Like anything else that has enjoyed an enthusiastic following for centuries, fly fishing's recent history will probably be noted more for rediscoveries than discoveries.

To veteran anglers most articles purporting to introduce new ideas in fly fishing seem less than earth shaking. They tend to leave a senior reader with the vague feeling that this is where he came in.

One afternoon about a week ago, I rediscovered something I had half forgotten that was told to me by an old timer when I first started fly fishing for trout. I have no doubt it was, in turn, imparted to him when he was a novice by an older, more experienced friend.

It's simply this, if a trout manages to bury himself and your fly deep under some submerged wood pile or other snag, don't yield to that first impulse to deliberately break off so you can re-rig and start fishing again.

Instead, give slack so pressure is off the fish and put the rod down. Now move back out of sight and wait. Do this even though you can feel no movement and you're sure the fly is snagged and the fish gone.

It may take as long as fifteen minutes, but almost invariably the trout will find its way out of the maze the way it went in. It will then move to open water bringing your fly along.

The occasion I tried this recently was on Mt. Vernon creek. I had drifted a nymph around a bend and was rewarded by a take from a decent sized trout.

The afternoon had been singularly unproductive and I did want this fish. In an effort to make my nymph swim more lifelike, I had just tied on a very light tippet. This precluded putting much pressure on the fish.

Brown trout in the 12 to 17 inch size bracket are usually very fast and this was one of the faster ones.

After an exciting few minutes and just when it seemed to be almost within reach of the net, it dove to the bottom and burrowed deep into a thick moss bed.

Stepping into the creek, I was able to follow the leader with one hand down into the moss and lift the fish out. It slipped from my grasp however, and shot across the pool, and deep under a snag of tree roots and debris. Even the line to leader knot was no longer visible.

Although positive that the fish was gone, leaving the fly lodged deep in the snag, I forced myself to put the rod down and wait. After about five minutes I picked it up but the fly was still fast.

At this point I decided to remove myself from the temptation to prematurely pick up the rod again by walking back to the car and retrieving a box of flies I had forgotten to bring along. The car was about ten minutes away and I was nearly to it when I happened to think "Why, you goof, if that trout should still be on, it could come out and tow your rod clear to the Sugar river".

Hurrying back, I found the trout had indeed come out, but only into a pool where it was easily netted.

It wasn't a trophy fish by any means, just barely a foot long, but a prime red spotted, golden-hued, brown. The only other fish of the afternoon was a nine-incher that was released.

Another thing taught me as a beginner was how to stream dress trout. To my way of thinking, this also needs to be rediscovered.

It's true that today, many more trout are released to be caught again than in years past, (some anglers don't keep any) but most of us like at least an occasional fish for a meal. in these times of increasing angling pressure it's probably even more important that the ones we do keep are not wasted.

Compared to other fish, trout have small abdominal cavities and fast digestive systems. Their digestive juices are very powerful and will taint the meat quickly, so those kept for the table must be dressed promptly.

To stream dress one, first stun it by a blow to the head then bend its head backwards to break its neck. Next make an incision from vent to gill covers and remove all internal organs including the gills. They are the bright red crescent shaped objects just inside the gill covers.

Don't remove the head. Fish management personnel frequently conduct creel censuses and an item they are always interested in is the overalI length of fish you have.

Now, with a handful of grass, wipe the fish dry inside and out. Next put some dry green grass inside the cavity so air can circulate there and place it on dry grass in a well ventilated creel. If you keep more than one, be sure to have grass between them. If allowed to lie together they will turn white where they touch.

Do all this before you cast again. Trout left to die from suffocation will begin to spoil in a matter of minutes.

Prepared in this way and placed in a creel that allows air to circulate around them freely, they will keep well even in mid-summer. Hours later they will be as firm and bright as if just taken from the stream.

Cloth creels are popular today. If you use one be sure the mesh end panels are large. If you can find one with a mesh bottom also, it will be still better.

No one has ever improved on the traditional willow creel. It's the best streamside trout saver ever devised. Perhaps the time has come to rediscover it also.