Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice (1889) is British author and angler Frederic M. Halford's second and most influential book on dry fly fishing. It followed Floating Flies and How to Dress Them (1886) and this pair of books initiated some 40 years of a rigid, and sometimes dogmatic school, the Halfordian school, of dry fly fishing, especially on English chalk streams. The work also played a significant role in the development of dry-fly fishing in America.[1]
Whereas Floating Flies and How to Dress Them was about the dry fly, fly tying and to some extent the entomology of the chalk stream, Dry-Fly Fishing... was about fishing the dry fly. It was the consummate "how-to" manual for the dry-fly fisherman. It was not only about methodology, but also about the ethics and purism of the dry fly on English chalk streams.
The purists among dry-fly fishermen will not under any circumstances cast except over rising fish, and prefer to remain idle the entire day rather than attempt to persuade the wary inhabitants of the stream to rise at an artificial fly, unless they have previously seen a natural one taken in the same position.
The volume begins by spelling out the various pieces of fishing and personal equipment the dry-fly angler should possess. The pros and cons of different rod styles are discussed, along with fly lines, reels and the various miscellany a fly angler should carry. Although Halford did not invent dry-fly fishing, before this volume, no one had laid out in such detail the equipment recommendations needed to be a successful dry-fly angler.
Such were Halford's recommendations that they were routinely referenced by the fly-fishing trade:
The double taper dry-fly lines', dressed with pure linseed oil
under an air pump, exactly in accordance with Mr. Halford's directions on pages 24 and 25 in "Dry-fly fishing in Theory and Practice," are now perfected, and are pronounced
by everyone who has seen them to be the best dressed pure silk line in the market.
—From Walbran's Angler's Annual (1894), a fishing catalogue from Leeds, UK[3]
A short, but concise Chapter 2 discusses the distinction between a floating (dry) fly and a sunk fly, with emphasis on the superiority of the floating fly as characterized by this concluding statement:
On one point all must agree, viz., that fishing upstream with fine gut and small floating flies, where every movement of the fish, its rise at any passing natural, and the turn and rise at the artificial, are plainly visible, is far more exciting, and requires in many respects more skill, than the fishing of the water as practised by the wet-fly fisherman.
Chapters 3-5 go into great detail about how, when and where to cast the dry fly on the typical chalk stream. These chapters are heavily illustrated with casting techniques and comprise nearly 20% of the entire 1st edition.
The bulk of the remaining chapters deal with the entomology of the chalk stream, fly selection and trout behaviour.
Reviews
In 1894 The New York Times wrote of Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice:
And now I come to books which are nothing if not practical. Of these, Mr. F. M. Halford's “Floating Flies and How to Dress Them,” and his “Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice,” command the first place, as being, within certain limits, the best books on fishing with the artificial fly ever written. The limits are these. His books apply to the capture or brown trout and grayling only, salmon and sea trout being outside their purview.[5]
At some point in his career, Halford's great antagonist, G. E. M. Skues wrote of Dry-Fly Fishing...:
I think I was at one with most anglers of the day in feeling that the last word had been written on the art of chalk stream fishing.
—From The Essential G. E. M. Skues, Kenneth Robson, 1998[6]
In 1913, Emlyn M. Gill, writing for The New York Times said:
...when, in 1886, Mr. Halford published an important work on “Floating Flies and How to Dress Them.” he had practically a virgin field before him. His "Dry-Fly Fishing in Theory and Practice," published in 1889, became the standard work upon the subject.[7]
In the foreword to the Centenary edition (1989), Dermot Wilson, a leading authority on UK dry-fly fishing,[8] points to the prophetic nature of Halford's Dry-Fly Fishing:
..the true value of the book is reflected by it overwhelming fascintation as the harbinger of an entirely new era in the history of fly fishing, the era in which every one of us lives today. It is the era in which the importance of entomology is at last fully appreciated. It is also, in spite of the addition of effective nymphs to our armoury, the era of the dry fly.
Theodore Gordon, the acknowledged "Father of American dry-fly fishing", wrote extensively about the influence Halford had on his views.
We can never repay the debt we own to Mr. Frederic M. Halford... I bought "Floating Flies" and "Dry-Fly Fishing" when those books were first published, paying fifty cents on the shilling—just double the publisher's price—to procure them in the city of New York. These books were sources of much pleasure and profit to me, also some pain, as for a time I tried to follow their teachings indiscriminately, without proper due allowance for the different conditions under which my sport is pursued....I have read this fourth edition of Dry-Fly Fishing with great interest, and inclined to jot down a few of the impressions it has made upon me.
