Further oldest records in Polish literature on artificial fly fishing

FURTHER OLDEST RECORDS IN POLISH LITERATURE ON ARTIFICIAL FLY FISHING

                  Continuing the history of the artificial fly in Poland, below I give three old accounts contained in our literature. They concern fishing in the mountains. In an anonymous article from 1884, we read: „Now you can get from them [i.e., the Hutsuls] imitated insects on hooks, which they either already make themselves from different-colored yarns, at which they know how to perfectly match the desired color of the imitated insect, or factory-made ones, from which they have taken patterns for their own. Factory-made robots are still too rare, but that's li because they are too expensive for their tight pockets.” What draws attention in this passage is the information about the making of bow ties by highlanders. In my opinion, the remark that they relied on factory patterns does not correspond to reality. The 1847 entry quoted in P&L No. 20 indicates that the tradition of fly fishing in the Carpathian Mountains can probably trace its roots back as far as the Middle Ages. In Nowicki (1882) there is another passage: „there are those who, except in winter, still fish with hooks or fly rods, and the trout themselves, and when they were told that fishing was not allowed, they laughed that the Fisheries Law did not say that fishing with hooks was not allowed, that the law had forgotten about hooks.” This record indicates the existence of highlanders who often caught fish with a fishing rod. In 1882, an article on trout fishing was published by an author hiding under the initials C.J.K. This is the most accurate - until the publication of J. Rozwadowski - Polish account of fishing for this fish. Thus, it constitutes a valuable source for the knowledge of the history of angling in Poland. Due to the fact that the article is little known, I decided to publish its extensive excerpts on fishing (I omitted the description of the trout's environment and biology). „Let me move before the esteemed readers of the ‘Hunter’ a small picture of trout fishing with a fishing rod, one of the branches of hunting, which to lovers of fishing provides extraordinary charm. I can not claim that it is very difficult to be a master in this profession, but also not very easy, and an indispensable condition for this purpose is diligent attention to the nature of the trout and the study of its mode of life. A master in this regard is our Hucul-fisherman, and no wonder, for he knows exactly what kind of food the trout most readily accepts, at what time of day and year the best catch for him, from boyhood engaged in fishing, in constant contact with nature and its life, he becomes an excellent expert. [...] Having thrown in a few features concerning the nature and mode of life of the trout, I proceed to the task proper, and for the sake of a better overview of things I take the liberty of dividing it into two parts: the description of the rod and bait, and the method of fishing itself.

                  The rod consists of a rod, a string and a hook. The most suitable rods for the rod are given by the hazel bushes growing in the middle of our beech and oak forests, as undergrowth in larger stands, have lofty rods, and do not have the usual many lateral regrowths. Such rods should be cut from the ground, as the offshoots never have the necessary flexibility. The best are the rods cut in the winter season, when the tree has the least amount of sap, namely in December and January, at other times, especially during the sprouting of summer trees, the rods are fragile, so not useful at all. The length of the rods should not carry 3½ to 4 meters, the end in the hand held the thickness of the largest as 3½ cm in diameter. The rod is to be round, not bent in its length, not too thinner from one end to the other. If the rod is bent by nature or after prolonged use, it can be straightened by quite strong heating of the places bent over the flame, because then the rod regains its flexibility and can be corrected. However, be careful that the rod is not burnt out, because then it breaks easily when straightening or in use. Before use, the rods must dry well, for this purpose they are spread out one by one in a dry, airy place, preferably in attics or attics, for several weeks. It is extremely harmful for the rods to fold them in bundles, because then they do not dry properly, spoil and become a hug of insects, rolling them. One tries the usefulness of a rod when cutting in the forest by taking the thicker end of it in the hand, wobbling it and watching carefully which part is giving more. Rods that wobble only at the top, about a third of the top, are the most useful, while those that bend from the middle or the whole length are not useful at all. Some fishermen praise rods made of spruce and young firs. Although they have the desired flexibility, but the lower end of them is much thicker, like a hazel, moreover, withering they soon lose their flexibility, crumble, break, so it is necessary to either constantly cut fresh, or often moisten with water.

