he did about fishing. Before leaving Washington, o n the occasion of a dinner that he was t o give certain piscatorial friends, I sent him two dozen t rout which I had captured within fifteen miles of the National Capitol; and it was only a few weeks afterwards that I sent him a twelve pound salmon from the coast of Labrador, carefully packed in snow, which was also served a t one of his admirable dinners, and was the text for much agreeable talk on fishing; and even a t Elm's Farm, when talking with the friends who visited him there, he frequently alluded to the incidents just mentioned as truly remarkable, thereby showing that he was a genuine angler in his feelings if not able t o practice the delightful art.

When the time came for him to make a move towards Marshfield, in carrying o u t his plans, he made a short visit to Nahant. During his sojourn there he was not well and very reti- cent about his movements, and o n one bright morning he was seen t o march slowly down t o the water's edge, where he board- ed a fishing smack and sailed o u t t o sea. He was gone all day, and on his return reported that he had enjoyed himself in- mensely, and had fish enough on hand t o supply the whole town. From the skipper, I subsequently heard that he had not even attempted t o wet a line, but spent most of the day half asleep, basking in the sunlight and drinking in the breath of old ocean. To quote the language of a baseball scholar, "that's the kind of fisherman he was!"

But it was at Marshfield that Mr. Webster had the best opportunities for fishing in his old age. There in his much loved vessel called the Lapwing, he had his old friend Seth Peterson for commodore; and a minute account of their experiences would make a charming volume. In one of his letters to his

friend R.M. Blatchford inviting him to Marshfield in 1849, he says: "Come and you may go t o Edgartown with Fletcher, o r t o Seconet Point with me. For blue fish merely, nothing can be quite so good as Edgartown. For blue fish, basse and tautog altogether, Seconet is better." On another occasion he wrote: "I have a world of talk when 1 see you, o n the phenomena of the seasons b y sea and land. I understand the fish die b y thousands and hundreds of thousands in the Chesapeake and the rivers of Maryland, and are washed ashore. We have seen nothing like that here." And then again, he made this allusion to a bit of sport: "Thursday I caught thirty very fine tautog under Sunk Rock. It was just the day for them; mild, still and a little cloudy. On such a day, and at the commencement of flood tide, throw your hook into the den, and the chiefs will contend for it. I took one seven pound fellow. On Saturday I went ou t in the Lapwing with Fletcher and some of his Boston friends. We . - had no great luck and it came on t o rain, during a perfect calm. So we did not escape a wetting, bu t I took little harm from it." And again to the same friend he wrote: "In the afternoon, I went ou t in the boat and caught some fish-namely tautog and skippog, the same I suppose, as are called porgees in New York. They were all small." In a letter written from Wood's Hole, in Falmouth, he said that there was a spot in its vicinity "famous for trailing for basse." His friend Blatchford was himself an angler and to him he frequently communicated his fishing information, and in winding up one of his letters he says: "1 am going to see the blues this morning. Yours always, whether the fish bite o r not." Writing t o his friend from Edgartown he says: "We took forty three fish, -I think my takings were twenty-five," and he went on t o praise the fishing in the Sound of art ha's Vine- yard, which he thought better than that off Marshfield, -the Vineyard fish "pulling like horses."

In another letter, addressed t o President Fillmore in 1850 he says: "Fishing for cod, haddock and halibut is a common and coarse amusement, which the connoisseurs in angling reject. I like it, however, as it gives me occupation, while we are ou t for t h e benefit of the air and the ocean. I caught thirty codfish today, weighing from eight to ten pounds each, and as the boat- men were also fortunate, we brought home a fare which astonished our neighbors. They represented fish as very scarce, as they retire in hot weather, into deep water. I told them I should know where to look for fish."

No matter where Mr. Webster might be,-in the city, among the mountains or on the sea shore, he was always ready to talk o r make plans about fishing. Even when making a brief visit to Norfolk in Virginia, in 1849, he recorded this information: "This is a famous place for fish. For breakfast we had a gray sea t rout , and a round head, that is a sea mullet, weighing three or four pounds, and a very nice fish. For dinner we are to have a sheeps head-the first of the season, and perhaps also a hog fish of which, or his race, I know nothing." When at Marshfield, he enjoyed the sea fishing more than trout fishing, and complained of the poachers who did so much harm. He loved t o praise the sea air of Marshfield because it made him stronger, and used t o say that as the giants grew strong by touching the earth, the same effect was produced on him by touching the salt sea-shore near his home.

In April, 1852, while at Washington, on receiving a new rod and reel from his son Fletcher he wrote the following in his note of acknowledgment: "The rod came safe t o hand. lshal l hardly use it unless for a perch o r small rock at the Little Falls."

I t was about this time that his health began to fail, and he expressed his doubts about his ever being able to capture another big rock fish at the Little Falls. On the 20th of April, by way of explaining his absence from a cabinet meeting, he wrote a note to President Fillmore in which he said: "1 have not been ou t of my house for three days on account of a very heavy cold and the bad weather. There are some things to be thought of

(continued on page 29)

Page 7

Annual Meeting Leon Martuch Elected Nluseum President

Leon Martuch, former President of Scientific Anglers, was elected President of The Museum of American Fly Fishing a t our Annual Meeting, held May 13 in Manchester. Leon, who has also served as a Trustee, succeeds Carl Navarre, who completed his second full term. as president. Leon's broad experience in the world of fishing will be a real plus for the Museum in its educational work and artifact collection.

The other officers and trustees, as elected, are listed on the inside front cover of this issue. In other Museum business, Treasurer Leigh H. Perkins reported that the cost of producing our magazine now roughly equals the price of an associate membership; members can be sure that they are getting full value from their dues. Also, the Museum continues t o operate on a bare-bones budget, since all income is absorbed ill-main- taining the collections and exhibits and in putting ou t the magazine. A list of special projects, which need doing bu t require special funding, was presented. Some of these will be summarized in future issues.

Austin Hogan announced his retirement as Editor of THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER, and expressed his gratitude to all who have helped him with that work over the years.

Executive Director Paul Schullery presented a report on his activities since arriving last ~ e c e m b e r , and discussed several - important Museum developments, including involvement with the Federation of Flv Fishermen. The Museum is also increasing - its professional associations, having joined the New England Conference of the American Association of Museums and the American Association for State and Local History. We are now exploring the accreditation process of the American Association of Museums, an extremely important step in the life of the Museum.

19th CENTURY FLY FISHING

Our 19th Century fly fishing expedition was well received, though the returns were measured in fellowship and entertain- ment rather than in trout. Two outfits were provided members, who, after a brief instruction, tried them on the Battenkill. One rod was a 9% ft . lancewood model from the 1890's, the other was a circa 1860 10% ft. ironwood and lancewood beauty, complete with silk line and wooden reel, loaned to us by Martin Keane, Museum Trustee. Roth were rigged with snelled flies on gut leaders, the leader material having been provided by T. Felizatto, a Museum member from Italy. Such lines are still being manufactured in Italy.

Members were quick t o adjust to the slower rhythms of the old gear, and it was quickly obvious we have some very cool hands with a fly rod in our group. After a few minutes of "getting the hang of it," most anglers were able to throw a creditable line. Though the anglers stuck with it for close to two hours, and covered a sizeable stretch of productive water, the fish were not as impressed with us as we were. The opportunity to gather in such gentle surroundings, and t o relive a style of fishing we've only read about, was greatly appreciated; It was agreed some similar activity will be appropriate for our next meeting.

Page 8

Leon Martuch, new Museum President, tries ou t a 10% ft. antique fly rod on the Battenkill.

Austin liogan (center) explains the finer points of angling to Richard Adams (left) and Alvan Macauley.

AUCTION BRINGS $2,984 Susie lsaksen Martin Keane

Once again we were fortunate to have the services of Col. Henry Siegel, of the Angler's and Shooter's Bookshelf, as auctioneer. Col. Siegel's expertise in the angling book and art markets inspired confidence in the bidders, and, as was noted in last year's meeting report, "the man has an amazing talent for opening pocketbooks." Among the items offered were prints by Weiler, Schaldach, Gruer, Pleissner, and Hagerbaumer, original artwork by Atherton and Hogan, a variety of angling books, and tackle from several major manufacturers. This year's auction brought in $2,984.00, just a few dollars more than last year's.

We wish to thank the following individuals, organizations, and manufacturers for their donations of items for our auction. The annual auction has become a major fund-raiser for the Museum because of the support of our many friends.

Richard Bauer Joseph Spear Beck Kay Brodney Charles Brooks Burke Fishing Lures C.J. Byrnes Dan Callaghan Roy Chapin, Jr. Cortland Line Company Eagle Claw T. Felizatto Fly Fisherman Magazine Austin S. Hogan

Roland A. Kollbeck David B. Ledlie The Orvis Company, Inc. Leigh H. Perkins Pflueger Paul Schullery COI. Henry Siegel Tony Skilton Southern Wisconsin Chapter, Trout Unlimited Ralph Wahl The Worth Company

AWARD DINNER

The day was capped with an excellent dinner, the sort we've come to expect from Mr. and Mrs. Barnes at the Avalanche Motel. Don Zahner, Editor of FLY FISHERMAN and a Museum trustee, served as M. C. He presented an entertaining review of a not-so-recent angling book, THE TREATISE ON FISHING WITH AN ANGLE, and then introduced Dana Lamb, who presented Austin Hogan with The Arnold Gingrich Award for his work with the Museum. Dana favored us with a readine from D

one of his books, an account of the life of Joseph Seccombe, America's first angling author. This was a fitting choice for honoring one of America's leading angling historians. The evening was concluded with a showing of the Museum's new traveling slide program.

The officers and Trustees extend their thanks to the many individuals who helped make the day so thoroughly enjoyable.

Austin Hogan Given Arnold Gingrich Award Many of our members may not be acquainted with Austin

Hogan's distinguished background in angling history. He has been researching the subject for the past 25 years, and has served American anglers in many capacities. He was at one time editor of the magazine of the United Fly Tiers, he served as regional editor of THE FLY FISHEK, and he has provided many anglers with assistance with their research. He was once given the New England Outdoor Writer's Association's Non- Professional Sportsman of the Year Award, being cited for his "generous help to all conservationists in supplying inspiration and information from his lifetime of study into the lore of fly fishing."

Best-known among his publications is THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER, of which he has been the editor for over four years. The magazine was founded by him and received its direction and character from his tremendous background in angling lore. He has published in a number of other magazines, including THE FLYFISHER and THE CONSERVATIONIST, and has produced several independent projects, such as his mile- stone checklist AMERICAN SPORTING PERIODICALS OF ANGLING INTEREST, published in 1973 by The Museum of American Fly Fishing.

His service to the Museum goes far beyond publications. He has served as voluntarv curator for almost a decade. taking a

responsibility for exhibits and for the administration of a fast- growing collection of angling memorabilia. In this work he has devoted countless hours to the Museum's cause.

Many members probably do not know that much of the art work that embellishes the magazine was produced by Austin, but they are surely aware of his colorful paintings of flies that have been featured in some issues. Original watercolors by Austin have helped boost the proceeds at all our

Museum auctions, and are coveted by many collectors. Austin's work with the Museum is by no means completed,

as he has accepted another term as Vice President and will act as a consultant. We also look forward to more of his research findings. The presentation of an award to him at this time is merely an effort on the part of the membership and trustees to recognize the many things he has done so far to build the Museum into an important educational institution.

