LIVINGSTON MANOR, NY — The Catskill Fly Fishing Center and Museum has named the new hall of famers who will be inducted into the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame on October 10. They are Bill Elliott, John Gierach, Curt Gowdy and Charles Ritz. There will be a reception and ceremony to be held in the museum at 3 p.m. A dinner will follow in the Wulff Gallery. For more information email flyfish@catskill.net or call 845/439-4810.

Early in his career, Elliott served as art director of the New York Zoological Society. A self-taught fly-fisherman at the age of 13, he developed a passion for the outdoors and found this experience among animals and nature to be the catalyst for his career as an artist. He became a regular in many magazines including Field and Stream, Outdoor Life and Sports Afield. Now, at 70 years of age, of that over 50 years as an artist, Bill Elliott may be the most prolific and recognized fishing and outdoors artist of all time. “Flyfishing is a way of life, not a sport or a hobby. I would change nothing,” he said.

Gierach is a freelance writer living in northern Colorado. He is the author of 20 books and has written numerous magazine articles, essays and columns. He brings flyfishers a little closer together by sharing his everyday experiences and thoughts through his writing. The Wall Street Journal recently called him “the voice of the common angler.”

Gowdy is recognized as one of the top sportscasters in broadcasting history. He was also the host of the television series “The American Sportsman” on ABC television. “Whether I caught fish or not, just the thrill of rolling out that line and watching my fly turn over has been good enough for me. That and the hundreds of treasured memories I have of this wonderful sport,” he said.

Ritz has fished the finest rivers in Europe and North America, learning and teaching everything there is to know about fly-fishing. “Charles Ritz is one of the very finest fishermen I know,” said Ernest Hemingway. “He is not only a great flyfisherman for trout and salmon but he is an articulate writer and splendid technician.” He invented the prototype “parabolic” fly rod; designed a Vario-Power rod with a glass butt and bamboo tip and an all-glass rod called the LL/LF (Long Lift, Long Flex), and made famous a casting innovation he called “high-speed, high-line.” Presentation, for Ritz, was key. “When you get to heaven,” he wrote, “look me up… I shall know where the best trout are lying. Even there, knowledge of the water and correct presentation should prove all-important factors.”