The Contented Angler
"The Genuine Fly Shop"
"The Genuine Fly Shop"
| The fly anglers who lived through the great era of fly fishing and literature are quickly leaving us as they are called home to the home pool and their final resting place. Through their written word, they leave us sincere writing that reflects that historical era in fly fishing. They didn’t hold their rod up for you to see, and they didn’t wear the Sage hat. Today, it is more important that the rod or hat be in focus to make a good picture. This exposes the author’s insincere intentions. I wonder if today’s young people ever wonder how the names; Quill Gordon, Hendrickson, Lt. Cahill or Green Drake originated. I wonder if they even care. Each one of these names is a page of fly fishing history and although entomologists’ would like us to use the Latin names for proper identification, we prefer to use the names that fellow anglers have christened these insects with. Mention the name White Fly and you will get a history of Yellow Breeches creek. Trico will provide you with stories of Falling Springs creek. These simple names should be preserved and passed on to future generations. Just as the gardener can successfully grow a plant without knowing the Latin name, the fly angler doesn’t need Latin to experience a good day of fishing. It would be nice to know that one of the many insects we refer to as “Blue Winged Olive” emerges with a bright green body and darkens as it is exposed to the atmosphere, and we would have to know the Latin name to verify this, it wouldn’t ruin our day on the stream if we didn’t. Look at the flies in your local fly shop. They won’t be labeled Stenonema. They will be labeled as March Browns, Lt. Cahills and Grey Foxes. The technical books of today have their place, but if you want to learn fly fishing, read the stories. Hemingway described the Gulf stream with simple yet carefully arranged words so that we may see the subject through his eyes. We understand why he loved it so much. Look for books that have a few layers of dust on them. The yellowed pages and the texture of the paper hold fresh words that will always be appropriate for the times. The loose binding and yellow stains that reveal the books age only enhances the words.The Great books all find their final resting place on the library shelves where they collect dust and deteriorate. Their words are the most meaningful when they reach this condition. The fly anglers that are leaving us have lived through the good fishing and provided us with the best literature in fly fishing. They lived through a period when something made by hand by a master craftsman meant something. I have my doubts whether young people today appreciate these treasures. Someone will one day write a book concerning the history of fly fishing, but it won’t be the same. It won’t come from the heart. It won’t come from someone who lived for the click of a Hardy reel. Is there another Ernest Hemingway or Charles Ritz out there? I seriously doubt it. As Stan Bogdan leaves us, the final chapter in the history of fly fishing comes to an end. He leaves us a great gift in the treasures he has provided us. Some do it with words and some do it with their hands. We are out of both. |
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I could fill the entire site with words about the life of Stan Bogdan and I have
the resources to do it, but it would take a special person to write it and I am
not that man.
the resources to do it, but it would take a special person to write it and I am
not that man.
The Final Chapter