Favorite Flies and Their Histories - With many replies from practical anglers to inquiries concerning how, when and where to use them-Illustrated by Thirty-two colored plates of flies, six engravings of natural insects and eight reproductions of photographs is a fly fishing book written by Mary Orvis Marbury published in Boston in April 1892 by Houghton Mifflin. It was considered by most fly fishers as the standard reference on flies in its era.[1]
Favorite Flies is a unique volume that compiles the stories and images of popular American artificial flies of the late 19th century. It is one of the earliest works to use chromolithography color plates.[2] Today, the original flies used to create the color plates are preserved in the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont. The stories for each fly described in the volume were obtained through correspondence with fly fisherman and fly tiers throughout the U.S. and Canada. The following is a typical story about the Professor, a popular wet-fly of time:
No. 192 - Professor from Plate T - Trout Flies
No. 192. The Professor was named after the much-loved Professor John Wilson (Christopher North), and the story of the fly is, that one time, when this famous angler Was fishing, he ran short of flies, and, to create something of a flylike appearance, he fastened the petals of buttercups on his hook, adding bits of leaves or grass to imitate the wings of a fly. This arrangement was so successful that it led to the making of the fly with a yellow silk body, since then was widely known as the Professor[3]
Professor. - A prime favorite; use it on almost all casts when I see more than one fly. When using a black tail fly, I use a brown fly and a Professor for droppers; find it a good fly under general conditions, when using a Miller for tail fly; then use Professor for droppers. From a letter from W. David Tomlin ("Norman") Duluth, Minn as favorite flies for trout in Michigan streams.[4]
Favorite Flies contains plates and stories for Bass Flies, Trout Flies, Hackles, Salmon Flies, and Lake Flies
The legacy of Mary Marbury, through her book and her leadership in Orvis's commercial fly-tying operation, is the standardization of American fly patterns. Her book Favorite Flies and Their Histories, remains one of the most significant landmarks in American fly tying literature.[5]
Charles F. Waterman wrote in his A History of Angling (1981):
Mary Orvis Marbury, daughter of Charles F. Orvis, produced Favorite Flies and their Histories in 1892. While it may not complete favorably with later works on entomology, it certainly is unique for its time. It included a practical treatise on fly classification[6]
In 1988 Ann Barry of the New York Times wrote:
WHEN Mary Orvis Marbury died in 1914, the English Fishing Gazette acclaimed her as the most famous but one female angling author. (The other was Dame Juliana Berners, an Englishwoman who wrote A Treatyse of Fysshying Wyth an Angle in 1496.) Marbury's Favorite Flies and Their Histories, which became a best seller among anglers after it appeared in 1892 and went through nine printings by 1896, has recently been reprinted by the Wellfleet Press.[7]
In Royal Coachman-The Lore and Legends of Fly Fishing, Paul Schullery wrote:
Mary Orvis Marbury produced one of American fishing literature's milestone volumes, Favorite Flies and Their Histories (1892), which not only served generations as the bible of fly patterns but further strengthened the company's reputation for expertise and reliability[8]
Dr. Andrew Herd, noted fly fishing historian comments on Favorite Flies in his 2001 The Fly:
...the book which captured the American wet-fly tradition at its peak was Charles' [Orvis] daughter's Favorite Flies. Mary ran the Orvis company's fly tying department and she was inspired to set pen to paper when she realised how little standardization there was among fly patterns... The answers were compiled and key to colour plates in a book which was still in print sixty years later, such was its popularity[2]
Contents
Plate A - HacklesPlate B - Salmon FliesPlate P - Trout Flies
Part I
Insects, Natural and Artificial - 1
History of the Red Hackle - 28
Part II
Prefatory - 45
Histories of the favorite flies, accompanied by letters relating to their use in:
Canada - 46
Maine -
Vermont and New Hampshire - 128
Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island - 144
New York - 160
Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware - 226
Virginia and West Virginia - 266
Ohio - 306
Missouri, Iowa, Indiana and Illinois - 334
Michigan - 368
Minnesota and Wisconsin - 392
Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and Mississippi - 406
Florida, Louisiana, Texas, Arizona and Nevada - 418
Colorado, Utah, Wyoming and Idaho - 432
Montana - 448
Washington - 472
California - 482
Oregon - 492
"Hic Habitat Felicitas" - 510
Index of Plates and Flies - 515
List of Correspondents - 520
List of Illustrations
Disputing the Fly Question - Frontispiece
Stoneflies - 13
Drakes - 15
Caddis Flies - 17
Crane Flies and Spiders - 19
House Flies and Ants - 21
Beetles and Chrysopa - 23
Plate A - Hackles - 27
Plate B - Salmon Flies - 39
Portrait of Charles F. Orvis - 45
Plate C - Salmon Flies - 63
Plate D - Salmon Flies - 81
A Pleasant Memory - 93
Plate E - Lake Flies - 95
Plate F - Lake Flies - 113
Plate G - Lake Flies - 125
Plate H - Lake Flies - 139
Plate I - Lake Flies - 157
Plate J - Lake Flies - 171
Plate K - Lake Flies - 189
Plate L - Lake Flies - 199
Plate M - Trout Flies - 221
Plate N - Trout Flies - 239
Plate O - Trout Flies - 255
Equinox, the Edge of the Shadows - 261
Plate P - Trout Flies - 277
Plate Q - Trout Flies - 297
Plate R - Trout Flies - 315
Plate S - Trout Flies - 327
Plate T - Trout Flies - 349
Plate U - Trout Flies - 363
Plate V - Trout Flies - 379
Plate W - Bass Flies - 389
Plate X - Bass Flies - 401
Plate Y - Bass Flies - 413
Plate Z - Bass Flies - 427
Plate AA - Bass Flies - 441
The Ondawa - 442
"Up the Long Road" - 443
Plate BB - Bass Flies - 457
Manchester - 459
Plate CC - Bass Flies - 469
Plate DD - Bass Flies - 479
Plate EE - Bass Flies - 489
Plate FF - Bass Flies - 503
"Hic Habitat Felicitas" - 510
Other editions
From Antiquarian Book Exchange:
Marbury, Mary Orvis (1892). Favorite Flies and Their Histories (1st Edition, 2nd Printinged.). Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin and Company.
