Autumn on the Rapid, part II

On Sep 16, 1:37*pm, DaveS wrote:
On Sep 15, 2:25*pm, D. LaCourse wrote:





Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. *There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. * Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. *We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are
friends. *They said it was not a very good day on the river, and
friends staying at Lakewood confirmed it. *With the hard rain and hard
fishing, I was glad I made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. *Pretty chilly with a north
wind. *After breakfast *I made it to the dam with some friends and
fishing was not good. *Again, I threw everything at the fish but not
one strike for over an hour. *Finally a nice brook trout of about 14
inches fell prey to a size 18 brassie. *A few more followed, including
a 17 inch salmon that did not break the surface while I was landing
him. *Just as I was about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and
fouled itself in the leader along with the split shot. *What a mess. *I
cut off the brassie and the hook was bent. *I finally gave up trying to
untangle the mess and cut off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and
put on a new one. *First cast with another size 18 brassie and another
salmon hooked up. *But, like his hefty brother before him, he too
slipped the hook just as I wad about to land him. *Checked the hook and
it was bent. *It shouldn't have been - the fish was not that big, so I
tied on another brassie tied with a scud hook. *The next fish, a fairly
good brook trout did not bend that hook, so I can only assume that the
two brassies tied on straight hooks had a defect in the hook. *The
brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat, bright orange belly with
bright green sides. *I took pictures of the trout from this trip and
will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George
was fishing (and catching fish). *George told him to please leave. *The
guy made a face and reluctantly moved on. *George changed fishing spots
about 15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. *The
guy must have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about
5 fish in the past hour. *However, this doofus took none in the hour
that he was at the spot. *Sort of makes you feel good when that
happens. *The fish abound in this river. *It is not where you fish, so
much as how you fish. *Presentation, presentation, presentation. *
George continued to catch fish at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. *Hurt like hell. *I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see
if I was ok. *I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. *The
Polish girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very
quiet. *Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing
us enough wood to be comfortably warm during the day. *Three blankets
and a furry dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. *One of my
pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. *So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. *Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. *I am very tired.

Dave

Great narrative on your sojurn as usual Chief. Your comments on
presentation, presentation, presentation, and the Brook trout bring to
mind some of the early debate and development of American fly fishing
by our pioneers. I see younger eyes and potential cheese ball addicts,
rolling their eyes. So be it.

Cheese balls ain't all that bad.....deep fried and served with a beer.

The classic case and descriptive advocacy for an emphasis on
presentation vs imitation, came from George M.L. LaBranch in his
ground breaking 1914 book "The Dry Fly and Fast Water," and 10 years
later his 1924 book "The Salmon and the Dry Fly." They are still quite
worth the read for North Americans, and perhaps for Brits is as much
as LaBranch was also bridging the differences between British
conditions and entomology, and American, as well as working out how
Americans could catch the more difficult Brown trout, which were at
this time replacing Brook Trout on many East Coast waters. And of
course Theodore Gordon and Hewitt are both a joy.

I am going to check and see if any of these works are in Google books.

I couldn't find them anywhere online last time I looked. But that was
three or four years ago. Both the 1914 and 1924 books should be in
the public domain under current U.S. copyright law, so you may get
lucky. I have never been able to find anything by Gordon.....and
precious little about him. Don't remember whether I even looked for
Hewitt.

I just checked Project Gutenberg. None of the above shows up on the
"Browse by author" page. Nor do any of them show on the Online Books
Page. Have not checked Google Books or any other possible sources.

giles

On Sep 15, 3:25*pm, D. LaCourse wrote:

pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. *So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. *Ingrate!

Who's the master, eh?

Just got through an emergency splenectomy on our old brittany...she's
pulling through OK and all's going well thank God, but it's been a
rough week.

Jon.

Jonathan Cook wrote:
Just got through an emergency splenectomy on our old brittany...she's
pulling through OK and all's going well thank God, but it's been a
rough week.

Glad to hear all is is OK. It always hurts when a dog gets
sick not least because they can't tell you what's wrong.

