Nymphs I: The Mayflies

[rrt]

I am about halfway through this, though I am admittedly skimming most of the taxonomic descriptions. You'd have to be a real glutton for punishment to read all of that stuff carefully and word-for-word. schweibert's stories are kind of interesting to plow through. In a book called Nymphs, many (most so far) stories deal with dry-fly fishing, esp. fishing with spinner patterns, which I have been finding ironic. Also, he seems to try to make his private-water fishing adventures, including on waters controlled by the evil empire, sound like public-water adventures, though to readers familiar with him, it is not surprising to find him fishing on private waters. As a former English teacher, I find myself amused with some of his pretentious language, such as his repeated use of the word "catholicity." Even though many of the tales are from private preserves like the empire, they can be amusing and instructive, and one can apply their lessons to real fishing on public-access waters. I also find it interesting that he often refers to Vincent Marinaro, though he notes in a footnote that Marinaro would not speak to him after schweibert's 1973 publication of the original Nymphs. And, whether you, as I do, think of him as a sellout in the mold of the becks, humphreys, and kreh, his knowledge of flies is truly encyclopedic. I think it is a true shame that he did sell out to beaver and the evil empire in his later years. So, if you can get the book as cheaply as I did (I got it for about 18 bucks and Nymphs II for less than 12 dollars), you might want to add it/them to the reference section of your fly-fishing library.

 

[RLeep2]

I've never been able to read much Schweibert, although I'd certainly agree he was knowledgeable and as writers within the genre go, a pretty fair wordsmith.

But I was always put off by his pomposity (at least in print, I understand he was a fine fellow in person) and not having enough room in my vest for a tablecloth, a bottle of Maison Leroy Bourgogne Pinot Noir and a wedge of Camembert, without which I felt under-equipped after reading Ernie.

 

[jdaddy]

(I got it for about 18 bucks and Nymphs II for less than 12 dollars),

Ahh, so you did the used Amazon thing too huh? I received both volumes last week and I am powering through them much like you. I did find the volume of info on duns/spinners interesting but I guess that is a very important part of life cycle to get to the discussion of nymphs. It will take me a long time to get through those books, but I think more importantly they will serve as wonderful reference books.

 

[franklin]

RLeep2 wrote:
I've never been able to read much Schweibert, although I'd certainly agree he was knowledgeable and as writers within the genre go, a pretty fair wordsmith.

But I was always put off by his pomposity (at least in print, I understand he was a fine fellow in person) and not having enough room in my vest for a tablecloth, a bottle of Maison Leroy Bourgogne Pinot Noir and a wedge of Camembert, without which I felt under-equipped after reading Ernie.

I think it was Ernie that got caught by George Harvey one night stashing some large fish that others supplied in the woods. It was at a gathering of some famous flyfishermen. While Ernie was a great fisherman in his own right he was taking no chances with his reputation by arranging for some large fish to be delivered the evening before, stashing them, and putting them on a stringer the next day. George being gracious didn't name the individual in his writings. But others have made the identification.

 

[rrt]

Either that story or another might be true. I think Nick Lyons had the story of spying on an expert at a private club, where the expert got skunked. When asked how many he'd landed, the expert said he'd landed 32. Supposedly, that was schweibert. But, even if he couldn't acknowledge a skunking, he certainly knew a lot about bugs. For me, schweibert was an icon as I learned to fly-fish, but his descent into the evil empire destroyed my admiration for him.
Anyhow, those stories float around about him, just as the stories about humphreys' big fish have floated around about him and it for many years.

 

[franklin]

He certainly has provided some of the character that many would say were the golden days of flyfishing. I have both Nymphs I and II. Someone had to document the details and he served us well.

 

[rrt]

I managed to finish it; my comments are about the same as the original ones. I skimmed most of the tergites and sternites stuff but tried to read all of his anecdotal information. I am starting Nymphs II, though I don't imagine I'll be so gung-ho about completing it in a timely manner. Though, as I said before, I am disappointed that schweibert sold out to the evil empire, I have to be impressed with his vast knowledge of flies and am entertained by his fishing stories, esp the ones I know take place on public water. Ironically, his son Erik noted in the preface to Nymphs II that we "must continue to fight to keep our streams and rivers clean and ACCESSIBLE to the public. (my caps) If we do not, all that is passionately described and loved by Ernest Schweibert will disappear, and fly fishing, indeed all fishing, will be confined to history." I could not have said it any better than that.

 

[troutbert]

Is Nymphs II a revised version of Nymphs I?

Or is it more like Nymphs, Part 1 and Part 2?

I have the original Nymphs book from back in the day (1970s).

