A Golden Age Of Fly Tackle

Throughout the ages old codgers have always been ready to tell the world just how tough things were when they were young – and how easy things are for the new generation. Perhaps that view is wearing a bit thin, especially in the present economic climate, but there is one area where we have never had it so good – modern fly fishing tackle These thoughts came to the surface as I was sorting out some old tackle that had been cluttering up the house and getting it ready to go to auction. One rod in particular made me realise how far we had come. It was a greenheart salmon fly rod made by Hardy around 1900 that was 23 ft long and weighed in at 2 lb 12 oz – I can only assume that most of the salmon anglers of that period had a ghillie to carry the rod down to the river.

Fast forward half a century to the 1950s when I started fly fishing and the split cane rod that I used to fish at Chew Valley and Blagdon just topped 8 oz and had only a fraction of the power of the 4 oz carbon fibre rod that I now use on the lakes. And the rods that I use on the trout streams are only around 2 oz. Today we take for granted fly lines that both shoot smoothly and float well but my first line, like that of other anglers at the time, was made of silk and quickly absorbed water. The first task of the day was greasing the line, which was fine until casting removed the grease. 

Then – and this was often just when the trout started rising – the line began to sink and it was necessary to strip it off the reel, hang it out to dry and then grease it all over again. By that time, of course, the rise had come to a stop. Fortunately, I did not have to wait too long before the first synthetic floating lines came along and today we enjoy a wonderful range of fly lines from the highest-riding floater to the fast sinking lines that get us right down to the depths. One of the items that went to auction was a damper tin in which the brittle gut casts of the first half of the 20th century had to be soaked before they became supple

enough to use. By the time I became a fly fisher, monofilament nylon had arrived and in much-improved form remains with us as a leader material, though now joined by fluorocarbon and copolymer. These developments – and others like ever lighter fly reels, breathable waders, an infinite range of fly hooks – provide the fly fisher with the means of being more effective than ever in angling history. Fortunately, the very best tackle can only support our efforts to fool the fish and we still need as much skill, river craft and experience as ever to be successful.

Thankfully there will always be days when the fish make complete fools of us all.