--
Ken Fortenberry

On Fri, 17 Sep 2010 06:58:19 -0700 (PDT), Jonathan Cook
wrote:

On Sep 15, 3:25*pm, D. LaCourse wrote:

pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. *So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. *Ingrate!

Who's the master, eh?

Just got through an emergency splenectomy on our old brittany...she's
pulling through OK and all's going well thank God, but it's been a
rough week.

Jon.

I am glad your dog is OK.

They are definitely part of the family
We have had siome major dog issues ourseves as 2 of them are getting
older.
We are fortunate to have them in our lives for whatever time we have
w them w them.

I would never live w/o a dog -
They enrich our lives soooo much
Fred

Fred

On Sep 16, 7:01*pm, Giles wrote:
On Sep 16, 1:37*pm, DaveS wrote:





On Sep 15, 2:25*pm, D. LaCourse wrote:

Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. *There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. * Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. *We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are
friends. *They said it was not a very good day on the river, and
friends staying at Lakewood confirmed it. *With the hard rain and hard
fishing, I was glad I made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. *Pretty chilly with a north
wind. *After breakfast *I made it to the dam with some friends and
fishing was not good. *Again, I threw everything at the fish but not
one strike for over an hour. *Finally a nice brook trout of about 14
inches fell prey to a size 18 brassie. *A few more followed, including
a 17 inch salmon that did not break the surface while I was landing
him. *Just as I was about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and
fouled itself in the leader along with the split shot. *What a mess.. *I
cut off the brassie and the hook was bent. *I finally gave up trying to
untangle the mess and cut off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and
put on a new one. *First cast with another size 18 brassie and another
salmon hooked up. *But, like his hefty brother before him, he too
slipped the hook just as I wad about to land him. *Checked the hook and
it was bent. *It shouldn't have been - the fish was not that big, so I
tied on another brassie tied with a scud hook. *The next fish, a fairly
good brook trout did not bend that hook, so I can only assume that the
two brassies tied on straight hooks had a defect in the hook. *The
brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat, bright orange belly with
bright green sides. *I took pictures of the trout from this trip and
will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George
was fishing (and catching fish). *George told him to please leave. *The
guy made a face and reluctantly moved on. *George changed fishing spots
about 15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. *The
guy must have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about
5 fish in the past hour. *However, this doofus took none in the hour
that he was at the spot. *Sort of makes you feel good when that
happens. *The fish abound in this river. *It is not where you fish, so
much as how you fish. *Presentation, presentation, presentation. *
George continued to catch fish at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. *Hurt like hell. *I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see
if I was ok. *I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. *The
Polish girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very
quiet. *Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing
us enough wood to be comfortably warm during the day. *Three blankets
and a furry dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. *One of my
pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. *So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. *Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. *I am very tired.

Dave

Great narrative on your sojurn as usual Chief. Your comments on
presentation, presentation, presentation, and the Brook trout bring to
mind some of the early debate and development of American fly fishing
by our pioneers. I see younger eyes and potential cheese ball addicts,
rolling their eyes. So be it.

Cheese balls ain't all that bad.....deep fried and served with a beer.

The classic case and descriptive advocacy for an emphasis on
presentation vs imitation, came from George M.L. LaBranch in his
ground breaking 1914 book "The Dry Fly and Fast Water," and 10 years
later his 1924 book "The Salmon and the Dry Fly." They are still quite
worth the read for North Americans, and perhaps for Brits is as much
as LaBranch was also bridging the differences between British
conditions and entomology, and American, as well as working out how
Americans could catch the more difficult Brown trout, which were at
this time replacing Brook Trout on many East Coast waters. And of
course Theodore Gordon and Hewitt are both a joy.

I am going to check and see if any of these works are in Google books.

I couldn't find them anywhere online last time I looked. *But that was
three or four years ago. *Both the 1914 and 1924 books should be in
the public domain under current U.S. copyright law, so you may get
lucky. *I have never been able to find anything by Gordon.....and
precious little about him. *Don't remember whether I even looked for
Hewitt.

