posted on Jan 14
Editorial Reviews
No one’s ever suggested that fly-fishing was as easy as A, B, C. Its very language casts unique and, at times, complex etymological (and entomological!) lines, which–from advanced wing to Z-twist–Darrel Martin’s Dictionary amiably sets out to unravel. With its in-depth entries, historical citations, and affectionate embrace of the arcane, it’s the angling equivalent of the OED–with hosts of explanatory photographs and drawings thrown in for good measure. He even uncovers the sport’s smut: “a variety of small insects … The early English origin of the term is related to smudge and soot … perhaps related to Gaelic smuid, smoke, and early English smut, a cloud. The term has been used in trouting since 1889.” Cool, huh? Who says you don’t fish with your head?
A former teacher of Old and Middle English, Martin has married his passion for the evolution of words with his love of the evolution of fishing and fly-tying to produce a solid, comprehensive reference of some 350 words and phrases as engaging in its lexicographical storytelling as it is eminently useful. Confused about hackle pliers? Martin straightens you out. After a page and a half, you’ll know what they do, how they work, why they’re necessary, and where they come from. Equipment? Materials? Technique? Insects, their taxonomy and nomenclature? Martin addresses them deftly. Of course, not every possible entry is here–Martin used his own subjective dictionary Darwinism–but so many of those that do rise up are just innately wonderful: sneck, epilimnion, dapping, whip finisher, harling, and ocelli. The words alone are catch enough; what the Dictionary does with them is so uniformly interesting the book could easily be guilty of taking a bite out of your stream time. –Jeff Silverman
Review
“Only Darrel Martin has the detailed knowledge of the fly-fishing art, combined with the fine precision and delicacy of prose, to write this extremely valuable dictionary. Every writer, reader, tyer, and fly fisherman should have this book at hand.”–Dave Hughes, author of Essential Trout Flies
“The Fly Fisher’s Illustrated Dictionary is a valuable aid in clarifying the specialized terminology and the vocabulary of conepts tha surround fishing with the artificial fly . . . But beyond its practical application, this volume is simply and wonderfully interesting.”–Ted Leeson, from the Foreword
–This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Order The Fly Fisher’s Illustrated Dictionary: Darrel Martin form Amazon.
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Tags: dictionary | fishing | fly | fly fishing | fly tying | flyfishing | flytying | illustrated | trout
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