The second part of the rod is a cord, one end of which is attached to the thinner end of the rod, while the other is provided with an iron hook. This cord is sometimes twisted from white horsehair alone, or interwoven with silk, or silk in the upper half, attached to the rod, and hair in the lower half. The most commonly used is the bristle cord. Two bristles tied at one end are placed between the index and big toe of the left hand so that the knot of the bristles behind the fingers protrudes, then the same fingers of the right hand twist the bristles, starting from the knot, while moving the bristles upwards. Having twisted them up to the other end, they are tied. If a thicker cord is needed, the above two cords are twisted into one in the same way, tied and rubbed all the way through with rosin, the ends of the bristles from the knots are cut off but not completely. The cord can be of any length, but not longer than 5 to 6 meters, by the way, longer is more suitable, because it can be used in larger water spaces, while in narrower ones, if necessary, around the rod is wound. The thickness of the string is applied to the weight of the fish to be caught, too thick will scare off the trout. In its upper part, the string should be thicker, so let it consist of 12 hairs, while the lower part should be made of 6 or 8. Some fishermen attach at the end of the string a sheepskin, which looks like a string, and to it they tie a hook. With imitated artificial insects, the hook is always tied to a thin, durable enset. The bristle for making the string should always be taken from a live horse, from a dead one under the weight of the caught fish easily breaks. The best is the bristle used for bows, because it is strong and of considerable length. A hook is tied to the thinner end of the string. This is a thin steel rod, bent in the third part into a bail. The shorter end of it is sharpened pointedly, and at almost the very end two small pieces of rod are bent upward, at the bottom they are separated from each other, and at the top they form a single unit with the rod so that this end has the shape of a small anchor. The ends that are separated from each other are also pointed. Such hooks can be purchased in any ironmonger's trade, but care should be taken that they are not rusty and all ends are well sharpened. The best ones come out of English factories, usually bluish in color. As for the size, the most suitable hooks for trout fishing are number three or two. In Hutsul fishermen I have seen hooks made from an ordinary pin, in which only the lower end was bent into a bail. They fish with it as well as with a bought one. Here are the main components of each fishing rod. I distinguish between two types of rods, day and night rods. The day rod is prepared in the manner stated above, and is so named because it is fished with it only during the day and requires the cooperation of the fisherman, who uses a wooden rod to give direction to the hook. The second rod is used only at night. With it there is no rod only a string and a hook. The fisherman is not co-factor, he casts it into the water in the evening and attaches the other end of the string at the shore.

Since the water current can lift the string and towards the shore, and with a night rod it is very important that the hook is more or less in the middle of the bearing; therefore, the string is loaded with a stone, which, having fallen to the bottom, keeps the string in a certain direction. Often the night rod has a different shape. Across the entire width of the river the string is drawn so that it lies entirely in the water, then at certain equal intervals, more or less one-foot long, hooks are attached on strings of various lengths, but not exceeding four feet. When the rod is ready, the bait, or grub for the trout, is placed on the hook. These are the aforementioned favorites of his delicacies, namely various species of insects, flies, worms, small frogs or fish. When threading on the hook, insects and flies are stripped of their wings and legs. For night fishing, small fish, frogs or worms are best. Frogs at daytime can not be used. Be careful when directing the rod, so that the insects and fish have the appearance of living, freely moving. In the absence of live bait, artificial bait in the form of insects is used, either in a factory or by hand. For this purpose, the fisherman winds a yarn on the hook, and attaches to it small bird feathers of colors such as they have at this time, when they float above the water as live. Flies and insects are always enough after the coastal bushes, where they are usually in shady places, and only in the evening above the water they fly up. They are stored in tin cans or glass jars. The worms are dug out of moist soil, where they reside in one-foot depths or under stones. For them, some grass or moss is put into the cans or jars. During a drought, earthworms are obtained by pouring water over a certain area of the ground for a long time, then they soon appear thinking that the rain has moistened the ground. When making artificial bait, as well as when threading live bait, it is necessary to give it a natural form. Only then does the trout grab the pasture without hesitation or simple suspicion. Fishing with a rod begins from the first, beautiful days of spring and continues until the frosts, until October or November. Trout fishing begins in the first bright days of March and lasts until the end of August, for then the spawning begins. For fishing one chooses shady river retreats, where trees do not impede the casting of the rod. When fishing with a ponytail of flies or other insects, one never lets go of the whole line with the hook into the water, but by raising and lowering the hook one directs it in such a way that it seems that the live insect touches the surface of the water and rises again. The bait of the fish is dropped into half the depth of the water. On the skiff, the hook is let go of the water and either followed or removed and cast anew. A weighted lead is used only with a night rod, a popsicle with none. When a trout is caught, you feel it immediately, because it pulls the string, and the rod at the top bends. Often the line is not attached to the rod, but is brought to the hand through a small circle, in which case it is even easier to feel the hooking of the trout. The fisherman collects the fish caught on the night rods in the morning, but he must be on guard that no one has caught a glimpse of it and has not taken it out beforehand.

