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By Anthony Naples, on October 22nd, 2009
This latest installment of Angling Advise from Beyond is from Floating Flies and How to Dress Them (pub. 1886), the first book by Frederic M. Halford, (1844-1914).
We’ve all heard of Frederic Halford and our first thought is that he was a “Dry-Fly Snob”, this may be true, I don’t know. But after casually perusing the pages of this book – I am very impressed. I am no expert in fly fishing history, so maybe it’s just me but, I am very surprised by the state of fly fishing and fly tying in the late 1800′s as evidenced by Halford’s book. Basically – It’s all there. You could throw away all your modern and “innovative” books on fly tying and use this 120-yr old book and you would catch fish. I honestly don’t think you would be at a disadvantage if you stuck to the patterns outlined in Halford’s book.
It’s all in there; mayflies, caddis flies, midges, terrestrials (ants), quill body flies, thread-body flies, extended-body flies, down-wings, etc. Look at this pic below – this is a very serviceable caddis imitation.
The advice I’m presenting from this book is a bit humorous. It seems that good dry fly hackle has always been expensive and difficult to procure. In the following passage Halford discusses this and presents his solution. I have to think that he was laughing when he wrote this.
Of all feathers required for fly dressing, the hackle is the one to be placed first on the list, as being the most important, and, unfortunately, at the same time, the most difficult to procure. For floating flies cock hackles are so immeasurably superior, both as to their natural gloss and transparency, as well as the greater ease with which they are freed from moisture in fishing…
…Common barndoor fowls seldom produce such hackles as would please the critical eye of the connoisseur, and when it is remembered how few in number on any bird are sufficiently small to dress duns, some idea may be formed of the almost insuperable difficulty of accumulating a really serviceable stock : in fact, it is almost impossible to get cock hackles really fit for fly-making purposes, except by purchasing them at considerable cost from professional breeders, or from the fishing-tackle makers. I can only make one suggestion on the subject to amateur fly-dressers, resident in the metropolis, who do not care to pay the fancy prices asked in the shops, and that is to try and induce some of their country cousins to keep and breed fowls of the kind required, especially for the production of dun hackles.
So all you need to do to have a great supply of good-quality hackle is to convince your country relatives to breed them for you – good luck with that!
View or download Floating Flies and How to Dress Them in various formats at:
By Anthony Naples, on October 19th, 2009
With Halloween coming up I thought I’d get into the spirit of things, by providing some fishing advice from beyond the grave!
This first bit of historical writing comes from THE TREATISE ON FISHING WITH AN ANGLE (first printed in 1486 as part of the Book of St. Albans). It is generally attributed to Dame Juliana Berners (b 1388?), prioress of the nunnery of Sopwell, near St. Alban’s, England. Though there is some doubt as to whether she was the actual author or whether she existed at all. At any rate I found this passage interesting and also pretty sound advice.
…I charge you, that you break no man’s hedges in going about your sports: nor open any man’s gates but that you shut them again. Also, you must not use this aforesaid artful sport for covetousness to increasing or saving of your money only, but principally for your solace and to promote the health of your body and specially of your soul. For when you propose to go on your sports in fishing, you will not desire greatly many persons with you, which might hinder in letting you at your game. And then you can serve God devoutly by earnestly saying your customary prayers. And thus doing, you will eschew and avoid many vices, such as idleness, which is the principal cause to induce man to many other vices, as is right well known. Also, you must not be too greedy in catching your said game as taking too much at one time, which you may easily do if you do in every point as this present treatise shows you in every point. Which could easily be the occasion of destroying your own sport and other men’s also. As when you have a sufficient mess you should covet no more as at that time.
Dame Juliana Berners
By Anthony Naples, on October 13th, 2009
 Sometimes something gets stuck in my cranium, bouncing around like a super ball. And I can’t get a hold on it till it settles down a little, till it stops bouncing and starts rolling gently and finally settles somewhere where I can reach it. Well an overheard comment has been ricocheting around my brain for a few months, and it finally settled down so that I can pick it up.
A while back I overheard an off-hand comment by a fly fisherman, I don’t remember the exact wording but it was something like: “I’m not one of those stone turners.” It was said in a way that implied that there are two types of fly fisherman, Stone-turners and Not Stone-turners. And maybe those Stone-turners were just a step or two above “tree-huggers” and were just tolerated because they were, after-all, fly fisherman.
