Seeing Wonders: The Nature of Fly Fishing
at the Yale Peabody Museum

Opening September 29, 2007
On view through February 24, 2008

Fly-tying Demonstrations on Sundays!
On Select Sundays from September 30, 2007
through February 3, 2008 from 1:30 to 3:30 pm

Come see skilled fly-tyers at work during the run of this exhibition (see complete list of dates and expert fly-tyers below). These demonstrations are an excellent opportunity to see the kind of skill and patience that goes into tying flies, as well as a chance to ask your burning questions about fly-tying or fly fishing in general.


Download our exhibition podcast
— The Wonders of Fly Fishing narrated by Alison Logan
Running time 33 min.
[45 MB MP3 audio file]


The Yale Peabody Museum’s newest temporary exhibition comes to us from the American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester, Vermont, home to the world’s largest collection of angling and angling-related items.

Seeing Wonders: The Nature of Fly Fishing includes some of the finest artifacts in the AMFF’s collections, and provides a comprehensive overview of the history of the sport and the techniques of fly fishing and fly tying.

In addition to displays of historical rods and reels, the exhibition also showcases celebrity outfits and equipment such as Babe Ruth’s rod and tip case, Winslow Homer’s rod, Bing Crosby’s fly reel and John Quincy Adams’s fly box, as well as the fly fishing stories of presidential anglers.

One of humankind’s oldest and most popular forms of recreation, fly fishing captivates millions of people across the world and inspires fervent devotion. An introductory video, made especially for the Peabody’s exhibition, aims to communicate that enthusiasm.

Anglers often speak of the amazing opportunities to experience the beauty and wonder of natural habitats through fly fishing. Nature is, of course, an integral part of this experience and the Peabody is adding to the exhibition from its own collections.

A small selection of specimens from our large vertebrate zoology holdings illustrates the diversity of fishes sought after by anglers. Learn also about animals that fishing flies mimic, including shrimp, insects and parasitic leeches (don’t ask), and about the use of natural materials such as wood and bamboo used to make rods.

Seeing Wonders: The Nature of Fly Fishing also considers the question of how fishing has affected conservation of our natural world, from the use of feathers for fly tying to the preservation of fish habitats by Trout Unlimited and other organizations.

And, if you are wondering, the title comes from what is believed to be the earliest printed book on angling in western Europe, published in 1506, in which the author repeatedly asserts that while fishing “thou shalt see many wonders.”

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