I just checked Project Gutenberg. *None of the above shows up on the
"Browse by author" page. Nor do any of them show on the Online Books
Page. *Have not checked Google Books or any other possible sources.

giles- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Theodore Gordon never got to publish a book. However, (unless
something newer has come out) the best compilation of his writing was
published in 1947, edited by John McDonald, and republished in 1970.
app550 pgs. The book was titled "The Complete Fly Fisherman," (The
notes and letters of . . . . ) The first edition (1946) was published
by Scribner's, and the 1970 edition by The Theodore Gordon Flyfishers
who were also assigned the copyright in '68. My '70 edition cost me
$65 in '96 used, so who knows how much today.

It consists of his "notes" published in the "Fishing Gazette," and his
letters. He had quite a dialogue with the Brits (Skues and Halford),
and the letters include both the highly technical and more informal
(his correspondence with Steenrod). He was an excellent writer and
McDonald (the editor) was an editor for Fortune, so that work was done
well.

Gordon was an extraordinary focused introvert, obsessed with the
development of North American fly technique. I think what one gets
from Gordon in particular, but also to Hewitt and LaBranche is how
much we owe to these pioneers.

Maybe a little better for the ave Flyfisher is "American Trout
Fishing, by Theodore Gordon and a company of anglers." (1965) It is a
collection of one 18pg note of Gordon's, and 26 other short pieces by
virtually all the major figures and writers of American Fly Fishing
from the period 1930-1965, . . . on the 50th anniversary of Gordon's
death. It was edited by Arnold Gingrich, who was the publisher of
"Esquire" magazine. Fly fishing writing in those days was IMHO far
more literate in those days than now. I think Borzoi editions of this
book would still be available for less than $50.

I will dig out my Hewitt's in a day or two for usable citations.

Dave
Who still prefers Wood-ware (IE real books on real paper)

"DaveS" wrote in message
...
On Sep 16, 7:01 pm, Giles wrote:
On Sep 16, 1:37 pm, DaveS wrote:
Theodore Gordon never got to publish a book. However, (unless
something newer has come out) the best compilation of his writing was
published in 1947, edited by John McDonald, and republished in 1970.
app550 pgs. The book was titled "The Complete Fly Fisherman," (The
notes and letters of . . . . ) The first edition (1946) was published
by Scribner's, and the 1970 edition by The Theodore Gordon Flyfishers
who were also assigned the copyright in '68. My '70 edition cost me
$65 in '96 used, so who knows how much today.

It consists of his "notes" published in the "Fishing Gazette," and his
letters. He had quite a dialogue with the Brits (Skues and Halford),
and the letters include both the highly technical and more informal
(his correspondence with Steenrod). He was an excellent writer and
McDonald (the editor) was an editor for Fortune, so that work was done
well.

Gordon was an extraordinary focused introvert, obsessed with the
development of North American fly technique. I think what one gets
from Gordon in particular, but also to Hewitt and LaBranche is how
much we owe to these pioneers.

Maybe a little better for the ave Flyfisher is "American Trout
Fishing, by Theodore Gordon and a company of anglers." (1965) It is a
collection of one 18pg note of Gordon's, and 26 other short pieces by
virtually all the major figures and writers of American Fly Fishing
from the period 1930-1965, . . . on the 50th anniversary of Gordon's
death. It was edited by Arnold Gingrich, who was the publisher of
"Esquire" magazine. Fly fishing writing in those days was IMHO far
more literate in those days than now. I think Borzoi editions of this
book would still be available for less than $50.

I will dig out my Hewitt's in a day or two for usable citations.

Dave
Who still prefers Wood-ware (IE real books on real paper)

The Gordon compilation is one I probably re-read every winter, as well.
It's amazing the insights the man had, and how 'modern' some of his patterns
and ideas were. You are right about his personal character, at times, his
writing can even get a bit maudlin, a by-product of his solitary
nature..

