The History and Evolution of the Trout Fly

Part 1

Andrew Marshall

From the Foreword: "Andrew Marshall's passion and perseverance for historical accuracy, coupled with his artistic tying talent, have recreated a visual and tactile history of the flies tied and fished by our forefathers. From a historical perspective, The History and Evolution of the Trout Fly - Part 1 traces the evolution of fly patterns, where they were first documented and how they were passed from author to author, often "borrowed" in their own works. From a practical perspective, the book chronicles Andrew's decades of fly tying experience and scholarly study of fifteenth to eighteenth century European and British patterns, materials and tying techniques."  -  Michael Hackney

Anyone interested in historical flies has surely seen representations of the twelve flies listed in the Treatyse of Fishing With an Angle, which Isaac Walton "borrowed" (without attribution) for his Compleat Angler. One is less likely to have seen the flies of Thomas Barker or James Chetham, much less likely to have seen the flies of Juan de Bergera or Fernando Basurto, and much, much less likely to have seen the flies of the Tegernsee Manuscript. They're all in The History and Evolution of the Trout Fly, though.

What is even more remarkable is that all of the flies listed were tied by Andrew Marshall, in hand (without a vise), as they would have been at the time, following the instructions given by each of the authors. Each fly is tied to a horsehair snell, as they would have been at the  time. You will not see more accurate representations of the historical flies than are presented in The History and Evolution of the Trout Fly. And if you want to give it a go yourself, the book provides a step-by-step description, with photos, of how to tie Charles Cotton's Great Hackle (yellow), in hand, to a horsehair snell.

Reel Lines Press, Groton MA 2013
Paperback, 247 pages
10 7/8 x 8 1/2 in.

Near new condition - minimal sign of wear.

Contents

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Preface
Introduction

Chapter 1   From the Beginning to the 17th Century

Chapter 2   The 17th Century

Chapter 3   The 18th Century

Chapter 4   Tying the Ancient Flies
                 A Word About Substitute Materials
                 Archaic Colour Terminology
                 Tying in Hand
                 The Actual Flies
                 About the Materials
                 Flies of the Tegernsee Manuscript, 1493
                 The Flies of Fernando Basurto, 1539
                 The Treatyse Flies, Also the Walton Flies, 1496, 1655
                 Flies From the Manuscrito de Astorga of Juan de
                        Bergera, 1624
                 The Flies of Thomas Barker, 1651
                 The Flies of Charles Cotton, 1676
                 The Bowlker and Kirby Flies, 1747, 1784
                 List 1 of the three fly lists compiled by Sir John Hawkins,
                        1755
                 List 2 of the three fly lists compiled by Sir John Hawkins,
                        1755
Bibliography
Online Sources
Suppliers
Index of Patterns

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