WRITING ON THE FLY
By GEORGE LISET
This past summer I had acquired a beautiful Orvis bamboo fly rod made by famed fly rod maker Wes Jordan. Most fly fishers recognize the Orvis name, purveyors of fine fly fishing equipment, however, not many would recognize the name Wes Jordan. Bamboo fly rods and their makers are a whole nother rabbit hole. At the time, I also picked up some flies and a book on Carrie Stevens, the famed fly tier from Upper Dam, Maine who is credited with designing the classic Black Ghost fly.
The gentleman I purchased this from had a house on the Upper Dam and knew Carrie Stevens and thought that some of the flies might have been tied by Carrie. I was beyond excited at that possibility. It was shortly after this that I happened to go to an Antique Show at the Dover, NH Elks. Sitting by the door in his booth was my friend Glenn Grant. I have known Glenn for a number of years from this show and other shows in Maine.
I always enjoy Glenn’s booth because it is filled with “Guy Stuff”, that is all things guys, like hunting and fishing items. Glenn goes by “The Maine Man”, because he is all about everything Maine. I knew Glenn would appreciate my recent finds. I first told him about my Wes Jordan fly rod because I knew he would know the name. Glenn was as excited as I was because he can appreciate the art of the find, being in the business. I then told him that I possibly had some Carrie Stevens flies. His eyes lit up and then nonchalantly he told me he also knew Carrie Stevens. As a matter of fact she had tied a fly for him at the streamside when he was a young boy.
I asked him if he still had it. Glenn mentioned that, “No”, he didn’t. Glenn donated it to an auction for the Salmon Project in Maine. Glenn also told me that he donated some of Carrie’s flies to the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont and some to the Outdoor Heritage Museum in Oquossoc, Maine. I asked Glenn where he obtained all the flies.
Glenn told me that his grandfather owned Grant’s Camps on Kennebago Lake in Maine and that they had a display box of Carrie’s flies that they sold to the sports for seventy-five cents each. When his grandfather sold the camps, he gave Glenn the flies. Glenn told me Carrie never used a vice to tie flies and that she did them all by hand. Glenn said that the sports would bring boxes of fifty hooks when they came to camp and she would tie up flies for them. Glenn also reminded me that at that time not many houses had electricity, and that Carrie tied by lantern or candle light. I eventually found out none of my flies were tied by Carrie, but they were well done and beautiful.
Glenn shared that when he was younger he used to guide for his grandfather at the Camps. Then he told me about how he guided the late-great Red Sox Hall of Famer Ted Williams. Then he told me about the time he introduced Ted to L.L. Bean. By now I was blown away. Glenn not only knew fly fishing royalty, he was a part of it. I am looking forward to more conversations with Glenn.
George Liset of Dover is an award-winning outdoor writer and avid fly fisherman who shares insights of his time on the water exploring New Hampshire streams and rivers as well of those around New England. George is a graduate of Wheaton College, Illinois, and the University of New Hampshire. His column Writing on the Fly has been honored by the New England Press Association and the New Hampshire Press Association.
