Marbury - Favorite Flies and Their Histories

DISPUTING THE FLY QUESTION
(See History of the Moose, Plate 4)

BY

MARY ORVIS MARBURY

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 ENGRA VINGS OF NATURAL INSECTS, AND EIGHT REPRODUCTIONS OF PHOTOGRAPHS

Skyhorse Publishing

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10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

ISBN: 978-1-62087-594-0

Printed in the United States of America

TO MY FATHER

CHARLES FREDERICK ORVIS

I LOVINGLY AND GRATEFULLY PROFFER THIS RECORD OF
HIS INSTRUCTIONS TO ME REGARDING HIS FAVORITE
RECREATION, WITH THE HOPE THAT THE SAME
MAY BE USEFUL TO ALL WHO ARE FOND
OF THIS PLEASANT PASTIME, AND ESPECIALLY
TO THE MANY WHO HAVE
PROVED THEMSELVES HIS
FRIENDS, AND THEREFORE
MINE

D ISPUTING THE F LY Q UESTION

S TONE F LIES

D RAKES

D UNS

S PINNERS

H OUSE F LIES AND A NTS

B EETLES AND C HRTSOPA

Plate A: H ACKLES

Plate B: S ALMON F LIES

P ORTRAIT OF C HARLES F. O RVIS

Plate C: S ALMON F LIES

Plate D: S ALMON F LIES

A P LEASANT M EMORY

Plate E: L AKE F LIES

Plate F: L AKE F LIES

Plate O: L AKE F LIES

Plate H: L AKE F LIES

Plate I: L AKE F LIES

Plate J: L AKE F LIES

Plate K: L AKE F LIES

Plate L: L AKE F LIES

Plate M: T ROUT F LIES

Plate N: T ROUT F LIES

Plate O: T ROUT F LIES

E QUINOX , THE E DGE OF THE S HADOWS

Plate P: T ROUT F LIES

Plate Q: T ROUT F LIES

Plate R: T ROUT F LIES

Plate S: T ROUT F LIES

Plate T: T ROUT F LIES

Please note: Plates AFF are included in the color insert. Their accompanying descriptions can be found at their original locations listed here.

Plate U: T ROUT F LIES

Plate V: T ROUT F LIES

Plate W: B ASS F LIES

Plate X: B ASS F LIES

Plate T: B ASS F LIES

Plate Z: B ASS F LIES

Plate AA: B ASS F LIES

T HE O NDAWA

U P THE L ONG R OAD

Plate BB: B ASS F LIES

M ANCHESTER

Plate CC: B ASS F LIES

Plate DD: B ASS F LIES

Plate EE: B ASS F LIES

Plate FF: B ASS F LIES

H IC H ABITAT F ELICITAS

M OLLOY .

FAVORITE FLIES

PART I.

Im wrapped up in my plaid, and lyin a my length on a bit green platform, fit for the fairies feet, wi a craig hangin ower me a thousand feet high, yet bright and balmy a the way np wi flowers and briars, and broom and birks, and mosses maist beautiful to behold wi half-shut ee, and through aneath anes arm guardin the face frae the cloudless sunshine; and perhaps a bit bonny butterfly is resting wi faulded wings on a go wan, no a yard frae your cheek; and noo waukening out o a simmer dream, floats awa in its wavering beauty, but, as if unwilling to leave its place of mid-day sleep, cornin back and back, and roun and roun on this side and that side, and ettlin in its capricious happiness to fasten again on some brighter floweret, till the same breath o wand that lifts up your hair sae refreshingly catches the airy voyager and wafts her away into some other nook of her ephemeral paradise. C HRISTOPHER N ORTH .

To create history one should be a great general, an inventor, or an explorer, but to those of us who are not so fortunate as to be creators is permitted the more humble mission of recording what is accomplished by others.

We confess, though, that we are not quite content in this latter capacity, but are ambitious to submit some day to the angling fraternity a series of imitations of natural insects peculiarly our own. Those now known, it seems to us, are not as perfect representations of nature as they might be, and therefore not wholly satisfactory; but before offering to displace them we desire to extend our study of entomology, and prove, by repeated experiments, other imitations of greater value. At present, fishermen are chiefly indebted to the fly-makers of Great Britain for copies of the insects alluring to game fish. Their experience extends back for centuries before our time or country even, and until we have studied more thoroughly our own stream-life we do well to abide by many of their conclusions; but there can be no question that in the years to come the differences between the insects of the two countries will be better understood and defined, and that a collection of the water-insects interesting to the fishermen of America, with directions for accurate imitations, arranged after the manner of Alfred Ronalds Fly-Fishers Entomology, would be of value.

Until this can be successfully accomplished, it has seemed well to preserve carefully our present form of adopted and adapted patterns, fancy flies, and theories and associations connected therewith; or, before venturing too far in untrodden fields, to mark well the paths we have thus far taken, and establish beyond a possibility of removal or forgetfulness the landmarks of the past.

The associations connected with artificial flies are so many and so pleasant that they should neither be lost nor ignored, since they constitute one of the charms of angling. To us, beyond the value of service, past or prospective, a fly is often of more real interest in being the reminder of more than its actual worth. In accord with this, one angler writes: When I take one of my fly-books out of an evening or at any time during my waking hours in winter, I generally seek out some tattered fly that is wrapped carefully in a paper and placed in one of its pockets. The book may be full of flies, sombre or gorgeous in all the freshness of untried silk, mohair, or tinsel; but take, for instance, this one with the legend on its wrapper; then follows a loving and enthusiastic reminiscence of other days and happy scenes. That these veterans of many a fight are not forgotten and thrown aside, but are carefully treasured, inspires the belief that their histories, so far as may be repeated, will be gladly welcomed. The field is so extensive that we are led in many and diverse ways. We desire so earnestly to indicate the identity and personality of each one who is associated with the flies spoken of in these pages that, even at the risk of seeming prolix, we shall take the liberty of quoting, as far as possible, his own words relative to anything in their connection, and thus to enter the camp-fire circle of anglers, and with them contribute our share of interest and information; our primary motive being to bring forward the many valuable suggestions given in the letters from fishermen, which form Part II. of this book. These introduce many new flies that are their personal favorites, but must, of course, come into general popularity when their merits are known; and our special mission, with the exception of the few patterns of our own invention and introduction during the last ten or twelve years, will be to preserve the history and associations, or, as a noted society leader would say, to write of these three hundred flies as I have found them.