Trout can be fished throughout the day, after all, the most effective from dawn to 10 o'clock in the morning and in the afternoon from 4 o'clock, because that's when the trout are hungriest and after foraging. Night fishing is set up with the sunset. Silence and a bright day contribute greatly to successful fishing. The time after a temporary rain is also good. When the water is cloudy, use a worm for the day rod, when clear, flies and insects. If the sky is overcast and the wind slightly mars the surface of the water, then the most successful fishing is with an artificial insect, but then you should not often take out and let the rod in. When you learn that a trout is hooked, you don't have to pull the rod out of the water abruptly, but by jerking the string so that the hook is stuck more firmly, you slowly draw the fish to the shore. As a result of a sudden jerk, the string often breaks and not only the trout, but also the hook is lost. In any case, it is necessary to have a supply of hooks. Since trout are cautious and suspicious and good at circling, so you need to approach the water slowly and carefully. A fisherman's outfit is most suitable gray or green, as less glaring. For the caught fish, the most suitable baskets are small, oblong, hanging on a belt over the back. Often two or three hooks are tied on a single line at intervals not too far apart, one above the other on short strings. Of these hooks, the top one is usually the largest. Here is a brief sketch of the way of fishing for trout. This fishing has avid supporters, but also fierce opponents especially for health reasons. It is true that inattention, carelessness, prolonged stay at or in the water causes bad effects, but prudent and moderate such activity, provides a lot of pleasure, and can even become a passion.” In the article, the author described the fishing methods used by highlanders, mainly Hutsuls. This increases the value of the article, as it allows to learn about the traditional equipment and methods of trout fishing. The description shows that foreign influences, especially English (the mention of hooks), were still small at the time. The description notes the use of line up to 5-6 meters long. This was made possible by wrapping the rod with line and/or using an end grommet (possibly a groove at the end of the rod tip). So far, this is the oldest certain information in this regard from Poland. The wrapping of the rod with line, in order to facilitate the hauling of large fish, was already mentioned by Kluk (1780, para. 330). However, it is difficult to determine whether his information applied to Poland, since many parts of his work were transcribed from foreign literature, and the translation may have been inaccurate. The information on artificial fly fishing is valuable. Flies were both imported (factory-made) and made by anglers (in their hands). Also important here is the indication of the need to imitate aquatic and terrestrial fauna.

Literature cited: Anon. 1884. fish and fishing in Pruta. Naturalist, 5:154-158. C.J.K. 1882. fishing for trout with a rod. Łowiec, V(9): 137-139. Kluk K. 1780. Domestic and wild animals, peculiarly kraiowych, histori naturalney początki i gospodarstwo. T. III. On reptiles and fish. Warsaw. Nowicki M. 1882. Restocking the waters of Galicia and the sources of the Vistula River. Tygodnik Rolniczy, 53.

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