Page 9

Sarah McBride: Pioneer Angling

Entomologist By Kenneth Cameron

ARA J . McBride of Mumford, New York (south of Kochester) was the first American to publish anything original, native and based on field study of aquatic in-

sects. Her work was noted a t the time that she wrote, just a t the beginning of the last quarter of the nineteenth century, and the flies that she tied were much praised, but she disappeared from the angling scene too soon to fit into the tradition that would, in her absence, begin some years later with Theodore Gordon. 1

To read her first published essay, "Entomology for Fly Fishers", included here, may at first glance suggest that she was less interested in the angler than in the insect. If, however, the essay's title is taken seriously, it comes into perspective: it is a study of insects /'or fly fishermen, not a study of fly-tying. The fishermen must draw their own conclusions - - often, make up their own patterns. Seen against the background of the age in which she wrote, this approach is understandable and commend- able: most fishermen were ignorant of entomology, even of the distinctions between caddis and ephemerid, between sub-imago and imago; as well, they lived in the burgeoning of the American passion for the fancy fly. Non-imitation was the rage, and it was imitation that Ms. McBride preached.

Her heritage was lrish and English, Irish from her fly-tying father and English from the available books on the art. Not surprisingly, the Irish influence showed: considerable interest in the caddis flies; a use of fur bodies; imitation of mayflies with the super-long tails of the "caughlan" style. 2

Her taxonomy was weak. She pu t caddis and stoneflies into the Phryganidae, a Linnaean classification that had been changed as early as 1840. (See, for example, Introduction t o Ento- mology, by James Duncan, edited by Sir William Jardine, 1840). She had evidently not read Konalds, bu t she may well have read Taylor and Bowlker and others. While she developed several new patterns, most notably the "Bright Fox", she used old ones creativelv as imitations of the insects she closelv observed. I ascribe her use of existing patterns to her profession- alism and to her father; she was a business-woman, after all, whose livelihood depended upon tying flies. Standard patterns were her bread and butter. Yet she recommended the Jenny

1. The principal books that mention her are Charles Stevens' Fly-Fishing in Maine h k e s (1881) and Mary Orvis Marbury's Favorite Flies (1892). She published in Rod and Guh and b'orest and Stream and advertised her flies in those periodicals in the late eighteen-seventies and the early eighties.

2. See my two-part article, "The Girls of Summer", The Flyfisher, V. X Nos. 111 and IV, 1977.

'I'l~e IClcBritle House irl 1Clurni'ord. New York.

Spinner as the inlago of the Blue Dun, while standard British practice (in Konalds and Francis Francis, for example) made the Jenny Spinner the imago of the lron Blue or the Little lron Blue. The Blue Dun - - in Cotton, Chetham, Bowlker and Ronalds - - changed into the Red Spinner; yet for McBride, the Red Spinner was the imago of the Great Dun, a t least on her home waters.

Of those patterns that are most associated with her - - the Fox series, especially the Bright Fox and the Silver Fox - - there are few precedents. 3 Only "Halcyon" in 1861 and Taylor in 1800 gave attention to the Fox flies, and in Taylor, a t least, there is lrish influence. Both mention the Light and the Dun Fox, to which Taylor adds the Ash, but the Bright Fox and its imago the Little Egg are her creations - - imitations of a wonderful sulphur ephmerid and its egg-yolk-colored imago.

It must be remembered in reading "Entomology for Fly Fishers" that McBride was almost certainly thinking of what we would now call wet flies. The floating fly existed, to be sure - - Norris had seen it in the 1860's; Ogden had already introduced it to the Wye; Halford's predecessors were using it on the Dove and ltchen - - but McBride's style of tying was wet-fly and so were her materials. It will be the more confusing, therefore, to read that she clearly intended that the winged insect be imitated and not the nymph. "It is only those insects that in leaving the water rise from the current of the stream" that interest the fly-fisherman, she wrote in "Entomology for Fly Fishers." 4 There are few possible conclusions to be drawn from this seeming paradox; she was a fool who thought that the floating insect looked just like the underwater insect (patently not

t rue on the evidence of her own writing); she was talking about dry flies even though she never mentioned them (unlikely because of the few precedents); she lived among fishermen who fished dry bu t had n o theory for it, much as Halford was doing in the same years (possible, and an intriguing idea I am a little tempted t o believe); she never thought about what she was

3. Actually, the fly most associated with hr r in thf* rlinett.enth century may have betm the large fancy fly, the Tomah l o r . Srveral versions of its origin are in print; howrver, if the whole h o o d Duck-feather wings were turned back to back instrad of face to fact:, the result would be a silver-bodied Mayfly - - Ogden's Grt:en Drake, perhaps, with embellishment. l h e true source may be any of several Irish mayfly imitations for lakes.

4. Elsewhere she wrote that "it is only when (aquatic insects) assume the perfect form . . . and with gossamer wings float in th r air, that they are of interrst to the fly-fishrr . . ." and "It is that insect floating off into a new element that the fish are watching and waiting to feed on." ("Metaphysics of Fly Fishing.")

Page 10

doing but simply tied imitations of the winged insect (possible, but it does not jibe with what we know of her.) I would point out that Spring Creek (her Caledonia Creek) is about as close to a chalk stream as one will get in New York State and that its fishing conditions are very similar to those of Italford's streams - - abundant hatches, clear water, slow but powerful current, heavy vegetation, numerous and free-rising trout (even if they were brook trout). The existence of pockets of specialized angling practice is too well proven elsewhere - - the floating fly on the Wye and perhaps the Axe, the tiny, soft-hackled nymph in the border country - - to say that such a thing was impossible. However, if we even seriously entertain the specu- lation that a group of New York State anglers was fishing the surface in 1875 on a limestone stream, we must admit that they were probably not false-casting and that they did not fish with flies tied to float - that is, they did not use out-turned wings made from matched feathers and, except for the Hare's Ear, they did not use materials chosen for their floating quali- ties. What they I I I L ~ ~ have done was use a "dry" fly in the sense that both Norris and Pulman meant the word - one fresh from the fly-book - - and they may have fished with the wind a t their backs to dap the fly on the surface, and they may even have cross-lined as the Reverend Durnford did on the ltchen in 1809 t o keep his fly afloat.

Or it may simply be that a tradition-bound Sara McBride tied flies as she had been taught even though the styles violated her own observation. The flies would have caught trout because

they were superb imitations of emergers, even to the suggestion of husk in the hair bodies and the air bubble caught in the delicate fur. They may have been fished slightly below the surface (downstream, although that is far from certain) and manipulated slightly against the current.

How the nymph can have gone so long ignored by her - - and others, of course - - is a maddening mystery. The woman had an aquarium, and her remarks indicate that she almost certainly used a microscope, yet nowhere does she ever even hint that imitating that "anatomical structure (which) is grace and symmetry combined", would have advantages for the fly fisherman. And to suggest that the trout were simply too easy to catch with existing flies is nonsense. She noted elsewhere the frustration on Caledonia Creek of the angler using the wrong fly. Even then, the trout did not leap out of the current and commit suicide at the fisherman's feet.

Sara J . McBride was born in 1844 or 1848, depending upon which United States Census one chooses to believe. ( In 1870, she gave her age as twenty-two; in 1850, her age was given as six.) She began t o publish in 1876. She disappeared from the angling press in 1880. Yet, in those few years, she proved her- self a unique and talented pioneer in American fly-fishing - - not infallible, not perfectly creative - - as "Entomology for Fly Fishers" will, I think, show. She set about to build a strong foundation of observation and fly-tying skill, but nobody put a structure on it, and, like those weed-choked cellar holes one finds in the woods today, her work was forgotten.

Entomology for Fly Fishers by Sara McBride

Edited by Ken Cameron

The following article by the pioneer American Angling Two flies associated with the Mc- entomologist Sara J. McBride first appeared in the Rochester, Brides, taken from Stevens' FLY New York "Express" o f 15 February 1876; i t was reprinted as FISHING IN MAINE LAKES

(1881): No. 5 is the Tomah Joe, "Entomology for Fly Fishers" in "Rod and Gun" for 3 March and No. 2 is the Fiery Brown. 1877.

Beside the Singing Strearri 2 A Study of the Insect Fauna of Caledonia Creek

The Phases of Insectivorous Life Trout and their Habits

Mark well the various seasons of the year, How the (succeeding) insect race appear; In this revolving moon one color reigns,

#4 i

Which in the next the fickle t rout disdains. study, and does much to enhance the pleasures of this, pre- m eminently, the "contemplative man's recreation." We trust to

HE habits of aquatic insects have always been a fruitful hear further on this subject from our esteemed contributor, a t theme for contemplation and study, although a subject a future date. - - ED. EXPRESS. of which the very best entomologists know compari- 1. The original title. The first paragraph was not repnnted in Rod and

tively little. Our accomplished ladv contributor, M i s s - ~ c ~ r i d e , G u n and 1s not McBride's. who to say, On the stream of 2, Wow Spring Creek in Monroe County, New York. A remarkably rich Caledonia, has been an assiduous student of this branch of stream, it was the site of Seth Green's hatchery and is still prime trout entomology, and therefore writes of it and describes it from water. A year after McBride's study, it was the subject of another arti- individual observation and experience. If the theory of prevail- cle that, sadly, did not cite her work and whose authorhad not con- ing opinion be correct that in order t o fish successfully the sulted with her. He had dealt with Green, who was far less knowledg-

able in the field of aquatic entomology. (See J.A. Lintner, "Report angler must use an imitation of one o r other of the natural in- on the Insects and Other Animal Forms of Caledonia Creek, New sects on the water a t the time, a familiarity with their habits York", New York State Fishery Commission Tenth Annual Report, cannot be too highly estimated by the angler who would aspire 1877-78, pp. 12-36.)

baskets. Be this as it a knowledge the 3. Th: theory of imitation is not usually thought to have been6'prevail- habits of insects which abound more or less on all streams where ing in this country in 1876. However, it may well have had local the trout "most d o congregate" is always a matter of pleasing importance on Caledonia Creek and similar limestone streams.

Page 11

Entomology for Fly Fishers 4 About one-half of insect life feed, breathe and sport in the

water. In the grace of their movements, in the quick adaptation t o circumstances, they show a joyful feeling of pleasure in their existence. Some live an aquatic life in all its three phases, others in two, and some in but one. It is a strange instance in the economy of nature that although insects use the six feet in walking, yet for swimming the latter two pair are only employed. The forelegs when not adapted for prehension are partially aborted. All aquatic insects that I have been able thus far to rear feed on vegetable matter on exclusion from the egg. After the second and third molts that appetite varies. A large proportion are nocturnal, both larvae and imagines. 5

Springs, rivers ponds and pools have their own peculiar insect fauna. In some there is an excess; in others a marked scarcity. The essential elements of a rich fauna are sunlight, healthy vegetation and uniform temperature. These Caledonia Creek possesses in a wonderful degree. 6 There is also an equilibrium of the forces of nature that preserves each species in the same proportion for successive years. Carnivorous devour gregarious, multitudes remain; some denizens devour all species; multitudes of all species remain.

The larvae of all the insects are fish food, and in this connection there is this query - - Do trout burrow in pursuit of food? I have found the larvae of insects in their stomachs that feed and transform buried in the soft mud eight, ten and twelve inches below the water. Although there are so many and various forms of life, yet the imitation of comparatively few can be used by the fly-fisher. It is only those insects that in leaving the water rise from the current of' the stream and those that in returning t o the water t o perpetuate their race, hover over the current. 7 The reason of this is apparent t o those who know the habits of trout. Whether insects feel the vibrations of sound with their antennae or have auricular orifices is a disputed question. They certainly hear some way. It is the music. of the ripple that guides them back, sometimes a mile or more, and they will always be found in the greatest abundance where there is a dam or break in the current, causing the flow of the water t o be heard a t a greater distance.

