Another season

Posted 2/20/09

By the time you read this article, another Northeast trout season will have begun. Also the cry of “Play ball!” and the “POP” of a fastball entering a catcher’s mitt will have echoed …

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Another season

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By the time you read this article, another Northeast trout season will have begun. Also the cry of “Play ball!” and the “POP” of a fastball entering a catcher’s mitt will have echoed throughout the land. Therefore it is time for another “Clem’s Quiz.”

My fastball has lost a bit of its hop, but I shall try to fool some of you young batters with some off speed junk. So step into the batter’s box while I go into my windup.

1. Poul Jorgenson credited what author and fly tier as being his mentor? Take an extra base if you know the name of that tiers wife. Ahem, in order to hit the ball it is necessary to take the bat off of your shoulder.

2. The Federation of Fly Fishers was formed in 1965. Who was the first president of the federation? Ha! There are rusty gates that swing better than that.

3. What talent did Hiram Hawes, Dan Brenan and Nat Uslan have in common? Swing batter, swing!

4. The Supervisor and the Warden’s Worry are two landlocked salmon fly patterns that have stood the test of time. Who was the tier who originated these patterns?

5. Now for a slider, down and away. George Washington Bethune was a scholarly editor and pioneer essayist on American fly fishing. What was his vocation?

6. I think that slider should set you up for a fastball, in on the hands. In 1975 the most unique book on fly tying patterns that I have ever seen was published. All of the writing in this book is a facsimile of both the authors’ handwritten notes, and the foreword by Arnold Gingrich. There are 55 patterns in the book. Each pattern has an example of the materials necessary to tie it glued into the book. If you hit this pitch, it will go for an easy double up the left center field alley. The title and the author please. Hmmm, it seems I have not lost the hop on my fastball after all. Ah batter, you look so forlorn. I’ll let you peek at my grip to see if this pitch is a split finger or a two-seam fastball. The author’s last name is a fish. Swing batter, swing.

7. Lest that last pitch has left you feeling that rather than the big stadium down in Arlington, TX you may be headed for the Red Barons up in Scranton, PA, here is a batting practice pitch, right down the middle at 80 miles an hour. Robert Graves, back in 1959, wrote a great story about a float trip down the Brazos River. The title of that book please. Take an extra base if you know who his companion was on that trip.

I count 10 questions in this quiz. Anyone hitting eight out of 10 is entitled to win two poorly tied flies. Answers should be sent to PO Box 103, Hankins, NY 12741. The correct answers will appear in a future article.

By the time you read this, Barb and I will be packing for our trip back to our log cabin on the Delaware. See y’all on one of our local trout streams.

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