Farlow’s The Genuine Hewitt Stain

Before you go thinking this is a whole different sort of blog – it relates to lines and casts.

The journey to discover an invisible line the fish cannot detect has been a long one.

American angler Mr. E R Hewitt and author of “Secrets of Salmon” & “Telling on the Trout” had discovered a process in the late 1920’s to make line semi-invisible.

Here we are 100 years later still trying to confuse the fish with the current adaptations of that very same principle.

Leaflets accompanied Farlow catalogues and orders, stating “The Gut That Cannot Flash Is Labelled Thus” and “Hewitt gut has become famous wherever anglers meet” were put in for a reason.

So successful was the new line other companies started to copy or emulate the Hewitt original.

On Feb 25th, 1932 so concerned was Mr. Hewitt he took space in the Farlow Panton St shop leaflets to restate “I have only divulged the complete formulas for this treatment to your firm in Great Britain, and you are the only parties authorised to make these casts and use my name in designating them. You have the sole rights for Great Britain.

Quoting testimonials from an ex-president of the Fly Fishers Club as to the benefits and quality of the line, this was serious business.

The range of casts availed was extensive for trout, sea trout & salmon fishing.

There are many cast packet and leaflet or ephemera collectors. These same Farlow leaflets give a little window of information into the marketing and rivalry between tackle manufacturers decades ago.

At the time of writing, we have listed a few of these pamphlets, not expensive but great historical reading and they look good displayed among your other tackle collectables.