THE SIGN OF THE FLY: A SEMIOTIC APPROACH TO FLY-FISHING IN BRITAIN

[...]there is the difference in materials with which the fish is snared. The Sign of The Fly Apart from the direct significance of using the fly for fishing, which implies the practice of a more or less inefficient, very cultural, and "gentile"2 way of fishing, the fly itself has enormous...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of semiotics 1984-05, Vol.3 (1), p.71
Main Author: Gerard J Van Den Broek
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Cotton
Fish
Hair
Semiotics
Trout
Walton, Izaak (1593-1683)
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:[...]there is the difference in materials with which the fish is snared. The Sign of The Fly Apart from the direct significance of using the fly for fishing, which implies the practice of a more or less inefficient, very cultural, and "gentile"2 way of fishing, the fly itself has enormous symbolic significance. [...]instead of using natural bait, as one does in coarse fishing one uses a man-made object, the artificial fly. First of all, the wings of most artificial flies, as described by Walton, are made of the feathers of the mallard. According to Peirce, an index is a sign, or representation, which reflects its object not so much because of any similarity or analogy with it, nor because it is related with more general features of the object, but because it is in dynamical relation both with the individual object on the one hand, and with the senses or memory of the person on the other hand (Peirce, 1955: 107).
ISSN:0277-7126
2153-2990
DOI:10.5840/ajs19843135