Fishing

Innovations of a Scientist-Angler This is a great book for the fly fisher. Writings from one of the most original and provocative fly-fishing theorists of the twentieth century. Important inquiries into the nature of trout and the challenges of catching them with flies. James Mottram wrote at the height of great intellectual turmoil in the world of British fly fishing, when advocates of dry-fly fishing quarreled with their nymph-fishing counterparts over which type of fishing was not only more effective but also more "appropriate" on England's famous chalkstreams. Mottram stepped into this bitter controversy with writings that calmly considered the strengths, weaknesses, and prospects of all fly-fishing methods. In his introduction to this first American edition of Mottram's writings, Paul Schullery praises Mottram's "enthusiastic voice, ceaseless curiosity, and intuitive sense of how things worked." Schullery concludes that Mottram, who was rare among early angling authorities in actually being scientifically trained, "applied a disciplined understanding of nature's subtlety and complexity to the study of the trout's world." That he was also a lively and inventive storyteller only adds to the value of his work today. About Schullery, Paul

I was recently given a silk line line, which I am going to try out on the three bamboo rods which were gifted to me by Rim Chung and Gary Dewey.  Ever since 2013 when Scientific Anglers was purchased from 3M by the Orvis Company, based in Manchester, Vermont, the first ownership change for Scientific Anglers in decades, their lines have gone downhills and Rio and others have come up. This sale lead to a complete rebranding of the company, with a new color scheme, new logo, and new packaging.  Sometimes, in faces of change, we need to return to the old, as well as trying some of the new.  Silk fly lines are one of the originals behind horse hair lines. It’s extremely difficult, if not impossible, to tie your leader to the line with a nail knot or similar connection, since the tip of the silk line is much finer and more flexible than the butt of your leader.  So, superglue is often applied to assist in the holding of the knot. On the other hand, I have discovered that I can turn over even very long leaders using leaders with a butt diameter of only .015 or even .013. Many old fly fishing books have illustrations that contain directions for attaching leaders to silk lines. I have found that a tiny loop spliced in the end of the line, and a perfection loop in the butt section of the leader is the perfect solution. This is not only convenient for attaching leaders, but for reversing the line on the reel. Cleaning and dressing a silk line is not the onerous burden modern line makers would have you believe. Examining any line imperfections