Fly fishing

“ In general, dry fly-fishing as done in America naturally divides into fishing the water and fishing the rise. The dry fly caster when fishing [89] all the water should proceed much after the manner of the wet fly fisherman: the angler who has been accustomed to fish upstream with the wet fly need not alter his general methods in the least, save as regards floating the fly and avoiding drag. As a rule, it is best to follow or wade along the left bank, looking upstream, as this will give you an unobstructed right-handed horizontal cast. ”

“ Fly fishing is the most expert and scientific method of angling. It is the poetry of fishing. The fly fisherman usually wades in the brook or stream where he is fishing, although it is sometimes possible to cast a fly from the bank or a boat. It is useless to go fly fishing while there is snow water in the brooks but just as soon as the first warm days of spring come, then fishing is at its best.
The whole idea of casting a fly is to drop it in the most likely-looking places and to strike the fish just as soon as he seizes the hook. ”

“ Not infrequently the downstream wet fly fisherman covers several miles of water in a day's fishing—I know, because I have done it innumerable times myself, and I do not say that there is not much charm, good exercise, and generally a few fish to be found in this sort of fishing. But anything of the kind is strictly incompatible with properly fishing the dry fly. The wet fly man who takes up the dry fly method should understand at the outset that the cast-once-and-walk-a-mile sort of fly-fishing is simply out of the question. ”

“ The correct fundamental theory of fly-fishing for trout, with either wet or dry flies, consists in the closest possible simulation, by means of an artificial fly, of the form, coloration, and action of some natural insect then upon the water and upon which the trout are feeding. In England this theory has always been very closely followed by expert fly-fishermen, although over there, as in this country, various fancy flies—not dressed to counterfeit any certain natural fly—have long been in successful use. ”

“ In lake-fishing chance has a greater share in bringing about success, but here too the right fly and the right place are important; the actual management of rod, line and flies, of course, is easier, for there is no stream to be reckoned with. Though there is little left to be said about wet-fly fishing where the fly is an imitation more or less exact of a natural insect, there is another branch of the art which has been stimulated by modern developments. This is the use of salmon-flies for big trout much in the same way as for salmon. ”

“ As regards wet fly fishing any broad-minded angler willingly concedes that under certain conditions it is best to fish the stream up and under other conditions to fish down. The dry fly man, however, has no option in the matter; regardless of all other factors for upstream fishing, the practical fact remains that the floating fly cannot be fished downstream for when thus cast it is drowned almost at once. ”

“ Fly fishing is not only the most scientific and sportsmanlike method of fishing but it is also the most difficult to acquire skill in. It is of course possible to catch trout and salmon on other bait than flies. In fact, there is really no better bait for brook trout than common fish worms that have been scoured in sand. The use of a fly, however, is more satisfactory where the pleasure derived in fishing is more important than the size of the string. ”

“ In fly fishing, the best plan is to cast your line athwart the stream, by pulling it against it; your flies probably show to more advantage, yet you will not take so many fish, as by throwing up or across the stream, the reason is obvious, the current somewhat retards the progress of the fish in the act of rising, and thus it happens that they so frequently come short of the hook. ”

“ While fly-fishing, wet or dry, is unquestionably the highest branch of angling, and far preferable to bait-fishing for trout, it does not follow that fishing with the dry fly, or floating fly, is a superior art to fishing with the wet or sunken fly, as claimed by some of the dry fly-fishers of England. ”

“ But for fish whose blood, though cold, was noble,—for game fish of undoubted rank like the salmon and the trout, the true angler must use only the lightest possible tackle, the most difficult possible methods, the cleanest and prettiest possible lure,—to wit, the artificial fly. Moreover, he added his opinion that in the long run, taking all sorts of water and weather together, and fishing through the season, a man can take more trout with the fly than with the bait,—that is, of course, if he understands the art of fly-fishing. ”

“ American dry fly fishing may be defined briefly as the art of displaying to the trout a single artificial fly floating upon the surface of the stream in the exact manner of the natural insect. Upon occasions, somewhat rare, indeed, but nevertheless of sufficient frequency to render the fact noteworthy, the American dry fly man casts consciously to a rising and feeding trout—the invariable custom of the English dry fly "purist." On the trout streams of this country, however, the orthodox manner of fishing the floating fly is to fish all the water as when wet fly casting. ”

“ There are still many men who use the long rod for wet-fly fishing in streams, but there are now more who find 10 ft. quite enough for their purpose. For lake-fishing from a boat, however, the longer rod is still in many cases preferred. In fishing rivers the main art is to place the right flies in the right places and to let them come naturally down with the stream. The right flies may be ascertained to some extent from books and from local wisdom, but the right places can only be learnt by experience. ”

“ The fly-caster should never lose sight of the fact that fly-casting, pure and simple, is by no means all of fly-fishing—that in the selection of the fly-rod its suitability to striking, playing, and landing a trout must receive careful consideration. ”

“ This, certainly, is not at all the state of mind with which to take up dry fly fishing, or, for that matter, angling of any sort. In fact, the dry fly man should be a student of causes as well as of effects, for the simple reason that only in comparatively rare instances can the desired effect be produced unless the angler knows the underlying cause and proceeds to utilize it practically. This is particularly true of the selection and manipulation of the floating fly and, in a lesser but quite considerable degree, of casting the fly. ”

“ The commonly accepted definition of fly-fishing is the casting—with a light, strong, elastic, pliant rod—of two, three or four artificial flies, on a delicate leader attached to a fine tapered silk line over the surface of waters inhabited by the lordly, silver-coated salmon; that aristocratic beauty, the speckled trout, or the more sombre-colored but gamy black bass. ”

