The Complete Guide To Fly Fishing

The Evolution of American Fly Fishing

“If Thaddeus Norris was the father of American fly fishing, then Theodore Gordon must have been his spiritual son. Gordon inherited a British tradition of fly fishing, pondered over it, and then spawned a uniquely American school. Gordon's influence stretches right down to the present day, through such classic American fly tiers as Reub Cross, Roy Steenrod (who created the Hendrickson,) Herman Christian, the Dettes and the Darbees.”

Theodore Gordon; A Fly-fishing History’ by Dr. Andrew N. Herd 

It was the flies of Theodore Gordon that gave American fly-tiers the confidence to break away from the shadow of the English school. 

When Mr. Gordon turned 36, American fly fishing was still focused on wet flies.  He began the practice of fishing upstream, and he noticed that fish often leapt at his wet fly just before it descended into the water.  Thus, it was that he wrote to F.M. Halford in England inquiring about the use of dry flies. 

Mr. Halford sent him a packet of prize dry flies used in the smooth chalk rivers of England.  Mr. Gordon found the English insects they represented were not the same as American insects.  The flies for the docile chalk rivers of England were no match for the rough and tumble waters of American rivers like Neversink.  

G.M. Skues sent him quantities of capes, but Theodore Gordon began to design his own dry flies with stiffer hackles more suited for fishing the rough and tumble American rivers.   Mr. Gordon’s most famous and popular fly pattern was the ‘Quill Gordon’.  He also experimented with one of the first hairwing fly patterns in the late nineteenth century.  

His intention was to tie a better pike fly, but he found, incidentally, that the pattern would catch other game fish, including salmon.  Although, we have yet to find a book written by Mr. Gordon, the next best thing is “Quill Gordon," that was written by John McDonald in 1972.

The evolution of American fly fishing was introduced to Japan during the middle of the last century.   Fly fishing was introduced to Japan by US military based in occupied Japan right after World War II.   

Although there may have been Japanese individuals in earlier days that had traveled abroad and brought back fly fishing experience and equipment for their own use in Japan, the sport did not evolve there until the late 1940s and early 1950s. 

Mayflies, Caddis and Stoneflies are the three major aquatic insects in Japan in their order of importance. Midges like Diptera play an important role in the cooler months. Crane flies emerge in spring and the fish eat little else during that time. The streams in Japan are free stone rivers flowing rapidly.  There are only a few spring creeks in Japan. 

Therefore, one must select flies with extra buoyancy for dry fly fishing.  Ideal western patterns include the parachute style flies.  One of the proven and most popular dry fly in Japan is the Elk Hair Caddis.  Other popular Japanese flies include the Elk Hair Parachute, the Hopper Parachute, the Ant Parachute, the Quill Body, the Black Humpy, the Hare’s Ear Nymph and the Deep Sparkle Pupa.  

Tenkara is the term for traditional Japanese fly fishing.  In Japan, a fly is called Kebari.  Ke in Japanese means feather and bari in Japanese means hook.  The Kebari fly is similar to the soft hackle fly.   The only major difference in Japanese gear is that reels are not used in Tenkara fishing.  The swift flowing streams demand a rod similar to the ones used for short leader nymphing. 

The flies in fly fishing are ever evolving with new materials and expertise.  To keep track of the latest innovations in flies and fly fishing visit the latest Internet fly called Fly Fish Radio the Pod Cast Directory of information featuring fly fishing.  Tap into this resource at: 

http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podcasts/index.php?iid=5173

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