The trout understand this and congregate in such places t o feed; for trout, although gorged t o repletion, will rise to their favorite food - - the fly, that comes t o them like manna from above.

The largest of articulate life is a crawfish, Cambarus acutus. 8 The young are found in April and May among the leaves of the water plants, feeding on Entomostacea, water fleas and small Ephemerina; 9 later in the season, and when fully grown, they burrow under gravel and stones. There is bu t one other Crusta- cea in the stream; it belongs to the family Gammaridae. It is these as a food that give the Salmo fontinalis 10 of the stream their peculiar color flavor and numbers. In life the color of the Gammarus is a uniform dark green. After death, they turn a

4. What follows is McBride's. The Express and Rod and Cun versions are identical, with minor variants as noted.

5. Scientific names are generally italicized in R. (e- G., left in Roman in Express.

6. The Creek still has enormous beds of cress and a constant temperature that varies from 48 to 52 degrees F. year-round.

7. So italicized in Express, not in R (e- G.

8. Lintner, "Report", cites a "craw-fish, Cambarus Bartonii (Fabr.)". McBride's Latin terminology is often inaccurate.

9. Ephemerina is used by McBride for the small ephemerids.

10. The trout of Caledonia Creek were brook trout; browns were not introduced until some yea:: later by Green. Lintner, "Report", found the stream's plants swarming" with Gammarus fmciatus, probably the gammarid referred to by McBride.

bright salmon. An infusion of them dried, with the addition of a mordant, colors a permanent rosy salmon. Twenty-five or thirty of these small pigments form b u t an ordinary meal for a trout. The Gammarus are single brooded - - dying in April and May. The young resemble the parents. Their food is decaying vegetation and vegetable mold.

The Ephernerina differ in many respects from the type. They are of small size, triple brooded, o r with a succession of broods; l1 the second wings rudimentary. They live twenty- four, thirty-six and sometimes forty-eight hours after leaving the water before casting the last parchment-like covering. After this they live about the same number of hours before they perish. The germ cells, from thirty t o forty in number, are inclosed in a globulous gelatinous membrane that expands in contact with the water, and adheres to any object it meets. The food of larvae and pupa is decaying vegetation and vegetable mold. Their anatomical structure is grace and symmetry combined, and actively swimming up, down and round through the water their tactics are continually of the defensive. When placed in a position of danger, o r if taken from the water, they throw their setae up a t right angles with the body, and present such a formidable appearance that if one were not certain of their harmlessness they would prefer to handle them with gloves.

The Ephemerina leave the water mornings and evenings, the greater number in the evenings, and if the sun is obscured they will rise all day. When ready to leave, they swim to the surface and lie in the current. The case slits open on the thorax, a pair of wings unfold and are held upright, the head and feet are drawn out : it rests on the old hull an instant while the abdomen is being freed, and flies away to cast the last covering. It is then brighter colored and more transparent, so that ima o and sub- imago are known by different names to the angler. 19

Potomanthus rufescens, (sic) "blue dun" and "jenny spinner", leaves the water, if the weather is favorable, in the middle of March. Roetis longicauda, (sic) "great dun" and "red spinnerw, the first of May. The "dark fox" and its h a g o , the "silver fox", the last of April. The "bright fox" l3 and its imago, the "little egg", the first of May. This is the most abundant fly on the stream. The "brown coffin" and its imago, the "gray coffin", the first of ~ u ~ u s t . 1 4

The Pbryganina, "Case worms," Caddis bait, "are the best known of water insects. 1 5 There are in the stream twelve distinct species, nearly all vegetarians, and partly nocturnal in their habits. The pupae are quiescent, and when ready to transform rise t o the current, leaving the water just before twilight. The

(continued on page 14)

11. The meaning 1s unclear. Brooding - -reproducing - - three times a year?

12. Indeed. Most fishcrn~en of the day thought them quite different insects.

13. McRride's nomenclature is unfortunate. Apparently neither Potam- anthus rufescens nor Roetiv (sic) longicaudn has ever been correctly applied to an American insect. (I am indebted t o Professor George F. Edmunds, J r . of the llniversity of Utah and to Professor 1,ewis Berner of the University of Florida for checking this for me in detail; the information is from their correspondrncr with rnr.) As well, her use of English patterns to match these insects, whatever they were, is idiosyncratic, but it suggests that she worked from careful observation and not from theory - - an excellent example for a fly fisherman, a rather poor one for a scic.ntist who wished to communi- cate with others in the field. Any atttSnipt at corri:ct imitation is mere guesswork. The Bright Fox is still used on Spring Crerk during the abundant hatches of the natural.

14. I d o not believe she meant the modern Coffin Flies hwe, but the Irish "Cofflin" or "Coughlan" , very long-tailed imitations of ephemerids.

15. The confusion of caddis and stone flies is, again, unfortunate. Lint- ner, "Report", cited several sprcies of caddis and noted thrir abundance; despite her error here, MrBridc showed a healthy awareness of thr importance of th r caddis, perhaps becausc: of her Ily-tying heritage from Ireland, where caddis were, very important.

Page 12

THE LYE BROOK POOL by

Ogden M. Pleissner

We have two reasons for devoting a page to the work and sport of Ogden Pleissner in this issue. First, we wish to pay tribute to Mr. Pleissner's generous support of the Museum. The publication by the Museum of THE LYE BROOK POOL several years ago gave the young institution a tremendous boost, and the continued sale of the prints has been a healthy supplement to our income.

It was surely a publication that had more value than the financial returns, however, since it associated the Museum with one of America's foremost outdoor artists. Ogden Pleissner's work has been admired and treasured for many years. At the time the print appeared the Museum was in its infancy. By lending both his name and his art to our cause, Ogden did much to help,generate interest and support.

Second, this is to inform readers-ihat we still have several copies of THE LYE BROOK POOL, available unframed for $400.00. Included in this price is a Patron Membership for one year. In addition, $380.00 of this amount is classified as a charitable contribution to the Museum. This is an opportunity to obtain an outstanding work of sporting art and assist the ongoing projects of the Museum at the same time. Orders should be addressed to the Secretary, The Museum of American Fly Fishing, Manchester, Vermont 05254,

Ogden Pleissna with a magnificent 45 pound salmon taken recently from a Gaspe river.

larvae weave coverings of fine silk, some employing extraneous matter for the dress, others using it only as a ballast, but each species clinging to its own style of garment through all time. One species selects three small branches, varying from one to three inches in length, places them longitudinally around the body; inside of this is another covering of finer texture. This is the "pale stone fly". It begins to leave the water in November, on warm days through the winter, and in March and April. Another larva that feeds on the leaves of the water-cress. building laterally and forms a rhomboid case, using only what silk is necessary to bind the pieces together. This is the "stone fly"; it leaves the water and is found hovering over it in July, August and September. One species weaves together small snail shells, first eating the toothsome mollusk. Its costume is thus a series of spiral folds. This resembles in color the preceding. Two use sand and gravel, adding on as they increase in size. One is the "poor man's fly." It leaves the water in April. The other is the "wren hackleV.l6 It is seen the most in July. Two use silk only. One of these is shaped like a horn. It is the raven of the stream, and "comes off" in June and July. The other resembles a cucumber seed, and is the "black hackle" for June, known in Pennsylvania as the "June Spinner."

The sub-family Rbyacopbila, of which there are three species in the stream, weave tents of silk with two entrances. This is a place of rest and refuge, leaving it to seek their food. They are all solitary in their habits - - quiescent pupa and single brooded.

There are two species of dragon flies, Odonata, single brooded, hybernating in the larvae form. Their food varies in different stages. I have noticed this in connection with all the Odonata I have reared in aquaria - - twenty varieties. Up to the time of the third molt, their food is vegetable matter. After this they live on small Ephemerina and other small insects until fully grown and ready to leave the water. They are rapid swimmers, using the feet as oars and moving with an undulating motion. They are fond of coming to the surface, and if disturbed, by a sudden contraction of ;he trachae they will spurt a spray of water eight or ten inches; the same movement impels them suddenly away. There is the same contraction when they dart for their prey; throwing out the long under lip, they grasp and swallow instantly. Authors have often referred to this contraction, and considered it their only method of propelling themselves through the water. 17

The Diptera are all small-sized species, and belong to the families Chironomidae, Tipulidae and Simulidae. Chironomous larvae are slender, worm-like, distinct head, one pair of prolegs and retractile anal hooks. Their food is decaying vegetation. Pupae are in a thin, rude case, formed of debris; transform in two weeks to a graceful fly with large feathered antennae, transparent wings shorter than the abdomen; hybernate in the larvae form, doublebrooded. There are five species. The first brood appears in March and April; the second in August and September. They leave the water almost invariably in the morning. They are named, piscatorially, "black gnat", "dark claret gnat," "bright claret gnat," "gray gnat," and "Olive gnat". Tipulidae larvae are a dirty green color, scaly head, almost entirely drawn within first thoracic segment, without feet, live on vegetable mold and growing c o n f e ~ a e . They are

16. The Poor Man's Fly was an old pattern; the Wren Hackle, (or Wren's Tail), no longer seen because the feathers are not available, is a very small, very delicately colored fly using a wren wing feather as hackle.

17. McBride gives no dragon-fly imitation. One had been offered as early as Rennie's Alphabet of Angling, 1833 (whose fly illustrations were pirated for Scott's Fishin in Arnericon Waters, 1869) but the fly was certain1 not opular. f have known one instance of enorrn- ous mccess on k i n e %root trout when dragon flies were hatching, with big Wulffs and fuzzy nymphs. Anglers-of McBride's day may have successfully used the popular Brown Hackle, knowindy or otherwise.

single brooded and hybernate in the pupa form. Simulium larvae are maggot-like, without feet or distinct head, transparent, varying in color according to the vegetation they feed on; spin a slipper-shaped pouch for the pupa; transform in three weeks; are triple brooded.

The Coleoatera are nocturnal. 18 In the winced form 1 n

they breathe by coming to the surface. They take occasional flights, flying with a heavy whirring sound. They are strong, rapid swimmers, using their feet as oars. When seized, they emit a milky fetid liquid. Hydrophilus piceus is olive black, an inch and a quarter long. Its armor is a sharp spine on its breast. The larvae is a soft fleshy grub with well-developed mouth parts, when grown three inches in length. If touched, they emit a black liquid; it discolors the water and enables them to escape. They are herbivorous. In the late fall they leave the creek and seek neighboring pools, where they live in torpor until the following April. The Dysticidae have earned their reputation as water tigers. Besides insect larvae they attack tadpoles, mol- lusks and young fish, and if hungry they will not spare their own species. They are dark brown, with stripes of paler brown on the exterior edge of the elytra; are large, burly beetles, and when flying, have an alar expanse of over three inches. The Gyrinidae, or whirligigs, are all small-sized beetles, oval, some bluish black, others brown. They will be seen in numbers, swimming in circles near the surface. They rise from the water and fly when pursued by fish, and dive to escape the water scorpions. They are remarkable for the arrangement of their eyes, which are apparently double. The lower eyes look into the water, the upper eyes into the air above. I have traced five species of this family through the different stages, and there are at least five more in the stream. 19 Of all insects that creep, fly or swim, the water scorpions (Hydrocorisae) are the most destructive. They seem to kill and destroy to satisfy a feeling of wanton cruelty, and nothing but a living, breathing meal will satisfy their appetite. Clumsy swimmers, they lie in wait and dart on their prey like a cat. Of the genus Nepa, there are two species, oval, very flat, and of an ashy gray color. One species is two and a-half inches long. The body is terminated with two grooved threads, through which the adult insect breathes. ~ a n a t r a fusca has a long-linear body, its respiratory tube consisting of three grooved threads an inch in length.