 

[afishinado]

I believe "Nymphs I" covers only Mayflies and "Nymphs II" covers stoneflies & caddisflies.

 

[troutbert]

My old copy, 1973, Winchester Press, is just called Nymphs, and it covers mayflies, caddis, stoneflies, midges, crustaceans, dragonflies, etc.

So, apparently at some later date the book was split into two parts? And were there substantial additions or changes?

 

[rrt]

It is entirely re-done. I have the W. Press version, too, and the revision may as well be considered a completely new project. It is now two volumes: the first is about mayflies, and the second deals with stoneflies, caddisses, and the "lesser" mayflies. New, each volume cost 60 dollars, but you can get them rather cheaply on Amazon, as JDaddy (?) advised us previously. If you go over to Flyfishers, Steve could probably show you a 2-vol set, but you can get them for less than a quarter of the price of new books on the Internet. (Maybe Steve would cut you a deal to get rid of them!) My wife got both vols for me for about 30 dollars total.
Now, having said all that, I think Fauceglia's Mayflies is more practical than the schweibert book, and the Ames book about caddisflies is probably more useful--but even more than I'd ever need. But, if you like fly-fishing stories, the anecdotes are entertaining; and if you're a bug nut, he certainly has just about all the information you could ever, ever, ever want.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Ted Fauceglia's "Mayflies" is a great book IMO. The photo's are magnificent! Lots of useful information. This book belongs in the library of all serious flyfishers(is there any other kind)! LOL.

 

[Acristickid]

Any angler who cannot admit they got skunked has serious character issues.

You can also bet- they are not that much fun to hang around either.

 

[WildTigerTrout]

Ditto! I don't care how good a flyfisher you are you WILL get skunked from time to time. That's why they call it fishing and not catching! LOL.

 

[rrt]

I finished what I am going to read of Nymphs II last night. I tried to read all the anecdotal stuff and the general fly information. But, I didn't even skim the detailed info in this volume; I skipped most of it. What do the kids say now -- TMI? I think that's what the two volumes have: TMI. Having said that, I do wish Fauceglia would put out a book about caddisflies and stoneflies in a manner similar to his Mayflies.
Anyhow, if you decide to work your way through the schweibert books, be aware that if you read everything, it'll be like taking an advanced entomology course, at least in this 61-yr-old's opinion, and you'll have to get used to schweibert's manipulation of language. For me, they were worth the 30 dollars I paid for them, but they certainly would not have been worth the $120 original price. Perhaps reading/skimming them was good practice for my winter reading "project": War and Peace!

 

[dryflyguy]

Speaking of a war and peace comparison, I have Schweiberts two volume set "Trout". I got it for $20 as a promotion for joining TU back in the '80's.
But I've never been able to bring myself to read the whole thing because of it's length, and hoity - toity style.
I'm sure that there's plenty of good info in it though, if and when I ever get around to doing the whole thing.
Have any of you guys ever read it cover to cover?

 

[rrt]

Yes, a long time ago. For me, it read better than Nymphs I & II. When/if you tackle it, take a section at a time, then go to something else, go back to it, etc. till you're done. I do not think I'd read the entire thing again: kind of like The Bible. I've read it twice cover to cover, but I never plan to do that again. Anyhow, schweibert has lots to say in a professorial tone -- after all, I guess that's what he was -- even if much of what he writes about takes place on private water.

 

[dryflyguy]

A buddy of mine once got to see Schweibert at a book signing. It was held at a fly shop in the center part of the state I believe.
He said that he demonstrated how to tie a fly without a vice - just holding the hook in his hand
RRT I bet you're not even old enough to know how to do that. Or are you?

 

[rrt]

Oh, I'm certainly old enough -- but not a good enough tier to tie w/o a vise. I've never tried and, truthfully, have never seen anyone else do it. I did watch Walt Dettee tie without a bobbin one time, but I wouldn't want to do that either.

 

[RLeep2]

I learned to tie without a bobbin when I was 11 and tied that way until I was in my mid-20's or so.

It's why to this day I still half hitch all my fly heads and never learned to whip finish.

It was old man Herter's fault. In one of his books, somewhere in between where he was saying that it’s a little-known fact that the Virgin Mary was fond of creamed spinach and that Sauerbraten was invented by Charlemagne, he suggested a bobbin was a waste of money, no veteran tyers used them, opting instead to cut a length of thread first and then half hitch to hold it in place at various states along the way to the completion of the fly. Then always finish the head with half hitches. Everybody who is anybody does that.

That's what he told me to do.

So, here I am, 58 years old, tying for 47 years and can't make a whip finish knot..

Demented old creep (Herter, not me. At least not yet..).