Island writer reels in the lore of fishing soft-spoken gentleman, yet he is far reediting it, putting a lot of the and the development of the dry fly, by Carl Little from the stereotype. cited material in an appendix. both of which occurred around the Indeed, on the day we met he He is a meticulous writer, so the end of the 19th century. CRANBERRY ISLES - Over was also sporting an undershirt that project is taking him a long time. Asked about the possibility of the past half century, John bore the likeness of a black crappie, "It's a lot of work," he says. future revolutions in fly-fishing, McDonald, of Great Cranberry a freshwater fish, on its front. Over Two reprints of Mr. McDonald's Mr. McDonald offered a few Island and New York City, has tea and then lunch, Mr. McDonald The Origins of Angling are being thoughts. "If you could make established himself as one of the spoke of current projects. He is planned. The Easton Press is artificial materials so that you foremost authorities on the history rewriting a memoir about the considering a deluxe edition, while didn't have to false cast in order to of angling and the art of fly fishing. making of the book My Life with Lyons & Burford hope to bring out make the fly dry and float. that Mr. McDonald's books, classics in another trade edition. The book might revolutionize dry fly fishing." the field, include The Complete Fly received an unexpected plug in the He also pointed to the great Fisherman: The Notes and Letters New York Times Book Review this change wrought by graphite fly of Theodore Gordon (1947; second Man lives past summer. "For every thousand rods. "Graphite can do just about edition, 1989), The Origins of fishing books that deserve to be out anything except be romantic the Angling (1963) and Quill Gordon in air, trout of print," wrote essayist Paul way bamboo was," he explained. (1972). In 1979 he received the Schullery, "there is one magnificent What is Mr. McDonald's Arnold Gingrich Angling Heritage in water, and one, like Mr. Mr. McDonald's, that favorite fishing in memory? Award "for significant contribution should be mandated in print by He recalled a time at Liebhardt to the literature of angling." the surface law." Creek in the Catskills where he and A member of the board of "I wasn't brought up fly- his wife stayed with the Baileys in editors of Fortune for many years, of the stream fishing," Mr. McDonald told me as the 1930s. It was there he lost a Mr. McDonald was a regular we got to talking about a favorite memorable fight to a fish who contributor to that magazine. He is like the subject. displayed some Darwinian also wrote for Sports Illustrated As a child he fished from the see FISH page B2 and other publications. Another borderline of banks of the Detroit River in interest, game strategy, bred several Michigan and later from a pier on books. One of them, Strategy in Poker, Business, and War, 1949, metaphysics. Santa Monica Bay. The latter experience he turned into a was reissued in 1989 by W.W. children's story that was published Norton under their "Books That in St. Nicholas Magazine, one of Live" imprint. It was also his earliest publications. translated into Russian. General Motors by Alfred Sloan, In the 1930s, Mr. McDonald met I caught up with Mr. McDonald which he worked on from 1954 to Dan Bailey, a world-class recently during one of his 1959. Originally scheduled to be fisherman and fly-tier, who showed infrequent trips off Great Cranberry published by Doubleday in the him fly-fishing. As a result of Mr. where he has summered - and latter year, Mr. Sloan's book was Bailey's expert tutelage, fly-fishing often autumned - for going on 40 canceled due to pressure from became Mr. McDonald's preferred years. As he explained to me, once General Motor lawyers, who at the piscatorial pastime. And it led to on the island he has a hard time time feared antitrust action. some of the finest writing on the finding any reason for coming off. Mr. McDonald later sued the subject, two finely-wrought texts "Physically, it takes a little company for the purpose of getting resonant with the spirit of angling. doing, but psychologically it takes the book published, which it was, Mr. McDonald also gained a lot of doing," he remarked with a in 1964, after years of legal streamside knowledge as editor of chuckle. wrangling. the writings of Theodore "Quill' Mr. McDonald, who turns 90 Mr. McDonald's memoir Gordon, considered by many to be next month, was dressed in his book about a book," he calls it the American Isaak Walton. In his usual island attire: a wool jacket relates the rather complex story of letters and articles, Mr. Gordon collaged over with leather patches, this controversy. For the sake of chronicled what Mr. McDonald, his his signature tweed hat, a long- credibility over readability, he has champion, calls the "two sleeved shirt and somewhat baggy included many documents in the revolutions" of American fly- khakis. There's a hint of text. Responding to feedback from fishing: the introduction of the John McDonald, famous fishing book Abercrombie & Fitch about this publishers, however, he is now German brown trout to this country author. CARL LITTLE PHOTO THE BAR HARBOR TIMES SECTION B