Angling Echoes This Fly and That Fly
Angling Echoes This Fly and That Fly; Thad Norris was affectionately known as “Uncle Thad” to his legion of fans and readers. The author of one of the most important books on angling in American history — The American Angler’s Book (1864) — he was also a rod maker of genius and a talented fly tier as well. This is one of his numerous epistles on the fly tier’s art. — Ed.
THIS FLY AND THAT FLY
By Thaddeus Norris
A year or so back, when writing out the instructions for incipient fly tyers which appeared in your columns, I intimated, or perhaps threatened, an article on flies with the above title. I say threatened” because I am disposed, while I humor and laugh at the prejudices and notions of fly fishers, to chide them kindly for their fastidiousness on points that are not in the least essential. Mr. H. Cholmondely Pennell, an angler of long and varied experience, in his “Modern Practical Angler” declares that is it vanity and vexation of spirit, this multiplication of names and varieties of combinations of “fur and feather,” and settles down to three simple trout flies — if flies they can be called — and avers that they all meet all the necessities of the angler. These, as described and depicted in his books, are three simple, bristly-looking hackles — brown, yellow, and green — the butt of the hackle forming rather a bushy tail, and the remaining portion the legs of the so-called fly. Many old anglers who consider a great variety of flies, and this or that fly for a particular season, as sheer nonsense, and who seldom have more than six or eight varieties in their book, think that Mr. Pennell rather “runs it into the ground.” And although there is much good sense in his theory, which he says is founded on practical experience, I also am of their opinion. His yellow and brown I have tried with success……
“Ye Sunberry fysher has flies of all feathers,
For all sorts of seasons, in all sorts of weathers.
Flies when ye Springtide is blustrie and showerie.
Flies when ye Summer is grassie and bowerie.
Flies when ye Autumn is golden and grainie.
For hot weather, cold weather, mistie or rainie.
Red-spinner, Palmer, black peacock and gray.
Yellow dun, golden dun, March brown, and May,
Sand fly and stone fly, and alder and gnat,
Black midge and marlow bug – all around his hat.”
–THADDEUS NORRIS
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