Middle Fork of the Salmon

On Sat, 05 Aug 2006 17:48:47 -0600, rw
wrote:

From the boat during the day, while floating, I'd fish large
terrestrials along the bank. I'd expect a lot of caddis in the morning
and the evening. There are some mayfly hatches, but they're sporadic and
sparse in my experience. A stonefly nymph followed by a PT or a GRHE is
a good choice when the fishing is slow on top. Also a big gaudy dry fly
fished in the holes -- Madam X and Turk's Tarantula are local favorites.
Don't pull the trigger too soon when you see the fish come up from ten
feet down.

Sort of the way it was when my grandson Brian and I fished it four
years ago. While we only fished about a mile upstream and a mile
downstream from the footbridge at the fire ranger landing strip, I
found the river one of the most enchanting I've ever fished. Although
it was a bit on the dirty side, we did have some fun on dries, and
Madam X was one of the patterns the guide suggested. Brian, ever so
much like his grandpa, did very well with nymphs.

Thanks for the info/advice, Steve.

Dave

Dave LaCourse wrote:

Madam X was one of the patterns the guide suggested.


The Madam X is a versatile generic terrestrial pattern. It's also an
easy tie. I used to think that the "X" came from the way the rubber legs
were tied in, but now I have another theory.

I think Doug Swisher, the inventor, might have had, in the back of his
mind, the famous John Singer Sargeant painting, Madame X:

http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Madame_X.htm

The painting was shocking at the time -- evocatively, alluringly erotic.
Sargeant was effectively banned from the Paris Salon because of the
controversy.

Sargeant was a masterful painter of oil portraits -- he commanded small
fortunes from high society types. I think he was a great and
underappreciated painter who was frustrated in his artistic career,
largely because of the reaction to Madame X. He did a few watercolor
paintings of moving water that are the best I've ever seen, and they
were only a small diversion for him.

--
Cut "to the chase" for my email address.

rw wrote:


The Madam X is a versatile generic terrestrial pattern. It's also an
easy tie. I used to think that the "X" came from the way the rubber legs
were tied in, but now I have another theory.

I think Doug Swisher, the inventor, might have had, in the back of his
mind, the famous John Singer Sargeant painting, Madame X:

http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Madame_X.htm

The painting was shocking at the time -- evocatively, alluringly erotic.
Sargeant was effectively banned from the Paris Salon because of the
controversy.

Sargeant was a masterful painter of oil portraits -- he commanded small
fortunes from high society types. I think he was a great and
underappreciated painter who was frustrated in his artistic career,
largely because of the reaction to Madame X. He did a few watercolor
paintings of moving water that are the best I've ever seen, and they
were only a small diversion for him.


i don't know squat about swisher, or the back of his mind, but if a jss
painting inspired his naming of the fly, i'm impressed. any theory on
how the "humpy" got its name? g

jeff

On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:44:13 -0400, jeff wrote:

i don't know squat about swisher, or the back of his mind, but if a jss
painting inspired his naming of the fly, i'm impressed. any theory on
how the "humpy" got its name? g

I'm pretty sure Wayno named that one.
--
Charlie...
http://www.chocphoto.com

"Charlie Choc" wrote in message
news
On Sun, 06 Aug 2006 10:44:13 -0400, jeff wrote:

i don't know squat about swisher, or the back of his mind, but if a jss
painting inspired his naming of the fly, i'm impressed. any theory on
how the "humpy" got its name? g

I'm pretty sure Wayno named that one.
--
Charlie...


And I guess the stimulator got it's name from Delacroix's " Jewish Wedding
in Morocco."

Joe

"jeff" wrote in message
news:VenBg.2334$W01.903@dukeread08...
rw wrote:


The Madam X is a versatile generic terrestrial pattern. It's also an
easy tie. I used to think that the "X" came from the way the rubber legs
were tied in, but now I have another theory.

I think Doug Swisher, the inventor, might have had, in the back of his
mind, the famous John Singer Sargeant painting, Madame X:

http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Madame_X.htm

The painting was shocking at the time -- evocatively, alluringly erotic.
Sargeant was effectively banned from the Paris Salon because of the
controversy.

Sargeant was a masterful painter of oil portraits -- he commanded small
fortunes from high society types. I think he was a great and
underappreciated painter who was frustrated in his artistic career,
largely because of the reaction to Madame X. He did a few watercolor
paintings of moving water that are the best I've ever seen, and they
were only a small diversion for him.


i don't know squat about swisher, or the back of his mind, but if a jss
painting inspired his naming of the fly, i'm impressed. any theory on
how the "humpy" got its name? g

jeff

The actual name of the mysterious Madame X was Amelie (Virginie) Gautreau.
It was the original version of the painting that "shocked" the 1884 Paris
Salon. The original had the strap (her right) of her gown, down on her arm.
The version we see today was the original, repainted with the strap up. As
Deborah Davis says in her book, "Strapless," Sargent kept the portrait in
his studio for the next 32 years, finally selling it to the Metropolitan a
short time after Gautreau's death. "Today the painting is considered to be
Sargent's masterpiece."

During the first half of the 20th century Sargent was overtaken like many
others by impressionism and modernism. He was considered old fashioned and
irrelevant. By the 1970s he was again gaining interest and now is very
popular. His emotional life was complicated in that he was at least
bisexual and most probably gay, and subject for years to fear of the same
English laws that were used to persecute Oscar W.

I really like his architectural drawings from Italy. He was a master of the
male figure with charcoal, and his brushwork in oil can be as expressive and
economical as that of Rembrant. Although he lived mostly in Europe, he is a
wonderful American realist painter. I believe Scotland has his drawings, but
the Gardner in Boston, and the Met have multiple Sargents and others are
scattered throughout the US.

Dave

"jeff" wrote in message
news:VenBg.2334$W01.903@dukeread08...
rw wrote:


The Madam X is a versatile generic terrestrial pattern. It's also an
easy tie. I used to think that the "X" came from the way the rubber
legs
were tied in, but now I have another theory.

I think Doug Swisher, the inventor, might have had, in the back of his
mind, the famous John Singer Sargeant painting, Madame X:

http://www.jssgallery.org/Paintings/Madame_X.htm

The painting was shocking at the time -- evocatively, alluringly
erotic.
Sargeant was effectively banned from the Paris Salon because of the
controversy.

Sargeant was a masterful painter of oil portraits -- he commanded small
fortunes from high society types. I think he was a great and
underappreciated painter who was frustrated in his artistic career,
largely because of the reaction to Madame X. He did a few watercolor
paintings of moving water that are the best I've ever seen, and they
were only a small diversion for him.


i don't know squat about swisher, or the back of his mind, but if a jss
painting inspired his naming of the fly, i'm impressed. any theory on
how the "humpy" got its name? g



I knew Doug Swisher superficially (business), and used to supply him with
his Madam X pattern commercially, and although he never told me the thinking
behind the name (other than the rubber legs forming an "X" when viewed from
above), my guess is that the 1966 Lana Turner movie - Madam X, would be more
in keeping with his tastes and personality.

IMHO, YMMV...

http://imdb.com/title/tt0060645/


Skwala

BTW, I'm sure he still is counted amoung the living, somewhere, and even has
a web site, why don't you google him and ask him

RW--got out my log book and found I was about 80 miles west of Loon creek
when we saw ww 2 airplane crashed in lake. We were over by South Fork
around Loon Lake.
However the clave we attended was on Big Creek which flows into Middle
Salmon. Water was so fast my catching was limited as I had hard time
standing up and we probably only fished half way down to junction with
Salmon.

Have fun in Alaska and know that this old man really envies your group of
rowdees

Joe