1.8. Again, McBride gives no pattern for the water-beet1t.s. British tradition relied on small Hackles and a few patterns like the b~~;.lshtnatt's Button.

19. Lintner, "Report", identified eleven.

Kenneth Cameron is well-known t o museum members for his work as museum registrar some years ago. His researcb into the history o f angling has led h i m t o publish articles in THE F L Y FISHER, T R O U T , ADIRONDACK L I F E , and other journals. He is the author of three novels, a c o l l e ~ e theatre t ex tbook , articles on medieval and Restoration theatre, and two ofr- Broadway plays. He is currently Writer in Residence it? the Departme?zt o f Theatre and Speech at the University of Soutb Carolina. Ken describes binzself as "a rotten fisherman w h o generally prefers soft-hackled nineteenth-century Scottish flies because t h e y are easy t o tie."

Page 14

Adirondack Museum Historical Exhibit to

Highlight Outdoor Sports A new permanent cxhit~ition, "Woods and Waters: Out-

door Life in the Adirontlacks," opens June 15 , 1978, at the Adirondack Museum in Blue Mountain Lake, New York. Divi- ded into four major sections - waters, mountains, woods, winter - the exhibition portrays the utilitarian, sporting and leisure activities that have drawn nien to the Adirondack wilderness for nearly two centuries. Emphasis is placed on man's use of the environment and the olants and anirnals associatetl with i t ; subjects such as camping, fishing, mountain climbing, hunting, trapping and winter sports are treated in detail. Special features are nineteenth century sporting equipment, including a large collection of fishing tackle, a tank containing live brook trout, a life size replica of an Adirondack lean-to, a rustic gun room, the hut belonging to hermit Noah J o h n Kondeau, and the two man U. S. bobsled, gold medal winner of the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y., in 1932.

Kesearch for "Woods and Waters" was begun six years ago; planning and installation has been in progress since 1976. Funtl- ing for the exhibition includes grants from the National Endow- ment for the Mumanitites, Washington, D.C., and the New York State Council on the Arts.

Thc Adirondack Museum is open daily June 15 through October 15.

Color Plate: Historic Pacific Salmon and Steelhead Flies

Fly fishing for the Pacific salmon and steelhead has a long and colorful history, bu t most of the popular fly patterns used today are products of the last few decades. Most earlier fishing was done with standard t rout and salmon patterns.

On the following pages we present a selection of flies, by some of the most notable innovators, from the museum collection. We are still in need of representative flies, and we encourage our western members to help us search for then1 - Jim Pray, Mike Kennedy, Polly Kosborough and many others are still not represented in our exhibits.

On the far left are coho streamers, tied of polar bear hair by Letcher Lambuth. These flies, developed in the 1920's for saltwater fishing, are part of the Letcher Lambuth Memorial Col- lection. Readers will remember the article by him, on the use of these flies, in Vol. 2 No. 2 of THE AMERICAN FLY

Below the Brayshaw patterns are four of Enos Bradner's originals. Starting from the top and going counter-clockwise they are the Firefly, the Orange Shrimp, Brad's Brat, and the Killer. Enos Rradner's book NORTHWEST ANGLING has for many years been regarded as a standard reference on fishing that region.

On the fly book are several patterns by Oregon's well-known tier, A1 Knudson. An early advocate of winter fly fishing for steelhead, Knudson's exploits were frequently featured in regional publications from the 1930's to the 1950's. The top fly is Al's Special. Counter-clockwise from it are the White Streamer, Knudson's Wet Spider, and the Hot Shot. In the center is the Black Bear.

Tbc Lambuth flies were donated b y Mrs. Olive tarnbuth. The ANGLER'S (with Steve Krayshaw flies weye part o f the Darrah Coybet estate. The which will b e published b y Champoeg Press later this year. Hradner patterns were donated b y S t zve R a y m o n d , and the

Next to the salmon flies are some favorites of 'Tom~ny Bray- KF7,idsonflies donated b y Jack Hutchinson, shaw's, whose story it told on page 2 8 of this issue.

HISTORIC PACIFIC SALM( From The Mu

3N AND STEELHEAD FLIES seum Collection

CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER (1829- 1900)

Courles) of '1'11(~ Stow(.-Dal Foulldation, Hartford, Conr~ecticut

A Fight With ATrout by

Charles Dudley Warner The name o f Charles Dudley Warner is now all but lost to students of American litera-

ture, but in his day he was a respected and frequently-read essayist. I f he lingers in print today i t is most likely the result o f a novel entitled THE GILDED AGE, which he wrote m collaboration with Mark Twain.

Warner wrote several novels, but was at his best as an essayist. In the last thirty years o f the 19th century he produced a series of essay collections, graced with a warm and sophisti- cated wit. He traveled widely, frequently publishing sketches of his trips, and from 1884 to 1898 was a contributing editor o f HARPER'S NEW MONTHL Y MAGAZINE.

"A Fight with a TroutUappeared in the book IN THE WILDERNESS, published in 1878. IN THE WILDERNESS deserves to be republished. Its portrayals of camplife and outdoor recreation in the Adirondack Mountains o f New York are laced with the sensitive reflect- ions o f a wilderness enthusiast who sometimes seems dnsure o f the true spiritual value of all this fashionable discom fort. But though he suffers magnificent1 y in a rain-drenched camp, he admits that "in memory nothing remains but its charm." "A Fight with a Trout" is full of the gentle sarcasm that made Warner so popular in his day. While he pokes fun at the traditions and tackle o f angling, he is obviously enjoying himself, and in his closing paragraph he provides us with one of fishing's most enduring wisdoms, that the size o f a fish is most advantageously estimated from a distance.

KOUT-FISI-IING in the Adirondacks would be a more of the trout usually are. Confiding my purpose t o Luke, we attractive pastime than it is, but for the popular notion secretly made our preparations, and stole away from the shanty

o f its danger. The trout is a retiring and harmless animal, one morning at dav break. Each of us carried a boat, a air of " e\cept when he is aroused, and forced into a combat; and then blankets, a sack of bread, pork, and maplesugar; while 1 had his agility, fierceness, and vinclictiveness become apparent. No my case of rods, creel, and book of flies, and Luke had an axe . . . . one who has studied the excellent pictures representing men in open boat, exposed to the assaults of long, enraged trout flying at them through the open air with open mouth, ever ventures with his rod upon the lonely lakes of the forest without a certain terror, or ever reads of the exploits of daring fishermen without a feeling of admiration for their heroism. Most of their adventures are thrilling, and all of them are, in narration, more or less unjust t o the trout: in fact, the object of them seems to be to exhibit, a t the expense of the trout, the shrewd- ness, the skill, and the muscular power of the sportsman. My own simple story has few of these reconimendations.

We had built our bark camp one summer, and were staying on one of the popular lakes of the Saranac region. It would be a very pretty region if it were not so flat, if the margins of the lakes had not been flooded by dams at the outlets, - which have killed the trees, and left a rim of ghastly dead-wood like the swamps of the under-world pictured by Dore's bizarre pencil, - and if the pianos at the hotels were in tune. It would be an excellent sporting-region also (for there is water enough) if the fish commissioners would stock the waters, and if previous hunters had not pulled all the hair and skin off from the deer's tails. Formerly sportsmen had a habit of catching the deer by the tails, and of being dragged in mere wantonness round and round the shores. It is well known, that, if you seize a deer by this "holt," the skin will slip off like the peel from a banana. 'This reprehensible practice was carried so far, that the traveller is now hourly pained by the sight of peeled-tail deer nou urn fully sneaking about the wood.

We had been hearing, for weeks, of a small lake in the heart of the virgin forest, some ten miles from our camp, which was alive with trout, unsophisticated, hungry trout: the inlet to it was described as s t i f j 'wi th them. In my imagination I saw them lying there in ranks and rows, each a foot long, three tiers deep, a solid mass. The lake had never been visited, except by stray sable-hunters in the winter, and was known as the Unknown Pond. I determined to explore i t ; fully expecting, however, that it would prove t o be a delusion, as such mysterious haunts

and the kitchen utensils. We think nothing of loads of this sort in the woods.

Five miles through a tamarack-swamp brought us to the inlet of Unknown Pond, upon which we embarked our fleet, and addled down its vagrant waters. They were a t first sluggish, winding among triste fir-trees, but gradually developed a strong current. At the end of three miles a loud roar ahead warned us that we were approaching rapids, falls, and cas- cades. We paused. The danger was unknown. We had our choice of shouldering our loads and making a detour through the woods, or of "shooting the rapids." Naturally we chose the more dangerous course. Shooting the rapids has often been described, and I will not repeat the description here. It is need- less to say that I drove my frail bark through the boiling rapids, over the successive water-falls, amid rocks and vicious eddies, and landed, half a mile below with whitened hair and a boat half full of water and that the guide was upset, and boat, contents, and man were strewn along the shore.

After this common experience we went quickly on our journey, and, a couple of hours before sundown, reached the lake. If 1 live t o my dying-day, I never shall forget its appearance. The lake is almost an exact circle, about a quarter of a mile in diameter. The forest about it was untouched by axe, and unkilled by artificial flooding. The azure water had a perfect setting of evergreens, in which all the shades of the fir, the balsam, the pine, and the spruce, were perfectly blended; and a t intervals on the shore in the emerald rim blazed the ruby of the cardinal-flower. It was at once evident that the unruf- fled waters had never been vexed by the keel of a boat. But what chiefly attracted my attention, and amused me, was the boiling of the water, the bubbling and breaking, as if the lake were a vast kettle, with a fire underneath. A tyro would have been astonished at this common phenomenon; but sportsmen will a t once understand me when I say that the water boiled with the breaking trout. I studied the surface for some time t o

(continued on page 3 1 )

Page 19

OUR OLDEST FLY ROD Photo b y Don Gray Dorset, Vermont

Courtesy of Fly Fisherman Magazine

Page 20

TOMMY BRAY SHAW: (Continued from page 28)

an accountant, schoolmaster and orchardist, living a t Vernon near the heart of the famous Kamloops trout country of British Columbia's southern interior. The Kamloops waters were then just coming into their first flush of productivity as fish were transplanted to the many fertile lakes in the hills around Kamloops. Brayshaw fished Knouff Lake, where trout of double-digit weight were taken on dry flies in the early 1930s, and in the Adams and Little Rivers where huge Kamloops trout foraged on emerging sockeye salmon fry. I t was a time and place for trout fishing which has seldom been equalled.

When the Second World War began, Brayshaw returned to the service, this time as a recruiting officer in the Canadian Army, where he rose t o the rank of major. When the war ended, Brayshaw and his wife settled in a new home o n the west bank of the Fraser River near Hope, B. C., near the point where the Coquihalla River flows into the Fraser. The Coquihalla then was one of the prime summer steelhead rivers in the province and Tommy adopted it as his own, fishing it often from his new home, christened Stackhouse after his birthplace. The home was close to the highway leading to the Interior and quickly became a stopping place for both Canadian and American anglers headed to or from the Kamloops trout lakes, the steelhead fishing on the Thompson River or the fine t rout fishing on the upper Skagit.