I agree completely on 'real books'. I guess, as I look back on it, my annual
angling cycle consists of reading and tying in the winters, and
fishing in the spring through the late autumn. Not that I'd suggest that my
way is the 'right' way, but it forms a comfortable cycle for me. When I was
younger, I tended to pound the streams 12 months a year, but have found a
slower pace, with more time spent studying and learning from the past adds a
bit of depth to the sport.

Tom

On Sep 17, 5:49*pm, DaveS wrote:
On Sep 16, 7:01*pm, Giles wrote:





On Sep 16, 1:37*pm, DaveS wrote:

On Sep 15, 2:25*pm, D. LaCourse wrote:

Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. *There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. * Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. *We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are
friends. *They said it was not a very good day on the river, and
friends staying at Lakewood confirmed it. *With the hard rain and hard
fishing, I was glad I made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. *Pretty chilly with a north
wind. *After breakfast *I made it to the dam with some friends and
fishing was not good. *Again, I threw everything at the fish but not
one strike for over an hour. *Finally a nice brook trout of about 14
inches fell prey to a size 18 brassie. *A few more followed, including
a 17 inch salmon that did not break the surface while I was landing
him. *Just as I was about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and
fouled itself in the leader along with the split shot. *What a mess. *I
cut off the brassie and the hook was bent. *I finally gave up trying to
untangle the mess and cut off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and
put on a new one. *First cast with another size 18 brassie and another
salmon hooked up. *But, like his hefty brother before him, he too
slipped the hook just as I wad about to land him. *Checked the hook and
it was bent. *It shouldn't have been - the fish was not that big, so I
tied on another brassie tied with a scud hook. *The next fish, a fairly
good brook trout did not bend that hook, so I can only assume that the
two brassies tied on straight hooks had a defect in the hook. *The
brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat, bright orange belly with
bright green sides. *I took pictures of the trout from this trip and
will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George
was fishing (and catching fish). *George told him to please leave.. *The
guy made a face and reluctantly moved on. *George changed fishing spots
about 15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. *The
guy must have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about
5 fish in the past hour. *However, this doofus took none in the hour
that he was at the spot. *Sort of makes you feel good when that
happens. *The fish abound in this river. *It is not where you fish, so
much as how you fish. *Presentation, presentation, presentation. *
George continued to catch fish at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. *Hurt like hell. *I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see
if I was ok. *I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. *The
Polish girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very
quiet. *Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing
us enough wood to be comfortably warm during the day. *Three blankets
and a furry dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. *One of my
pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. *So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. *Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. *I am very tired.

Dave

Great narrative on your sojurn as usual Chief. Your comments on
presentation, presentation, presentation, and the Brook trout bring to
mind some of the early debate and development of American fly fishing
by our pioneers. I see younger eyes and potential cheese ball addicts,
rolling their eyes. So be it.

Cheese balls ain't all that bad.....deep fried and served with a beer.

The classic case and descriptive advocacy for an emphasis on
presentation vs imitation, came from George M.L. LaBranch in his
ground breaking 1914 book "The Dry Fly and Fast Water," and 10 years
later his 1924 book "The Salmon and the Dry Fly." They are still quite
worth the read for North Americans, and perhaps for Brits is as much
as LaBranch was also bridging the differences between British
conditions and entomology, and American, as well as working out how
Americans could catch the more difficult Brown trout, which were at
this time replacing Brook Trout on many East Coast waters. And of
course Theodore Gordon and Hewitt are both a joy.

I am going to check and see if any of these works are in Google books..

I couldn't find them anywhere online last time I looked. *But that was
three or four years ago. *Both the 1914 and 1924 books should be in
the public domain under current U.S. copyright law, so you may get
lucky. *I have never been able to find anything by Gordon.....and
precious little about him. *Don't remember whether I even looked for
Hewitt.

