Foundations of American Fly Fishing
Throwback Thursday to September 24th when we hosted fly fisherman and fishing historian, Fred Klein for "The Art & History of Fly Fishing." We hope you enjoy this recording of that lecture.
The history of fly fishing is a rich and romantic culmination of woodsmen, artists and literature which lies at the heart of early American history. The flies from the 1800’s and early 1900’s tell a story of their originators. The men and women in pursuit of wild trout and salmon. Their names are in the annals of history with their flies, and their stories. They fished in Maine, New York, Vermont, Pennsylvania and Montana to name a few.
Some of the patterns from the early years of fly fishing were elaborate, colorful and artistically designed. They were flies tied on large hooks, many of which were tied in hand with no vice, on the river banks.
Several exhaustive books were published with descriptions and painted plate illustrations of the most popular fly patterns of their era, giving us a glimpse into the details of the flies and techniques used. The first was Mary Orvis Marbury's Favorite Flies and Their Histories 1892, and Ray Bergman's Trout in 1938 before World War II.
We hope to carry on the tradition of fly tying and fishing with wet flies, streamers and dry flies from this golden era of fly fishing. There are a number of talented contemporary fly tyers that have pursued the classical tradition. Our endeavor is to continue the traditional methods and pass them on to the next generation.
About the Speaker
Fred Klein is a master fisherman and a scholar of fly tying. In Addition to his skill as a fisherman he has a passion for preserving traditional American fly patterns and writes about them on his blog, the Streamside journal. Fred has been hooked on fly fishing for over 4 decades, “My journey in pursuit of trout with the fly began over 40 years ago with a new fly rod and instructions to cast and drift a fly. What a gift that was. The woods and waters of Pennsylvania, the Appalachian Mountains and beyond have brought a life of admiration for the wilderness, forests, wildlife, and a thirst for what lies beyond the next bend in the stream and over the mountain.”