Of all the topics that I’ve written about for the River Reporter, none has received more attention than those about the little sulphur mayfly, Ephemerella dorothea. From a fly … more

I might or might not have mentioned in past articles that the house we currently reside in is subject to occasional basement flooding. In the first few months we were here, there was a … more

I met Frank Mele one late April day along the East Branch of the Delaware. He was standing at the guardrail along Route 30, looking at the river as I approached. It was Hendrickson time in the … more

As a long-time angler/fly fisher and columnist for this newspaper, I’m compelled to write a few words about the upcoming trout season. That is, if there is such a thing given the implementation … more

You never know when a natural wonder might wander into your awareness. While I was washing dishes at the kitchen sink, movement outside the window caught my attention. There on the ground was a … more

Soon after the ice broke on the area lakes, I spotted signs of the coming of spring. Tiny black-and-white ducks were present on the lakes in Shohola, PA. At first, it was only a couple of ducks … more

For some, fly tying is an art form, demonstrated by the significant beauty of the elaborate patterns developed in England and Scotland for Atlantic salmon fishing.  Based on their cost, an … more

Spring is here, and so are the signs of spring. If you go out in the mornings, it might be a bit noisier with increased bird calls and drumming from woodpeckers. More robins are apparent on lawns and … more

When you pray for weather of any kind, it’s always important to understand you aren’t the only one praying for what might come from the sky.  I might need rain for my crops, but … more

This January has been a mild one. There has been some moderately cold weather and some snow, including a storm that dumped about a foot of snow in many areas during the second week. But overall, … more

Sometime in 1978, I received a call from Ed VanPut, letting me know that the Wulffs, Joan and Lee, had purchased the old Doubleday property on the upper Beaver Kill, where they planned to open a fly-fishing school. more

Rainbow trout were first stocked in tributaries of the Esopus Creek in 1883, taken from California stocks.  As those fish matured and reproduced, offspring spread throughout the watershed. … more

If you are along the river or a lake, you might notice some small ducks on the water. If they are close enough, or if you have binoculars, you will notice a lot of black-and-white bodies. Their small, chunky bodies are smaller than that of a mallard, and only about one pound in weight. This is the season of the buffleheads. more

With the weather getting colder, there is a different variety of animals that can be seen during outdoor ventures.  A variety of migrating birds can still be seen as they move through the … more

Every year as winter begins to wane, and the snowdrops bloom, my thoughts turn to fishing and for some reason, seasons past. In my formative years, when trout fishing became a weekly pastime, … more

As I write this column, it is windy and snowing; the forecast is for up to 14 inches of snow before the storm ends. Yet today, the 14th of March, I am thinking of spring. On this day, three years … more

Behind my home rises a great mother tree, a towering and majestic Eastern hemlock, whose home this was long before I joined her here. Her mass rises from where it enters the earth, the place … more

When you’re as involved in hunting and fishing and outdoors as we are as a family, you’re bound to be exposed to a few of the side businesses that go along with the larger ones. My … more

“Grandpa Adam, I want to catch a ginormous beaver, as big as me,” declared my son Rorick, while speaking on the phone with my father. We had been telling many bedtime stories lately about the beavers that his Grandpa Adam and I had caught in the past. Even the less colorful stories were eagerly absorbed by my son’s ears as he began to catch the fever for going trapping for beavers. more

“A thing of beauty is a joy forever,” wrote the poet John Keats. “Some shape of beauty moves away the pall/From our dark spirits,” he continues in Book I of “Endymion.” The revered poet cites “The sun, the moon/Trees old and young,” along with other restorative elements of nature.  more