:?: Hello all! Can anyone please help me with my search? I am interested in locating books, web sites, etc. where I can find the true historical information for classic fly patterns. You know…who invented the pattern, when, where, what it is used to catch and all of that. The reason I ask this, is that I am trying to compile true fly history and have come across magazine articles that are sometime very conflicting, eg; one article indicated the Muddler Minnow was created in 1950 while another indicated 1937. I have used what I could find here at FAOL and would like to find more info. Any preferred publications or sites where I might get the truth?
Mary Orvis Marbury’s Fly Paterns and their Origins was one of the earlier ones. She played a big role in standardizing fly names at a time when the names were pretty localized. Some fun stories in there too.
We always list the books our flies come from. By now you must have them I’m sure. It woujd be a good start.
David,
The Orvis book is good but it only covers a short time frame, up to about 1890 I think.
Unfortunately it is frequently difficult to attribute a specific fly pattern to any one individual. When many of those historical flies were developed, travel and communications were poor, and in fact, tying was somewhat secretive. So it’s not surprising to me that there are different people and dates associated with the 'creation’of a particular pattern. You may even find the same design and recipe under a different pattern name. It’s often we read about one tier in NY and one guy in PA, or even just a couple of towns over, coming up with the same pattern at about the same time. Perhaps that’s why you’ll see books or magazines(the older ones) with a somewhat different historical background.
Anyway, here are a few titles of books that in part delve into historical backgrounds of flies:
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Professional Fly Tying & Lure Making, by G.L. Herter (get a later edition and don’t pay much attention to the authors self-promotion).
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Book of Fly Patterns, by Eric Leiser
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Flies, by Leonard
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Trout Flies, by Jennings
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Fish Flies, by T. Hellekson
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Catskill Rivers, by A. Francis
Allan
Thanks for the replies folks! Your info is quite helpful to me.
JC, although I do have quite an extensive library, I still have not managed to stock my shelves with all of the books that I have read about here on FAOL…perhaps one day. The information provided in the archives of this site is just one of many reasons why this site is so great and of which I am proud to be a member. Thanks all!
Don’t forget Fly Patterns and their Orgins by Harold Smedley