Fountains of Youth – Classic trout flies that have withstood the test of time … flies that remain “forever young”
by Rusty Dunn
The winds of change are often gentle at first, but they freshen with time. Little by little, old ideas fade away, replaced by new ones. Only hindsight reveals when a transition actually occurred. For wet fly fishing in America, the winds of change began in 1941 with publication of The Art of Tying the Wet Fly by James Leisenring. This 81 page treasure of a book introduced English-style soft-hackled flies and methods to American anglers. It appeared just three short years after publication of Ray Bergman’s 1938 blockbuster Trout, which included a lengthy description of wet fly methods and flies. The colored plates of wet flies in Trout are truly magnificent. Page after page, row after row, hundreds upon hundreds of brightly colored flies. Legendary flies, such as the Leadwing Coachman, Parmachene Belle, Wickham’s Fancy, and Greenwell’s Glory. Smartly dressed soldiers in a vintage army, almost all of which are tied with wings of matched quill slips slanted rearward over the body. Where are such flies today? They’re mostly in the unturned pages of old tying books and the untraveled corners of antique fly boxes. The wet flies pictured in Trout are fossils of a bygone era. Headstones of former champions. Leisenring brought a new style of wet fly to America, one as old as fly fishing itself.
“Big Jim” Leisenring (1878-1951) grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. A toolmaker by trade, he was tall, bronzed, and spoke with the accent of his German ancestors. He fished the limestone spring creeks of eastern Pennsylvania for over 40 years while refining his knowledge, methods, and flies. Leisenring studied the English foundations of fly fishing, and he corresponded with G.E.M. Skues. But, he didn’t slavishly follow the British masters. Instead, he experimented with their flies and ideas, modified them based on his Pennsylvania experiences, and created a new synthesis.
Leisenring kept decades of meticulous fishing notes, but writing did not come easily to him. He was a reluctant author whose friends persuaded him to publish a book. Friend and student Vernon ‘Pete’ Hidy made the first edition possible by transcribing Leisenring’s tutelage into a short but important manuscript. Leisenring supplied the content, and Pete Hidy provided the clarity. The Art of Tying the Wet Fly is arguably the most influential 81 pages in American angling literature, because it established a uniquely American wet-fly tradition. The first edition appeared during the turmoil of World War II and was of modest impact. A second edition co-authored with Pete Hidy (The Art of Tying the Wet Fly and Fishing the Flymph, 1971) had much greater impact.
The Art of Tying the Wet Fly is primarily about fly tying. Five short pages discuss methods of wet fly fishing. Those few paragraphs describe what later became known as a “Leisenring Lift”, which Charles Brooks described as “probably the most deadly nymph method known“. Like all masters of the dark arts, Leisenring learned the importance of action and movement in design and presentation of nymphs. Leisenring’s soft feathery materials spring to life in moving water, and he was a wizard at seductively manipulating them before trout. The Leisenring Lift was but one of many presentations that Leisenring developed. He intended to write a second book on wet fly fishing, but time ran out before thoughts were reduced to paper. We are all poorer for its absence. Fortunately, Pete Hidy supplied many of the details in a ‘Part II’ that he added to the second edition. Additionally, Hidy’s Sports Illustrated Book of Wet-Fly Fishing (1960) is an undiscovered gem that expands on Leisenring’s and his own wet fly methods.
James Leisenring was truly one of the great fly fishing pioneers. He patiently observed trout and insects, studied the insights of old masters, refined his methods during decades of experience, and quietly shared his knowledge in an influential book that is rich in content. Big Jim didn’t enjoy the limelight, but he is one of America’s most original and creative anglers.
