II 



THE FASCINATION OF IT 



FISHING, that is, the capture of fish by 

 any crude means that come handy, must 

 naturally be regarded as an ancient 

 practice. Artificial fly-fishing, however, 

 might perhaps be reasonably pronounced a fairly 

 modern device, since it smacks of subtlety. But 

 it is by no means modern. Indeed, like all things 

 under the sun, it is neither new, not even com- 

 paratively new. But it is not easy to say when 

 the art first began. 



The late Mr. Thomas Westwood had a sug- 

 gestive note in Notes and Queries for March 25th, 

 1871. He said : " There can be little doubt that 

 the invention of the artificial fly is of very ancient 

 date. Who shall say, indeed, how soon after the 

 fall of man this cunning lure of the fisherman first 

 fell on the rivers outside Eden ? How old is the 

 sport ? is a question continually asked. Probably 

 as old as hunger." 



The first literary reference to fly-fishing occurs 

 in ./Elian's " History of Animals," which relates 

 how the fly hippurus was imitated by Macedonian 

 anglers by the Astntus and used in effigy as a 

 lure for the fish of that river. 