—Theodore Gordon, from The Fishing in Print, Arnold Gingrich[10]
George M. La Branche in his seminal American fly fishing work The Dry Fly and Fast Water,[11][12] wrote this of Halford's Dry-Fly Fishing:
For several years after my first experience with the floating fly I used it in conjunction with the wet fly, and until I read Mr. Halford's "Dry-Fly Fishing," when, recognising his great authority and feeling that the last word had been said upon the subject, I used the dry fly only on such water as I felt he would approve of and fished only rising fish.
—George M. La Branche, Dry Fly and Fast Water, 1914[13]
Contents
Chapter I – The Dry-Fly Fisherman's Gear
Chapter II – Floating Flies and Sunk Flies
Chapter III – How to Cast
Chapter IV – Where to Cast
Chapter V – When to Cast
Chapter VI – Studies of Fish Feeding
Chapter VII – Circumstances Affecting the Angler's Sport
Chapter VIII – Selection of Fly
Chapter IX – Evening Fishing
Chapter X – Hooking, Playing and Landing
Chapter XI – Autopsy
Chapter XII – Trout or Grayling?
Chapter XIII – The Management of a Fishery
Illustrations
Frontispiece – Landing a Trout
Plate I – Grip of the Rod
Plate II – Over-handed Cast-Backward Position
Plate III – Over-handed Cast-Coming Forward
Plate IV – Over-handed Cast-Forward Position
Plate V – Downward Cut-Forward Position
Plate VI – Under-handed Cast-Backward Position
Plate VII – Under-handed Cast-Coming Forward
Plate VIII – Under-handed Cast-Forward Position
Plate IX – Steeple-Cast-Recovering the Line
Plate X – Steeple-Cast-Backward Position
Plate XI – Steeple-Cast-Coming Forward
Plate XII – Dry Switch-Commencement
Plate XIII – Dry Switch-Finish
Plate XIV – Where to Cast-Illustrative Plan
Plate XV – Mayfly-Eggs, Larve and Nymph-Coloured
Plate XVI – Larva and Nymph Magnified
Plate XVII – Sub-imago and Imago-Coloured
Plate XVIII – Sub-imago Male and Female-Magnified
Plate XIX – Imago Female Magnified
Plate XX – Mayfly-Imago Male Magnified
Plate XXI – Autopsy-Longitudinal Section of Trout
Plate XXII – Nymph of Ephemeride, Caddis and Shrimp-Coloured
Plate XXIII – Nymph of Ephemeride Magnified
Plate XXIV – Caddis arid Shrimp Magnified
Plate XXV – Management of a Fishery-Illustrative Plan
Fly fishing is an angling technique that uses an ultra-lightweight lure called an artificial fly, which typically mimics small invertebrates such as flying and aquatic insects to attract and catch fish. Because the mass of the fly lure is insufficient to overcome air resistance, it cannot be launched far using conventional gears and techniques, so specialized tackles are used instead and the casting techniques are significantly different from other forms of angling. It is also very common for the angler to wear waders, carry a hand net, and stand in the water when fishing.
Dry fly fishing is an angling technique in which the lure is an artificial fly which floats on the surface of the water and does not sink below it. Developed originally for trout fly fishing.
The Pheasant Tail nymph or PT Nymph or Sawyer's Pheasant Tail is a popular all purpose nymph imitation used by fly anglers. It imitates a large variety of olive, olive-brown colored aquatic insect larvae that many fish including trout and grayling feed upon.
Theodore Gordon was an American writer who fished the Catskill region of New York State in the late 19th century through the early 20th century. Though he never published a book, Gordon is often called the "father of the American school of dry fly fishing". He wrote numerous articles for the Fishing Gazette from 1890 and published works in Forest and Stream from 1903, sometimes under the pseudonym Badger Hackle.
This general annotated bibliography page provides an overview of notable and not so notable works in the English language regarding the sport of fly fishing, listed by year of first publication. Although not all the listed books are devoted exclusively to fly fishing, all these titles contain significant fly fishing content. The focus of the present page is on classic general texts on fly fishing and its history, together with notable public or university library collections dedicated to fly fishing.
Frederic Maurice Halford, pseudonym Detached Badger, was a wealthy and influential British angler and fly fishing author. Halford is most noted for his development and promotion of the dry fly technique on English chalk streams. He is generally accepted as "The Father of Modern Dry Fly Fishing". John Waller Hills, A History of Fly Fishing for Trout (1921) called Halford "The Historian of the Dry Fly".