“ In America, owing to the fact that the dry fly angler fishes the water and not the rise, wet and dry fly fishing are far more closely related than is the case in England where the orthodox sportsman stalks the trout, casting exclusively to a rising and feeding fish ”

“ In line with a general discussion of the times and localities when and where the dry fly is indicated it should possibly be noted that dry fly casting, as the more clever method and designed particularly for the purpose of angling for educated trout, should be favored over wet fly fishing on any stream which is whipped a great deal by wet fly fishermen. That the trout of such a stream grow "gut shy" and exceedingly canny and, at best, when the stream is clear and natural insect food somewhat abundant, rise reluctantly to the wet fly, is axiomatic. ”

“ Artificial fly-fishing is also the cleanest and most gentlemanly of all the methods of capturing trout. The angler who practises it is saved the trouble of working with worms, of catching, keeping alive, or salting minnows, or searching the river's bank for the natural insect. Armed with a light single-handed rod and a few flies, he may wander from county to county and kill trout wherever they are to be found. ”

“ Moreover, the dry fly man works largely, although not exclusively, on the still pools and quiet reaches, where only the best of tackle, handled with a more than moderate degree of skill and care, can produce consistent results.
Furthermore, no little skill must be exercised by the angler in order properly to manipulate, or fish, the single "floater" when the cast has been made and the fly is upon the water, it must be allowed to float naturally downstream in the manner of the natural fly under like circumstances. ”

“ Everything combines to render fly-fishing the most attractive of all branches of the angler's art. The attempt to capture trout, which are seen to rise at natural flies, is in itself an excitement which no other method possesses. Then the smallness of the hook and the fineness of the tackle necessary for success increases the danger of escape, and consequently the excitement and the pleasure of the capture ”

“ The sportsman who has fished only with the wet fly may rest assured that should he take up dry fly fishing he will discover a renewed interest in the sport of fly fishing for trout, which, perhaps, through custom, may have lost something of its former charm. Moreover, in dry fly fishing he will find a sport of such wide scope that, it is safe to say, he will never consider himself other than a beginner in the art. ”

“ Of all the devices for taking Trout, fly fishing is decidedly the most pleasant, ingenious and amusing, and where fish rise freely, there is nothing comparable to the artificial fly, as a means to an end, in the shape of filling a pannier. The quick eyed Trout, is completely deceived by a cunning fabrication, the inanimated thing of feathers, silk and fur, so closely resembles the natural fly, that he rises and seizes upon it for a real living fly—But ah! ”

“ This manner of wet-fly fishing is very much like dry-fly fishing, and is certainly not the way in which wet-fly fishing is practised in lakes, and is hardly the most general way in which it is practised on many rivers. ”

“ The man whose fly is always on the water has the best chance. There is always a chance of a fish or two, no matter how hopeless it looks. You never know what may happen in fly-fishing.”—Francis Francis.
“In bass fishing we have thought the moon to be an advantage. If it does not guide the prey to the lure, it at least lends beauty to the scene and bathes in its pale light the surroundings of the fisherman, which are often so exceedingly beautiful. In addition, it assists him in his work and enables him to handle his tackle more easily and play his fish more comfortably.”—Seth Green. ”

“ Brown Coffin.
“The deftly-tossed fly, taking wing on the nerve of a masterly cast, will drop gracefully far out in the stream where the heavier gear of the bait rod would never aspire to reach.”—Charles Hallock.
“Fly-fishing may well be considered the most beautiful of all rural sports.”—“Frank Forester.”
“To be a perfect trout fisher, to my mind, a man should follow no other branch of fishing. It spoils his hand if he does. I myself, from the practice of striking so hard in both salmon, pike and other fishing, lose numbers of fish and flies in the course of the season ”

“ The angler who is so unfortunately situated as to be debarred from salmon, trout, or black bass fly-fishing, can always find in the small streams or ponds near him, one or more of the fishes described in the foregoing account, when, by the use of very light and suitable tackle, he can enjoy to a great degree the delights and pleasures of fly-fishing. ”

“ Constant care of the belongings of his art, be he fly or bait fisher, is characteristic of the faithful angler, and only simple justice to the tackle maker. There is nothing sadder or more dejected-looking than a crippled rod and a neglected “kit” full of snarled lines, rusty hooks, and moth-eaten flies.
In the matter of winter angling, the fly-fisherman has a decided advantage over him who uses bait alone. The art for him has more side issues. He may, if he can, learn to tie flies or contrive and construct newfangled fly-books. ”

“ If you happen to be on the stream on a day when you have little sport, by all means repair to the same water the next day if you have reason to believe the trout to be moderately plentiful, and you will probably find them feeding freely. “Trout affection not long fasts,” as dear old Isaac would say.
Skill in fly-fishing is neutralised by anger and impatience. Patience and perseverance stand at the head of the angler’s cardinal virtues. With good tackle and proper-sized flies, moderate skill, and a favourable day, the tyro will astonish the natives of the stream if he keeps out of their sight ”

“ Thus it will be seen that the opportunities and resources for fly-fishing are nearly as great as for baitfishing, and that it only remains for the angler to take advantage of them, study the habits of the fishes, attain the necessary skill in casting, and practice due caution in fishing. ”

“ Choose your May flies with wings made large and standing up, full bodies and long tails; and use no flies that are not made on Limerick hooks, which double your chance of hooking fish.
In all fly-fishing matches with which I am acquainted, and in some of which I have been myself engaged, each competitor has fished with a different kind of fly, and neither with a fly resembling that actually on the water. The success of each has been, generally, nearly equal, the winner gaining the match by a very few ”