H.J. Noll and fly tying

“The Art of Fly Tying” was conceived by Doylestown’s H.J. Noll (ca.1906-1982) and written by well-known author of fishing books, Charles M. Wetzel. The basic 36-page paperback booklet (in print from 1936 to 1963) was designed for fishermen who “tie their own.” By 1954, a second publication by Noll titled “Guide to Trout Flies and How to Tie Them” was being produced by Family Circle Publishing and was advertised as being “one of the finest early books on the art of fly tying ... some of the finest color plates of both flies and gear you will see, excellent descriptions of fly materials for each fly pattern shown ... a historic and monumental fly tying work ... so simple to use.”
Noll also sold fly tying materials and kits from his shop at 30 South Main St. in Doylestown (the current site of J. Carroll Molloy Real Estate). A contributor to The Classic Fly Rod Forum says, “H.J. Noll was a materials guy and he put out those zillions of tying kits, going way back to the ‘40s. A lot of the guys who hang out here are what they call ‘Noll Children’ having grown up with ‘the book’ and those tying kits.” Kits are still available on the Internet for up to $160.
In the mid-1940s, Noll supplied the armed services with the fishing flies that were stored along with other emergency supplies inside inflatable rafts onboard the ships and planes of the U.S. Navy and Air Force. Around that time, Noll moved his business to 801 E. Butler Avenue in New Britain. He retired in 1969.

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