I just checked Project Gutenberg. *None of the above shows up on the
"Browse by author" page. Nor do any of them show on the Online Books
Page. *Have not checked Google Books or any other possible sources.

giles- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Theodore Gordon never got to publish a book. However, (unless
something newer has come out) the best compilation of his writing was
published in 1947, edited by John McDonald, and republished in 1970.
app550 pgs. The book was titled "The Complete Fly Fisherman," (The
notes and letters of . . . . ) The first edition (1946) was published
by Scribner's, and the 1970 edition by The Theodore Gordon Flyfishers
who were also assigned the copyright in '68. My '70 edition cost me
$65 in '96 used, so who knows how much today.

It consists of his "notes" published in the "Fishing Gazette," and his
letters. He had quite a dialogue with the Brits (Skues and Halford),
and the letters include both the highly technical and more informal
(his correspondence with Steenrod). He was an excellent writer and
McDonald (the editor) was an editor for Fortune, so that work was done
well.

Gordon was an extraordinary focused introvert, obsessed with the
development of North American fly technique. I think what one gets
from Gordon in particular, but also to Hewitt and LaBranche is how
much we owe to these pioneers.

Maybe a little better for the ave Flyfisher is "American Trout
Fishing, by Theodore Gordon and a company of anglers." (1965) It is a
collection of one 18pg note of Gordon's, and 26 other short pieces by
virtually all the major figures and writers of American Fly Fishing
from the period 1930-1965, . . . on the 50th anniversary of Gordon's
death. It was edited by Arnold Gingrich, who was the publisher of
"Esquire" magazine. Fly fishing writing in those days was IMHO far
more literate in those days than now. I think Borzoi editions of this
book would still be available for less than $50.

I will dig out my Hewitt's in a day or two for usable citations.

I knew that Gordon never published a book, but I've run across a few
reprints of some of his works over the years. I just checked Google
Books and nothing jumped out. Odd that he should be so hard to find
given that he died early enough for all of his works to be in the
public domain. His famous reclusiveness seems to have followed him
well beyond the grave.

Dave
Who still prefers Wood-ware (IE real books on real paper)

A few years ago, I used to carry a number of books downloaded onto my
PDA as emergency reading material. After a year or so the novelty
wore off and I went back to carrying a book everywhere I went for
emergency reading. Still, the PDA did have one very real advantage
(which may or may not be shared by the various e-books.....I wouldn't
know); it allowed me to download books I found on various sites on the
web without the bother and expense of printing them out. Many of
these books are long out of print and quite a few are so obscure that
even major metropolitan and university libraries cannot be relied on
to have them on their shelves. Bookstores are completely out of the
question for most of those I downloaded. Even the few antiquarian
book dealers I visited never heard of most of them.

All that said, only books are books. I think A. Whitney Brown said it
best: "Plant trees. They give us two of the most crucial elements for
our survival: oxygen and books."* Oxygen, obviously, takes precedence
in the short run but, really, what's the point of breathing for a
whole day or more without something to read? Even discounting
personal tastes in entertainment and leisure time activities, there
are practical considerations. As Mr. Clemens said, "The man who
doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read
them." I would extend Sam's argument to include books in general
(after all, what is a "good" book?) and even ephemera. Refusal or
inability to partake of any of the above leads to......well, we see
that here every day.

giles
*there's also hazelnuts, walnuts, hickory nuts, brazil nuts, cashews,
pistachios, pears, apples, plums, cherries, apricots, dates, figs,
lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, quinces, avocados, service
berries, elderberries, mulberries, a bewildering multitude of others
and......chestnuts!.....but, granted, few of those pass the "crucial"
test.....or at least not to quite the same degree.

On Sep 17, 7:00*pm, Giles wrote:
On Sep 17, 5:49*pm, DaveS wrote:

On Sep 16, 7:01*pm, Giles wrote:

On Sep 16, 1:37*pm, DaveS wrote:

On Sep 15, 2:25*pm, D. LaCourse wrote:

Tuesday, 14th:

No fishing today. *There was hard rain after breakfast and I chickened
out. * Instead I stayed in the cabin, kept warm with a nice fire in the
Franklin stove and finished Red November, a book by W. Craig Reed about
the inside secrets of the U.S. and Soviet sub programs, including some
that I was involved with - Holystone, Barnacle, Clarinet Bullseye,
Boresight, and some others.