In the workshop a t his home, Tommy learned the art of building bamboo rods from the late Letcher Lambuth of Seattle and continued t o work o n his carvings and paintings. His work first won international recognition with publication of the second edition of Haig-Brown's T l ~ e Western Angler which featured Brayshaw's illustrations. As Haig-Brown later wrote: "It was sometime during World War 11 that I talked him " into starting on the illustrations . . . All the time he was insisting he was only an amateur, that he couldn't possibly d o anything so exacting as book illustration, he was busily sketching in pen and ink, on hotel notepaper, exactly what I wanted. And as soon as the army retired him for being over sixty, he did a beautiful job."

It was a beautiful job, and Brayshaw's work immediately became popular with anglers. His art included works in water- color, pastels and pen-and-pencil; life-size carvings of fish, and

a series of colorful steelhead flies he created in his fingers, never using a vise.

His years a t Stackhouse were happy ones, spent in fishing, conversation and work, and during those years he achieved a status of exalted elder statesman among Northwest anglers. But advancing age and declining health finally forced the Brayshaws t o leave their riverside home and move into Vancouver. There, in October of 1967, Tommy died.

To recite the highlights of his life is t o say little of his per- sonality. He was as vibrant and alive as his paintings, a wiry little man with sparkling eyes and wit whose hands and mind were never totally a t rest. No one who met him could ever for- eet him. -

Read, Straight and Haig-Brown pay generous and deserving tribute t o him in this book. But the best of the book is the selection of color plates of Brayshaw's work, including photos of his carvings. And there are excerpts from his diaries and correspondence that offer glimpses of t h e fishing he experienced and the way in which he worked.

The Ardent Angler-Artist is in some ways different from what we have grown t o expect in limited-edition books. It is not bound in leather with gold trim, nor is it fitted with a fancy slipcase. Outwardly, there is nothing very remarkable about it. The money was spent on the inside, to reproduce the work of a master artist and craftsman, and that is as it should be. Nevertheless, it is a handsome book, printed on Carlyle Japan paper and bound in Holliston roxite fabric, with each copy numbered individually. It is a fine memorial to a remarkable man and his remarkable work and will surely be viewed as a major contribution to the angling literature and lore of the Pacific Northwest.

Copies may be ordered for $32.50 each from the British Columbia Wildlife Federation, 17633 57th Ave., Surrey, B.C. V3S 1G9. The cost includes a donation t o support the work of the Federation.

Steve Raymond is the author o f two excellent books on angling in the Northwest, KAMLOOPS and THE Y E A R OF T H E ANGLER. He is a Vice President of the Museum of A merican Fly I'ishing.

OUR OLDEST FLY ROD The specifications of our oldest rod were given in the

Museum's 1973 Catalogue: "12 ft. 5-piece with one but t joint, one second joint, one third joint, two fourth joints, and 4 tips. The main joints are of dark finished greenheart, the grip being an integral part of the butt. lnletted reel seat with nickel-silver reel bands and large tapered nickel-silver butt cap. The tips are a unique combination of greenheart with finely tapered lancewood spliced to the ends, comprising about three-quarters of '. the section. The rod is completely outfitted with loose ring , guides with small intermediate winds on the tips only. The black ,

metal female ferrules have wooden plugs, the male ferrules are wood dowel type reinforced with nickel-silver sleeves pinned in place."

We are interested in learning more about the origins of this rod, and about the Furman family in general. The rod was in- scribed t o a G.C. Furman, New York, 1832, bu t also we hav several references to a William Furman, an active fish-culture expert of the 1860's. He was mentioned by Genio Scott in FISHING IN AMERICAN WATERS as being lo near New York City. This same Furman was I BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES FISH still being involved in fisheries work.

Whatever its origins, the rod is a superb example of early." craftsmanship. Its exceptional workmanship is amazing than its near-perfect condition. It see been used. - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- -- - -

Fly- Casting Early casters often differed as much in style as modern ones do. We present two contrasting

techniques here. The first, that o f Henry P. Wells (FLY RODS AND TACKLE, 1885), is now described as "traditional," or "old-fashioned," or some equally perverse term. Even in their formality the instructions are not without humor. The model for the illustrations, incidentally, was Chancellor Levison, a well-known New York caster who was a founding member of both the Brooklyn Fly fisher's Club and the Angler's Club of New York.

The second instruction, by Dr. James Henshall (BOOK OF THE BLACK BASS, 188 I) , offers a variation, especially in the backcast. Observe to which shoulder Dr. Henshall moves the rod, and the path o f the fly as i t moves behind him.

The unfortunate feature o f early casting illustrarions is their stiff-collared appearance. The photographs at the conclusion o f the text, taken from Edward Samuel's WITH FL Y ROD AND CAMERA (1890), dispel some o f that image.

HE coach taking his stand abreast of and on the right of the caster, and a t such a distance as conveniently to observe every motion, let t h e latter withdraw from the

reel line equal in length t o about one and a half times the length of his rod. The thumb of the casting hand must no t be closed up on its fingers, bu t be extended and bear upon the rod itself. Now throw the tip of the rod upward and behind a little, bu t only a little, beyond the perpendicular.

The illustration o n this page (below, Fig. I ) , from a photo- graph from life, shows the extreme limit of this movement, a limit by no means t o be exceeded, while it may well be somewhat abridged.

Fig. 1 Page 22

In actual fishing the casting elhow is always and invariably t o be held quite close t o the side, and the forearm should not be raised beyond an angle of forty-five degrees with the horizon. The wrist, however, is to take a further bend upward and as far as possible, for from the action of this joint should the in~pulse of the cast be almost exclusively derived.

I am aware that I am a t variance with the precepts of many writers, as well as with the practice of many excellent anglers, in the direction that the elbow be invariably close to the side. Some cast a t arm's-length, and largely with the shoulder-joint. This is a thoroughly bad method, fatiguing, inefficient, and rivalling in grace a duck on land. Others cast with the elbow t o or near the body, but just before the flies light extend the arm t o its full length, as t h o u g l ~ tbey were about t o impale soine- thing on the point of t h e rod. This method is used by many anglers, whom I freely acknowledge to be my superiors. Not- withstanding, I am convinced that it serves no useful purpose (except in casting for distance only) not otherwise readily attainable, while it certainly looks labored and awkward. The one method resembles the postures of a trained athlete, no portion or member of his body in motion except those in actual use; the others approximate in greater o r less degree t o the contortions of the greenhorn, every limb pawing the air.

Though the elbow partakes slightly at the beginning of both the cast and recover, still it is the wrist that is really the motive power in casting. The novice cannot too early and too firmly impress this on his mind.

Figure 2 represents the position of the wrist when on the back cast; Figure 3 the wrist on the forward cast. Note the position of the thumb.

The position should be an easy one, and the body and the unemployed arm should be kept perfectly still. No habit is worse in casting than unnecessary contortions of the one, o r flourishes of the other. Not only is it exceedingly awkward, bu t it is injurious as well, since it is motion rather than the mere sight of an object which demoralizes the fish.

The coach will pay particular attention to the back cast, for if this is mastered all else follows. It is the secret of success. In practice, the end of the line, when behind him, should in no case fall below the level of the caster's head; everything below that should be regarded as a fault. There is nothing in fly-fishing which so promptly grades an angler as a high back cast, when circumstances permit its use, while nothing will more prejudice reputation for skill than the habit, even when sitting in a boat, of allowing the flies t o touch the water behind the caster. The expert knows how few possess the former accomplishment, and that to him who has it the highest development of the art is possible; while he equally recognizes that the latter is a vicious

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

habit, difficult to overcome, and a perfect bar to real excellence. Therefore cultivate a high back cast with the utmost assidui-

ty. It is not difficult to acquire at the beginning, though this is no longer the case when another and different habit has been formed.

The secret of this is to throw the rod but little, if any, beyond the perpendicular on the back cast. The first view in this chapter illustrates the extreme limit. While the butt joint is nearly upright, the upper portion of the rod will bend backward still more. Kods of varying flexibility vary somewhat in this respect. The stiffer may be thrown a little farther back, and still, since they bend less, give the line the required upward direction. I trust 1 have emphasized the importance of this sufficiently, as well as made clear the method by which it may be attained.

The coach must next see to it that the caster by no means begins the forward impulse, until the line has extended behind to the limit of its length.

Ignore the front cast altogether in the first lessons, considering it merely as a necessary preparation for the back cast, and as otherwise of no consequence whatever. Concentrate the attention on these two features of the back cast altogether (except, of course, to insist that the body and unemployed arm are motionless, and that the impulse proceeds from the wrist). Hang to these two points as if they were all there was to fly-casting, for really this assumption will be but little wide of the truth.

Having given the backward impulse to the line, it will be found that an interval must intervene between this and the forward impulse, during which the line is occupied in straighten- ing itself out. This pause is absolutely essential, and an undue abridgement of its duration is the most common of all faults. It varies, of course, with the length of line used; and since the caster cannot see behind him that he may know when the exact moment for the forward impulse has arrived, he must use the eyes of another, or experiment in the dark.

The coach will therefore watch the line, and when it has thus extended its full length give the word "Now!" Thereupon let the caster at once give the forward impulse. I t will require a little practice on the part of the former to give the word at the proper moment, and on the part of the latter promptly to res- pond, but this will be soon overcome.

Be a rigid adherence to this method of coaching and practice, a high back cast, and the allowance of the proper interval for the line to straighten out, will soon become purely automatic- a mere matter of instinct adjusting itself t o whatever length of line may be in use, without a thought or an effort on the part of the caster.

When this is accomplished, and stick to it until it is, the game is in your own hands, for everything else follows almost of itself.

Now some attention may be profitably given to the forward cast. That the line shall fall gently upon it, the end reaching the level of the mark first, are the desiderata. To accomplish this, throw the rod forward, remembering to drive the impulse from the wrist, until it assumes the position shown by Figure 4 at left.

Cast not at the mark, but as though an object three or four feet above it. were the bull's-eye. Then when the line has un- folded almost its entire length, raise the point of the rod a couple of feet or so. This will turn the line point foremost, and cause the end to alight first. If the force of the impulse is justly proportioned to the distance to be covered, the line will fall by its own gravity alone upon the paper; but if too much power has been applied, it will strike hard, or recoil and fall short of the mark. That cast is the most perfect in which the minimum of force is employed, and the beginner must make constant effort t o see with how little exertion he can accomplish the result. He will find that very little power is required even for quite a long line-say fifty-five feet-and that the line falls most lightly and straightest in those casts where the power is justly proportioned, and not in excess of the work to be done. But if careful, patient, and persevering, this too will soon become purely automatic,

Page 23 Fig. 4

Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 3

MANNER O F CASTING T H E ARTIFICIAL FLY

adjusting itself t o circumstances without conscious muscular o r mental effort.

But remember the back cast is the foundation, and that unless it is solid the superstructure will be rickety. Remember also that the motion of the rod through the air should be almost, o r quite noiseless. Nothing offends the anger's ear more than the "swish" of a flyrod. It is like a false note to an edu- cated musical ear. I t indicates a degree of force about as appropriate to the end in view, as a burglar's jimmy to opening a watch. This should never be, except possibly when casting directly against the wind or for distance only.

Casting the Fly (Henshall)

Casting the artificial fly is performed by two principal motions, a backward and a forward one. The former is to throw the flies behind the angler, and the latter is to project them forward and beyond. That is all there is in it. These are the main principles involved, and the first or backward motion is merely pre- paratory to the second or forward one, the latter being the most important.

But the style and manner of making these two motions are all-important; for upon the correct, skillful, and, I might say, scientific performance of them, depends the success of the angler. The main objects of the two motions are, first, to get the line and cast behind the angler in a straight line, without lapping or kinking; and second, to project the line forward without snapping off the tail-fly, casting it perfectly straight, without confusion, and causing the flies to alight before the line, with- ou t a splash, and as lightly as the natural insect dropping into the water. This can only be done by the novice, with a short line, about the length of his rod, and he should not attempt a longer cast until he is perfect in this. When he can lay ou t his short line perfectly straight before him, without a splash, every time, he can then venture further.

