Dogger fisher
The Roman author and teacher Claudius Aelianus is credited with being the first to record the use of artificial flies in angling. Writing towards the end of the second century, he described the practices of Macedonian anglers on the Astraeus River comprehensively: “They have planned a snare for the fish, and get the better of them by their fisherman’s craft. They fasten red wool round a hook, and fit on to the wool two feathers which grow under a cock’s wattles, which in colour are like wax.”
Claudius, sadly, does not note if the Macedonians included any dog fur in their flies. Dog hair has been used in fly-tying for generations. This is hardly surprising, because as any angler who keeps their dog in the house knows, an endless supply is
