Red Palmer: a Practical Treatise on Fly Fishing

CHAPTER I.. Introduction.

INTRODUCTION.

Having read papers on Fly-fishing before the Gresham and Islington Angling Societies, and contributed occasional articles to the fishing periodicals, I have been persuaded by some of the members of those societies to publish my ideas on the subject, and I now submit them to the public, premising that the following treatise is neither historic nor scientific, but simply an endeavour to communicate what nearly fifty years of practice and careful observation have taught me to consider as correct principles in a concise and practical form. Trusting that it will be received as such, and will be of some assistance to young anglers in cultivating that, which, we are assured by the highest authority on angling, is "an art worth learning."

In preparing this short treatise I have assumed, what is generally admitted by fishermen, that catching trout with an artificial fly is the highest branch of the piscatorial art; for, although some bottom-fishers and spinners claim that as much skill is required in their branch as is in fly-fishing, yet I think the palm must be yielded to the fly-fisher. It differs in many respect from all other kinds. The greatest care must be taken not to scare the fish, either by the sight of the angler or his shadow, or by awkwardness in managing the rod, line, and flies. You have only to watch a fly-fisher and a bottom-fisher a short time to decide where the greatest skill is required and attained.

I recollect, when a very little boy, having a book, in which there was a coloured print of a trout, and underneath were these lines--

"Angler, mind well what you're about, If you would catch the cunning trout,"

and I suppose I must have profited by the advice, for in an old diary, kept by me in 1839, there is a record of my having caught four trout weighing 7-1/4lbs. when I was thirteen years of age. But those were not caught with a fly.

The late Mr. Francis Francis, than whom there is no higher authority, says in one of his books, "There is far greater skill, caution, patience, and cunning required to delude a brook trout than is thought of in landing the noblest twenty-pound salmon that ever sailed up Tweed or Tay." And in further proof of this I will give an extract from that excellent little book, "Stewart's Practical Angler." The author says: "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; and, for our own part, we would rather hook, play, and capture a trout of a pound weight with fly, than one of a pound and a half with minnow or worm, where, the hooks being larger, there is less chance of their losing their hold, and, the gut being stronger, there is less risk of its breaking. 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."

In addition to the pleasure and satisfaction experienced in exerting the faculties necessary to capture the most cunning and cautious of fish, what can be more delightful in the sweet spring-time than to take one's rod and stroll away into the green meadows, by the side of the rippling brook, where the eye is gratified by the trees and hedge-rows which are putting forth their young leaves; where the sense of smell is refreshed by innumerable wild flowers and herbs, and where the ear is charmed by the soft "coo" of the wood pigeon, the tinkling of a distant sheep-bell, the cry of a partridge to its mate, or the occasional splash of a trout in the stream, which sounds alone disturb the silence? Well may Walton exclaim:--

"I was for that time lifted above earth, Possessed of joys not promised in my birth."

An all-wise Creator gave man dominion "over the fish of the sea, over the fowls of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth;" and a very large proportion of the human race, either from motives of necessity or recreation, exercise the powers thus given them either in killing or subjugating the lower branches of the animal creation.

Without wishing to detract from other sports, I think Walton was quite right in claiming for angling a decided preference. In the present day it is followed by men of all classes, from the nobleman who owns miles of salmon river to the East-end mechanic or apprentice, who trudges off to the Lea river on a Sunday morning with his eighteenpenny roach-rod, and many of whom, but for this angling opportunity, would have no relaxation from the dull, mill-horse round of their daily lives, save some kind, perhaps, far more demoralising; but who, by its judicious indulgence, by breathing the pure air of the country, and by being brought into contact with beautiful river scenery and animal and vegetable life, re-invigorate their bodies, exalt their minds, and beget a state of quiet contentment, patience, and perseverance exceedingly useful in these days of high-pressure wear-and-tear. Sir Henry Wotton says of angling, he found it "a cheerer of the spirits, a tranquillizer of the mind, a calmer of unquiet thoughts, a diverter of sadness." Ladies, too, ever since the time of Cleopatra, have liked to "betray tawny-finn'd fishes," and Dame Juliana Berners has shown by her "Boke of St. Albans" that she had a minute and practical knowledge of "fyshynge with an angle" far beyond the previous writers on the art; and with the present rage for out-of-door amusements among the fair sex, fishing has its votaries, notwithstanding the attractions of croquet and lawn-tennis.

Having been a fly-fisher many years, I venture to offer a few ideas on the subject, not with a view to instruct my elder brethren in the art, but merely to explain some principles that my experience has proved to be correct, and thereby to save, perhaps, some trouble and loss of time to young beginners. I am fully aware that no amount of theory without practice will ever make a fly-fisher, but I am also aware that practice will become much easier, and be far more likely to prove successful, if based on a correct theory, than if left to itself.

CHAPTER II.. Wet and Dry Fly-Fishing.

WET AND DRY FLY-FISHING.

Various opinions prevail as to wet and dry fishing, and I think in this matter, if we want to deceive trout, we should follow Nature as closely as possible. On a dry, quiet day the wings of the natural fly are dry, and when it falls on the water it takes some time before they become saturated, and until then it floats on the surface. Imitate this by giving your artificial fly two or three flicks backwards and forwards before you finally throw it. You thus shake the water out of it, and it floats. But on wet or very windy days the natural fly soon becomes wet with rain, or from the broken surface of the water, and at such times let the artificial lure sink a few inches beneath the surface, and if the trout are feeding, fishing in this manner is most deadly. At night I have generally found wet fly-fishing to answer best, even when there has been no rain, and I attribute this to the natural flies becoming damp with dew and thereby sinking. For dry fly-fishing floating flies are now much used. The great objection to them appears to be the hardness of their bodies, which is no sooner found by trout to be different to the natural fly than they blow it out without giving time to strike. I have found this particularly with cork-bodied May-flies, and prefer the ordinary body in consequence.

Mr. G. Holland, of Salisbury, makes a speciality of floating flies on eyed hooks and cobweb gut, which bear an excellent reputation; and my friend, Mr. R. B. Lodge, has lately invented a floating fly with an air-tight body, which floats well and does not get water-logged. If he can make it of a soft material, not liable to be punctured by the trout's teeth, I think there will be no doubt of its being a great improvement.

CHAPTER III.. Tackle.

TACKLE.

An important point is to commence with proper tackle, for it is of no use to attempt to catch trout with a cart-rope tied to a hedge-stake. First, then, with regard to the Rod. A good rod is the angler's chief requisite, and extraordinary progress has been made in the art of manufacturing rods within the last few years.

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