a.j. johnson & the "tandem rig"

jim dean is a well-known fisherman in nc and contributing writer for
"wildlife in nc", the official publication of the nc wildlife resources
commission.

in the april 2005 issue, he writes of one of his mentors, a.j. johnson,
a fly-fisherman from the edgemont/wilson creek, nc area. mr. johnson was
apparently one of the few flyfishermen in the area in the early 1900s.
anyway, dean asserts that it was johnson who introduced the "tandem" fly
rig (i.e., dropper from the eye of a big dry fly) in nc in the 1940s and
to the henrys fork and the madison fishing guides out west in the early
60s. dean says "none of the local fishermen or guides...had ever seen
anything like johnson's two-fly technique...". he makes the statement
about "local fishermen and guides" in areas he and johnson frequented in
new york, michigan, and pennsylvania, as well as in the specified idaho
and montana areas.

while old jd writes pleasant little commentary for the masses, and i
like many of his sentimental descriptions, and even though i would love
to believe a grandfather mountain goodoldboy introduced the idea out
west, i find this factual statement hard to accept. anyone familiar with
dates and names for introduction of the tandem rig in u.s. trout fishing?

jeff

"Jeff Miller" wrote

even though i would love
to believe a grandfather mountain goodoldboy introduced the idea out west,
i find this factual statement hard to accept. anyone familiar with dates
and names for introduction of the tandem rig in u.s. trout fishing?

can't help you there, jeffie; but didn't the original rig consist of a
royal coachman and a black ant?

yfitp
wayno

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 08:28:22 -0500, Jeff Miller
wrote:

jim dean is a well-known fisherman in nc and contributing writer for
"wildlife in nc", the official publication of the nc wildlife resources
commission.

in the april 2005 issue, he writes of one of his mentors, a.j. johnson,
a fly-fisherman from the edgemont/wilson creek, nc area. mr. johnson was
apparently one of the few flyfishermen in the area in the early 1900s.
anyway, dean asserts that it was johnson who introduced the "tandem" fly
rig (i.e., dropper from the eye of a big dry fly) in nc in the 1940s and
to the henrys fork and the madison fishing guides out west in the early
60s. dean says "none of the local fishermen or guides...had ever seen
anything like johnson's two-fly technique...". he makes the statement
about "local fishermen and guides" in areas he and johnson frequented in
new york, michigan, and pennsylvania, as well as in the specified idaho
and montana areas.

while old jd writes pleasant little commentary for the masses, and i
like many of his sentimental descriptions, and even though i would love
to believe a grandfather mountain goodoldboy introduced the idea out
west, i find this factual statement hard to accept. anyone familiar with
dates and names for introduction of the tandem rig in u.s. trout fishing?

Assuming this isn't some April Fools joke I'm too tired to catch, there
were 2-plus fly casts long before 1940 (I tried to google up some info
on early UK rigs for you - using terms like "snell/snelled fly cast
england scotland" - but too much to weed through). In fact, there are
casts that predate eyed hooks. Now, as to the _exact_ people to which,
and places in which, these guys claim to be the first to introduce to
this _exact_ style of rig, I suspect that there'd never be any practical
way to check it. I can tell you for a fact that at least several people
in the US had seen "tandem" fly rigging (when defining "tandem" simply
as "more than one fly rigged") prior to 1940.

TC,
R

wrote:
I can tell you for a fact that at least several people
in the US had seen "tandem" fly rigging (when defining "tandem" simply
as "more than one fly rigged") prior to 1940.

not an april 1 joke...honest to god, ol jim dean wrote it in a nc
magazine. i didn't believe it, though it was a heartwarming sentiment
to think of a nc hillbilly teaching montana and idaho flyfishers
something new. as always, anecdotal reports from old codgers and texas
gonzos are acceptable to me and appreciated.

jeff

Wayne Harrison wrote:


can't help you there, jeffie; but didn't the original rig consist of a
royal coachman and a black ant?

no idea myself...dean mentioned the dry as a "wulff royal" (no kidding,
that's the way he wrote it...)with a nymph "tandem" tied from the eye. i
thought that pennsylvania dame and some of those medieval folks had used
tandems and written about it long before ol a.j.

heard you and zimbo went a-fishin but didn't get the details. are they
risin to the dry? joe and i have discussed an april sortie...might even
get pj interested if he's allowed to select the dates. G whatyathink?

jeff

"Jeff" wrote in message
link.net...