Marbury, Mary Orvis (1892). Favorite Flies and Their Histories (1st UKed.). London: Sampson, Low, Marston and Co.
Marbury, Mary Orvis (1955). Favorite Flies and Their Histories (Reprinted.). London: Phoenix House.
Marbury, Mary Orvis (1988). Favorite Flies and Their Histories (1892 reprinted.). Secaucus, NJ: Wellfleet Press. ISBN1-55521-241-7.
Marbury, Mary Orvis (1995). Favorite Flies and Their Histories (1892 reprinted.). Secaucus, NJ: Wellfleet Press. ISBN1-55521-241-7.
Marbury, Mary Orvis (2001). Favorite Flies and Their Histories (Paperback reprinted.). Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press. ISBN1-58574-315-1.
↑ Valla, Mike (2013). "Mary Orvis Marbury (1856-1914)". The Founding Flies-43 American Masters Their Patterns and Influences. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. pp.1–5. ISBN9780811708333.
1 2 Herd, Andrew Dr (2001). The Fly. Ellesmere, Shropshire: Medlar Press. p.258. ISBN1-899600-19-1.
Herd, Andrew Dr (2001). The Fly. Ellesmere, Shropshire: Medlar Press. ISBN1-899600-19-1.
Valla, Mike (2013). "Mary Orvis Maybury (1856-1914)". The Founding Flies-43 American Masters Their Patterns and Influences. Mechanicsburg, PA: Stackpole Books. pp.1–5. ISBN9780811708333.
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.
Orvis is an American family-owned retail and mail-order business specializing in fly fishing, hunting and sporting goods. Founded in Manchester, Vermont, in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis to sell fishing tackle, it is the oldest mail-order retailer in the United States.
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.
An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing. In general, artificial flies are an imitation of aquatic insects that are natural food of the target fish species the fly fishers try to catch. Artificial flies are constructed by fly tying, in which furs, feathers, thread or any of very many other materials are tied onto a fish hook.
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".
A History of Fly Fishing for Trout is a fly fishing book written by John Waller Hills published in London in 1921.
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.
The Salmon Fly - How to Dress It and How to Use It is a fly fishing book written by George M. Kelson published in London in 1895 by Messers. Wyman & Sons, Limited. This Victorian guide to fly fish tying built up the illusion that angling for salmon required feathers of exotic bird species.
Blacker's Art of Fly Making - comprising angling and dyeing of colours with engravings of Salmon and Trout flies shewing the process of the gentle craft as taught in the pages with descriptions of flies for the season of the year as they come out on the water is a work of fly tying literature with significant fly fishing content written by William Blacker, a London tackle dealer and first published in London in 1842 by George Nichols. The 1842 and 1843 editions were only 48 pages while, the 1855 edition was considerably expanded by Blacker with hand-painted, colored illustrations and 252 pages.
The Royal Coachman is an artificial fly that has been tied as a wet fly, dry fly and streamer pattern. Today, the Royal Coachman and its variations are tied mostly as dry flies and fished floating on the water surface. It is a popular and widely used pattern for freshwater game fish, particularly trout and grayling. Large streamer versions are also used for winter steelhead and Atlantic salmon.
Fully dressed flies are elaborate and colorful artificial flies used in fly fishing. The most famous of these are the classic salmon flies, which are exquisite patterns made from mostly rare and beautiful materials and feathers, including golden pheasants, toucans, swans, and ivory-billed woodpeckers. These flies have been popular in the United Kingdom since the 19th century. Fully dressed flies are often meant for display and are not used in actual fishing. Many patterns are expensive to tie because of the cost of rare feathers.
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.
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.
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 Royal Wulff is a popular artificial fly used for dry fly fishing. It is an attractor pattern and a descendant of both the Royal Coachman fly and the Wulff style of hair wing flies named for Lee Wulff.
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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