In the two year editing/4 year writing process of "Selectivity- the book, over 80,000 words were edited out/entire chapters, to allow for more photography, more fly patterns and recipes .
On a weekly bases in a series of volumes, I will share some of the post-clips/excerpts as hopefully interesting and enjoyable reading as opposed to a 'Selectivity II' sequel , which would be more profitable-oh well!-, but money isn't everything eh!
When Al Caucci , who did the forward based on the original uncut/unedited version he was a tad disappointed and sad when he received the final book, as other forward contributors did since so much was edited by the publishers, as the master of 'Hatches' and the Delaware said, "they cut out all the good juicy stuff !"- here is my attempt top make it right! ( besides, I'm working on another huge project!)
For those always seeking more knowledge and insight into the fascinating cerebral world of chasing trout, salmon and steelhead and the thinking, analytical fly fisher that results from pursuing such amazingingly fussy quarry ....enjoy!...BTW-BY GOD?...please stop the rain!!!!!-I'm on vacation for Christ's sake and want to fish!!!!!- not BLOG!
THE SELECTIVE FLY FISHER- A HISTORY OF THEORY AND OBSERVATION
Ever since the first known and documented episode of an
elite Roman author in 200 A.D. witnessing
fishing for trout with a fly, theoretical and empirical postulating over the
behavior and abilities for the salmonid
to take the fly, have created an anthology of excellent writings and unique
thoughts about the subject.
Macedonia and the former Yugoslavia are loaded with amazing
chalk stream spring creeks full of wild and large brown trout. These rivers are
home to some unique strains of Brown trout -- particularly the beautiful and cunning
“salmo macedonicus”-the Macedonian brown trout. Claudius Aelianus was a Roman author that
spoke the local dialects of the region. On his travels and observations of
wildlife along the trout rich Astralus River, he documents the first selective
trout encounters by the local Macedonian fishermen:
“they
fastened red wool round a hook, and fit on to the wool two feathers which grow
under a cock’s wattles, in which and color are like wax. Their rod is 6 feet
long, and their line is the same length. Then they throw their snare, and the
fish, attracted and maddened by the color, comes straight at it, thinking from
the pretty sight to gain a dainty mouthful; when, however, it opens its jaws,
is caught by the hook, and enjoys a bitter repast, a captive.”
Could this be the first known documentation of the selective
process by a wise Brown trout and the”per say” fly fisher, actually eliciting a
strike response appropriate for the condition?-it appears so. Aelianus’s other
writings around this time seemed to be centered in the autumn of the year. As
we know, the fall is “pre- spawn or spawning time”for the Brown trout. Sexual maturity and optic nerve color
preference go hand - in-hand. So what a
more perfect fly to entice the aggressive/active spawning mode of a territorial
Brown trout than a red fly. Here chance and selectivity come into a perfect
bond simply by coincidence.
As credited with the first book of fly fishing, Dame Juliana
Berners in 1495 of the 15th century, wrote “TREATISE OF FYSSHYNGE
WITH AN ANGLE’, in the Book of St. Albans., A series of eight books dealing
with hawking, hunting, and herding. In
her book, she can be credited with being the first angler to identify leaders
made from horsehair and how to dye them in various hues- from green to brown to
yellow-based on the season and water color. Juliana was the first”selective”leader/tippit
identifier to come along and realize the effectiveness of stealth presentations
to wary trout and salmon. Her very detailed coloring of horsehair by season
shows for experience with the selective nature of the salmonid. She also
learned to discern Salmonid species specific behavior which her theories still
apply today.
“The salmon does not bite on the bottom, but at the float. You may
sometimes take him, but it happens very seldom, and with an artificial fly when
he is leaping, in the same way as you take trout or grayling”
“We shall speak next of the trout, because he is a very dainty fish and
also a very greedy biter. He is in season from March to Michaelmas. He is found
on clean gravel bottom and a running stream. You may angle for him at all times
with a running or lying ground line: except in leaping time, when you use an
artificial fly”
In the last passage,
Berners already understands the difference between nymphing (ground line) and
dry fly opportunities during a hatch. Selectivity was already a driving force
back in the 1490s.
When Izzaak Walton
came out with the “Complete Angler”, in 1653, fishing with fly and bait was
becoming a very technical artform. Walton, himself proclaimed expert on bait
fishing, knew little about the fly, having a good acquaintance Thomas Burke. He
did comprehend the complexity of it and stated, “Angling may be said so like
the mathematics that it can never be fully learned”. Through the 17 and 1800’s,
fly fishing gained in popularity throughout England and Scotland. Stewart, who
published the”Practical Angler”, developed the art of the wet fly swing. In
Scotland, lake or “loch” fishing with a trio of wets became the norm and the
first fly fishing competitions started on these lakes. In the U.S., the Revolutionary
War had British officers finding the colonies to be loaded with Brook trout and
salmon, and fish for them ardently. Early officers- sportsmen like Sir William
Johnson and Joseph Banks were the first known writers and proponents of the art
of the fly, primarily fishing for salmon in Québec/upstate New York regions,
where the Salmon River of New York had wild indigenous populations since
extirpated. Landlocked salmon found their way up the Saranac River and were
also pursued. George Gibson was the first known documented fly angler in the
1700s who fished the Cumberland Valley limestone spring creeks and made
incredible selective observations of trout feeding behavior to hatches and
seasonal angling complexities.