Well that comment has been with me ever since. Now that I’ve digested it a bit I think the reason it stuck with me is that it gets to the core of fly fishing for me and it serves as such a metaphor.
Obviously there’s the literal and practical notion of turning over stones to look for those macro-invertebrates that we fly fishers are always trying to imitate; mayfly and stonefly nymphs, caddis and midge larva, sowbugs and scuds. For me this is an essential part of any outing – at the very least it gives me a starting point and it grounds me in the moment. And who knows? It might just make me a better angler someday.
Along with this goes the idea of environmental awareness – not in the large sense but in the small and local sense. The type of awareness and sense of place that poses the question “What is around me now and how do I fit in?” It’s the pure enjoyment of being out in nature and and really seeing it, of seeing the World not just as a backdrop to the movie of Mankind but as something to be a part of.
I don’t want to get political, but turning over stones obviously leads to the larger issues of the health of the ecosystem and impacts on that ecosystem. Regardless of political leanings I’m sure that as fly-fisherman we all want clean and healthy streams. Fly fishing was an eye-opening experience for me with regard to clean and healthy waterways. I had never thought about it all that much before becoming a fly fisherman, but the quest for great hatches and wild trout, inevitably led me down the road to greater awareness of this issue.
And when you’re turning over stones you don’t just stop at one. I turned over stones that led to fly tying, and rod building and writing. And who knows what else I’ll find under those stones. I reckon I’m a Stone Turner and I’m proud of it. I hope I never stop turning those stones over because when I do that means I’ve finally lost that childlike curiosity and amazement that I’m desperately trying to hold on to. What about you? Are you a Stone Turner?
By Anthony Naples, on October 5th, 2009
 I am 38 years old. Which by my reckoning puts me in life’s Autumn years. How do I figure that? Let’s assume I live to be 80, that means I’m about half-way through the seasons of my life. I figure that life doesn’t begin in the dismal mid-winter of January, but with the spring-time promise of April. Is it just a coincidence that Pennsylvania’s traditional trout season also begins in April? So we add six months to April and we get October.
Autumn is the time to look back at a season’s worth of fishing. Sure there is some good fishing to be had – but it is melancholy fishing. Spring fishing is full of hope and anticipation – fall fishing is is tinged with regret (for places not fished) and nostalgia, and it is overshadowed by the looming specter of winter. In the spring anything is possible, but by the time Autumn arrives we realize there are streams we are not going to get to this year.
I recently went fishing on a small stream in the old mountains of southwest Pennsylvania. When I say small, I mean tiny, the kind of place where you can step across the stream in many places. It’s the kind of stream where you get the feeling that any hikers you see are probably thinking that you’re some sort of nut-job to be fishing there. They smile, nod and quickly move on – anybody fishing that trickle has got to be a little “off” and possibly dangerous.
Well, there are some fish there – small brookies. It amazes me that they are there at all. But it is even more surprising in the Autumn – to see these fish in full bloom is always a treat. Sometimes we fly fisherman can get complicated. But once the fish, sparkling and flipping, is in hand – we all become simple, taking in the colors, with wide eyes, with the eyes of a child. Marveling at the absurdity and audacity of nature. It’s proof that we were meant to fish – for surely mother nature would not array these fish in such fine dress, if we weren’t meant to admire them. Maybe that’s being a little anthropocentric, oh well…
Fishing in the Fall always brings out the melancholy side of me (okay it doesn’t take much to do that). I can’t help but to think, “Is this the last trip of the year?”
We can’t know the span of our days or the number of casts that we have left. As I get older I look back more and more and think of things past. Fall just seems like a natural time to do this. Of course there is always the anticipation of a new year and a new season. The spawning colors on that brookie are a promise of that. Nature has saved some of her most beautiful displays for the autumn, the fish, the leaves, the clear blue skies and golden, slanting sunlight. The best wine is brought out late in the celebration.
I want to mention the Fly Fishing Blog, Cutthroat Stalker. A couple of recent posts by Scott on his blog got me thinking about these things: Summer’s End and Monochromatic Interlude. Check them out for some great pictures and writing.
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