The Legend of Harold Hinsdill Smedley

My list of unsung heroes of fly fishing is long–likely headed by Austin Hogan. One other angler on the list is Harold Hinsdill Smedley. A Michigan native, Smedley never gained the fame of many other fly fishers and authors, despite compiling a book regularly cited as one of the benchmarks of fly patterns and origins. I suspect that is because many of these patterns and origins are hotly contested, particularly from region to region. Word-of-mouth legends are a funny thing, and there are many interesting tales to tell (for example, spend a few hours on the Classic Fly Rod forum). Still, Smedley’s work is incredibly impressive and likely deserves more widespread recognition.

Smedley grew up in Michigan, eventually joining the military and then attending law school at Northwestern. He was a four-time national fly casting accuracy champion and considered to be one of the best fly fishermen in the country. His first book was titled ‘Trout of Michigan: being a short history of the trouts that have at one time or another been in the rivers of Michigan’, published in 1938. In 1941, he published ‘Who’s Who and What’s What in Fly and Bait Casting in the US‘ in a limited. We have this title available in our eBay store. However, his most popular book, ‘Fly Patterns and Their Origins‘ was published in 1944. Smedley was a skilled and careful researcher, and his histories and biographies of flies, or feathered lures, were second to none.

We currently have a fourth printing of this classic fly fishing book available, in the relatively scarce original dust jacket. Laid in is a letter from Smedley to Hall Line Company inquiring about their lines after seeing an ad in Field and Stream, and specifically, whether they made any from silk or linen. The letter is signed at the bottom. An excellent addition to any fishing collector’s library!