Toward My Own Theory of Description: Angler's Roost

Paul Cézanne, Pines and Rocks (c.1897)

Another of my favorite forms of description is cataloging. One of the best examples of it is found in Ian Frazier’s wonderful “An Angler at Heart” (The New Yorker, April 19, 1982; included in his 2002 collection The Fish’s Eye), a profile of Jim Deren, sole proprietor of a Manhattan fishing-tackle shop called the Angler’s Roost. Midway in his piece, Frazier lists some of the things Deren has for sale:

Deren also has:

thousands of lures designed to imitate live-game fish prey, with names like Bass-Oreno, original Spin-Oreno, Buzz’n Cobra, Chugger, Lucky 13, Crazy Crawler, Hopkins N-Eql, Goo-Goo Eyes, Hula Popper, Jitterbug, Devil’s Horse, Creek Chub Wiggle Fish, Flatfish, Lazy Ike, Red Eye, Dardevle, Fluke Slayer, Ava Diamond Jig, Rapala, Dancing Doll Jig, Rebel Darter, Mirrolure Shyster, Abu-Reflex, Swedish Wobbler, Hawaiian Wiggler, Golden-Eye Troublemaker, Hustler, Al’s Goldfish, Pikie Minnow, Salty Shrimper, Williams Wobbler, Tiny Tad, Tiny Torpedo, Zara (named after Zarragossa Street, the former red-light district in Pensacola, Florida, because of its attractive wiggle);

countless trout flies that imitate mayflies at every stage of their life, with names like Quill Gordon, Hendrickson, March Brown, Red Quill, Grey Fox, Lady Beaverkill, Light Cahill, Grey Fox Variant, Dun Variant, Cream Variant, Blue-Winged Olive, Sulphur Dun, Brown Drake, Green Drake, Pale Evening Dun, Little White-Winged Black;

trout flies that imitate other insects – the Letort Hopper, Jassid, Black Ant, Red Ant, Cinnamon Ant, Black Gnat, Spider, Leaf Roller, Stonefly, Caddis, Caddis Worm, Caddis Pupa, Dragonfly, Hellgrammite, Damselfly;

flies that imitate mice, frogs, and bats;

streamer flies – the Muddler Minnow, Spruce Fly, Spuddler, Professor, Supervisor, Black Ghost, Grey Ghost, Mickey Finn – which are probably meant to imitate minnows;

other flies – the Parmachene Belle, Lord Baltimore, Yellow Sally, Adams, Rat-Faced McDougal, Wooly Worm, Hare’s Ear, Humpy, Royal Coachman, Hair-Wing Royal Coachman, Lead-Wing Coachman, Queen of the Waters, Black Prince, Red Ibis – of which it is hard to say just what they are supposed to imitate, and which are sometimes called attractor flies;

big, colorful salmon flies, with names like Nepisiquit, Abbey, Thunder and Lightning, Amherst, Black Fairy, Orange Blossom, Silver Doctor, Dusty Miller, Hairy Mary, Lancelot, Jock Scott, Fair Duke, Durham Ranger, Marlodge, Fiery Brown, Night Hawk, Black Dose, Warden’s Worry;

flies that he invented himself – Deren’s Stonefly, Deren’s Fox, Deren’s Harlequin, The Fifty Degrees, The Torpedo, The Black Beauty, Deren’s Speckled Caddis, Deren’s Cream Caddis, Deren’s Cinnamon Caddis, Deren’s Grey Caddis;

feathers for tying flies – rooster (domestic and foreign, winter plumage and summer plumage, dozens of shades), ostrich, goose, kingfisher, mallard, peacock, turkey, imitation jungle cock, imitation marabou, imitation wood duck;

fur – Alaskan seal, arctic fox, mink, beaver, weasel, imitation chinchilla, raccoon, ermine, rabbit, fitch, marten, gray fox, skunk, squirrel, civet cat – also for tying flies;

hair – deer, bear, antelope, moose, goat, elk, badger, calf – also for tying flies;

scissors, forceps, pliers, razors, vises, lamps, tweezers, bobbins, bodkins, floss, thread, chenille, tinsel, Mylar, lead wire, wax, yarn – also for tying flies;

chest waders, wader suspenders, wader belts, wader cleats, wader racks, wader patch kits, wading shoes, wading staffs, hip boots, boot dryers, inner boot soles, Hijack brand V-notch boot removers, insulated socks, fishing vests, bug-repellent fishing vests, rain pants, ponchos, head nets, long-billed caps, hunting jackets, thermal underwear, high-visibility gloves, fishing shirts; 

ice augers, dried grasshoppers, minnow scoops, fish stringers, hook disgorgers, rubber casting weights, gigs, spears, car-top rod carriers, rubber insect legs, fish-tank aerators, English game bags, wicker creels, folding nets, hand gaffs, worm rigs, gasoline motor starter cords, watercolor paintings of the Miramichi River, sponge-rubber bug bodies, line straightners, knot-tiers, snakebite kits, hatbands, leather laces, salmon eggs, plastic-squid molds, stuff you spray on your glasses so they won’t fog up, duck and crow calls, waterproof match cases, lead split-shot, collapsible oars, bells that you hook up to your line so they ring when the fish takes your bait, Justrite electric head lanterns, dried mayfly nymphs, rescue whistles, canteens, butterfly nets, peccary bristles, porcupine quills, frog harnesses … 

Wow! That's quite an inventory - 584 words! Is it too much? Not for me. I treasure every word. What better way to describe the Angler’s Roost’s surreal reality? Just lay it all out, item after glorious item – a combination of names and materials the likes of which have never been seen before or since –a vast Rauschenberg assemblage, a giant Cornell tackle box, evincing a fascination with and an appetite for life in all its incredible abundance and variety. 

My next post in this series will be my last, in which I’ll try to sum it all up.