It rained off and on most of the day. *We went for a bike ride in the
afternoon after the rain and ran into a couple of guides that are
friends. *They said it was not a very good day on the river, and
friends staying at Lakewood confirmed it. *With the hard rain and hard
fishing, I was glad I made the decision to not fish.

Wednesday, 15th:

No rain, but some serious looking clouds. *Pretty chilly with a north
wind. *After breakfast *I made it to the dam with some friends and
fishing was not good. *Again, I threw everything at the fish but not
one strike for over an hour. *Finally a nice brook trout of about 14
inches fell prey to a size 18 brassie. *A few more followed, including
a 17 inch salmon that did not break the surface while I was landing
him. *Just as I was about to net him the hook came out of his jaw and
fouled itself in the leader along with the split shot. *What a mess. *I
cut off the brassie and the hook was bent. *I finally gave up trying to
untangle the mess and cut off the leader, stuffed it into my waders and
put on a new one. *First cast with another size 18 brassie and another
salmon hooked up. *But, like his hefty brother before him, he too
slipped the hook just as I wad about to land him. *Checked the hook and
it was bent. *It shouldn't have been - the fish was not that big, so I
tied on another brassie tied with a scud hook. *The next fish, a fairly
good brook trout did not bend that hook, so I can only assume that the
two brassies tied on straight hooks had a defect in the hook. *The
brook trout was beautiful in his fall coat, bright orange belly with
bright green sides. *I took pictures of the trout from this trip and
will post them later.

Some doofus tried to fish 20 feet upstream from where my friend George
was fishing (and catching fish). *George told him to please leave. *The
guy made a face and reluctantly moved on. *George changed fishing spots
about 15 minutes later and this dude rushed to the vacated spot. *The
guy must have figured it was a god spot because George had taken about
5 fish in the past hour. *However, this doofus took none in the hour
that he was at the spot. *Sort of makes you feel good when that
happens. *The fish abound in this river. *It is not where you fish, so
much as how you fish. *Presentation, presentation, presentation.. *
George continued to catch fish at his new spot.

I finally took my first fall; slipped while carelessly moving over some
big rocks and landed directly on my tail bone. *Hurt like hell. *I sat
there for about five minutes until another fisherman came over to see
if I was ok. *I'll be sore in the morning.

Only six of us in camp now, with two leaving in the morning. *The
Polish girls have returned to Poland and college, so the place is very
quiet. *Maureen is the waitress, while Whit is the cabin boy bringing
us enough wood to be comfortably warm during the day. *Three blankets
and a furry dog names Jenny get us through the cold nights. *One of my
pet projects (no pun intended) is teaching Jenny how to start a fire in
the stove about 0500 hours. *So far she has been a lazy beast, staying
in bed until *I* make the fire. *Ingrate!

I have a good bottle of red wine for dinner, and then it will be to bed
early. *I am very tired.

Dave

Great narrative on your sojurn as usual Chief. Your comments on
presentation, presentation, presentation, and the Brook trout bring to
mind some of the early debate and development of American fly fishing
by our pioneers. I see younger eyes and potential cheese ball addicts,
rolling their eyes. So be it.

Cheese balls ain't all that bad.....deep fried and served with a beer..

The classic case and descriptive advocacy for an emphasis on
presentation vs imitation, came from George M.L. LaBranch in his
ground breaking 1914 book "The Dry Fly and Fast Water," and 10 years
later his 1924 book "The Salmon and the Dry Fly." They are still quite
worth the read for North Americans, and perhaps for Brits is as much
as LaBranch was also bridging the differences between British
conditions and entomology, and American, as well as working out how
Americans could catch the more difficult Brown trout, which were at
this time replacing Brook Trout on many East Coast waters. And of
course Theodore Gordon and Hewitt are both a joy.

I am going to check and see if any of these works are in Google books.

I couldn't find them anywhere online last time I looked. *But that was
three or four years ago. *Both the 1914 and 1924 books should be in
the public domain under current U.S. copyright law, so you may get
lucky. *I have never been able to find anything by Gordon.....and
precious little about him. *Don't remember whether I even looked for
Hewitt.

