Given the popularity of the book, Hoover, The Fishing President: Portrait of the Private Man and His Adventurous Life Outdoors, one may think that Herbert Hoover was an anomaly when it comes to presidents who had a passion for fishing. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the line of fishing Presidents starts with the very first, George Washington. Read on to see what it took to trout fish like George Washington.
From his diaries, we know that George Washington loved to hunt and fish. He even maintained a wilderness area on his plantation that was dedicated to hunting, and he even operated a small commercial fishing operation on top of his fishing as a hobby. But what did fishing look like back then?
Fortunately, this video, breaks down what it would have looked like to prep for a day of fishing with General Washington. The pole, of course, was a cane pole – easily available throughout the eastern United States and durable enough to land a trophy without breaking.
The line setup is the most interesting part. It involves a two-line setup not dissimilar to a line and tippet setup for fly fishing, and it’s clear that the two different types of line were chosen for the same reasons. You started with a thicker, coarser, horse-hair line that was tied directly to the end of the cane pole. To that, you marry a thin twisted silk line, acting as a tippet, that will hold the hook, which was a simple steel eye-less hook.
Overall, the setup to trout fish like George Washington was simple. General Washington likely used live bait, and I’ve found no mention of him using artificial flies. Although already popular as a hobby by Washington’s era, fly fishing must not have found its way to Mount Vernon.
For more on Washington himself, I recommend this biography and his journals. If you haven’t already, check out Hoover, The Fishing President: Portrait of the Private Man and His Adventurous Life Outdoors. It’s a great read.
