WET FLY WAYS.

[Fontinalis]

First let's get to a point why did wet flies become a forgotten classic in the USA. One was due to the developement of the American CATSKILL Dry Fly by Theodore Gordon who had followiers that preserved the style Gordon came up with ala Steenrod and Rubin Cross. Second after Ray Bergmans book Trout the dry Fly, Nymph, streamer and moving forward emergers and new styles of flies like the Hay stacks and comparaduns were taking over. Also look at the addition of new material to be used into fly tying that was not available in older days. So wet flies were pushed a side and forgotten about. Now why was this fly forgotten about in the USA for so long. Not so easy to find materials llike Duck and Goose quills in assorted died colors. How about that wet flies took a little patience and practice to tye and make them look good to beautiful, lastly there is not a lot of us out there that teach and show how to tye wet flies. Then lastly I am at times alone in this catagory, fish them. Now far as pattern for the USA, I would never be with out the following list:

1) Hare Ear wet
2) Green Wells Glory
3) Blue Professor
4) Dark Hendrickson wet
5) The Captain
6) The Black Prince
7) The Grizzly King
8) Grey Hackle Peacock
9) The Romyn
10) Cahills being light and Dark
11) Pink Lady
12) English March Brown
13) Fontinalis Fin

Now add to the fact that today's newbies to wet flies does not have an uderstanding how to fix/repair quills that are rippled or slighly magled, do not know how to get flank wing materials other than going to a local fly shop. Then lets talk about fishing them. I have heard all the way on this site to fish them, and have also heard about fishing wet flies in size 12 & 14. Guy's I have been fishing size 6 & 8 wet flies with much success in the Catskills and in NJ and in PA. I have been experimenting with all the flies in Bergman's book Trout and have been finding when they work and under what stream conditions and wheather. I too have a copy of Davys wet fly ways and love it. I don't all agree with everything in the video about the fishing, but Dayy did show me a much easier and affective leader to easily constuct for three wet fly rigs. I am very please to see so much interest agin in the USA about wet flies and can't wait to meet some of you and fish wet fly's together on stream.

Fontinalis
AKA Andy B

[Davyfly]

Andy,

Yes, you are probably right in why wet fly fishing lost its way here in the US. There is a misconception that fly fishers in the UK are dry fly fishers, far from the truth and always has been.

It was only the few who cast a fly on the hallowed chalk streams found in the south of England that pursued that way of thought, Mr, Halford being the one most known, which as you may well know also resulted in transatlantic communications, which l have no doubt may well have been one of the reason why there was a move to ward dry fly fishing here in the US.


I think also further considerations here are the resources that at that time fly fishers were able to use, at least in pursuit of trout, all be it Brook trout would have been included.
What was at that time the domain of Brown and Rainbow trout as we know it to day.
Was there a very limited number of persons who pursued fly fishing and was that largely confined to the upper NE regions. which in many some ways also has a similarity to what took place in England so far as the chalk streams, which are confined to a small zone in the south.

Fly fishers by and large that fished Scotland, Wales and Ireland had no clue.
Publications at that time were limited to say the least.

The Hardy company no doubt has some impact here. Catalogues of the late 1800s, some of which l own, no doubt spread the word further, most certainly with the availability of flies for trout and salmon fishing around the world to the gentry. Not to mention fly fishing equipment.

I frequently look at those catalogues of the past, T

[Davyfly]

Power surge here, lost my post.

Those catalogues contain so much historical information one way or the other. Much of which is not known to day.

As a matter of interest for you here Andy. It was the company of Messina who were by far the purveyors of fly tying material in the past in the UK, before it was taken over by the Veniard family, many of them l knew before they passed away.
John was in fact a very good friend of mine.
I spent many hours in the warhouse of Veniards which was in fact a house in the middle of a regular English street would you believe.

Davy.

[Fontinalis]

Davy:

I have a Verniard LTD pamphlet or very small paer book called:

WET Flies

Dressing Of Eighty-two Useful

Wet Fly Patterns

The book is from:

E.Verniard LTD.
Paramount Warehouses
138 Northwood Road
Thorton Heath, Surrey
England, CR4 8YG

Would this by any chance the place you are referring to?


Andy

[Davyfly]

Yes, that was the business address.

DW.

[alanb_ct]

Like an earnest student reading the text before the lecture, I have finished watching Davy's DVD called "Wet Fly Ways." The final sequence of a large brown caught during a hailstorm is alone worth the price of admission. I am slowly creeping up the learning curve, but I can already see many, many applications to Mr. Wotton's techniques in CT, especially during caddis activity. I highly recommend this DVD, especially for those of us taking the class next month. An excellent way to spend two hours learning a new way to fish, but also a huge benefit to whatever way you currently fish.

[Davyfly]

alanb,

Many thanks for the compliments. Its was a great deal to get into a 160 min DVD. I could have added a great deal more here, may be we will shoot a no2 as this DVD has been a great national success.
I did shoot a new DVD in MT last August related to stillwater FF, wet fly fishing is also here very important, particularly the UK loch style techniques.

Aside from the big Browns l caught that day when we filmed, l guess my favourite section is the very last when we were fishing and the bugs were in the air.
Did you notice my little Jack Russel Terrier, both Sian and her daughter are my constant fishiing companions on the boat, the customers love em. They take no notice of fish any more, after seeing on avergage 8,000 fish a year caught by the customers and myself when we go fishing for fun.

Davy.

[alanb_ct]

When will the stillwater DVD become available?

I did in fact notice your four-legged companion. My family has one too, of the Yorkshire variety. Our dog Jack is a great pal, but does not tolerate other dogs so well, so thus far he has not joined me on the stream. He is a great friend for a walk in the woods, however, and really enjoys rooting out small objects and tracking animals.

If you do in fact shoot a second wet fly video, I am confident it will also find great success.

[Nymphmeister]

I also had the chance to watch the Wet Fly Ways DVD several times last week when I was laid up with the flu, and I really liked it. Tons of info, I learned a lot, think I need to watch it another 100x to soak it all in. I hope you do a 2nd wet fly DVD, I'm hungry for even more info now. I want to see how you fish them with a full sink line. Also curious to see you tie some of the patterns you showed- when is your wet fly tying DVD due out?

[alanb_ct]

Davy,

Pardon my lack of strict interpretation of the method, but are wet flies ever considered as small streamers or young-of-year baitfish representations? This Saturday morning I was fishing some small pockets with a wet fly tandem, and it occurred to me that the fish were sometimes hitting the flies as they would a small bucktail streamer.