I just checked Project Gutenberg. *None of the above shows up on the
"Browse by author" page. Nor do any of them show on the Online Books
Page. *Have not checked Google Books or any other possible sources.

giles- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Theodore Gordon never got to publish a book. However, (unless
something newer has come out) the best compilation of his writing was
published in 1947, edited by John McDonald, and republished in 1970.
app550 pgs. The book was titled "The Complete Fly Fisherman," (The
notes and letters of . . . . ) The first edition (1946) was published
by Scribner's, and the 1970 edition by The Theodore Gordon Flyfishers
who were also assigned the copyright in '68. My '70 edition cost me
$65 in '96 used, so who knows how much today.

It consists of his "notes" published in the "Fishing Gazette," and his
letters. He had quite a dialogue with the Brits (Skues and Halford),
and the letters include both the highly technical and more informal
(his correspondence with Steenrod). He was an excellent writer and
McDonald (the editor) was an editor for Fortune, so that work was done
well.

Gordon was an extraordinary focused introvert, obsessed with the
development of North American fly technique. I think what one gets
from Gordon in particular, but also to Hewitt and LaBranche is how
much we owe to these pioneers.

Maybe a little better for the ave Flyfisher is "American Trout
Fishing, by Theodore Gordon and a company of anglers." (1965) It is a
collection of one 18pg note of Gordon's, and 26 other short pieces by
virtually all the major figures and writers of American Fly Fishing
from the period 1930-1965, . . . on the 50th anniversary of Gordon's
death. It was edited by Arnold Gingrich, who was the publisher of
"Esquire" magazine. Fly fishing writing in those days was IMHO far
more literate in those days than now. I think Borzoi editions of this
book would still be available for less than $50.

I will dig out my Hewitt's in a day or two for usable citations.

I knew that Gordon never published a book, but I've run across a few
reprints of some of his works over the years. *I just checked Google
Books and nothing jumped out. *Odd that he should be so hard to find
given that he died early enough for all of his works to be in the
public domain. *His famous reclusiveness seems to have followed him
well beyond the grave.

Dave
Who still prefers Wood-ware (IE real books on real paper)

A few years ago, I used to carry a number of books downloaded onto my
PDA as emergency reading material. *After a year or so the novelty
wore off and I went back to carrying a book everywhere I went for
emergency reading. *Still, the PDA did have one very real advantage
(which may or may not be shared by the various e-books.....I wouldn't
know); it allowed me to download books I found on various sites on the
web without the bother and expense of printing them out. *Many of
these books are long out of print and quite a few are so obscure that
even major metropolitan and university libraries cannot be relied on
to have them on their shelves. *Bookstores are completely out of the
question for most of those I downloaded. *Even the few antiquarian
book dealers I visited never heard of most of them.

All that said, only books are books. *I think A. Whitney Brown said it
best: "Plant trees. They give us two of the most crucial elements for
our survival: oxygen and books."* *Oxygen, obviously, takes precedence
in the short run but, really, what's the point of breathing for a
whole day or more without something to read? *Even discounting
personal tastes in entertainment and leisure time activities, there
are practical considerations. *As Mr. Clemens said, "The man who
doesn't read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read
them." *I would extend Sam's argument to include books in general
(after all, what is a "good" book?) and even ephemera. *Refusal or
inability to partake of any of the above leads to......well, we see
that here every day.

giles
*there's also hazelnuts, walnuts, hickory nuts, brazil nuts, cashews,
pistachios, pears, apples, plums, cherries, apricots, dates, figs,
lemons, limes, oranges, grapefruits, quinces, avocados, service
berries, elderberries, mulberries, a bewildering multitude of others
and......chestnuts!.....but, granted, few of those pass the "crucial"
test.....or at least not to quite the same degree.

Books. Our rule is never to go anywhere w/out a book. And its given me
much over the years. I once spent so much time "on the road" that my
travel reimbursements were sometimes more than my take home. And
books, and the need to perform as a consultant, kept me out of the
hotel bars.