But we are getting along too fast; we must go back t o first principles-the two motions.

The backward and forward movements are each made in about the same length of time, bu t while the former is a single

movement, the latter is a double one; that is, it is divided into two motions, o r parts; though these two fonvard motions are made in the same length of time as the backward movement.

I will now try to explain these movements more explicitly, with the aid of the annexed cuts and diagrams.

The prospective fly-fisher having his rod, reel and cast in readiness, stands near the bank of the stream, with a clear space of fifteen or twenty feet behind him. Having the line about the length of his rod, t o begin with, he takes the hook of the tail-fly between his left thumb and forefinger and stretches the line taut ; then, by waving the rod slightly backward over the left shoulder, and a t the same time releasing his hold of the tail-fly, the line straightens ou t behind him, the right elbow meantime being held close to the body, as the backward movement is made with the wrist and forearm entirely. The position o f the right hand during this portion of the cast is with said hand grasping the rod just above the reel ( the reel being at the extreme butt, and on the under side of the rod), and with the reel and palm of the hand toward the angler, the thumb looking toward his right shoulder (see figure 1).

When the line and leader are on a straight line behind him, which the beginner must learn t o judge and time exactly, without looking behind him, he brings the rod forward with a gradually increasing rate of speed, until the rod is slightly in advance of him, say a t an angle of fifteen degrees off the perpendicular; then, for the first time, the right elbow leaves the body, and, a t the same time, the rod is turned in the hand in the opposite direction (see figure 2); that is, with the back of the hand toward the angler, so that, a t the end of the cast, the reel is below the rod, while the back of the hand is upward, and, without stopping the motion of the rod, the right arm is pro- jected forward to its full extent, and on a line with the shoulder (see figure 3). This is the second part o r motion of the forward movement, and consists in merely following the direction of the flies with the tip of the rod, so as t o ease their rapid flight, and allow them to descend without confusion, and to settle upon the water noiselessly, and without a splash. Thus we see that the backward movement is in one time and one motion, and the forward movement in one time and two motions, as the mili- tary have it, or according to the following formula of time:

No. 1 represents the backward throw, in one motion, in the time of a half note. No. 2 represents the forward cast, in one time and two motions, '1 and 6, in the time of two quarter notes. This is not to be understood as fishing by note, but the relative time of making the different motions in casting the fly approaches very nearly that of the formula given. This is better explained by a reference to the foregoing cuts; where figure 1 represents the backward throw, and figure 2 represents the first part or motion (a) , and figure 3 the second part o r motion (b), of the forward cast.

Sometimes these movements are made straight backward and forward over either shoulder, or over the head; but the best way is to make the backward movement over the left shoulder, and the forward over the right shoulder, the line thus describing an oval or parabola. By this method the flies are not so apt to be whipped off, and it is, withal, more graceful, more en regle.

The following diagram represents the arcs described by the tip of the rod and the flies:

0 is supposed t o be the angler, and, as we are looking down upon him from above, it represents his hat. The dark line,

a b c, is the curve described by the tip of the rod in the backward and forward movements of the cast-back over the left shoulder, and forward over the right; while the dotted curved line, d e f, is the approximate arc described by the tail-fly, leaving the water a t d, and alighting, by a lengthened cast, a t f:

By studying these diagrams in connection with the instructions given, the theory and mechanical piinciples will soon be mastered by the novice. He should then, by assiduous and patient endeavor, make a practical application of these principles, and become tolerably proficient in casting the fly, before he attempts t o venture near the haunts of the Bass.

New York Fly Casting Tournament, May 1889

K. B. Lawrence, single-handed fly rod, 89 feet.

W. A. Blackford, single-handed fly rod, 85 feet.

Connecticut River Near Holyoke

FLY FISHING FOR SHAD By t h e rice-horder'd Southern coast,

Where the Savannah River winds, The shad-shoal, a n unnumher'd host,

Its earliest feeding pasture finds. Thence northward where t h e Hudson sweeps

Connecticut's transparent deeps, Their gleaming myriads seek a home

Beyond t h e surges and t h e foam. Genio Scot t (1869)

e have recently been asked by several correspondents to give them an article on fly fishing for shad. We beg t o refer them to No. 8, page 120, of The American Angler,

where they will find a description of the method of f i s h i n c n d of the best fishing cast of flies. In this connection we append extracts from a series of letters published in the Turf , Field and Farm, the writer being Mr. Thomas Chalmers, of Holyoke, Massachusetts.:

I arrived in Holyoke for the first time in 1870. I soon learned of all the fish and fishing in the river. I was also informed shad could not be taken with the hook, as they never feed in fresh water; ate nothing from April t o October.

In the winter of 1870-71 I built a boat, and Mr. George Murray and I commenced the season (1871) fishing together. On the second Saturday of June we were both fishing from the boat, and had good sport with striped bass and yellow perch. Feeling somewhat fatigued by sitting in the boat, we rowed for the east shore, where we had a stretch o n the soft stoncs b y way of change. When thus resting the fish in the river commenced rising t o the shad-fly, then abundant on the water. I had three old flies in my book (small white miller of Irish pattern), which were to memory dear for services performed years before. The three flies were taken o u t and examined, the gut wet and rub- bed down soft. Attaching one to the end of my line, I stepped into the boat and pushed o u t into the river. At the first cast I

hooked a heavy fish, but did not hold him long, as the gut parted at the hook. It had been burned through with rust; tly number two was attached, with the same result. With the third fly I took a two-pound striped bass. The next cast I hooked a heavier fish, which carried away the fly. In a very few minutes the two rods were tied up, and Murray and I pulling for the Holyoke shore, where we soon found entrance to a neighbor's chicken coop, and with permission selected such feathers as we desired. The next in order was an exploring expedition through the few houses which kept fishing tackle for sale in the then town of Holyoke; no gut was to be had but the few snells we had by us, nor were any hooks to be had bu t with eyes, of which we bought a few and filed the eyes off, and put up five or six flies each that night, with the intention of going ou t to t ry them on Monday morning. The flies were a rude imitation (as clumsy fingers from long disuse could make them) of the shad-fly. At 4 o'clock Monday morning Murray knocked at my window; not feeling very well I did not get up, and Murray went o u t alone, returning a t 7 o'clock with one shad, a yearling. On the same evening I went ou t alone, came in a t 8.30 with twelve shad and one striped bass; seven of the shad averaged four pounds each, two two-year-olds and three yearlings, having lost a great many for want of a landing net. Improvising a piece of hoop iron into a netting needle, by next evening 1 was equip- ped with a landing net. The river was not then spanned by a bridge, and the old ferry-boat made its half-hourly trips back and forth, and for three weeks, coming every evening loaded

Page 26

with shad, the ferryman, with open eyes and gaping mouth would ask: "Where d o you fellows get them shad?" When told they were caught with a hook, he made us feel uncomfortable; we could bear it and grin. The next time we were asked quest- ions we replied one got into the water and caught the fish and put it on the hook, the other drew it into the boat. After a few weeks a few of the knowing ones would get down t o the river about the time we would be coming in, would take a look a t our string, cast a side glance at the landing net, when there would be a shake of the head, then disappear muttering "fraud!"

Up to this time (1873) 1 had examined many stomachs. In one I found a piece of rotten wood; in another two worms (to the manor born), alive, but both died o n exposure; the intestines were in every instance full, which certainly must have got supplied from the stomach. The season of 1874 opened about May 29, with an increase of black bass. I had heard of the

e red ibis being a good lure for said fish, and to change the sport a little I put up a red fly for trail, white niiller down drop, and brown hackle hand drop. The black bass either did not see it , or the shad drove them away from it. It came down heavy on shad, and we have used it as trail fly ever since. But alas for black bass! I have yet t o kill my first bass with the red ibis, either with my own putting up or with those purchased in New York. I still opened many stomachs, and this season (1874), 1 found srnall particles of crustaceae, and what appeared to, be the wings of flies, in two or three stomachs. 1 think, too, it was this year (1874), that Mr. R.H. Fuller, the original ferryman, whom the use of the bridge had deprived of a living by the ferry, had become a convert t o shad angling. When ou t one afternoon, in addition to his flies, he had an artificial minnow spinning for bass, and with the minnow he took four heavy shad. He sent a boy requesting me to come down t o the river, which, on reaching, he pulled ashore and showed me what he had done. I stepped into the boat, and with a minnow of the same pattern, in less than half an hour, I took two heavy shad with it , since when they have been frequently taken with the minnow.

T H E A M E R I C A N A N G L E R , April 1 5 , 1882

FLY FISHING FOR SHAD

[luring the first nvo years of our shad fishing at Holyoke one solitary boat was on the river, and its two occupants only enjoyed the sport, but last season there were over thirty boats anchored in all conceivable positions and places, and shad head- ing for all of them, and there were a great many lines also ou t from the long bridge.

As shad feed in fresh water, notwithstanding all that has been said t o the contrary, I firmly believe they can be taken in all fresh waters which they frequent for spawning purposes. When we first commenced fishing in 1871, and for three or four years afterwards, we took them only in strong currents; later experi- ments, however, have materially altered both our theory and practice: Five years ago I took them two miles below the dam, my boat being anchored in fifteen feet of water, since which time that spot has become a favorite fishing ground.

If a good current can be found (at the foot of a rapid) running into a deep pool, it is decidedly the best chance for a catch. Anchor the boat about one yard from the edge of , and in the current about fifty or sixty feet above the pool, letting the flies drop down on the edge of the current from thirty to fifty feet. By so doing you will have a good chance of success, as the shad hold big pow-wows in all these pools. In such a place last season with a companion in my boat, in two hour's fishing, I took sixteen shad. My companion took seven, and I carried to the house fourteen, Which weighed sixty-one pounds.

Later in the season, from the middle of June, my favorite flies are a large white and a red with red wings, dressed on a No. 3 Limerick. Always avoid a large, heavy wing. I also take them casting as for trout, and catch a good many by trolling with flies.

T. G . The following is a brief description of the cast of flies which

was sent us by our correspondent: 1,euder-Double gut, six feet in length. Tail fly-A white miller, body wrapped with silver tinsel, tied

on No. 3 Limerick. Dropper-Wings mottled mallard, body and legs scarlet, wrap-

ped with gold thread. Same hook as tail fly. Hand fly-Body, peacock hurl, legs natural brown hackle,

wings smaller covert feather of the woodcock's wing. Tied on No. 3 Limerick.

What kind of flies are used in fishing for shad? Do you think it likely that we can catch them in the Delaware river the coming T H E A M E R I C A N A N G L E R , February 18, 1882 season? A half dozen anglers would like these queries answered in 1'111. 4 V G L E R . Philadelphia, Feb. 1 5 , 1882. C. W. B.

We have on the Delaware many likely sports where a cast for shad will doubtless be fruitful. The late Thaddeus Norris made many earnest efforts to lure them with flies, but was mainly unsuccessful, not because his tackle and skill were deficient, bu t we believe from bad judgment in choosing his grounds. If we remember correctly, his main efforts were made in the rapids and small pools just above the Trenton Bridge, and trenching somewhat under it. This spot is about the end of the tide water in the Delaware, and a starting point for the shad in their upward swim, and is the most unlikely spot to lure them that can be found on the river. It is in the pools at the foot of the strong rapid5 that the shad are most in the humor for flies. There they are resting, after a sturdy stretch through rushing waters for miles, and, just there would seem to be the spot where they will take the feathers.

