History Of Fly Fishing
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River and lake fishing is starting to pick up steam.
THE HISTORY OF FLY FISHING DR ANDREW HERD,
History of Fly Tying & Fly Fishing
History Of Fly Fishing
History of Fly Tying & Fly Fishing
Fly fishing is a sport that has been around for hundreds of years but nobody really knew about it until the last couple of centuries when it gained popularity in Britain and in the United States. For some, fly fishing is just "that thing where they fling a big long fishing line over their heads and try not to catch themselves on it." For others fly fishing is "the subject of a movie that had Brad Pitt in it" you know the one, from a long time ago?? For the fly fishing enthusiast though, fly fishing is a sport and the best way to educate others on fly fishing is with a fly fishing guide.
This article aims to be a very basic fly fishing guide and will take you through some of the history of fly fishing as well as a basic overview of how to fly fish.
The earliest writings of fly fishing that have been found so far are dated around the second century AD. After that there is a gap of roughly thirteen hundred years as the next fly fishing writings that we know about were published in the late 1400s. After those writings were published, the sport lost notoriety until the nineteenth century when the British elite fell in love with the sport. In the late 1800s, fly fishing became very popular in Britain and it quickly became the sport of choice among the British upper class and well-to-do society members. It wasn?t long before very elite fly fishing clubs were formed. These clubs were small and honored the traditional methods of fly fishing. They were appalled by the American practices of fly fishing which involved all members of society no matter what their social ranking and also involved the attempt to improve upon the traditional methods of the sport. The American fly fishers are famous for constructing new rods, new line and new reels.
The best way to learn how to fly fish is to find yourself a good fly fishing guide as this is a sport that is not easily learned from books. It is better to go out to the water with your fly fishing guide and have him or her teach you the basics of casting, reeling and landing your fish.
Basically to fly fish you have to know how to cast. If you don't know how to cast, you will need to find a fly fishing guide who can show you how because you just can't learn how to cast from the written word. There are two types of casts you will want your fly fishing guide to teach you: the "C" cast and the "J" cast.
In the event that you can't find a good fly fishing guide, there are lots of fishing courses available that you can take. A quick search through the internet will locate a fly fishing class in your local area. Once you learn how to fly fish, you can be a fly fishing guide for others. The sport is incredibly popular and growing by the day.
About the Author:
This article aims to be a very basic fly fishing guide and will take you through some of the history of fly fishing as well as a basic overview of how to fly fish.
The earliest writings of fly fishing that have been found so far are dated around the second century AD. After that there is a gap of roughly thirteen hundred years as the next fly fishing writings that we know about were published in the late 1400s. After those writings were published, the sport lost notoriety until the nineteenth century when the British elite fell in love with the sport. In the late 1800s, fly fishing became very popular in Britain and it quickly became the sport of choice among the British upper class and well-to-do society members. It wasn?t long before very elite fly fishing clubs were formed. These clubs were small and honored the traditional methods of fly fishing. They were appalled by the American practices of fly fishing which involved all members of society no matter what their social ranking and also involved the attempt to improve upon the traditional methods of the sport. The American fly fishers are famous for constructing new rods, new line and new reels.
The best way to learn how to fly fish is to find yourself a good fly fishing guide as this is a sport that is not easily learned from books. It is better to go out to the water with your fly fishing guide and have him or her teach you the basics of casting, reeling and landing your fish.
Basically to fly fish you have to know how to cast. If you don't know how to cast, you will need to find a fly fishing guide who can show you how because you just can't learn how to cast from the written word. There are two types of casts you will want your fly fishing guide to teach you: the "C" cast and the "J" cast.
In the event that you can't find a good fly fishing guide, there are lots of fishing courses available that you can take. A quick search through the internet will locate a fly fishing class in your local area. Once you learn how to fly fish, you can be a fly fishing guide for others. The sport is incredibly popular and growing by the day.
About the Author:
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Although fly fishing was credited first to the Roman Claudius Aelianus sometime during the second century, modern history of fly fishing is said to have really originated on the rivers of Scotland and northern England. Fly fishing was directly associated with a book called The Treatyse of Fysshynge with an Angle, published in 1496, attributed to Dame Juliana Berners within her Boke of St. Albans. This boos provided instructions on how to carefully dress a fly at different times of the year, along with proper lessons on line, hook, and rod making.
However, the very first detailed history of fly fishing writing came in two different chapters of the book Compleat Angler, published by Izaak Walton. This book that talked about the history of fly fishing was actually written by Walton's good friends, Charles Cotton, while Derbyshire Wye described the fishing.
British Fly-fishing
During the nineteenth century, British fly-fishing went on with its development after the fly fishing clubs emerged. The appearance various helpful books that dealt with fly tying methods and fly fishing techniques has added interest to fly fishing enthusiasts.
In southern England, dry-fishing has actually obtained an elitist reputation. Accordingly, this is the only legal method of fishing the rivers of the south like the River Test and some other streams in Surrey, Hampshire, Berkshire, and Dorset. The history of fly fishing tells us that later dry-fly developments were done after it was discovered that the weeds normally found in the rivers of the south grow very close to the surface. This required better techniques that keep both the fly and the line right within the surface of the stream.
But to the horror of dry-flying enthusiasts, George E.M. Skues wrote two books that greatly influenced developments of wet fly fishing. The books, The Way of a Trout with a Fly and Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream gave way to wet fly fishing. The history of fly fishing, particularly wet-fly fishing, dating back early in the nineteenth-century, was all thanks to W.C. Stewart who published a book in 1857 called The Practical Angler.
History of Fly Fishing in America
During the late nineteenth century, American anglers like Ray Bergman, used fly tackles to fish into streams rich in trout; streams like Willowemoc Creek and Beaverkill. A lot of American fly fishermen developed better fly patterns and extensively wrote about this outdoor sport.
Today, upon knowing the history of fly fishing, more fishing enthusiasts have greatly appreciated the art of fly-fishing. With so many techniques to consider and so many places to visit, fly-fishing is one outdoor experience worth a try.