Copyright 2019, Rusty Dunn
March Brown Nymph
| Hook: |
Wet fly, #13 |
| Thread: |
Orange silk |
| Tail: |
Three fibers from a cock pheasant tail feather tied very short |
| Body: |
Three reddish fibers from a center feather of a cock pheasant’s tail |
| Rib: |
Gold or silver wire |
| Thorax: |
Hare’s ear fur dubbed quite heavily |
| Hackle: |
A short-fibered, light brown feather from the Hungarian Partridge |
March Brown Nymph
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Last Updated: September 5, 2019 by Drew Kasel
by Rusty Dunn
The winds of change are often gentle at first, but they freshen with time. Little by little, old ideas fade away, replaced by new ones. Only hindsight reveals when a transition actually occurred. For wet fly fishing in America, the winds of change began in 1941 with publication of The Art of Tying the Wet Fly by James Leisenring. This 81 page treasure of a book introduced English-style soft-hackled flies and methods to American anglers. It appeared just three short years after publication of Ray Bergman’s 1938 blockbuster Trout, which included a lengthy description of wet fly methods and flies. The colored plates of wet flies in Trout are truly magnificent. Page after page, row after row, hundreds upon hundreds of brightly colored flies. Legendary flies, such as the Leadwing Coachman, Parmachene Belle, Wickham’s Fancy, and Greenwell’s Glory. Smartly dressed soldiers in a vintage army, almost all of which are tied with wings of matched quill slips slanted rearward over the body. Where are such flies today? They’re mostly in the unturned pages of old tying books and the untraveled corners of antique fly boxes. The wet flies pictured in Trout are fossils of a bygone era. Headstones of former champions. Leisenring brought a new style of wet fly to America, one as old as fly fishing itself.
“Big Jim” Leisenring (1878-1951) grew up in Allentown, Pennsylvania. A toolmaker by trade, he was tall, bronzed, and spoke with the accent of his German ancestors. He fished the limestone spring creeks of eastern Pennsylvania for over 40 years while refining his knowledge, methods, and flies. Leisenring studied the English foundations of fly fishing, and he corresponded with G.E.M. Skues. But, he didn’t slavishly follow the British masters. Instead, he experimented with their flies and ideas, modified them based on his Pennsylvania experiences, and created a new synthesis.
Leisenring kept decades of meticulous fishing notes, but writing did not come easily to him. He was a reluctant author whose friends persuaded him to publish a book. Friend and student Vernon ‘Pete’ Hidy made the first edition possible by transcribing Leisenring’s tutelage into a short but important manuscript. Leisenring supplied the content, and Pete Hidy provided the clarity. The Art of Tying the Wet Fly is arguably the most influential 81 pages in American angling literature, because it established a uniquely American wet-fly tradition. The first edition appeared during the turmoil of World War II and was of modest impact. A second edition co-authored with Pete Hidy (The Art of Tying the Wet Fly and Fishing the Flymph, 1971) had much greater impact.
The Art of Tying the Wet Fly is primarily about fly tying. Five short pages discuss methods of wet fly fishing. Those few paragraphs describe what later became known as a “Leisenring Lift”, which Charles Brooks described as “probably the most deadly nymph method known“. Like all masters of the dark arts, Leisenring learned the importance of action and movement in design and presentation of nymphs. Leisenring’s soft feathery materials spring to life in moving water, and he was a wizard at seductively manipulating them before trout. The Leisenring Lift was but one of many presentations that Leisenring developed. He intended to write a second book on wet fly fishing, but time ran out before thoughts were reduced to paper. We are all poorer for its absence. Fortunately, Pete Hidy supplied many of the details in a ‘Part II’ that he added to the second edition. Additionally, Hidy’s Sports Illustrated Book of Wet-Fly Fishing (1960) is an undiscovered gem that expands on Leisenring’s and his own wet fly methods.
James Leisenring was truly one of the great fly fishing pioneers. He patiently observed trout and insects, studied the insights of old masters, refined his methods during decades of experience, and quietly shared his knowledge in an influential book that is rich in content. Big Jim didn’t enjoy the limelight, but he is one of America’s most original and creative anglers.
Copyright 2019, Rusty Dunn
March Brown Nymph
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