Wayne Harrison wrote:


can't help you there, jeffie; but didn't the original rig consist of
a royal coachman and a black ant?

no idea myself...dean mentioned the dry as a "wulff royal" (no kidding,
that's the way he wrote it...)with a nymph "tandem" tied from the eye. i
thought that pennsylvania dame and some of those medieval folks had used
tandems and written about it long before ol a.j.

heard you and zimbo went a-fishin but didn't get the details. are they
risin to the dry? joe and i have discussed an april sortie...might even
get pj interested if he's allowed to select the dates. G whatyathink?

jeff

sounds great. probably should be a weekday, e.g., thursday-friday.
we didn't catch much of anything. high, cold water, and i was so damned
out of shape zimbo damn near had to carry me up the trail, and let me lean
on him like a wading staff once i was in the creek. maybe he would be
interested in a couple day trip, as well.

yfitp
wayno(beginning a morning walk program asap)

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 16:46:21 GMT, Jeff wrote:



wrote:
I can tell you for a fact that at least several people
in the US had seen "tandem" fly rigging (when defining "tandem" simply
as "more than one fly rigged") prior to 1940.

not an april 1 joke...honest to god, ol jim dean wrote it in a nc
magazine. i didn't believe it, though it was a heartwarming sentiment
to think of a nc hillbilly teaching montana and idaho flyfishers
something new. as always, anecdotal reports from old codgers and texas
gonzos are acceptable to me and appreciated.

jeff

I read this as a NC angler teaching the westerners, not that he
invented the use of multiple flies -- that's as old as the hills,
maybe as old as the Macedonians dapping flies over 2,000 years ago.
UK and Irish use of multiple flies predates the U.S. as an independent
nation.

Peter

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Peter Charles wrote:


I read this as a NC angler teaching the westerners, not that he
invented the use of multiple flies -- that's as old as the hills,
maybe as old as the Macedonians dapping flies over 2,000 years ago.
UK and Irish use of multiple flies predates the U.S. as an independent
nation.


Like Peter said multiple flies rigs have a long history. When the big
brookies were still plentiful back East, anglers used casts of many wet
flies strung from their leader.

However, the guy was using a dry with a dropper. Can't remember reading
about that in any of the old books. First time I read about that was in
a book written in the fifties, a Joe Brook's book I think. Anybody else?

Willi

On Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:17:01 -0700, Willi wrote:

Peter Charles wrote:


I read this as a NC angler teaching the westerners, not that he
invented the use of multiple flies -- that's as old as the hills,
maybe as old as the Macedonians dapping flies over 2,000 years ago.
UK and Irish use of multiple flies predates the U.S. as an independent
nation.


Like Peter said multiple flies rigs have a long history. When the big
brookies were still plentiful back East, anglers used casts of many wet
flies strung from their leader.

However, the guy was using a dry with a dropper. Can't remember reading
about that in any of the old books. First time I read about that was in
a book written in the fifties, a Joe Brook's book I think. Anybody else?

Again, I doubt it could ever be determined, from a practical standpoint,
who "introduced" such a rigging to whom, but I know such things existed
prior to the 1940s. I'd even offer that other than superficial things,
there is nothing truly and completely "new" in FFing in the last 100
years, certainly in the last 50. Yes, I realize materials may have
changed, but to a non-FFing objective observer, rods haven't changed
from being long sticks with reel clamps and guides affixed to them, line
and leader are still long pieces of string, and flies are hooks with
hair, feathers, and stuff attached to them. For every would-be
"inventor" who develops what becomes a Royal Smith, there are lots of
Joneses who did one 20, 40, 60 years ago.

TC,
R

Willi

Very interesting Jeff! Maybe AJ was the inventor of the dry/dropper
combo.

In bigger rivers (like the Madison and the Rio Grande) I've gotten
accustomed to fishing the nymph (or two) 30" or more behind a big dry.
It's kind of a combination of terrestrial fishing and deeper nymphing
and sometimes it works.

bruce h