We received some time ago a letter on the above subject from Holyoke, Mass., which we give in full, as it is explicit in explanation of the method and tackle used in the capture of shad with the fly. Holyoke Dam, C. 1880 IIIustrations courtesy of

In reply to yours of the 6th, which was duly received, I en- Forbes Library, Northampton, Mass. close a leader with three favorite shad flies for these waters, although they take any and all flies offered them.

Photo courtesy- of Stariley Reat1 and The Universitv of British Columbia Press.

Tommy Brayshaw: The Ardent

Angler -Artist

A sketch of the life and work of Totnmy Brayshaw, and a review of Dr. Stanley Read's biography of hirn

by Steve Raymond Tommy Brayshaw and steelhead, 1943, on The Camp- bell Kiver.

HE weakest link in the works of angling art often is the fish. Galleries and collections abound with oils and watercolors of fishing scenes in which every detail is

correct and every subtle shading perfectly achieved - except that the inevitable leaping fish looks cut out of cardboard, an awkward caricature of the graceful lines and movement of living trout o r salmon.

Maybe it's unreasonable to expect more. After all, how can an artist possibly capture something so fleeting and ephemeral as a leaping salmon or a cartwheeling t rout?

Yet a few - very few - do. Tommy Brayshaw was one of them.

Fish were Tommy Brayshaw's first love and most frequent subject. He angled for them, handled them, studied them and somehow seemed to feel what they felt, as if there were some transfer of psychic energy from the lateral line of the trout to the sensitive hands of the artist. However it was achieved, the result was a legacy of drawings, paintings and carvings of fish - mostly salmon and trout, but many other species as well - in which the life and movement of the subjects was breathtakingly preserved. Tommy Brayshaw's fish were never cardboard; they move.

Now a small but significant collection of the late artist's work have been assembled and published in a fine limited- edition book: T o m m y Bray.shuw, The Ardent Angler-Artist, by Stanley E. Read, with a foreword b y Lee Straight (outdoors editor of The Vuncouver Sun ) and a tribute by the late Roderick Haig-Brown, published by the University of British Columbia Press.

Stanley Read is professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia, where Brayshaw's diaries and letters are part of the university's angling collection. Based on that material and his own friendship with Brayshaw, Read has put together a brief but highly readable account of the artist's life.

Brayshaw was born in Yorkshire in 1886 and cu t his angling teeth on Yorkshire brooks, fishing with a twisted horsehair line. After schooling, he was sent in 1904 to serve an apprenticeship with a shipbuilding firm near Newcastle, where he became a skilled draftsman and where his latent talents as an artist were perhaps first fully exposed (he never received formal training in art).

The apprenticeship ended in 1910 and by the beginning of the next year Brayshaw was in British Columbia, taking the measure of one of the Commonwealth's rawest, newest lands. He found steelhead waiting in the lower mainland rivers and great tyee salmon in the saltwater bays of Vancouver Island and began his long acquaintance with both species.

In 1914 he returned to England for a visit and he was there when war began. Brayshaw enlisted as a private in the Duke of Wellington's West Kiding Regiment and after brief service was commissioned a lieutenant. In 1915 his regiment was sent to join British forces in France, where Brayshaw was severely wounded in the front lines. After long convalescence in various hospitals, he returned to service as a revolver specialist, writing and illustrating a manual of instruction in use of the weapon.

Ironically, the day after the Armistice in 1918, Brayshaw was again wounded - this time by an exploding round of ammunition during an inspection of his revolver range. He later joked about being the last British soldier to be wounded in the Great War.

Kecovery from the second wound was rapid and early in 1919 Brayshaw, by then a captain, was discharged. By the following year he was back in British Columbia with his wife, whom he married in 1916. In the ensuing years he worked as

(con tir~urd o n pap<, Y 1 )

Page 28

DANIEL WEBSTER AS A N ANGLER: (con tinued { rorn pug(, 7)

and talked about." It was then, during his efforts to keep warm, that he sighed for a warm wood fire, "made ou t of John Taylor's chips and logs." Showing how his mind loyed t o wander off to the region where he was born and had lived the life of a farmer. During his confinement within doors. he was reauested bv his physiiian to remain in bed, bu t he wduld not, o;could n i t d o so, and spent his time in dictating to me a business letter o r note, or in rummaging among his books; and then it was that he went to a particular shelf, took down a small book, wrote something on a fly leaf, and in a majestic manner presented it to me, without uttering a single word. The title of that volume was: Fish. How to cl~oose a ix i I fow to Dress, published by Longman & Co., in 1843; and the writing alluded to was as follows: "Washington, April 18, 1852. To my much respected friend and junior brother angler, Charles Lanman, I present this little volume. Possibly he may hereafter attach some value to it for my sake. Daniel Webster."

How little did 1 imagine when I received that present, that before the close of the year, the distinguished donor would be resting in the grave!

The cold which Mr. Webster had taken in April caused him to hasten his departure so that he might partake of the joys of Marshfield-where he did indeed recuperate his health for a time. Not long after he had become fairly settled in his home by the sea, a neighbor presented him with a superb four pound trout which had been taken at the mouth of a stream that wat- ered his domain. He was delighted with the gift, and when its fame extended t o the town of Plymouth, an old friend residing there invited him t o go over and enjoy some very easy fishing for trout in a private and well stocked pond. This invitation he proposed to accept, and presuming that the book he had given he. had instructed me in the ar t -of choosing fish, if nothing more, I was invited t o pilot the way t o Plymouth. And it was while upon that expedition after trout, that the terrible accident took place which nearly resulted in Mr. Webster's death. We were in a carriage and while going up a gentle hill near Ply-

mouth, the transom bolt of the carriage was broken and we were both thrown headlong upon the ground. In a letter describing the narrow escape which Mr. Webster wrote to President Fillmore, he said that a similar accident had happened to him some twenty years before, and that it was a great escape. "I was pointing ou t to Mr. Lanman," he wrote, "where the Mayflower came to anchor, and showing him the island, still called Cap- tain's Island, which was the possession of Miles Standish, and where his descendants now reside." We caught n o fish on that occa5ion, for reasons that need no explanation; and by way of showing that he was still haunted with a love for fishing, he wrote to his friend R.M. Blatchford only about a month before his death: "I have had a bad turn, but the fish are coming in in multitudes. Hope t o be able to work next month."

In looking over some of Mr. Webster's letters addressed to his friends in various years, I have stumbled upon the following piscatorial allusions which are worth repeating: In 1825 he visited the Falls of Niagara and gave a minute description of them; and as a postscript to one of his letters he added the following somewhat daring remark: "I am going t o t ry and wet a line at the foot of the Falls." It would seem from all I can gather, that there was a period between Mr. Webster's boyhood and maturer life, when he did not devote much attention to the pleasures of fishing, and his earlier tastes seem to have been revived, when his leisure hours were spent among the hills of New Hampshire, and on the sea shore of Marshfield.

In 1842 he wrote from Washington that he was going north t o see certain friends in New York and Boston, but chiefly t o see Seth Peterson a t Marshfield and "to catch one trout" and a- gain shortly afterward, he remarked: "1 have done fishing and t rout catching and have taken leave of Seth Peterson."

In the summer of the same year, after giving a list of fish he had seen in the Washington market, including the bonita, black drum, red drum and the sheepshead, he makes this allusion to the subject of tackle: "1 brought along with me white tinned hooks from England-lines boiled in gum, from Kio Janeiro, and

APPROACI-1 TO MARTHA'S VINEYARD

Page 29

Blue-Fishing

other craft from Boston and New York-not t o mention some beautiful reels and some elegant artificial bass and blue-fish bait, manufactured a t Marshfield."

Writing from Martha's Vineyard, in 1847, about blue fishing, he says: "I thought as good fishing as any we had was when we lay a t anchor, and threw the hook a t the end of a long line, into the foaming and roaring surf. One thing was new t o me. You have seen on the surface of the sea those smooth places which fishermen and sailors call 'slicks.' We met with them yesterday, and our boatman made for them whenever observed. He said they were caused by the blue fish, chopping their prey. That is t o say these ravenous fellows get into a school of manhaden, which are too large t o swallow whole, and they bite them into pieces to suit their tastes. And the oil from this butchery, rising to the surface makes the slick. Whatever the cause may be, we invariably found fish plenty, whenever we came to a slick. I d o not know what is t o happen in our waters from the enormous increase of these fish. I t is a common opinion that they destroy or drive off many of the other valuable finny tribes. If this be so, it will be the more patriotic in you and me t o take as many of them t o the land as possible."

Having received as a present on another occasion, from a brother angler, a very complete lot of fishing tackle, he ack- nowledged the gift in this manner: "Such a rich and elegant apparatus for angling 1 a m sure I have never seen, either a t home or abroad. The rods and reels are certainly of exquisite workmanship and richly ornamented; the flies truly beautiful and the contents of the books ample, abundant and well selected. Poor Isaak Walton! Little did he think when moving along the banks of the rivers and brooks of Staffordshire with his cumber- some equipments, that any worthy disciple of his would ever be so gorgeously fitted ou t , with all that art and taste can accom-

plish for the pursuit of his favorite sport! Among his followers are thousands of better anglers than myself, b u t I may challenge them, one and all, to show that a disciple can be found who goes better prepared for creditable performances. My responsibility I fear is the greater. A fly thrown clumsily with such implements, o r a fish struck unadroitly, o r played without skill o r suffered t o make his escape, except into the basket, would justly affect the operations with lasting disgrace. How could he hope to justify himself before the Giraux of New York, o r the Eckley's of Boston? Henry Grennill! I should be ashamed to meet him after such a misadventure. If he should hear of it, he would pause, though he was just throwing a fly for a salmon in the rivers of Ireland. If I again shall see Islip, o r Smith's Pond, or the Fire Place; even if I shall wet a line quite alone at Waqu- oit, or Sampson's Narrows, m y hand I am sure will tremble, especially when I shall, for the first time, throw a May fly t o a trout, with this beautiful gear."

Before concluding this chapter of gossip about the leisure hours of one of the greatest men of our country, I would remark that from whatever stand point we may contemplate his character, we shall always find him to have been a true man. While winning the highest honors as a statesman, a lawyer and an orator, he never forgot the joys of his boyhood, nor the sentiment of the poet Wordsworth, that we have all one human heart, by which we live. With the hatred and contention and the degrading selfishness of the average world, he had no sympathy, and what he mostly enjoyed were the serene and benign influences of nature as he found them in the quiet country, among the mountains, on the peaceful ocean and a- long the gliding streams; and hence, when he came t o the shore of the Great River, i t was quite natural that he should have exclaimed, "I still live!" for he knew that he was only passing into a Better Land."

Page 30

ons on pages 29 and 30 from NOOKS AND CORNERS OF THE NEW ENGLAND COAST, by S. Drake, 1875.

A FIGHT WITH A TROUT (Continu<d fiom page 19)

TliE CARRY From DESCRIPTIVE GUIDE TO TI1E ADIRONDACKS

by E. R. Wallace (1895)

see upon what sort of flies they were feeding, in order to suit my cast to their appetites; but they seemed to be a t play rather than feeding, leaping high in the air in graceful curves, and tumbling about each other as we see them in the Adirondack pictures.

It is well known that n o person who regards his reputation will ever kill a trout with any thing but a fly. It requires some training on the part of the t rout t o take to this method. The uncultivated, unsophisticated trout in unfrequented waters prefers the bait; and the rural people, whose sole object in going a-fishing appears to be t o catch fish, indulge them in their primitive taste for the worm. No sportsman, however, will use any thing but a fly, except he happens t o be alone.