George Edward MacKenzie Skues, usually known as G. E. M. Skues (1858–1949), was a British lawyer, writer and fly fisherman. He invented modern-day nymph fishing. This caused a controversy with the Chalk stream dry fly doctrine developed by Frederic M. Halford. His second book, The Way of a Trout with a Fly (1921) is considered a seminal work on nymph fishing. According to Andrew Herd, the British fly fishing historian, Skues:
was, without any doubt, one of the greatest trout fishermen that ever lived. His achievement was the invention of fly fishing with the nymph, a discovery that put a full stop to half a century of stagnation in wet fly fishing for trout, and formed the bedrock for modern sunk fly fishing. Skues' achievement was not without controversy, and provoked what was perhaps the most bitter dispute in fly fishing history.
Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream and Kindred Studies is a fly fishing book written by G. E. M. Skues published in London in 1910. Minor Tactics was Skues's first book and set the stage for his ascendancy as the inventor of nymph fishing for trout.
The Way of a Trout with a Fly and Some Further Studies in Minor Tactics is a fly fishing book written by G. E. M. Skues published in London in 1921. This was Skues's second book after Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream (1910).
Floating Flies and How to Dress Them - A Treatise on the Most Modern Methods of Dressing Artificial Flies for Trout and Grayling with Full Illustrated Directions and Containing Ninety Hand-Coloured Engravings of the Most Killing Patterns Together with a Few Hints to Dry-Fly Fishermen is a fly fishing book written by Frederic M. Halford published in London in April 1886 by Sampson Low. A deluxe edition on large paper sold out before publication and the trade edition of 500 nearly so.
A Book on Angling – Being a complete treatise on the art of angling in every branch is a work of angling literature with significant fly fishing content written by Francis Francis, angling editor to The Field and published in London in 1867 by Longmans, Green and Company.
The Flyfishers' Club is a gentlemen's club in London which was founded in 1884 for enthusiasts of flyfishing. In 1894, the club had more than three hundred members, while in 1984 this had risen to between eight and nine hundred.
This annotated bibliography is intended to list both notable and not so notable works of English language, non-fiction and fiction related to the sport of fly fishing listed by year published. Although 100% of any book listed is not necessarily devoted to fly fishing, all these titles have significant fly fishing content. Included in this bibliography is a list of species related fly fishing literature.
This annotated bibliography is intended to list both notable and not so notable works of English language, non-fiction and fiction related to the sport of fly fishing listed by year published. Although 100% of any book listed is not necessarily devoted to fly fishing, all these titles have significant fly fishing content. Included in this bibliography is a list of fly tying, fly tackle, regional guides, memoirs, stories and fly fishing fiction related literature.
George Selwyn Marryat was a country gentleman and British angler most noted for his relationship with F. M. Halford, Francis Francis and the development of dry-fly fishing on the chalk streams of southern England. Upon his death in 1896, he became known as the "Prince of Fly Fishers".
The Fly-Fisher's Entomology, Illustrated by Coloured Representations of the Natural and Artificial Insect and Accompanied by a Few Observations and Instructions Relative to Trout-and-Grayling Fishing, first published in 1836 by Alfred Ronalds (1802–1860), was the first comprehensive work related to the entomology associated with fly fishing. Although the work was Ronalds' only book, it was published in 11 editions between 1836 and 1913 and has been extensively reprinted in the last 100 years.
Fly Fishing, first published in 1899 by English author and diplomat Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon (1862–1933), is a book about fly fishing English chalk streams and spate rivers for trout and salmon. It includes reminisces about the author's fly fishing experiences on Hampshire rivers. The book was in print for nearly 50 years and has been extensively reprinted in the 21st century.
The Alexandra wet fly is an artificial fly. Also known as the Lady of the Lake, the fly was named by English angler Major William Greer Turle to honour Alexandra, Princess of Wales. The fly is distinguished by the heavy peacock herl wing and silver body which makes the fly resemble a small baitfish or fry. The Alexandra proved to be a very effective fly for trout in lakes and streams in England and Scotland in the late 19th and early 20th century. Many fly fishing purists derided the fly and its use was once banned on many English waters.
Blue-winged Olive flies is a collective term used by anglers in fly fishing to identify a broad array of mayflies having olive, olive-brown bodies and bluish wings in their adult form. Sometimes referred to as BWO, a wide array of artificial flies are tied to imitate adult, nymphal and emerging stages of the aquatic insect. While the family Baetidae probably has the most species identified as blue-winged olives, another mayfly family Ephemerellidae also contains some. Collectively, blue-winged olive mayflies are an important food source in most trout streams, thus their widespread imitation by fly tiers.
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