Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

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Greenwell
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Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by Greenwell » Sun Feb 17, 2019 1:05 pm

One of the books I "grew up" on was American Trout Fishing: by Theodore Gordon and a Company of Anglers . Originally published in a deluxe edition in 1965 as The Gordon Garland to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Gordon's death, the trade edition followed in 1966. Edited by my good friend, Ted Rowgowski, it contains essays by many of the finest anglers and angling writers of the day, including Wulff, McClane, Marinaro, Schwiebert, etc it's well worth finding and usually sells for very little on the used market. The piece by R. Palmer Baker, Jr, Fishing in Arcady is worth the price of the book alone and describes fishing in the rivers and streams I have fished my whole life in Upstate NY.
Here are scans of the pages about Leisenring in Ted Rowgowski's piece Crackerbarrel Discourses and the drawings by Charles DeFeo of the Leisenring flies.
Dick Clark Mention 10001.jpg
Dick Clark Mention 10001.jpg (325.6 KiB) Viewed 6136 times
DeFeo Plate0001.jpg
DeFeo Plate0001.jpg (186.87 KiB) Viewed 6136 times
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Dick Clark Mention 20001.jpg
Dick Clark Mention 20001.jpg (361.63 KiB) Viewed 6136 times
wsbailey
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by wsbailey » Sun Feb 17, 2019 1:43 pm

In an earlier post I suggested chukar tail as a landrail substitute. I included a photo comparing a chukar tail with a landrail wing. Now I see that Leisenring resorted to using French partridge which is very similar to chukar.
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tie2fish
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by tie2fish » Fri Feb 22, 2019 11:03 am

Thank you, John -- a tasty piece indeed. Some folks are not aware of the close connection between JL and Dick Clark even though they use the "Clark" spinning block to create the fly bodies that JL made on his pants leg. Our fellow member Lance Hidy has made good strides in documenting and establishing this relationship.
Some of the same morons who throw their trash around in National parks also vote. That alone would explain the state of American politics. ~ John Gierach, "Still Life with Brook Trout"
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Theroe
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by Theroe » Tue Feb 26, 2019 11:50 am

Yet another of my favorites, I’ve read and reread this tome on many occasions......
Soft and wet - the only way....
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jcwillow777
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by jcwillow777 » Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:04 pm

Thanks for posting this John. Yet another book to add to my library!
Greg
Bazzer69
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by Bazzer69 » Fri Mar 22, 2019 12:39 am

wsbailey wrote: Sun Feb 17, 2019 1:43 pm In an earlier post I suggested chukar tail as a landrail substitute. I included a photo comparing a chukar tail with a landrail wing. Now I see that Leisenring resorted to using French partridge which is very similar to chukar.
I’ve got a Veniards Landrail substitute which is dyed starling wing. It’s a colour I’ve never seen before kind of a reddish brown.
Barry
Love both fly fishing and fly tying, been doing it for a while
But not much good at either
Mike62
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by Mike62 » Fri Mar 22, 2019 6:14 am

I love that book. Like Dana I've read my copy soooo many times.
RickA
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by RickA » Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:12 am

jcwillow777 wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:04 pm Thanks for posting this John. Yet another book to add to my library!
I received my copy yesterday. It's a 1972 second printing in great shape and only set me back a Jackson. :D
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jcwillow777
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by jcwillow777 » Sat Apr 06, 2019 4:36 pm

RickA wrote: Wed Apr 03, 2019 8:12 am
jcwillow777 wrote: Thu Mar 21, 2019 7:04 pm Thanks for posting this John. Yet another book to add to my library!
I received my copy yesterday. It's a 1972 second printing in great shape and only set me back a Jackson. :D
Not bad. Mine's a 1972 second printing too, in great shape for $6.84, with free shipping from Amazon.
Greg
Mike62
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Re: Jim Leisenring in "American Trout Fishing"

Post by Mike62 » Sun Apr 07, 2019 6:15 am

I picked mine up at a yard sale for .25 cents. Same yard sale yielded a Remington model 11 in 12g for $40.00 (I didn't ask why, I grabbed it and ran off thinking I just scored the deal of the century) After careful consideration the book was the far better purchase.

Years later, long after I'd given up on the thing, I gave it to my cousin who took it to a gunsmith. "You damn fools, the barrels bent!"

You know, you'd think a couple of people who shoot as much as we do would have noticed that. He put a new barrel on it ...and we still don't like it.
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