While Luke launched my boat, and arranged his seat in the stern, I prepared my rod and line. The rod is a bamboo, weighing seven ounces, which has t o be spliced with a winding of silk thread every time it is used. This is a tedious process; but, by fastening the joints in this way, a uniform spring is se- cured in the rod. No one devoted to high art would think of using a socket joint. My line was forty yards of untwisted silk upon a multiplying reel. The "leader" ( I am very particular about my leaders) had been made to order from a domestic animal with which I had been acquainted. The fisherman requires as good a catgut as the violinist. The interior of the house-cat, it is well known, is exceedingly sensitive; but it may not be so well known that the reason why some cats leave the room in distress when a piano-forte is played is because the two instruments are not in the same key, and the vibrations of the chords of the one are in discord with the catgut of the other. On six feet of this superior article I fixed three artificial flies, a simple brown hackle, a gray body with scarlet wings, and one of my own invention, which I thought would be new to the most experienced fly-catcher. The trout-fly does not resemble any known species of insect. It is a "conventionalized" creation, as we say of ornamentation. The theory is, that, fly-fishing being a high art, the fly must no t be a tame imitation of nature,

but an artistic suggestion of it. It requires an artist to construct one; and not every bungler can take a bit of red flannel, a peacock's feather, a flash of tinsel thread, a cock's plume, a section of a hen's wing, and fabricate a tiny object that will not look like any fly, but still will suggest the universal conventional fly.

I took my stand in the centre of the tipsy boat; and Luke shoved off, and slowly paddled towards some lily-pads, while - . I began casting, unlimbering m y tools, as it were. The fish had all disappeared. 1 got out , perhaps, fifty feet of line, with no response, and gradually increased it to one hundred. It is not difficult to learn t o cast; but it is difficult t o learn not to snap off the flies a t every throw. Of this, however, we will not speak. I continued casting for some moments, until I became satisfied that there had been a miscalculation. Either the t rout were too green to know what I was at , o r they were dissatisfied with my offers. I reeled in, and changed the flies.(that is, the fly that was not snapped off). After studying the color of the sky, of the water, and of the foliage, and the moderated light of the afternoon, I put on a series of beguilers, all of a subdued brilliancy, in harmony with the approach of evening. At the second cast, which was a short one, 1 saw a splash where the leader fell, and gave an excited jerk. The next instant I perceived the game, and did not need the unfeigned "dam" of Luke t o convince me that I had snatched his felt hat from his head, and deposited it among the lilies. Discouraged by this, we whirled about, and paddled over to the inlet, where a little ripple was visible in the tinted light. At t h e very first cast I saw that the hour had come. Three trout leaped into the air. The danger of this manoeuvre all fishermen understand. It is one of the commonest in the woods: three heavy t rout taking hold at once, rushing in different directions, smash the tackle into flinders. I evaded this catch, and threw again. I recall the moment. A hermit thrush, on the tip of a balsam, uttered his long, liquid, evening note. Happening t o look over my shoulder, I saw the peak of Marcy gleam rosy in the sky ( I can't help it that Marcy is fifty miles off, and cannot be seen from this region: these incidental

Page 31

Photo by Lee Matthys A FIGHT WITH A TROUT: (continued from page 31)

touches are always used). The hundred feet of silk swished through the air, and the tail-fly fell as lightly on the water as a three-cent-piece (which no slamming will give the weight of a ten) drops upon the contribution -plate. Instantly there was a rush, a swirl. I struck, and "Got him, by -!" Never mind what Luke said I got him by -! "Out on a fly!" continued that irreverent guide; but I told him t o back water, and make for the centre of the lake. The trout, as soon as he felt the prick of the hook, was off like asho t , and took ou t the whole of the line with a rapidity that made it smoke. "Give him the butt!" shouted Luke. It is the usual remark in such an emergency. 1 gave him the but t ; and, recognizing the fact and my spirit, the t rout a t once sank t o the bottom, and sulked. It is the most dangerous mood of a t rout ; for you cannot tell what he will d o next. We reeled up a little, and waited five minutes for him t o reflect. A tight- ening of the line enraged him, and he soon developed his tacticd. Coming t o the surface, he made straight for the boat faster than I could reel in, and evidently with hostile intentions. "Look out for him!" cried Luke as he came flying in the air. I evaded him by dropping flat in the bot tom of the boat; and, when I picked my traps up, he was spinning across the lake as if he had a new idea: but the line was still fast. He did not run far. I gave him the but t again; a thing he seemed to hate, even as a gift. In a moment the evil-minded fish, lashing the water in his rage, was coming back again, making straight for the boat as before. Luke, who was used to these encounters, having read of them in the writings of travellers he had accompanied, raised his paddle in self-defense. The trout left the water about ten feet from the boat, and came directly a t me with fiery eyes, his speckled sides flashing like a meteor. 1 dodged as he whisked by with a vicious slap of his bifurcated tail, and nearly upset the boat. The line was of course slack; and the danger was that he would entangle it about me, and carry away a leg. This was evidently his game; but I untangled it, and only lost a breast-button or two by the swiftly-moving string. The t rout plunged into the water with a hissing sound, and went away again with all the line on the reel. More but t ; more indignation on the part of the captive. The contest had now been going on for half an hour, and I was getting exhausted. We had been back and forth across the lake, and round and round the lake. What I feared was, that the t rout would start up the inlet, and wreck us in the bushes. Rut he had a new fancy, and began the execution of a manoeuvre which I had never read of. Instead of coming straight towards me, he took a large circle, swimming rapidly, and gradually contractzlzg his orbit. I reeled in, and kept my eye on him. Round and round he went, narrowing his circle. I began t o suspect the game; which was, t o twist my head off. When he had reduced the rad- ius of his circle to about twenty-five feet, he struck a tremendous pace through the water. It, would be false modesty in a sportsman to say that I was not equal to the occasion. Instead of turning round with him, as he expected, I stepped to the bow, braced myself, and let the boat swing. Round went the fish, and round we went like a top. I saw a line of Mount Marcys all round the horizon; the rosy tint in the west made a broad band of pink along the sky above the tree-tops; the evening star was a perfect circle of light, a hoop of gold in the heavens. We whirled and reeled, and reeled and whirled. I was willing t o give the malicious beast but t and line,and all, if he would only go the other way for a change.

When I came to myself, Luke was gaffing the trout a t the boat-side. After we had got him in and dressed him, he weighed three-quarters of a pound. Fish always lose by being "got in and dressed." It is best to weigh them while they are in the water. The only really large one 1 ever caught got away with my leader when I first struck him. He weighed ten pounds.

MUSEUM EXHIBIT at

Theodore Gordon Flyfishers Annual Meeting

The Museum's Director traveled to New York City in March t o present a small exhibit of flies at the Theodore Gordon Fly Fishers Annual Meeting, held a t the Rye Town Hilton. Among the flies on display were those tied by Fulsher, DeFeo, Schwiebert, Leisenring, Jorgensen, Rogowski, and Shollenberger. The exhibit, one of many at the meeting, was very popular and we are sure it made the Museum some new friends.

Two of our trustees were honored a t the meeting. Dana Lamb received the TGF Arnold Gingrich Memorial Award for his contributions to the literature of angling, and Gardner Grant received the TGF Conservation Award for his many contributions to the protection of stream resources.

MEMRERSHIP BENEFITS Members receive THE AMERICAN FLY FISHI<K, but the

magazine is only the most visible of the membership benefits. Others include information and research services, appraisals for donors of materials, and involvement in museum activities. And, of course, the existence of the Museum, and its continuing work in preservation and education, is the greatest benefit of all.

Professional care and exhibiting of the treasures of angling history is a costly project. The Museum, a member institution of the American Association for State and Local History and the New England Conference of the American Association of Museums, maintains itself and its collections through the gen- erosity of its friends.

A tie tac is presented with each membership of $25.00 or more.

Associate $ 15.00 Sustaining $ 25.00 Patron $100.00 and over Life $250.00

All membership dues, contributions and donations are tax deductible.

Please forward checks to THE TREASURER, The Museum of American Fly Fishing, Manchester, Vermont 05254 with your NAME, ADDRESS and ZIP CODE; type of membership desired and a statement of the amount enclosed. Upon receipt, a magazine and membership card will be mailed immediately.

Page 32

Available from the Museum

THE AMERICAN FLY FISHER MUSEUM CATALOGUE, 1969-1973

Back issues of the Museum magazine are already beginning to A true rarity, the Museum's catalogue of holdings was appear in rare book catalogues. We have available all back issues published in 1973, shortly before THE AMERICAN FLY except Vol. I, No. 1 ; Vol. I , No. 2 ; Vol. 111, No. 2 ; Vol. 111, No. FISHER was launched. The quarterly magazine, which regularly 3 ; and Vol. IV, No. 3. $3.00 each. announces new acquisitions, has replaced the catalogue in

function. The catalogue contains Austin Hogan's thoroughly researched essay "An Introduction t o the History of Fly Fishing

BROWN UNIVERSITY FLY FISHING in America," as well as G. Dick Finlay's thoughtful description of the Museum's treasures. 24 Danes. 8%" x 11". $4.00.

exhibit has already-become a collector's item. The fGreword is A superb collection of Dana Lamb's articles, together with by Joseph Bates, and the historical introduction by Austin some previously unpublished material, illustrated by Eldridge Hogan. 16 pages, paper covers, $3.00. Hardie. Autographed. We have only a limited number of these

left. $8.95.

AMERICAN SPORTING PERIODICALS OF ANGLING INTEREST

Austin Hogan's unique checklist of 19th-century sporting periodicals also contains an historical introduction to angling periodicals and a directory of libraries holding such material. Numerous excerpts from significant periodicals are appended to the work, published by The Museum of American Fly Fishing in 1973. 128 pages, paperbound, $6.00.

DON'T BLAME THE FISH by Rob Warner -

A collection of light-hearted fishing stories, described as "not quite fiction, but certainly not nonfiction either," DON'T BLAME THE FISH is illustrated by NEW YORKER cartoonist William O'Brian. Bob Warner's many articles on outdoor subjects have appeared in most of the well known magazines, and he is a long-time friend of the Museum. We have very few copies of this autographed volume. $8.95.

A Barbless Hook. 'The use of a barbless hook would permit the trout fisher to

take off the undersized fish and return them to the water without killing them. Unfortunately it might let the big ones get a- way, but we understand Seth Green fished with the kind he made successfully. A correspendent thus described it;

It consists of a common needle bent round in a sneck or side twist and with the point standing well in towards the shank of the hook, so as to afford at once quick penetration-and increased holding power in the absence of the barb-for of course there is no barb. As I had the process of manufacture explained to me, it appears that the needle was previously softened-the temper was "drawn," to speak technically-by being held in the flame of a spirit lamp, and the wire was then bent round to its desired shape. After this it was hardened in oil and tempered by being again heated. Each process is of course a matter of experiment as to its duration, etc., as in the case of hook and needle making at large. The result in any case was a finely pointed barbless hook which certainly did not prepossess me at first sight as being likely to retain a fish. This opinion, however, proved wrong, and I should never hesitate, in water where there were no unusual difficulties in the way of snags and roots, to use it for the largest fish. Of course a taut line is necessary all the time; that is the only real necessity of the case. But then, who is there worthy the name of angler that would allow the fish slack line after being hooked? Apropos of this subject I habitually remove at least one half of the barb of the larger trout hook for my own fishing. It is surprising with what success one hooks a fish when this obstacle is removed.

The Fishing Gazette (New York) April 13, 1893

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