Only once did I regret traveling with a book rather than a bottle. And
that was the time I lost a first edition of Vince Marinero in perfect
condition . I confess a love for that old crusty long gone master of
the Letort. With a good set of earplugs it is still possible to enjoy
Otto's meadow as he fished it.

Dave

On Sep 17, 4:41*pm, "Tom Littleton" wrote:
"DaveS" wrote in message

...
On Sep 16, 7:01 pm, Giles wrote: On Sep 16, 1:37 pm, DaveS wrote:
Theodore Gordon never got to publish a book. However, (unless

something newer has come out) the best compilation of his writing was
published in 1947, edited by John McDonald, and republished in 1970.
app550 pgs. The book was titled "The Complete Fly Fisherman," (The
notes and letters of . . . . ) The first edition (1946) was published
by Scribner's, and the 1970 edition by The Theodore Gordon Flyfishers
who were also assigned the copyright in '68. My '70 edition cost me
$65 in '96 used, so who knows how much today.

It consists of his "notes" published in the "Fishing Gazette," and his
letters. He had quite a dialogue with the Brits (Skues and Halford),
and the letters include both the highly technical and more informal
(his correspondence with Steenrod). He was an excellent writer and
McDonald (the editor) was an editor for Fortune, so that work was done
well.

Gordon was an extraordinary focused introvert, obsessed with the
development of North American fly technique. I think what one gets
from Gordon in particular, but also to Hewitt and LaBranche is how
much we owe to these pioneers.

Maybe a little better for the ave Flyfisher is "American Trout
Fishing, by Theodore Gordon and a company of anglers." (1965) It is a
collection of one 18pg note of Gordon's, and 26 other short pieces by
virtually all the major figures and writers of American Fly Fishing
from the period 1930-1965, . . . on the 50th anniversary of Gordon's
death. It was edited by Arnold Gingrich, who was the publisher of
"Esquire" magazine. Fly fishing writing in those days was IMHO far
more literate in those days than now. I think Borzoi editions of this
book would still be available for less than $50.

I will dig out my Hewitt's in a day or two for usable citations.

Dave

Who still prefers Wood-ware (IE real books on real paper)

The Gordon compilation is one I probably re-read every winter, as well.
It's amazing the insights the man had, and how 'modern' some of his patterns
and ideas were. You are right about his personal character, at times, his
writing can even get a bit maudlin, a by-product of his solitary
nature..

I agree completely on 'real books'. I guess, as I look back on it, my annual
angling cycle consists of reading and tying in the winters, and
fishing in the spring through the late autumn. Not that I'd suggest that my
way is the 'right' way, but it forms a comfortable cycle for me. When I was
younger, I tended to pound the streams 12 months a year, but have found a
slower pace, with more time spent studying and learning from the past adds a
bit of depth to the sport.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Tom

Yep.
On another related note . . . There is a great picture of Gordon in
the Gingrich book I cited earlier. He is standing in the stream, rod
in hand. It is one of the heavy rods he seemed to favor (now that
heavy rod business is a puzzlement to me). But the plate before that
one is a photo of the mysterious "LadyBeaverkill," the only woman
associated with Gordon. To your knowledge, has anyone ever figured out
who she was?

Dave

"DaveS" wrote in message
...
On another related note . . . There is a great picture of Gordon in
the Gingrich book I cited earlier. He is standing in the stream, rod
in hand. It is one of the heavy rods he seemed to favor (now that
heavy rod business is a puzzlement to me). But the plate before that
one is a photo of the mysterious "LadyBeaverkill," the only woman
associated with Gordon. To your knowledge, has anyone ever figured out
who she was?

Dave

not that I'm aware of. I can't say that I pursued that subject to any
degree, however. On the heavy rod note: someone I spoke with once had the
chance to hold one of Gordon's rods, which(I believe) is in the Catskill Fly
Fishing museum collection. Apparently, it was a truly heavy beast of a rod.
Tom