History Fly Fishing in the United States

History Fly Fishing in the United States: Many people give recognition for the first recorded usage of an artificial fly to the Roman Claudius Aelianus sometime near the end of the 2nd century. Since then, the history of fly fishing has woven its way into the fabric of just about every society on the planet.

As we follow along with history, we see that the fly fishing we enjoy today has its roots in the streams of Northern England and Scotland. After the writings in the 2nd Century, the next major writing about this sport doesn't come on the scene until 1496, when the "The Treatyse on Fysshynge with an Angle" was published.

This book possesses instructions about how to make rods, line and hooks which can be used. Also described in this book are "dressings" for many types of flies which can be used at different times during the year. Some of the patterns for the flies described in the book are still used by anglers today. This book also described the rods employed by anglers during that time period. They are described as having been made from flexible wood and being about 18 feet long. The fly line was described as being made of hand-braided horsehair and tied to the end of the rod.

In the United States during the late 19th century, fly anglers used fly tackle to fish many a region's streams and rivers. Many of these early American fly fishermen not only developed new fly patterns which worked extremely well in North America, but they wrote about the sport. This helped to increase the sport's popularity throughout this country.


In 1856, Charles Orvis founded the Orvis Company in Manchester, Vermont. They sold what the company considered to be the finest fly fishing equipment. Despite the hard economic and otherwise tumultuous times to come within the next 75 years, the Orvis Company is still in business today offering their gear to the world.

It should be noted that at the turn of the 20th Century, many changes and advances were being made to fly fishing equipment. As the sport continued to find appeal, so went the demand for more modern gear to meet the angler's needs. For example, prior to the 1880's fly rods had either been machined or had pig skin tied to the ends for handles. By the 1900's, ground cork was being used, similar to what you can still find on rods today.

However, just as the advancements were being made in fly rod and fly reel technology they found a set back with the Great Depression and the Second World War engulfing the United States. From 1930-1950, many of the fly items produced were often worst quality than fly gear you could get 50 years earlier. It wasn't until the 1950's that fly fishing saw improvements in reasonably priced fiberglass rods and synthetic fly line. This all helped to revive the appeal of the sport and from then on, the United States began to lead the way in the production of fly fishing equipment.

As fly fishermen increased in numbers, many changes continued to occur in this country. For example, fly anglers in the United States are thought to be the first fishermen who used artificial lures when fly fishing for bass. This spawned an entire drive to produce patterns specifically for large and small mouth bass. These developments in flies took the form of a spinner- fly lure, some of which are still used today.

In recent years, the pursuit of fly fishing has surged across the United States. This is partially due to a number of factors such as the ever increasing number of baby boomers discovering the sport and the inception of fly fishing into movies produced in Hollywood like "A River Runs Through It." Today, there are entire shows and channels dedicated to the sport of fly fishing on many cable networks; all of these things combining to create visibility for the sport and drive more people to take up this ancient form of fishing.

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